I have arrived...

I have arrived in beautiful Williamsburg, Virginia! I had an uneventful plane flight yesterday which was truly a nice change from flying to O'Hare the last six months where it was always eventful (cancellations, delays, turbulence, etc.). From the airport, I hitched a ride with my seat mate on the plane to Bikes Unlimited in Williamsburg to pick up my bike. She was gracious enough to go out of her way to offer me a ride. I look forward to all the interesting people I will meet throughout my trip!

I packed most of my gear and clothes in a box for the flight. The airline weighed my box when I checked it at the counter. I was excited to see that my box weighed only 42 pounds for two reasons: 1) I was able to avoid the excessive weight fee and 2) it probably means I didn’t pack too much unneeded gear. So, with some of the extra things I carried on the plane, I estimate my total gear weight is right at 50 pounds.

At the bike shop, I unloaded my box of gear. Barry, the owner of the bike shop, told me I barely missed Jerry Lisenby (http://jerrylisenby.com/) who just left the store. He was a contestant on the Biggest Loser reality TV show and is doing the same TransAm route we are doing. He is starting a day ahead of us, so we will likely catch him on the road. I heard he is carrying a lot of gear and has already shipped home 30 pounds of gear.

Within 5 minutes of leaving the bike store I had two people on the street stop and ask me if I was ridding across the country. I guess I stick out like a sore thumb with my bright yellow pannier bags and 50 pounds of gear. I rode my bike through the colonial village in Williamsburg. This is a restored and mock colonial village where the workers dress up as characters from the time period. I was told there are 88 original buildings which have dates from the 1600 and 1700’s. When I get a chance I will post some of my pictures.

Last night, I stayed at the White Lion Motel which is the meeting point for our group. I met Rick and Rusty (both 55) who are both veteran adventurers. Rick did a 2,000 mile trip around Wisconsin. Rusty has hiked the Appalachian Trail 3 times and also the PCT. Today, I met my trip guide. Caitlin is a little older than I and just completed a bike trip from California to Austin. She is a bike messenger in Portland. Peter has also arrived to Williamsburg. I believe he has completed 2 trips around the Great Lakes. Terence is the only person yet to arrive. He is flying from the UK, but should arrive here tonight. The second person from the UK had to cancel at the last minute. I can’t wait to sit around the campfire and hear everybody’s stories.

Tonight, we have dinner and a meeting to discuss the trip. Caitlin is going to cook on the picnic table in front of the White Lion Motel only using the cooking gear we will have available to us on the trip. Tomorrow morning, we have a “shake down” ride to the beach in Yorktown which is where our route officially begins. A church is providing lunch for us there and we will ride back to Williamsburg in time to stop by the bike shop to for anyone who needs to pick up any last minute items. I still need to find pepper spray for the occasional unleashed dog. I also need to finds some wind pants. I didn’t think I would need long pants since it is summer, but the others have long pants for the occasional cold morning or cold rain.

By the way, I still love my newly shaved head! Rick said he is planning to shave his head after the wheel dipping in Yorktown.

My time is expiring on this public library computer, so I will try to post pictures later...

Cheers!