Yorktown!

After a long night's sleep in the hotel and a big breakfast at the restaurant next door, Keith, Alex and I set off on the 13-mile ride to Yorktown. Mom and dad followed in the van, stopping to take pictures and videos of us along the way.

At the Yorktown Victory Memorial, which commemorates the final surrender by the British in the Revolutionary War and marks the end of the bike route, we took various photos, some of which were recreating photos from 25 years ago.

I was glad dad and the others were there, but having dad there on crutches brought back how disappointing it was that we weren't able to finish the trip together. It really was bittersweet to be at the spot we'd been imagining for so long and have him be there on crutches. But the trip really is more than just the end, and the only part he missed was the Appalachians, which were wildly overhyped by the riders we met going west.

While Yorktown marks the official end of the trip, I'll be continuing back to Lancaster. I'll be following part of an Adventure Cycling route that goes from Maine to Florida.

After Yorktown, I backtracked to Chickahominy Riverfront park, giving me just over 40 miles total. Tomorrow I plan to ride back to Ashland and that KOA, continuing north from there.

Ashland to Williamsburg, Va. - Aug. 12

Today's ride from Ashland was flat and after an early start, I was able to rack up a lot of miles. I had been expecting to meet up with Keith, Alex and my parents short of Williamsburg, but then just rode all the way there and met them at a hotel. When it was all said and done, I had ridden nearly 90 miles.

Dad and I got caught up on how the trip has been since I last saw him in an ambulance in Booneville, Ky.

Keith and Alex are going to be riding the last 12 miles to Yorktown with me tomorrow. As you can see, everyone is resting up for that.

Charlottesville to Ashland, Va. - Aug. 10

Today's ride was largely uneventful -- thankfully so! The big hills are behind me so it was small hills through fields and forested sections. It was cloudy, but never rained, which also meant it never got really hot. I took a small shortcut, saving about 20 miles. In all, I rode just over 80 miles today.

I'm staying at a KOA near Ashland and I-95. It was only $9 for a tent, which is cheap for a KOA.

The end is very much in sight. That prospect feels strange. While I plan to ride back up to Lancaster, that seems like just a postscript to "The Trip," which will draw to a close on Sunday.

Tomorrow I plan to ride to a campground 30 miles short of Yorktown, setting myself up for a ceremonial, final day.

Afton to Chatlottesville, Va. - Aug. 10

I left kinda late -- around 9:30 -- because it was pretty foggy on the mountain. Once I got down, it seemed to clear up, although it was still cloudy and slightly threatening.

I only rode 32 miles to Charlottesville where I'm staying with Reuben Miller and Holly Scott, who I know from EMU, and other places. We went out to dinner and when we came back, these foreboding clouds were moving in, and then it started raining. I felt glad to be inside.

I plan to ride to Ashland tomorrow. From there, it will be less than 100 miles to Yorktown.

Troutville to Afton, Va. - Aug. 9

I had a short day planned, hoping to camp in Vesuvius, which is at the bottom of a steep climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

In 1987, we got rained on along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I noticed that there was a chance of rain tomorrow. Looked like history might repeat itself.

The early riding was smooth: some of it was along I-81 and some was through hilly farmland. I stopped at a coffee shop in Lexington to kill some time. But I was still approaching my destination at 1 p.m. The only place to stay was in a field behind a grocery store and I was starting to think I'd possibly have a long, possibly wet stay there.

Suddenly, I started to entertain the idea of riding up to the parkway today, instead of waiting a day. By the time I was nearing Vesuvius, I had decided to keep going up to the parkway.

Then, my seat came apart. The bolt that holds it together sheared right off and pieces fell into the road. It wasn't clear how to fix the situation. I rode -- without sitting down -- about 3 miles into Vesuvius. Fortunately, there was a garage there and I took my bolt and my problem to them. They matter-of-factly got the sheared bolt end loosened and gave me a new one I could use: no charge. It felt like a lucky break.

With that problem solved, I began the climb. As you can see from the elevation profile, the hill is steep. It barely lets up and I often had to stand up just to keep going.

This hill deserves its reputation among cyclists: it was the toughest hill of the whole trip, although it was harder because I did it in the afternoon, having already ridden 65 miles.

Once up on the parkway, there were still some hills, but some of them were down. I decided to ride to Afton, which is at the end of the parkway, rewarding myself with a hotel room with a view. In all, I rode 96 miles.

Tomorrow I only have maybe 35 miles to Charlottesville where I'll be staying with some college friends.

Max Meadows to Troutville, Va. - Aug. 8

I was up early and waited for about 30 minutes until it was light enough to ride. The morning fog settled into the valleys in an eerie way. The ride tracked I-81 through Christiansburg and then went north through some mountains before coming back down to Troutville, which is near Roanoke and I-81.

The mountain riding was scenic and while some of the up-and-downs were steep, none of the climbs were that long, and I made good time.

I had ridden 70 miles by 12:30. In all, I rode 87 miles. I'm staying in a nice town park and took a shower at the firehouse. The Appalachian Trail also runs through this town so they are set up to host both hikers and bikers.

Tomorrow I'll have a shorter day to Vesuvius, which is at the base of a much ballyhooed climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Rosedale to Max Meadows, Va. - Aug. 7

The church had a cupboard-full of food for bikers. I got up at 5:30 and made pancakes and drank coffee while waiting for it to get light enough to ride.

I left around 6:30 and rode up a 2-mile climb toward Hayter's Gap. Some westbound riders couldn't say enough about how hard this climb was, but it wasn't as long for eastbound riders and it was a neat switch-backy ride up and down.

I decided not to go to Damascus, opting to travel Route 11 for a while. This road runs parallel to I-81 and shaves off about 20 miles and also avoids some major hills. We took this route in 1987.

It was smooth sailing along Route 11 and I was in Wytheville at 12:30, having ridden some 75 miles.

I'm staying in a hotel about 15 miles from Wytheville, near I-81.

Tomorrow I plan to ride to Troutville.