Season 2 Episode 17 (10/1-10/3): Carolina In My Mind. Ashland, VA to Petersburg, VA to La Crosse, VA to Butner, NC

Season 2 Episode 17 (10/1-10/3): Carolina In My Mind. Ashland, VA to Petersburg, VA to La Crosse, VA to Butner, NC – 

10/1 Ashland, VA to Petersburg, VA. 53 miles. 1,635’ climbing.

It was raining when we awoke and looked to remain so until 11 a.m., so we pushed our start back hoping to at least start off dry. Sure enough it stopped raining at 11, but after ten minutes of riding, it started again and lasted for the next hour until we got to University of Richmond. 

Panera Bread for breakfast, I’m a sucker for cinnamon buns.

Heather had previously seen University of Richmond and told me it was one of the nicest campuses she’d ever seen. I agree it’s spectacular with Westhampton Lake serving as a focal point in the middle of campus and visible from the windows of the Dining Center and from the Commons. U of R boasts perfectly manicured landscaping and red brick buildings that are right out of central casting for the perfect college setting to film a movie. 

U of Richmond, Go Spiders! This cloud blanketed the sky and loomed over us all morning.

As we biked through campus, the threatening cloud finally gave way to the first sun we’d seen in a number of days. 

The folks at Carrytown Bikes were incredible!

We made a visit to the bike store for a preventive maintenance fine-tuning. It gives us peace of mind to have a professional mechanic clean and grease the chain, fine tune our gears and check our drive trains to see nothing is in need of repair. The nice thing about being a “bike packer” is that bike shops usually out of respect prioritize you over others, and get you on your way quickly. 

Normally biking across a bridge over water, I am pretty nervous and cannot stop.  I made an exception as I loved the view with boulders below

After a wet morning and full day, our first dinner in bed.

Although Hurricane Ian was coming up the western part of NC, there was also a forecast of high coastal waters and possible flooding to the east. This could shut down the ferries we’d need to take along the coast. So we decided to head south through Durham. We thought it safest, and were also excited by the idea of staying with our daughter Sydney’s close friends in Durham.  

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10/2 Petersburg, VA to La Crosse, VA 53 miles. 2,302’ climbing. 

The day started cold, around 50 degrees, but at least dry, and the clouds seemed to be thinning.

Many Civil War sites line the route.

We read plaques and signs that remind us of the staggering loss of life of Americans fighting Americans. I’ve read an estimated 620,000 men lost their lives in the line of duty and that as a percentage of today's population, that toll would be equivalent to 6 million! I feel like we are riding across hallowed land. 

Water mill house on a scenic backroad near Dinwiddie, VA

Farmhouse near Dewitt, VA

The sky continued to threaten

Abandoned motel on Old US Route 1 - the Interstate killed the tourist traffic.

McKenney, VA - what goes on in the guys place?

About 2:45 p.m., with 3.4 miles and 20 minutes estimated to go, I was “done”. I hit a wall. My legs felt like cement on any slight uphill. None of the hills were particularly steep, but it’s now the sixth day in a row and I felt accumulated leg fatigue. I was running out of mental motivation tricks to play on myself. I was thinking of the the Reeve Foundation and just kind of pedaling 10 yards at a time and then coasting. 

And just then I got the spark I needed. We passed a house with dogs barking loudly. Before I could see they were chained, I had a Pavlovian reaction of sorts and at their sound, my adrenaline kicked in, I suddenly sprinted forward with new found energy. And just in time to stay dry! With an increased wind now blowing from my right to left, one gust pushed me nearly 3 feet into the (luckily!) empty traffic lane. The wind picked up, it was getting colder in a way you knew bad weather was coming, and I hoped we’d beat it.

While we made it to the hotel dry, a cold rain started while we walked 10 minutes to dinner. When we got inside the restaurant, I was thrilled to see a lit fireplace. Only one problem, the tables were not in front of it. There was only one other couple in the whole place. I asked the owner if I could move the table to be right in front of the fire. Heather was, to my surprise, embarrassed by my request. 20 minutes later, she agreed it was a game changing decision. That, plus ordering amazing chicken fajitas!

Mark redesigning their seating plan.

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10/3 La Crosse, VA to Butner, NC. 66 miles. 2,648’ climbing. 

In my mind I'm going to Carolina…

Can't you see the sunshine…Yes, I'm going to Carolina in my mind.

Today was the first state sign for which I actually got excited!  I think it’s because we have visited the Carolinas for vacation many times. Or maybe because at last we had a completely rain-free day!  It was cool temps most of the day, in the 50’s, but it was dry!

Walking about 15 minutes from our hotel to dinner at Rino’s Italian Grill and Pizza, I had my most fearful moment of the whole trip. We needed to walk over I-85, and although the shoulder of the road was a full car width, it was windy and the guardrail did not even come to our knees. There may as well have been no guardrail at all. It looked like a 40’ drop to the highway below and ridiculously easy to fall over. I was clutching Heather’s hand and concentrating intently on looking two feet ahead of me on the ground. We made it! I had tremendous relief except for knowing I’d need to return after dinner the same way, and in the dark. As it turned out, after a very good dinner loading up with carbs, it was easier in the dark as I could not see the precipice like drop-off to the concrete below. 

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