Mechanicsville to Chickahominy Riverfront Park

Miles Today: 53.50
Average Speed: 10.4mph

Total Miles: 3,758.29

It was another one of those mornings that began with an unexpected phrase.
“Abbi, wake up…Abbi…There is someone outside the tent.”
All of this whispered by a half-asleep Evan, and since I was the one wearing a shirt, I was elected to investigate. Mind you, the moment I popped my head out of the tent, any small traces of nervousness I may have had disappeared when I saw a well-kept white pickup truck from the 70s with a husband and wife enjoying their Sunday morning McDonald’s.


Brad is the landlord who owns the property, and Helen is his wife. It was an absolute pleasure to stand at Brad’s pickup window for the next half hour, barefoot as I was, and hear about his four gardens, the joy of traveling the world in search of things that grow, and the resulting efforts to grow those same things here.
It was fascinating to hear his strange accent, which he and his wife both tell me are from their Richmond upbringings, but whose vowels seem reminiscent of those heard in small fishing island towns.
And I cannot express to you the lifting of heart that I have experienced a few times on this journey, upon feeling that a person–or people, in this case–finds satisfaction in their life, continues to pursue their ultimate happiness despite obstacles.
Helen has found walking harder and harder as time goes on, but she still accompanies her husband on his trips to the gardens and orchards, reading in the pickup truck with a big, floppy hat to shade her from the sun that creeps over the side of the building until it’s bright and solid and hot.
Brad continues to tend to his four gardens, though his helper is no longer able to prune or weed or dig. Helen told me that he’s got too much garden for one person to take care of, but in her voice I could hear that she supports him regardless, that she knows this is a big part of his lifeblood. I think that a big part of hers is to be there for her husband, however she can.
As we got ready that morning, I couldn’t help trying to suss out the elements of their relationship that I admire so much. It has been on my mind often since meeting them, and I find their faces popping into my head during funny times of the day.
Have you ever met someone who affects you, and you’re not sure why? I have, and it entertains my brain to try and figure it out.

While packing up, and after we packed up, we chatted with Brad and Helen. At one point, Evan and Brad were talking trucks and the economy while Helen and I were talking about whatever it is ladies talk about (honestly, I was still trying to figure out that accent, and was asking about where they were from).

I’ll say it once more, before I continue on with our day: meeting Brad and Helen was fantastic. I could have stayed in that morning for a whole day.
But alas, we had world to see that day. Or goal was to escape the sprawl of Richmond (look at a map sometime, and you’ll see that we had a fair bit of sprawl to escape) and get to the great wild Chickahominy River.
We had to ride through some developed areas before getting out of Mechanicsville, but as soon as we did, we got right back into the farmland that has dominated much of this country.


We have been finding that the Nescafé Taster’s Choice instant coffee we make on the stove does not cut it when it comes to morning caffeine, so we made a beeline for the first gas station we saw to get some real caffeine.
When we pulled up, Evan said, “what is THAT?” and pointed to a winged creature resting on the brick wall.


I can’t remember the last time I saw a Luna moth in real life, and they’re really beautiful. We looked at it for a while, and then the air conditioning’s siren song became too much, so we went inside.
It was a beautiful and sunny day, but when the sun is out in a humid place, most bikers sweat and whine. So there we were, sweating and whining, when we saw signs for the Glendale National Cemetery.
I had read about this cemetery on another blog, about its eerily beautiful concentric circles of headstones marking both unknown civil war soldiers and soldiers of other wars who have chosen to be buried there. I wanted to know more, and it looked as though the visitor’s center was open, so we made a stop there to check it out.
Inside, we found two very helpful rangers (I think they were rangers…), one working on her Masters in History, and another pursuing an undergraduate degree. They were more than helpful in informing us about the history of the cemetery, and the visitor center was full of information about the various battles that took place in that area, and about the mass burial of soldiers that eventually were given a more beautiful resting place with the organization of this memorial space.


After talking with the rangers and wandering the grounds for a while, we realized we needed to keep going. This day of riding brought us to within 30 miles of Yorktown, where the tour finishes, and Evan’s parents were driving down from Philadelphia to camp with us for the night, and see us finish the tour the next day!
We kept riding, knowing that we would see John and Linda soon, but our need for shade breaks didn’t grow smaller as the afternoon wore on. It was still hot, so we pulled off often to cool ourselves. I was surprised to look behind me during one of our breaks and see a big wall of bamboo!


I don’t believe I’ve seen that much bamboo in person since high school when I went to China, if ever.
A few miles later, we reached the Capital Trail, which is an under-construction bike trail that should span about 50 miles when finished, if I remember correctly.


For the time being, we only got to ride on it for about 11 miles, but 11 miles off of the roads is a blessing nonetheless! With no cars to contend with, we were able to ride side by side and chat, all while admiring the ever-changing scenery.


I enjoyed my first-ever sighting of a ‘slippery when wet’ sign specifically for cyclists, which depicts a bicycle slipping around in wavy lines. Goofy, because I know that’s not what a bicycle would do if it hit a slippery, wet patch.


Eventually, our traffic-less joy ride ended, and we had to brave the shoulder-less, traffic-ful road once again. Evan began displaying signs of unskilled biking in order to gain us a little berth. Drivers are more likely to move over if they perceive cyclists to be mere moments from veering into traffic! (a brief note: at no time did Evan nor myself ever lose control of our bicycles. Instead, we simply weaved ever so slightly, giving the impression that we were perhaps uneasy on our bikes. We weren’t.)
We stopped at a gas station, which turned out to be a good choice, because there were no others between this one and the campground. They had no chocolate milk, but instead chocolate “milkshakes”, which seemed only to be chocolate milk with added thickening agent. It would have to do.
Outside the store, we met Tom and Linda, a really nice couple who lived in the area. They were excited about the end of our trip, and had encouraging words for us. It boosted our spirits, and gave us a good mindset for the rest of the day’s ride.

We left the parking lot of the gas station and got back on highway 5, the only way to get across the river to Williamsburg. It had the traffic to prove it was a main thoroughfare, and we found ourselves wishing to be back on the bike trail.
As luck would have it, Evan looked off to his left and shouted, “bike trail!”–a sight for sore eyes, the bike trail which had ended early according to our maps was now starting early according to our maps. We did not voice any complaints, and crossed the road.


The fabulous part about the trail showing up where it did was that we had our very own lane to cross the big river on! The Chickahominy River opens into the James River just south of the highway, so it was pretty wide at this point, we were thankful not to climb a quarter-mile-long bridge in traffic.


We even had the freedom to take a bike picture!


When we finally found the park on the other side of the bridge, we were excited to see Evan’s dad, John, waiting at a fence near the check-in building. After a bit of wandering and trying to find the campsite, where Evan’s mom waited patiently, we finally saw the family Volvo and a smiling Linda. Apparently, the campground was bigger than any of us had anticipated, but we were glad to be tucked back near the river.
Once we got our bikes parked, we took the obligatory pictures that come with a reunion of this caliber.

Yes, that last picture is an obligatory reunion picture. You see, accompanying Evan’s milkshake was a can of Birch Beer, which is native to Pennsylvania, Evan’s home state.
The rest of the evening demonstrated to us just how large this campground was, as we wandered great distances to find restrooms and water. There were hundreds of families at this place, and RVs with screen porches, cars with music blaring, and food, food, and more food surrounded us. It is interesting to be a cycling tourist with only what can be carried on a bike, among car camping types who can bring every conceivable convenience in the back of the suburban, and if it doesn’t fit there, it’ll certainly stuff in the back of a friend’s escalade…
We found the bathrooms at an ideal time, and I was able to get a shower without waiting for anybody. The water was hot, and after a hot day of riding, it felt great.
We cooked hot dogs on sticks over a fire, baked beans on the stove, and Linda had packed a wonderful salad. After dinner, we were delighted when they pulled a pint of Ben & Jerry’s out of the cooler! What luxury!
It was so nice to see John and Linda, and not just for the goodies they brought. They are wonderful people with a wonderful calm air about them, and it is a pleasure to get to spend more time with them!
Once we had gotten the dishes washed up, Evan and I went for a walk to chat with a woman I had met upon leaving the shower building. Kim and her husband Mike live in Saint Louis, and they were excited to get to spend the Memorial Day weekend in Virginia, as Mike’s daughter lives in Maryland with her mom. From left to right, Kim, Mike, Allison, Erin and Emma.


They invited us to stay and make s’mores, but we had our own family reunion to continue. I’m glad we wandered over to meet these awesome people.
I can’t say that we heard the noises of the big river as we fell asleep, and I can’t say it was a quiet evening. The campground was booked solid through the weekend, and Evan had to go to the next campsite over to ask them to please stop singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody because it’s 10:30pm and we have to finish crossing the country by bicycle in the morning so we need sleep…
Oh, well. A major campground at the juncture of two rivers isn’t a quiet place on memorial day weekend, and that’s just the way it is. John and Linda seemed to have gotten to sleep pretty quickly, but I found myself unable to ignore the Styx, Gotye, Beastie Boys, and Queen thumping from the next site over. I guess their definition of “turning it down” was a loose interpretation of my own. At almost midnight, I finally was able to talk the two Marines, Jim and Chris, into shutting up. This process may or may not have involved dropping their childrens’ names into the conversation, stating my love for good music during the daytime hours, and making them shake hands on their commitment and promise not to turn the music back on again.
Here is a picture of the spider we saw, so that we don’t have to talk (or read) about party animals anymore.


I think that if the merrymaking hadn’t been going on, I still wouldn’t have been able to sleep. The realization that the trip would soon be over, kaput, done, and not just on hold was by no means staggering, but it had been creeping at me slowly over the last few days.
In the morning, Evan and I were to bike another thirty miles, and then we would be done. Not for the day, but for the trip. Talk about something to stay awake over… I thought about what it would be like to see the ocean, to see Evan’s parents waiting at the end point, to get off of the touring bike and not have to get back on in the morning.
Man, oh man. It’s a wonder I fell asleep at all.