Day 93: Ashland, VA

Day 93

August 17, 2015

Miles: 68

Palmyra to Ashland


Before I write about today, let me first post a few pictures from yesterday.  Di wrote in her blog entry yesterday that she would update her entry today with some pictures from our visit to Monticello.  Instead, I will include the pictures now so she can just relax tonight.

You can visit Monticello by driving up to the visitor center or by walking (or biking) the three mile Monticello Trail.  I remember reading that Jefferson decried the use of travel by horse because one misses too much of what the land offers when going too fast.   In the spirit of that philosophy, we felt it best to take the longer and slower path to Monticello.  We weren't disappointed.  The trail brought us through heavily wooded areas and over wooden bridges.

Di riding over a bridge on the Monticello Trail

It costs $25 to tour Jefferson's home, but we bought the tickets even though we thought the price a little steep.  I was disappointed to learn no pictures were allowed to be taken inside the house, but I guess they have their reasons.  Monticello, even when Jefferson lived there, is part museum, part laboratory, and part home.  Jefferson liked to collect things from around the world and display them in the hall, so they are the first things seen by a visitor.  He also had rooms set aside to be used to meet with his guests.  Of particular interest to me were his office and entertainment room.  His office still contains the duplication machine he created so he would have a copy of every letter he wrote.  The office also held astronomy and science equipment.  Interestingly, his bed was used to separate his office space from his bedroom space.  He felt that he would use up less space if he put his bed between the walls.  

What a picture of Jefferson's office taken from his bedroom would look like if one were permitted to take photos

What a close-up of Jefferson's office would look like if one were permitted to take photos

What a picture of Jefferson's chess set in his game room would look like if one were permitted to take pictures

View of the back lawn of Monticello

The stables under the house

Di by the ice cellar while she waits out the rain storm

Di in the north walkway under the house

Di in front of Monticello

We left for Cindy and Gerry's around 4pm.  It was a relaxing ride of only 21 miles and soon Cindy was meeting us in town to show us the way to her home.  Once at her home, we met Gerry, her husband, and their two dogs: Boomer and Reeses.  Di and I had stayed in someone's home only one other time on our bike trip and that place was technically a Bed and Breakfast, so I have to admit to feeling a little trepidation about staying in somebody's home.  But Cindy and Gerry quickly put any anxiety we may have felt to rest with their warmth and generosity.  Also, Gerry was a computer programmer who started his career in the 60's, so it was fascinating to listen to him describe what his job was like back then.  We were treated to a wonderful meal (hamburgers cooked to perfection!) and afterwards Cindy made two batches of cookies for desert (Cindy gave us that second batch in the morning to have on our ride).  Afterwards, Cindy and Gerry drove us around their lakeside community and it is a beautiful spot.

Picture from the road as we were driving to the beach area

Di and I got up at 6:45am to find Cindy and Gerry already up.  Coffee was brewed and breakfast was fixing, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and joined Gerry on the outside deck.  From the deck, we could watch deer walk by and hear the rapid rapping of some of the many pileated woodpeckers that call this area home.  Gerry gave me a quick education of the pileated woodpecker and gave me a number of bird watching guides to read.

Deer outside Cindy and Gerry's house

Cindy called to us that it was time for breakfast, so we went back inside to a meal of vegetable omelet,  sausage, fruit, and toast with homemade jam.  Yummy!

Gerry, Cindy, and Di getting ready to eat breakfast

Another breakfast shot, this time with me in it

After breakfast, Cindy and Gerry offered to drive us back to town and also to visit their church.  They are very involved in their church; in addition to helping the community in any way they can, Gerry has used his carpentry skills to help repair and remodel the church and Cindy sings in the choir.  The church was built in 1830 and the interior is lit with pleasing soft lighting from the many large windows.

Gerry describing some of his handiwork to Di

A shot of the back of the church

Cindy and Gerry

 It was tempting to stay with Cindy and Gerry for yet another night because they had spoiled us so well, but we eventually had to say our goodbyes and were on the road again by 10am.

On the road again

Typical look Di gives me when she is about to blow past me

After riding 25 miles, we stopped to pick up some Gatorade and were happily surprised when another biker pulled into the service station.  Her name was Heather and she had left San Francisco on June 13.  That's almost a month later than us and now she had caught up, so she is moving pretty fast.  We chatted for a while at the service station and then agreed to meet in the town of Mineral for lunch.

Di with Heather from Utah

The three of us ate lunch at Jo-Jo's and had a great time talking about each's bike trip and then about what else we were going to do once our bike trips were done (Heather is a college student in Utah).  After lunch we split up because of two reasons: 1)Heather rides a lot faster than us, and 2)I wanted an ice coffee made with dutch mocha ice cream from the ice cream joint right around the corner.

You can tell I made the right decision to get ice coffee made with ice cream

It was getting close to 4pm and we had only ridden 29 miles of what would be a 68 mile day.  Di and I have maintained a consistently relaxed attitude about our daily rides and when we would start and when we would end.  Who can keep to a schedule when there is iced coffee or ice cream or both to be had?  Today we were probably too relaxed, because we had a lot of miles to go with a limited amount of daylight remaining.

Late afternoon scene

Di is tiny compared to the enormity of the soy field

We were both getting tired from the afternoon's long ride

Scene from one of our rest breaks

We arrived at the Hampton Inn (where else?) around 7:30pm.  We ordered delivery from a nearby restaurant (Di the grilled chicken sandwich and I the lamb gyro; we both got Greek salads).  Tomorrow we plan on riding over 80 miles to Williamsburg.  We will also come up with a Plan B in the likely event Plan A doesn't work out.