Showing posts with label jamestown. Show all posts

Monday, June 9, 2014

Mountain Bike Monday - Pedal the Pavement

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Yesterday Dynamo and I took a little ride over to Williamsburg to ride the Capitol Trail, which is an in progress 50 mile paved route that will connect Richmond and Williamsburg. Previously only about 7 miles was complete of this Wburg portion, but yesterday roughly another 4 was in progress!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

We headed out from our starting point at the Jamestown Settlement. (That's a great place to park.) This is mile 0!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

It's a smooth paved path winding through farm fields and over water! The bridges are amazing!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Selfies on the bridge (kids, don't try this at home!)...

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

The path was well marked and well traveled! Riders and runners of all ages out enjoying the trail!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

We reached the Chickahominy River Bridge at about mile 7...

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Of course we stopped at the top for pics! I wish you could tell the magnitude of this bridge, but pics just can't describe!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

When we got to the end of the bridge there was more trail to our surprise! It said closed, but not officially! It was in progress! So, we ventured a little farther...

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

There were some unpaved sections as well as no trail markings yet...

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

It was so exciting to see more progress!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Soon, it will be complete!! These frogs won't be too happy once all the traffic starts rolling by!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

We rode all the way to the end of that leg (SS Sub Shop), stopped for a brief moment, and turned back...

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

It's truly amazing to see what has been accomplished! So much dedication and heart! It's unbelievable to think that when finished it will be a 50 mile route from Richmond to Williamsburg! Think of the tourists that will come too! How exciting for our state!

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

Please take some time to go explore the trails! Several portions are complete and you can see which ones here.

Capitol Trail Bike Ride 6.8.14

It was a lovely ride, a little over 22 miles. Once we got back we rode over to check out the Eco Discovery Park, hit Fresh Market, and then enjoyed the evening sunset on the Jamestown Ferry back home!

Capitol trail June 2014







Monday, April 30, 2012

Mountain Bike Monday - The Colonial Cruise

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 003

Here they are! The Soma Smoothie ES (burgundy) and my bike, the Soma Double Cross (blue)! We have had the Smoothie a while, but recently Dynamo got me a Double Cross, which fits me perfectly! He took over the Smoothie (which was really his bike anyways, but I just happened to ride). Finally, we each have a bike that we can ride on the road, so Dynamo no longer has to ride the mountain bike.

On Sunday, my parents volunteered to watch Charlie so we could get in a longer training ride on the road. We headed over to Williamsburg to hit the Colonial Parkway.

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 005

We started out by parking at the Jamestown Settlement and biked about 10 miles to Williamsburg along this nice, slightly rough aggregate roadway.

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 007

For some reason I thought it was going to be warmer, but not so much!

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 008

It was quite chilly and the sun never really came out! We plugged onward through historic Williamsburg...

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 010

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 015

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 012

Past a pasture with sheep (sorry they aren't visible)...

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 016

We had to go through the historic section because bikes and pedestrians weren't allowed in this particular tunnel.

We hopped back on the parkway and traveled the rest of the way to Yorktown (about 15 miles)...

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 020

There were lots of beautiful sights and pulloffs, but it was honestly too chilly to stop!

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Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 023

So, Dynamo was taking pics on the fly...

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 026

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 030

I now know why I like mountain biking more than road riding. It's COLD!!! on the road!

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 029

We made it in the cold the entire length of the parkway. All 25 miles to Yorktown!

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 034

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 035

We stopped to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, The Carrot Tree...

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 033

The temperature dropped a lot while we ate. We had planned to bike back 25 miles, but when we came out we decided to catch a ride on the free bus back to the car and ride the full 50 on a warmer day...

Colonial Parkway Ride April 29, 2012 037

Even though it was chilly and windy, it was still so much fun to cruise the parkway with Dynamo. We will be going back again soon and will get more pictures of the scenic overlooks. Next time it will be warmer, we hope!