Official start!

Today's miles 33.8 (+9).
What a day. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to start today. When I got up this morning there was a serious storm rolling through. The rain wasn't that bad and there was no lightning. However there was a strong wind. Too strong a wind honestly. Luckily I had screwed up my scheduled pickup time for uber so I was running an hour late. By the time I got my bike and everything sorted the storm had passed.

So just like that I began my bike ride of nine miles to get to the start of the TransAmerica Bike Trail.Other than the looming clouds and occasional 30mph gusts of wind the ride to Yorktown was uneventful.

Yorktown was a cool place. They still had stuff from the revolutionary war lying around.

 I did the obligatory dip the rear wheel in the Atlantic tradition before starting the ride along the colonial highway. At first I was a little worried since there were no lanes but the road was wide enough for 3 cars so not having lanes felt safer. Without having people mindlessly following the yellow lines I wasn't crowded once. The road itself was a bit odd. I'm not sure why but the whole thing was made out of cobblestone. Not the big cobblestone you see in European cities but small palm sized rocks cemented together. Thankfully the added enough cement that it was a smooth ride. The views from the road were fanatic as well. 

It just paralleled the York river the whole way to Williamsburg. It took me almost 3 hours to cover 11 miles due to stopping for scenery and historical markers.

Williamsburg was a nice little tourist trap. The whole time there I felt like I was in a tourist trap town except all the "locals" were dressed like they were living in the 1700s. I quickly rode through the town, grabbed a bite to eat before hitting the road. I had heard great things about Jamestown.

Another 2 hours to cover another 11 miles and I was at Jamestown. Other than stopping every mile or so for more pictures and signs it was an uneventful ride. Except for saving my first turtle! 

The cute little guy was determined to cross the road so I have him a lift across the road after watching him cross a parking lot and shoulder. I don't think it was happy about me picking it up but its not a turtle pancake so it'll survive the trauma i think.

So pro tip for those of you thinking of going to Jamestown. There is Jamestown island which is the archeological ruins of the original colony and there is Jamestown settlement which is a town filled with actors reenacting the lifestyles of the settlers.

 I didn't know that so I went to the island while it was interesting the whole park was basically nothing but excavated foundations and signs. I really wanted to goto the settlement and watch/ play with the actors. Ah well guess I'll just have to go back.

After leaving Jamestown I started riding on the capital connection trail. A 50 mile trail connecting Richmond to Jamestown dedicated to bicycles and pedestrians. That was exactly what I needed a nice, easy, flat, and stress free ride to end day. I got to my campsite around 7pm. Right after I get my tent setup and rainfly zipped closed it starts raining again. Perfect timing. I cooked dinner in the pavilion then had a nice hot shower before calling it a day. If the rest of the trip is like this I might be hooked.