Day 16: Ashland VA to Hopewell VA

Our second last day, and we seemed to skirt the 'burbs of Richmond the whole day.  Not terribly challenging nor particularly scenic.  Starting to think it will be a bit sad for it to be over and many of these women I will likely not see again.  

The weather was certainly comfortable for cycling for this Canadian.  Temps from 9C to 12C, but overcast all day.  It drizzled a bit when I was out for a walk after we arrived, but nothing of significance.  Our destination city, or at least the neighbourhood we're staying in, looks a bit "tired".  

We crossed various interstates, or major highways a few times in the first half of the ride.  I was almost longing for the hills and hollows of Kentucky......  This route has certainly kept us on the quieter, safer backroads, but we really haven't passed through any sizeable towns.  We were discussing at dinner tonight, and people could only remember seeing one open coffeeshop in almost three weeks of cycling.  Within the first 2.5 miles, we came to a road closure.  OK to walk the bikes through but the vehicles needed to find a route around.

We were deep in Civil War country just about all day.  Richmond is the capital city of Virginia and was incorporated in 1742.  The metropolitan area population is now 1.3M.  Oh boy......... back to civilization.  Last night we were less than 100 miles from Washington DC.  During the American Civil War,  Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy.  Today (says Wikipedia), "the city continues to struggle with exceptionally high rates of murder and violent crime, making it one of the most dangerous cities in the United States."  Lovely.........  

At about 20 miles we came to the Cold Harbor Battlefield Visitor Centre.

If I had stopped at all the historical markers along the road today I would still be out there.  Probably close to a hundred of them.  A field day for a history buff.  After the Atlantic Coast tour I ordered a DVD series about the history of the US.  I never did finish them and think I should go back and make an effort to do so.  

And - amongst all the old history was a enormous former battlefield now filled with solar panels.

We're definitely getting closer to the coast.  Into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

We rode about 7 miles on the Virginia Capital Trail (bike path) and then on to a rather large steel bridge to cross the James River.  It was really nice to ride on the bike path and be off the road for a change.  For the whole trip we've had almost no shoulders to ride on.  Just a nice mental break to ride on the path.  Then - big bridge with no shoulder at all.  And, the road surface was badly in need of repair.  Not fun, but not really a big deal either.  

At about 40 miles, we somehow cut 5 miles off the cue sheet and RWGPS distance.  No complaints.  That was the first real error on the cue sheets the whole trip; not bad.  They've come a long way from when we used to call them "clue" sheets.  And once again they found us a quiet route to our destination hotel.  No amenities close by, but a great dinner pulled together by Sue and Marsha.  And - we got to eat indoors once again due to the weather outside. Apparently the forecast improves dramatically once we have all dispersed.  Oh well..........

Stats for the day:

Distance:  56.57 miles / 91.04 km

Elevation (Garmin):  1748' up, 1853' down / 533m up, 565m down

Elevation (RWGPS):  684m up, 712m down.

Weather:  Cool and overcast all day.  9C to 12C.  Fairly strong winds; mostly tailwinds.