Day 3, 91 miles, Friday, August 27, 2010

(My odometer: 93.3 miles, 14.7 avg mph, 6h 13m 35s, max speed 28.7 mph)
Mechanicsville VA to Emporia VA

Up at 5:00, 6:30 continental breakfast at hotel, 7:00 load luggage, 7:10 on the road. The forecast today was for sunny skies and temps in the 80's. It was overcast early, partly cloudy by mid morning and then mostly cloudy in the afternoon. Cycling conditions were excellent.

I rode most of the day with Carl, Mary Kay and JV (John Wright). Today's ride included only 2,285 ft of climbing and therefore rather flat. Also, the road surface was in fairly good condition. When we got to the James River we were surprised to see that it was so wide and the bridge so big. Apparently part of our route was the same as the route for huge logging trucks carrying large logs to a saw mill. We had to be very careful as they created a strong wind draft as they passed us.

The cycling here in Virginia isn’t much different than the cycling I do in Southeastern CT where I live. There are lots of hardwoods, especially large oaks, that provide a shade canopy over the road. This is a welcome situation when it is hot and humid. As we get further south, we expect to see less of this shade.

I arrived at our hotel at 2:45 (early for me, probably because the roads were flatter), helped unload luggage, cleaned my bike, degreased and lubed my bike chain. Route rap was at 5:30, dinner at Shoney’s (buffet) and back to my room to do this blog.

Tomorrow is a 59 mile ride to Battleboro, North Carolina.

(Click on the images below for a larger view of each photo.)

Scenic view	Half way to Florida (from N.H.)	Virginia history
Low gas prices!!!	Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge	Carl crossing bridge
View from bridge	View from bridge	View from bridge
View from bridge	Abandoned convience store	Open for business
Used car lot	Lunch on the road at SAG2	SAG2
Our hotel