Day 1- Atlantic Dip and Across Rivers: Virginia Beach to Jamestown

The traditional "dip the wheel" for a transam ride.

Virginia

Day 1- Atlantic Dip and Across Rivers: Virginia Beach to Jamestown

75 miles (121 km) – Total so far: 75 miles (121 km)

I started my cross country adventure today at the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach. This differs from the traditional start at Yorktown because I very much wanted to start at the ocean proper.

The traditional "dip the wheel" for a transam ride.
The traditional “dip the wheel” for a transam ride.

A little bit of the Atlantic. He'll have a friend at the end of this.
A little bit of the Atlantic. He’ll have a friend at the end of this.

The downside of this decision is that getting from VA Beach to the TransAm route proper is pretty challenging. There is lots of traffic along the route as well as a couple of brutally tall bridges. Also, I hadn’t realized this until the trip started, but apparently I had to use two ferries.

Trying to find the Waterside Ferry. These are probably the right boats.
Trying to find the Waterside Ferry. These are probably the right boats.

Portsmouth Waterside Ferry
Portsmouth Waterside Ferry

Jamestown Ferry
Jamestown Ferry

Pretty much right away on the trip two things jump out. First, People are stunned and then very friendly and helpful when they find out what I’m doing. Second, there are lots of cool things to see along the way. In fact, a lot of them happen quickly, so no time for a big to-do with the camera. The coolest of those today was a hawk EXPLODING out of a bush about 10 feet from me. Scared me worse than any cars on the road. But here are some cool things I *did* take pictures of:

This church is in a very rundown area of Portsmouth. Even though it is a little beaten up, it looked very hopeful to me.

A cool church in Portsmouth
A cool church in Portsmouth

I crossed a bridge out of isle of wight county and suddenly I was in the deep south. Found a biker bar. Nailed it.

Nailed It!
Nailed It!

After a pretty tiring and hilly 2nd half of the day, I’ve setup home for the night. I’m pretty sure I have too much stuff, I’m already thinking about finding a post office and mailing some back home.

Chickahominy Riverfront Park
Chickahominy Riverfront Park

Published by Mike Evans

Founder of Fixer.com. Founded GrubHub in 2004. Rode my bike across the US. Wrote a sci-fi novel.

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