Jamestown to Richmond

May 14, 2016

Now the return trip from Jamestown . . .

Today's ride to Richmond

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I woke early enough. Nick had set me up with kitchen privileges as he rose early (like all good contractors!) and was already running errands. I said good morning to the dogs and made myself coffee and an English muffin. I would need more fuel, of course, and had located a Denny's not far away that would give me pretty much everything I could want. Not that Nick hadn't offered more, but for me, sometimes it's easier to sit at a counter and have it all made to order for you! And I did get to see Nick before I left. We enjoyed a cup of coffee together, and then I was on my way home.

Rather than repeat my trip back to the trailhead, I decided to let Google Maps tell me the most direct route . . . and that turned out to be down Monticello Avenue. And it turned out to be a better choice than Jamestown Road, primarily because of the bike lanes and wide shoulders available. It was a nice ride, and the weather was cooperating wonderfully. It was a much better ride than Jamestown Road.

Monticello Avenue out of Williamsburg comes equipped with sufficiently wide shoulders and/or bike lanes all the way to Route 5.

Monticello Avenue merges with Route 5 near MP 5 of the Virginia Capital Trail.

So here is another observation. While the trail is great . . . all the way to Jamestown, the evolving promotion for the trail has been from Capital to Capital (i.e., Jamestown to Richmond) to Virginia Capital Trail (i.e., Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Richmond). I'm sure this is because Williamsburg wants to be part of the show, as it well should be. So why not take the next step and designate this wonderfully friendly route along Monticello Avenue as part of the trail . . . and it can split at or about MP 5 of the existing trail? Go right for Jamestown, go left for Williamsburg (ok, that's only if headed south; if headed north, it makes no sense).

If you think about it, when you arrive at the Jamestown trailhead, you are still about two miles from the historic center for Jamestown . . . and there is no lodging there to be found! In fact, the nearest lodging is two B&Bs about four miles from the trailhead and six miles from the historic center. And something less "cute" and more mainstream is more like eight miles away . . . down Jamestown Road.

So, in some respects, it makes sense. If you're a loaded tourist looking for a place to sleep (and eat!), you're going to Williamsburg eventually, and your 50-mile trek today is really going to be more like 60 miles. Of course, this is all dependent on where you start and where you end. But I think this holds true for the reverse as well. There are limited facilities along the trail itself, so I suspect a majority of through riders will be staying in Williamsburg or Richmond as I did.

After recovering the trail, I stopped to get a better picture of the Route 5 Bridge over the Chickahominy River. I took this from the Chickahominy Riverfront Park on the same pier that was there many years before! Memories . . .

As I indicated in yesterday's blog entry, the bridge is a little different than what I had hoped for. The main span is steel rather than concrete, and the girders are not parabolically haunched, which would have provided a deeper, more aesthetic look at the piers. And the piers are rather drab and boring. We had recommended something more dramatic. This is an important, historic corridor crossing a major river. This structure will be here for many years to come, and the crossing deserves more attention to detail (IMHO!).

After the crossing, I continued my way north. There was a bit of wind now, and in my mind I was complaining about the less than perfect day. Little did I know what was to come! But it was sunny, and as I went further north, I started seeing riders participating in the Cap2Cap Ride, an event celebrating the trail! It was good to see other riders, even if we did not have a lot of interaction! Company is always good.

Some of the participants in the Cap2Cap Ride.

The rally headquarters at Charles City Courthouse. There were probably 600 people there when I passed by.

After passing through Charles City, it became a bit more lonely and more hilly. And let me say this: hills on trails are worse than hills on roadways! They are steeper and more frequent! Mostly because when a highway is built (like the adjacent Route 5), they will make cuts and fills to level out the roadway or to at least mitigate the grade. Not so for trails. So my grade accumulation is probably higher along the trail than if I were riding on Route 5 proper. Just an observation.

A barn I missed seeing on the way down but caught on the way back!

A big ole turtle on the trail near MP 23 or so. He was a long ways from water.

It was fun seeing the turtle. And she wasn't too shy. I warned cyclists I passed as I headed towards Richmond, now only about ten miles away. The northern part of the trail, these last ten miles, is the hilliest. And heavily signed in both directions indicating so:

A typical "Hill" sign found on the trail. Regardless of the direction of grade, climbing or ascending (this is on a slight descent), the bike is always shown going downhill.

Here is one on an ascending grade, yet the bike is shown going downhill.

In my opinion, it's a bit over-signed in this regard, especially when you have trail connections such as Kinvan Road that need help with the wayfinding.

And so here is another comment: I know these signs are as specified by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD); however, the "Hill" sign seen above seems to be a copy of the one used for trucks approaching steep downgrades (and they are only used for downgrades). Whoever developed this sign for trail usage apparently just copied the truck sign, as the MUTCD only has the version with the bicycle going downhill. Yet, on this trail, they are being used to indicate a grade change in both directions (up and down).

As to their being overused, I've ridden on many trails and have rarely seen this sign before (if ever, actually). On the first one coming out of Richmond headed south, I was expecting to encounter a significant grade, only to be disappointed. Then, when it dawned on me that the sign didn't really convey any information other than a grade change (up or down), it totally lost credibility since I was going to have to first see the grade before I could adjust my gears or riding technique.

I continued northward and decided to bypass the detour around the interchange at I-295 with Route 5. I wasn't sure how tricky it would be to get through, but as I approached it, the shoulders opened up wide, and there was plenty of space for an experienced cyclist to ride. You do have to be careful at the ramp crossings, but that is not too difficult if you've been through interchanges before, and traffic was actually quite light for a Saturday afternoon.

Approaching the interchange with Interstate 295. Lots of shoulder width available for the intrepid cyclist!

From there, it was pretty easy riding into Richmond.

The approach to Richmond from about two miles out.

The trailhead is buried under a maze of highway ramps.

So, just to confirm my earlier impressions, I checked to make sure I hadn't missed any signage pointing to the start of the trail. I could not find any and took a few pictures (in good weather) just for the record!

Just to confirm how well hidden this is, I went back and checked the flood wall and signage along the canal walk, looking for ANY clues. None.

Closeup of the portal through the flood wall.

Another observation: The doors through the flood wall have latches that rotate but are not secured when the door is open. Those latches snagged me badly when I was headed southbound. Most people using a "door" expect a clear passageway from doorjamb to doorjamb. A careless worker, or any individual for that matter, can leave or rotate these latches into an unsafe position. There should be a method for locking them in a recessed position to prevent that from happening.

A closeup of the offending door latches, which could be easily moved to create a snag condition.

On my arrival in Shockoe Bottom, I made my way back to the River City Diner for a burger and fries. I was still trying to locate Jeff Oser, who rode in the Cap2Cap Ride today and was to ride with me tomorrow to Fredericksburg. But he hadn't responded to my text messages yet. I gave him another hour or so before I headed off to our rendezvous point. I would be staying with him and his folks tonight, and tomorrow we would ride to Fredericksburg.

It was very bright and sunny, and it had warmed up considerably. Unfortunately, just as I was about to leave, a cold front blew in, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, and it opened up! Damn! And I still had about 13 miles to go, all in city riding.

So I climbed the Main Street hill up to VCU and then followed Grace Street and Patterson Avenue out towards Short Pump. Traffic was not too bad, and a wrong turn resulted in better riding conditions than I had expected.

Jeff pulled into the driveway of his parents' house just as I arrived, so the timing was perfect. His parents, Dave and Nancy Oser, were very gracious and hospitable. Nancy made a fabulous dinner and made sure I got a well-deserved good night's sleep.

Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 269 miles (433 km)

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