No More Rain

At least for today that is. No rain, sunny skies, and back roads made for probably the best riding day so far.

Knowing that the ride would be a short 200 and some miles today, I slept until 7:30. I repacked the bike since after a week the order had turned into chaos, and I took off. I intended to ride to First Landing on the way out, but Mr. GPS is seemed totally confused and directed me to a dead end. It was right in the middle of what appeared to be a very affluent neighborhood in Virginia Beach, and the setting was quite nice, so it did not seem like a wast of time. However, it was interesting to notice the number of houses that were up for sale. A sign of the economy?

From there it was to the Chesapeake Bay bridge and tunnel. What a marvel of engineering, and what a steep fee to cross it. This 23 mile bridge and tunnels combo stretches between Virginia Beach and the Delmarva Peninsula. With the sun shining, a mild wind, war ships crossing in front of me, and mile after mile of concrete and steel, I soon forgot the $12.00 fee I had to pay to cross it.

This ride was the quintessential scenery pack for those who love rolling hills, smooth curves, and a landscape that masterfully weaves forest, fields of cotton, sorghum, corn and soybeans, with old farm houses, barns, and domed silos. The voices of Peter, Paul and Mary, singing “Blowing in the Wind” rang through my headphones, making me long for the day when we all do “Have a hammer of justice, a bell of freedom, and a song about lover between my brothers and my sisters; all over this land”.

Virgina gave way to Maryland, with more of the same. Sooner than I thought though, I found myself in Delaware. Amazing how one can move from state to state in this area. Nothing like the ol’ West. But just before entering Delaware, I was happily riding through Northern Virginia, when I had to pull a u-turn to retrace my steps and check my eyes. Right there, in the middle of nowhere was a mini-mart called Tacana. This may not mean much to most of you, but Tacana is a very unique name. It is the name of one of Guatemala’s tallest volcanoes, and sure enough, there in Northern Virginia, was a store with the same name. Sure enough too, the background of the sign was the Guatemalan flag. So I pulled over, walked into the store, and found a shy, young teenager with braces sitting in the corner behind the counter. I told her I was from Guatemala, and asked if she was too. She nodded, but it was clear she did not quite know what to say. So I just congratulated her for the store and their success, and got out of her hair. Still, this was one of those unexpected highlights on the road.

I rode through Delaware, entering Maryland again, and finally made it to the ‘Bay Bridge’. This is the Maryland Chesapeake Bay bridge. This one is a shorter than the one above, but it is a dual span 4.3 mile bridge, and when it was completed in the 1950s it was the world’s longest continuous over-water steel structure. I do not know why, but I was filled with such enormous joy as I rode across. The feeling was very similar to the one I experienced two years ago, when I first rode into the vast expanse south of Moab. I felt truly blessed.

So having crossed the Chesapeake Bay twice today, I am sitting in a little cabin, preparing for my visit to DC tomorrow. At the top of my agenda is the MLK memorial. I admire Martin Luther King tremendously, and timing of the memorial opening is just perfect for the sense of this ride.

“Let Freedom Ring!”.