Jeremiah Watt

Just yesterday I had called the Virginia Dept of Transport and asked for road directions around the heavier traffic of Norfolk, as well as a KOA Campground to shoot for that next night.

Armed with that information, I headed out the next morning to make my assault on the beaches of Virginia. I would ride over the north end of the Great Dismal Swamp first on what had been described as the most dangerous piece of road on my map so far, and so it was that I found it to be maybe one of the easiest. Now one thing here about bad luck, or bad karma, call it what you will, but I had the flat tires today like I had back in Missouri.

By 9am I had two flats on the back tire of my bike. By 5pm of this day I would be fixing my 6th flat of the day. The real culprit was a tiny piece of stone that had pierced my tire and rolled around undetected by me at each tire changing and then once the flat was fixed it would have rolled to a new position to flat in a new location. I was getting real tired of flats on the rear tire by the end of the day, let me tell you.

I rode in large loop around the outskirts of Norfolk, and a much larger loop than was needed when I look back on it all now. Really the worst piece of road came near the end of the day when I got onto Princess Anne Road around the south of Norfolk, this is where the real road rage idiots came into being. These guys were genuinely ignorant drivers on this little piece of road, non the less, bad enough to have me pull over to have a cup of coffee to cool off a little.

I as fixing my 6th flat of the day, and just about to enter Princess Anne road, when a lady stopped to see if I needed help with things. As it turned out, she too was a bike rider and had herself rode the entire USA when she turned 70 folks………………..yes, I did feel a little like the town weenie at this point. We had a good visit, and we exchanged cell phone numbers and promised that we would try to go for supper if I made it to the campground that night. That was enough impetus for me to get back on and get to pedaling up the highway to the KOA campground.

I finally made it to the camp ground at about 5:45 that evening, camped in the “PRIMITIVE SECTION” which means that for 20$ they will give you a flat spot to pitch your tent. I took a long shower, which was something that I really needed.

It was about 7pm, when the lights of the car pulled up beside my tent and Fran, the lady biker and her husband Fred pulled up as they had said they would and once introductions were over we headed out to get some Sea Food. We went to one of their favorite restaurants, and I ordered Crab Cakes, Fran had Salmon and I don’t remember what Fred ordered at the moment. The meal was fine, the food was great but the visit was the best part of it all. To be able to visit with another rider whom had suffered on some of the same hills, who had rode in some of the same heat, and who had struggled with the same rolling eastern terrain, now that was great……….and like I said Fran had done it all at 70.

Fred was an avid cyclist as well, just not as full throttle as Fran. This Fran, now 73 is a 8000 mile per year rider………..now that’s a fair serious rider in my books. Fran is a retired Virginia School teacher, loved her job, and the kids she taught but glad to be able to retire and enjoy other things as well. Fred on the other hand had retired from the Navy, he was a Submarine designer, as well as an active submariner as well when he was younger. In all they had many more years of cycling trips planned and being in a chair was not in Fran and Freds plans for several more years yet.

The biggest goal was to get the trip across Canada done. Fred & Fran many thanks for you kindness and hospitality, I wish you all the best when you make the trip. I was back in my tent that night by about 10 and sleep would not come easy till sometime after 11, because I was camped on the low altitude inbound lane of a squadron of Fighter jets training just a few miles to my west. Boy howdy, when they came in it would just rattle the screens on my little tent, and almost make your ears hurt when they rolled over head. But finally sleep came and I was out. What a great day, another one of the 70 plus milers and at a good speed to considering the wind and the traffic.

Good Night and God Bless