Day 13: Fredericksburg to Richmond, VA

Oct 30

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Me, Chay, Betsy and Phil

I had thought about running in a mile race that someone we met in the cafe the day before had told me about, but I didn’t actually wake up until 9:30, so it was too late.  Betsy made waffles in the morning, and we covered them with brie cheese, apple-cinnamon syrup and blueberry syrup.  I worked on the website a bit, finally getting a working link for donations on the “Donate” page, and we did a small load of laundry before leaving Betsy’s house.

We got a pretty late start, not leaving until after noon, but the wind, while not strong, was finally in our favor, so we made good time.  This was our fastest ride yet, with an average speed of 15.4 miles per hour.  The sun stayed out all day too, so I didn’t have any trouble with my feet freezing on me.

Crystal and Emma's porch is ready for Halloween

We arrived in Richmond, the city that hosted the first US Open of Cycling in 2007, just after 5pm, and reached Crystal’s house at 5:30.  Crystal was sitting outside on her very festive porch that was all decorated for Halloween.  We showered there, and then waited for Dennis to get back from mountain biking, since we were actually staying at his dad’s house.  We left our bikes at Crystal’s and drove about a mile to Dennis’s dad’s house, where Crystal made us a pizza and we talked and drank wine before going to bed.

About Sarah

Sarah grew up in Cranston - just south of Providence, Rhode Island - and developed a love for travel, music, and outdoor sports at an early age. She had started bicycling long distances at age 12, as a participant of the MS150 bike tours to raise money for the MS Society. She didn't use her bike regularly until she built her own while studying in Montreal and found it an excellent way to get around the city. After graduating from McGill and moving back to Providence, Sarah started working at Brown University's office of Environmental Health & Safety as the Biological Safety Specialist. She was living 4 miles away at the time, and for the first few weeks was driving to work. She made the switch from driving to bicycling when she realized that she could get to work faster, avoid parking tickets, and integrate a few miles of training into her day. Bicycling was better for the environment and better for her own health and mood. She found that she had more energy and felt much happier once she started biking to work. When her car broke down several months later, she never bothered replacing it. After 4 years of working in Biosafety (and on her master's in Environmental Studies), Sarah left her job to pursue her passion. She has been working various jobs in the bicycle industry since June of 2011, including pedicab driver, bicycle tour guide, bike mechanic and traveling bicycle advocate. In between seasonal jobs, she has done a few long-distance bike tours, which is the main reason for this blog. Her dream is to eventually ride around the world and sail across the oceans.

Posted on 30 October 2011, in Bicycle Touring, Providence to New Orleans. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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