26 May 2012 Love/Blue Ridge Parkway to Troutville VA 70 miles (TransAm 331) Heat. This is the story of late. Gina is on her bike by 7 am, an hour she hasn’t graced with her non-sleeping presence in many a month. Besides employment, few things can get Gina up that early. A great spin instructor …
25 May 2012 Charlottesville to Love/Blue Ridge Parkway VA 46 miles (TransAm 261) “I can’t believe this Virginia!” Gina’s enthusiasm is bubbling over in the aftermath of today’s ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The cycling in Virginia has been outstanding thus far and our little Gina is enjoying every minute. Today she even soaked …
24 May 2012 Mineral to Charlottesville VA 45 miles (TransAm 215) Gina loved Marley. Loved him in Czechoslovakian, the first language in which she saw his movie while killing time on a rainy day in Prague. Loved him in English when she read his book cover to cover. And loved him again when she watched …
23 May 2012 Ashland to Mineral VA 60 miles (TransAm 170) I’m on the Metro bus heading home from a downtown Seattle lunch with former-coworkers-turned-friends when I hear him say “Hey, Gina!” Even more loudly, I hear Gina say “WHUT?” As we know, this is not our little Gina on the bus with me today, …
22 May 2012 Glendale to Ashland VA 40 miles (TransAm 110) Gina is behind schedule. Her tent is pitched but it’s an F5 tornado in there, her clothes duffel disorganized, her sleeping pad deflated, her pillowcase sans pillow, her wet laundry hanging from the eaves. Why so disheveled at 8:30 pm? Because she got lost …
21 May 2012 Williamsburg to Glendale VA 49 miles (TransAm 70) Gina is sleeping in the nursery. I suppose that’s proper, given that she’s the second-youngest cyclist on the trip. It’s nice to see from the photos that she’ll be in good company tonight. Besides her peaceful neighbors in the graveyard outside her window, it …
20 May 2012 Williamsburg to Yorktown VA 21 miles (RT) Our good friend Elaina informed me today that I am going to die. Apparently this desk-jockey life is truly going to kill me and there’s a recent scientific study to prove it. Well, clearly this is not a matter to be taken lightly. Since it’s …
19 May 2012 Yorktown, Virginia. This is where it will all officially begin, where Gina and the Atlantic Ocean will meet, smile for the cameras, and maybe crack a bottle of champagne across someone’s front tire. I dunno – is that how you christen a monumental bike ride? Anyway, that’s tomorrow. Only Gina couldn’t wait …
18 May 2012 Today was Bike to Work day. This didn’t mean so much to Gina, who has no work to bike to, nor to me, who works from home. Nevertheless, Gina celebrated the occasion with a free lunch for cyclists provided by the local Williamsburg community center, while I embraced the concept by stopping …
17 May 2012 Maybe the world needs more parades. Not that I’ve ever been a devoted fan. The clowns make me nervous, sitting on a hard concrete curb gets my bum sore and dirty, and these days there doesn’t even seem to be much free candy being tossed about. Maybe I don’t make them a …