Thursday, May 18

Fredericksburg to Springfield, VA.

For the first time since we put our wheels on the road, we were up and ready to roll by 8:00am. Good thing, too, because we needed an entire day to pack everything in!

Remember that long, sweeping descent I nto the hotel yesterday afternoon? This morning the same ride is a long crawl back up a traffic-laden route on legs that haven't warmed up yet. Back through historic F'burg, and past Carl's Custard Shop, lonely and dark at this early hour. Then we're back into the rollercoaster rural ride that we've come to know and gear down for. Once we got to the perimeter of Quantico, though, the roads evened out and even had a shoulder for safety. There isn't much traffic on the road, but I did see a sign that said "Dangerous Entrance". Not even one Marine to be seen, though.

We stopped for lunch in Independent Hill, at what looked like the only business in town. A combination Citgo/grocery/grill/ice cream shop, but no bathroom--so before I can enjoy my cheeseburger, I have to traipse off into the woods.

Back on the road, our road began to see some heavier traffic, and we were happy to have a smooth, fast shoulder to ride. The triptik directed us to take a left turn off the road, and of course that turn came at the bottom of a hill across 3 lanes of traffic. Imagine my surprise when that turn dumped us out into historic (everything here is historic) Ocoquan, VA. Such a charming little town, and such a change from what we'd seen for the last few hours. We knew we were looking for a pedestrian bridge, but the street signs didn't match our triptik directions. Time for a beverage break, and luckily, we were right at the Ocoquan Coffee Shop.

The proprietor pointed us in the direction of the pedestrian bridge, although she commented that she wasn't sure it connected to anything . . . we decide to press on, anyway.

The bridge crossing is narrow, and short, and at the far end of the bridge we can hear and see the Ocoquan Falls. Very picturesque, and I'm sure, historic.

The road continues on in the direction that we think it should, so off we go. In short order, we find ourselves back at a highway--which is under construction. Traffic is stopped for a construction vehicle to enter the road in front of us, and we follow him onto the road, avoiding the hazard of dodging traffic.

We're heading into Lorton, VA, where we think we'll end our day. But once again, road construction makes our triptik a little outdated. As we turn off the highway and head up a steep hill, we're confronted with Road Closed signs. The bridge over the railroad is a short wooden bridge, but it still looks like it will hold for us to cross. The problem now is the concrete blockade, but after a closer check of the situation, we manage to squeeze through on both sides. Once on the other side, it's obvious that construction has altered our route again. We head back to the highway, and find a patrol car with some friendly troopers--and a current map. Their suggestion is to continue to Springfield, where there are a lot of hotel--and it's less than 10 miles away!

We decide to take their advice, and we're back into the rollercoaster hills. We ended up on a highway with 3 lanes of traffic again. It's now the beginning of rush hour, but fortunately we're heading in the opposite direction of most of it. The road is a service road that runs right next to the interstate, and after a few miles of this ride, I feel like I could just as easily ride on it. (With rush-hour traffic, we'd probably be going faster than the cars, anyway)

At the end of the ride, we pull into a Comfort Inn to find that there are no rooms available within 15 miles of Springfield. While we're digesting this fact, and calling places in the next town, Matthew decides he needs to look at a more detailed road map--especially since we're off our triptik route at this point. He goes back into the hotel, and as he's looking at their road map, a cancellation comes in! We have a room for the night (and it's better if you don't ask how much it cost). Today's mileage: 68.89. Tomorrow's (planned) route: Springfield, VA to Rockville, MD by way of Washington DC.