Day 2 - Fredericksburg to Ashland

58 Miles The Route

Got off to a leisurely start this morning with a side trip to Olde Towne Bikes to see if I recognized any faces and to purchase a mirror. Olde Towne Bikes runs two stores, one in Fredericksburg and one in Woodbridge. It was into the Woodbridge store that I walked in several years ago and told the sales person, "Don't laugh - I want to buy a bike and ride across America". I've been a regular customer ever since, but had never been to their Fredericsburg store.

Fredericksburg Battlefield Park

As fate would have it, Dan, the man who sold me the very bike I was riding (well, except that I had the forks replaced after the big crash a few years ago, and then more recently had the frame replaced) was there. Dan used to work in the Woodbridge store but then disappeared a couple of years ago. He remembered me and he and another customer took a look at my planned route to Ashland and gave me a few pointers. I wasn't planning to ride but a very small stretch of Route 1, but they both felt Route 1 south of Ladysmith was safe enough to ride all the way to Ashland if I wanted too.

Fredericksburg Battlefield Park

I rode back down through old town Fredericksburg to get back to my route which took me almost immediately into Fredericksburg Battlefield Park which was a great ride. Very quiet, shaded, beautiful woods and very little vehicular traffic (a fair number of cyclists and joggers though). My route took me all the way to the end of the park where the pavement ended and I had to ride down a fairly rugged dirt and gravel trail that was blocked in two places by fallen trees. Battlefield Park was the highlight of my day.

The backroads are amazing

I rode through some of the most scenic, beautiful countryside today. Beautiful wooded areas where there was lots of shade and the temperature was much cooler than out in the sun.

Rehydrating on the front porch of a country store

The last part of my route took me several miles down Route 1. There were a few sections that had a foot or two of shoulder but most of it was no shoulder at all. Traffic was light and most everyone moved over to give me plenty of room as they passed. There were a lot of rolling hills along this section of Route 1, a few of which were pretty challenging. I think I'll look for an alternate route on my way back.