On the road by 6 o'clock heading south on 627 before turning east on 337. Things started to get busier as I neared Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Portsmouth and Norfork are divided by the Elizabeth River which has no bridge suitable for pedestrians/cyclists, so the crossing must be made by a quaint little ferry.
The ticket guy gave me the 'senior' return fare without even asking. Ehhhhhhh, while that starts at 60 and I'm 59, I know it's close but!!!!!!! Get use to it Andrew. Getting through Norfolk on 166 was easy but once on Highway 13 which goes to the Cheaspeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel things got a bit hairy, so I diverted onto 166 and then east again on Highway 60. This goes by First Landing State Park which was nice. Then 'it' was there, crossing the bridge over the Lynnhaven Bay inlet, I saw the Atlantic for the first time. Just a few yards away.
Didn't want to rush things, so continued on Highway 60 until I picked up Ocean Front Avenue and then the 'Boardwalk' at Virginia Beach proper. Had to savour the moment a little, so had a couple of banana pieces and a Danish pastry (who says I don't know how to celebrate) before wandering slowly down the 'Boardwalk'. Then at the end, hauled the bike over the soft sand and with the help of a guy from the Netherlands, who now stays locally, got the necessary photographs.
Miles for today 46 and with the ODO sitting at 5097 the 'crossing' was over. It was 1.30PM and there's nothing between here and the Scottish coast somewhere roughly to the north/east.
JOB DONE. Dream/ambition realised. What more can I say. Well maybe, YIPEEEEEEEEEE. I estimated 4000 miles for the trip and it turned out at 4010. Now just the small matter of cycling the 250 odd miles up to Washington DC.
Updating this in Virginia Beach library but will head back to the beach now and wander up and down. Might even go for a swim. Who knows. Will finish today's entry in a couple of days or so.
Didn't bother with a swim, just wandered then headed back up Highway 60 to Lynnhaven, found a nice bit of Chesapeake Bay Beaches and set up a bivi.
Watched a nice sunset and then I had the place to myself.
Updated: Virginia Beach, Virginia. (Then Portsmouth library on 12th)
Well done Andrew.
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