May 12th. The Adventure Begins, Day 1.

Pat had a mechanical problem. Wheel axle came loose. We later found out that his rear drop out was cracked all the way through. He had to drive all the way to Washington DC where REI replaced the frame at no charge.

This is Kevin, he came all the way from Richmond to ride with us on our first day.

Me and Kevin at Historic yorktown.

Kevin woke up extra early to make us some musubi for lunch.

We met Pat and Virginia at the Victory Monument. A father and daughter team going all the way to Washington.

The River's Rest Marina. Our home for the night.

Lisa in front of the Victory Monument with our bikes. Notice the Hawaiian plates on mine. Thanks Brian and Deb.

The Victory Monument.

After I got far away enough that I thought it was safe, I took this picture of the two cars that scared the #$%* out of me.

Civil War canons at the battle ground near the Victory Monument visitor center.

This is part of the Colonial Parkway trail.

It was nice to ride with out worrying about cars.

Lisa in front of the fountain at the James Town Historical Museum. Each state is represented by a flag. Hawaii is to the far right.

Casually riding though Historical Yorktown near the campus of William and Mary Collage.

Fabian and Lisa trying to decide which way is west.

TransAm-Day1 May 12, 2009. 46.6 mi., 4:39:32. Yorktown to Charles City Va.

Aloha friends and family. Finally, after over a year of planning, saving, training and dreaming. The reality of it all is finally sinking in. We purposely planned a late start, because we hadn’t planned on a high mileage day. We knew that Yorktown and the surrounding area had much to offer in the way of history and lore. After all, it is the place that our country was formed. The three of us set out from the Travel Lodge at 9:00am sharp. It just happened to work out that way. After a brief stop at the 7-11 to pressurize Lisa’s tires, we headed to the Victory monument where the official coast to coast trek will begin. Within minutes, the excitement started. A late model black van traveling in the opposite direction stopped to make a left turn to yield to our crossing. A red sedan traveling at an excessive amount of speed, hit the brakes squealing and crashing into the stationary vehicle not more than 15 feet next to me. Talk about a rush, I was buzzing for the next hour at least. I don’t know what happened, but I know that the Lord was watching over me big time. It could have easily been a quick end to a long journey.

Once leaving the beach where Fabian dipped his rear tire in the Atlantic ocean, we made our way thought Old Colonial Yorktown to find a place to eat. Believe it or not, we scoured that place for at least 20 minutes, and the best we could find was the WaWa Market. A combination convenience store and deli. The whole explanation for this, and the lack of public restrooms in such a highly visited tourist destination is beyond me. I bought a sandwich and called it good. The Colonial Parkway is a really neat river rock and cement roadway that snakes its way along the James River. Light traffic along with breath taking scenery was worth twice the price of admission. It could not have been a more perfect day. The sun was out, blue skies, light winds, and the three of us soaking it all in. We met up with Kevin Kubota. A local boy from Mililani now a high school teacher in Richmond that I met on the internet through “Crazyguyonabike”. We have been corresponding for the past 7 or 8 months about our trans-continental bike ride. He himself hopes to some day do this same ride in the future. We stopped, exchanged greeting, and rode to Williamsburg together. Being a local to the general area, he gave us inside advice on safer, if not more enjoyable options to our route. The afternoon quickly gave way to early evening, when it was time for Kevin to part and say good bye. I presented him with a bag of Malulani coffee as a token of our friendship, and we continued on our way. Tonight we are staying at the “Rivers Rests Marina”. fishing resort on the banks of the Chickahomany river. It is said that this place is home of some of the best bass fishing is the country.

Thank you all for joining us on “The Adventures of Ted”.