For the past 11 weeks, I had been telling people that my goal was Yorktown, Virginia. In actuality, Yorktown was not really a goal; it was a nebulous concept of something “out there”. I had daily goals for mileage, but wasn’t aiming at Yorktown. And suddenly, Yorktown was within striking range. It was a very real city, which I could reach the next day if I wanted to; it was only 3 map panels away. I decided not to push it, though, since the next day was only Tuesday, and my flight out wasn’t until Saturday.

In the morning, I checked out of the motel and got my key deposit back. There was a different man in the booth, who was much more polite.

I started off into the wind. The street was flat, but the headwind made going difficult. I was pleased to discover that I had been riding the wrong way, and that the wind was actually to my advantage. Turning around, I began to cruise at 15 mph. There was very little traffic once I got away from Richmond.

Just after the route changed off highway 156, I stopped at Ghee’s grocery, and had a delicious deviled crab. They mixed crab meat with bread crumbs and spices, and stuffed everything back into a crab shell. It was second only to the huevos rancheros for most delicious food on the trip.

To stretch out my trip, I stopped at the Tioga Motor Lodge in Williamsburg that night. The cost was only $30. It was far, far better than the fleabag which cost $24.50 in Richmond. I bought 13 postcards there. There was a great writing burden ahead, letting people I had met along the way know that I had actually made it.