February 27, 2010
Woke up early at friend Laura Wright's house for an early start on my adventure south to Florida on my trusty Triumph Bonneville T-100. However, "but what to my wondering eyes should appear," but 2 inches of snow and no tiny reindeer. This bit of empirical data gave me just the excuse I needed to roll over and go back to sleep.
10:00 AM seemed like a good time to go downstairs, brew some coffee, and suit up for the ride.
11:00 AM found me, suited, loaded and on the road. My ride began on the west end of the road headed east leading to the State Capital at the road's terminus at the east end. Monument Avenue in Richmond is a truly remarkable road, especially for a Northerner with little appreciation for Southern history. Monument Avenue was laid out in 1887 and most of the buildings in the historic area were built between the turn of the century and about 1930. The road is an old style four lane boulevard with a lush green (white on this day) median with beautiful mature trees. The well maintained Southern mansions line each side of the beautiful street. Every few blocks have massive monuments to Richmond's heros. The Lee Monument is easily the largest and grandest of the statues on Monument Avenue. Bronze tablets attached to the sides of the base say simply, "LEE." The horse and rider was unveiled in 1890.
General Lee
Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA
(behind a beauty of a ride)
On the West end on Monument Avenue is a monument honoring Richmond native Arthur Ashe.
Arthur Ashe
Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA
From Monument Avenue I found Rt. 60 and headed uneventfully toward Norfolk, VA. The temperature this day never reached 40 degrees, so I was happy to have my new heated gloves.
The ride was uneventful, and I arrived in Nags Head around 5:00 PM and found a room in the Quality Inn.
In total the first day was 177 miles. Not many miles, but a start on the road.
Day 1
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