Saturday 21 April - in pursuit of happiness

Louisa to Charlottesville

63 miles
5 hours and 28 minutes in the saddle
34.2 mph max speed
11.4 mph average speed

Hot, sunny weather and no wind

The happy cyclists at Monticello. We went on a guided tour with 20 other tourists. After a 60 mile bike ride, the other tourists gave us lots of space as we walked around the small rooms in the house.

Today we have visited Monticello, Thomas Jefforson's home. Thomas Jefferson was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. The pursuit of happiness is one of the rights that citizens of America have. This trip is our pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson was also fascinated by the west and he was instrumental in purchasing Louisiana from France. Louisiana was any land west of the states along the eastern seaboard. We felt some affinity with Jefferson as we heard about his ideals and his wish to travel further west.

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. The windows on the left of the building face west and it was behind those windows that Thomas Jefferson spent much of his time.

Today has been a fantastic day for cycling and we have both been feeling very happy! The hills continue to roll as we head towards the Blue Ridge. In Kents Store, a tiny place in the middle of nowhere, the locals came out in force (kids, dogs, pensioners, parents) to speak with us and hear about our trip. They were amazed at our trip and that it was possible to cycle all the way from Williamsburg to Oregon. None of them had heard about Route 76, the name of the bike route we are following. This was slightly surprising since one of the route signs were visible from the grocery store where we had stopped for a drink and also where most of the locals had congregated.

Cyclist friendly dogs at Kents Store

We would like to say a big thank you to the kind staff at Hampton Inn in Charlottesville who phoned around to all the local hotels to find us a room. Had we known that Charlottesville has a lot more visitors than hotel rooms we would have pre-booked a room. I spy a gap in the market!
Tonight we have enjoyed the culinary experience that is Burger King. It is part of American culture and we both believe that we need to try out the good, the bad and the plain disgusting :)

Today we wish:

Mette's grandmother happy 92 birthday - gratulerer med dagen Besta!
Rick and Reem happy wedding anniversary
and happy birthday to the Queen

Pretty roadkill on one of Virginia's roads