Suffolk to Virginia Beach

[Sunday, August 1] We cannot believe this day has arrived...the home stretch. We woke at Bike West around 7:00 and got our world together. Bill offered to ride along side of us as we biked on hwy 58/460 through a busy 10-mile section of our route east. Once through, we picked up Military Hwy in Cheasapeake and biked around the southside of Tidewater to avoid the crazy traffic. At 1:30 we arrived at Rudee Inlet, the south end of Virginia Beach. We rode along the boardwalk a while and took our bikes on the beach. We took many victory pictures and celebrated. With today's 47 mile ride, the grand total from the Golden Gate Bridge to Virginia Beach totaled 4,015 miles. Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support. Most of all...we thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for what he did in and through us over the last two months. To Him be all glory and honor, Amen.

Richmond to Suffolk

[Saturday, July 31] After a great evening and much needed sleep we departed on our pre-victory ride to Yorktown, VA. We were so excited that we kept a 19-20mph pace for the first 50 miles along "plantation road" along the James River (route 5). When we approached Williamsburg we jumped on the Colonial Parkway and also rode through the heart of historic Williamsburg. We got back on the parkway and biked to Yorktown...the official end of the Transamerica route. But we were not finished. We went back to Williamsburg and caught the ferry to Surry county south of the James River. We had a wonderful dinner at the Surry House with Jeff's in-laws Jim and Jean Cates. From here we biked another 40 miles to downtown Suffolk and crashed at Bike West, an awesome bike shop owned by Jeff's long-time-friend Bill Williams. Bill ordered an absolutely huge pizza and we devoured it in the late evening. Today, we biked 116.5 miles!

Mineral to Richmond

[Friday, July 30] Our stay at the Mineral fire station was cool. Fire fighter Bob was gracious to us. We went back to the diner we ate at last night for breakfast. We read more Scripture and hit the road about 8:00am. Since we were in flatland, we were able to keep a brisk pace all the way to Mechanicsville. While on route 156 we approached I-64 and Hwy 60 we met up with Greg Carr whom we met back in Kentucky when his church was doing some missionary work. Greg and his wife Julie invited us to stay at their home for the night AND took us out to Golden Corral (we love buffets). It was a wonderful evening with the Carr family...thank you so much! Tomorrow...we head to the coast!

Charlottesville, VA to Mineral, VA

[Thursday, July 29] We got out of Charlottesville in our customary late fashion headed towards Ashland. We were held up about 35 miles out by a severe thunderstorm so we ducked under an Awning at a country church to ride out the storm. Since we lost time due to the weather we were only able to make it to Mineral, VA where we stayed...get this...a fire station! We did our landry and slept upstairs of the fire trucks. We ate dinner at a local diner recommended by the fire fighters. While eating we shared our journey with several people and when we went to pay the bill, our waitress told us someone already paid our bill. God did it again. We read several chapters in Isaiah and crashed around 11:00. It was another great day in the Lord!

Blue Ridge Parkway to Charlottesville, VA

[Yesterday, July 28] We woke with joy knowing we are on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway and no more big climbs! We continued in Isaiah and prayed before we departed. We rode to Afton Mountain where we had the great pleasure of spending a couple of hours with June Curry, the "Cookie Lady." It was really a highlight of our day. During our descent we met Ben Golden and Jamie Grivas who left Yorktown six days ago on their way to SF. We shared with them our saga and tips for the ride. When we arrived in Charlottesville at First Baptist we discovered that they arranged a room at the Comfort Inn for us tonight. On trop of this, associate pastor Chester Yuan took us out for a wonderful buffet dinner. God is absolutely awesome...and so is His church. Tomorrow we ride towards Richmond. We love you all.

Troutville, VA to the Blue Ridge Parkway

[Yesterday, July 27] We had a great night at the Brethern church. Pastor Chris and also Wanda were wonderful hosts... thank you. We began reading in Isaiah this morning. Isaiah really brings the OT in perspective and helps us understand the NT. Then we began our journey east bound. We had an 81-mile day..including our last serious climb..up Afton Mountain. We made it up the summit but it got dark real quick. So we stayed on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway under the pavillion at Mountain View Christian Church. It was a great day with the Lord, in the Word, and on the bike. Thanks for your prayers!

Radford, VA to Troutville, VA

We really enjoyed our stay at Calvary Baptist Church in Radford. Pastor Brian Cockram and his son Jamison went out of their way to take care of us and we thank them!! While there we met Patrick Hatcher and his family who serve with New Tribes in Florida. We are reading Paul's letter to the Romans. Paul really brings together God's plan for salvation. Today we rode through Christiansburg and Daleville coming to Troustsville. While biking past the Church of the Brethern we met pastor Chris Foster in the parking lot. Chris was studying for his last class towards his M. Div and was about to leave. We asked him if we could crash on the church floor and not only did he welcome us but he gave us some cash towards dinner at the "Country Cooking" diner down the road. We had a fantastic dinner buffet! Thank you Chris for blessing us. Tomorrow we head towards Lexington and Afton Mountain. Keep us in your prayers... God hears you loud and clear.