Day 1 – Virgina Beach to Hampton, VA – 38 miles
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
It took an hour to get the bike put together in the airport and head out on the road, but it gave me lots of time to make friends with the curious travelers in baggage claim. As I started riding I was actually giddy in the 1st mile smiling big and laughing to myself as I cruised down the quaint roads of Norfolk. Then by the 2nd mile I thought to myself oh god what are you doing, it quickly passed and I got back into the rhythm heading towards the Atlantic Ocean for ceremonial wheel dip.
Some highlights from the day:
Wheel Dip
Family originally from Pittsburgh who took my pic
Cruising the Cape Henry Trail
Hitched a ride through the Hampton Bridge / Tunnel
Ride courtesy of Joe Bousquet, helping TransAm riders since 2004
Hampton Street Festival
- My Queen sure does love her wine
TransAmerica Bicycle Touring 
Hey Man,
Day 1 or day 100…enjoy the journey and stay safe!!!
-Brent
“Hitched a ride through the Hampton Bridge / Tunnel”
Let me get this straight, we didnt get through the 1st day before we started hitching rides…. 🙂 j/k ….be safe!
Hey Cuz – So you finally got started. That looks like beautiful country. Do you stay in hotels/motels or do you camp out? Either way, you be careful out there and enjoy your ride.
Tim
Here’s to fulfilling dreams. Good luck, my friend!
Thanks for the words of encouragement, what is all this safety stuff? 😉
Watch out for low flying Navy aircraft. I used to live there and know that they can fly pretty low. Also, they aren’t too hip to cyclists in that area so be careful. If you don’t have an American Flag to stick on your gear, that might help. I’m sure there are plenty of them around that area though.
Have a great time!
Bob
Wahey – you’re off! Looking forward to riding in your tire-tracks Dustin. Hope your little group gets on really well.
How excititng to see you are off and “running”. I remember telling you.. “Hey, that curly headed girl from baggage claim will check in to say Hi”. Hello and Way to go!!! It was so cool watching you put your bike together and learn of your adventure. How wonderful for your and your family.
Thanks Michelle for saying hi and help contribute to the experience
It is nice to see you didn’t bother some homeless man to take your picture on the beach!!! Enjoy yourself, and I wont tell you to be safe!!
Dustin – found your site through Russ Roca of pathlesspedaled.com. I’ll definitely be following your journey – I start mine on May 21st heading west-east on TransAm. Perhaps we’ll run into each other at some point on our respective trips!
Keep the rubber side down!
Thanks Matt I will add your site to those I follow and hope to run into you
So this all the farther you’ve gotten so far? Not even out of Virgina yet. And you’ve already taken a rest day? How are you going to get across Kansas, dude. At this rate we’ll have to track your progress with a sundial. See you next year.
and what’s with hitching a ride? Not how a purist would’ve done it. Don’t you remember the story I told you of how I got over the seven mile bridge in the Florida Keys? Go to the nearest bar and pay someone $20 (when I did it, it was only $5, that’s how old I am) to block the traffic behind you as you go thru a 10 mile tunnel at 15 miles per hour. Of course, a Virginia State Troop wouuld’ve been waiting for you at the other end for having created a 10 mile backup. But even that wouldn’t have been so bad: at least you woiuld have gotten a shower and a hot meal (in jail) that night. Now that’s what I would call adventure!