Civil War buffs will tell you about the Battle of Fredericksburg, about how in December of 1862, Maj. Gen. Sumner's men were butchered trying to storm and take Marye's Heights just west of the city. The massed artillery of the Confederates was the key imho. General Longstreet had been assured by his artillery commander, Lt. Col. Edward Porter Alexander, "General, we cover that ground now so well that we will comb it as with a fine-tooth comb. A chicken could not live on that field when we open on it."
Notice that Plank Rd. is in the middle of Sumner's attack. It is also the road that we had to climb, at 6.5%, in very heavy traffic, after riding 60+ miles to get to our motel for the evening.
I could not figure out how to paste a Google maps image of our climb up Marye's Heights, so here is the url. https://www.google.com/maps/@38.2960473,-77.4877631,3a,75y,269.62h,95.01t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMCpsDINkN4chYD0W_BMxNQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DMCpsDINkN4chYD0W_BMxNQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D349.67026%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
This morning our route had us backtracking down from Marye's Heights into Fredericksburg. Be assured that we exceeded the speed limit.
After negotiating Plank Rd. and the Blue and Gray Parkway to get out of Fredericksburg, our day began to improve. We turned onto VA route 2 and stayed on it for 37 miles.
Decisions, decisions.
Yes there was a headwind that increased as the day went on to over 15 mph. Yes we had a little over 1,000 feet of climbing, but nothing like the 3,000 feet of yesterday. Yes our legs were sore from the ride yesterday after 19 days of not riding, but it was a beautiful, partially sunny day for the most part. One of the things we have learned is that you just have to enjoy the road, enjoy the experience. Doesn't matter that you are working to go 8 mph, doesn't matter that it is 41 F, you are dressed for it after all. The important thing is to enjoy.
Most of the day, this is what we experienced.
We had one final concern today. Thunderstorms were predicted to arrive in Ashland around 4 PM. They arrived early, and we lost this race with the weather about two miles out of town.
No matter. We arrived at our hotel and our gear was dry. Dinner was at El Azteco (no relation to the East Lansing establishment), enchiladas supreme for Margaret, and carnitas for me. Tomorrow we ride 17 miles to Richmond, and some rest days to visit with Margaret's siblings. A treat for both of us.
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