Day 43 miles: 64
Total: 2,738
By bike
Leaving Harpers Ferry I was very motivated to make it to Washington, DC. The traffic leaving DC would be horrendous after 3:00. I enjoyed the scenery but was keeping an eye on the time constantly.
It was similar scenery as the prior days but it was also bittersweet as I was leaving a 4 day ride along rail-trails and towpaths. I would stop from time to time and it was so easy to talk with locals. One couple of older guys I met thought I was a rockstar for making it from Washington. It was nice just chatting it up about some fun times I had.
Some locals I met talking about the bike trip.
I enjoyed watching the dammed locks and seeing the water go through. I did hit one large detour and had to make up my own way from mile 21 to mile 19.
Random flower.
Once I got near DC the foot traffic definitely picked up. It was fun riding into Georgetown and I waited for Lauren near a gas station with a celebratory Doritos and Gatorade.
I could not find the Mile 0 marker.
Monument in background.
After DC we rode with some moderate traffic to RVA and caught up with Jessica and Matthew. I also got to meet Zorica, their daughter who was one of the easiest babies I have seen.
By car:
What’s exciting to think about is the fact that many people end their cross country bike trip in D.C., which is where Matthew would end up today. Today he will end where many other people have ended before him, but with plans to bike even farther to reach the coast.
Since it would be a quick day and I really didn’t have many new things to explore, I just spent time in a coffee shop to work on my own projects. It’s bittersweet getting to the end, really. Even as the SAG driver! My own adventures are coming to an end.
I met Matthew in D.C. and we celebrated by getting strangers to take a photo of us with the Washington Monument in the background! Unfortunately, Matthew’s big ‘ol head blocked the monument, so we were left to our own amateur selfie skills to squeeze it all in.
I swear there’s a monument back there…
*Amateur* selfie skills. If you squint you can make out the monument
From here we loaded up Matthew’s bike and drove down to Richmond. We were originally going to plan a bike route from DC or somewhere off the C&O trail down to RVA, but unfortunately we didn’t plan far enough ahead and felt too untrusting of google maps to safely guide Matthew.
This plan worked out so much better, though! It gave us time to catch up with one of my best friends (Jess), her husband (Matt), and her tiny human (Zorica). They offered us their guest room for the night. It felt like we were back home already! I got to squeeze Zorica’s cheeks and tale photos of her adorableness.
Jess and Zori looking as picture perfect as ever
Look at 
THIS cutie!
We enjoyed a new-to-us local brewery for pizza and beer. They also had the best ice cream sandwiches to have ever grazed my lips!
Blueberry lemon ice cream
I was originally planning to ride the last two days with Matthew, however we couldn’t find a way to get my car into Jamestown where it needed to be. My heart broke when I realized the best solution is just to drive into Jamestown, especially because the Virginia Capital Trail is quite possibly the best, most maintained bike path we know about! It’s 50 miles from Richmond to Virginia. At least I would be able to ride the final day with him from Jamestown.
On the bright side, this meant I got to spend more time with Jess the next day! All in all, today was an easy and heart warming day. I just can’t believe that we’re already in our home state!
No Jobs, No Home, No Worries. A Shared Journey by Bike and Support SUV Across the U.S. 