From
Lynchburg, VA to Washington, DC 
From
Lynchburg, VA to Washington, DC
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Another great riding day in terms of the weather. The departure from Lynchburg and it is a beautiful day. The first half of the day will be on back roads until I meet up with Interstate 95 for the ride into Washington DC.
US 460 out of Lynchburg is a nice two and four lane road. At Appomattox, I'm surprised by the sign that greets visitors: Appomattox: Where The Nation was reunited. Its a different take on the historic activities that took place here. Increasingly, I'm can understand how a person can be both proud of a Confederate heritage while still honoring and supporting the United States. But on the other hand, it could be a public relations spin. It probably makes for better tourism to dress up the South's surrender as a national reunion.
But no matter. The downtown is very quaint couple of blocks filled with red brick buildings. I have breakfast with some of the locals at Mrs. D's Diner. The food is great. After breakfast, I spend a little time at the Visitor's Center. The volunteer and I are alone for a while and we have a good chat. She and her husband moved to Appomattox when they retired. He sold his Gold Wing before they moved and to some extent regrets it as the weather and scenery is so good around Appomattox.
She tells me how many visitors come to colonial America from the United Kingdom. She works one day a week and has at least one couple from the UK every week that she works. The visitor center has a map where guests are encouraged to place a push pin in their home town. The UK, France and Germany are covered with pins despite how early it is in the tourist season.
Hanging overhead is a US flag from the Civil War period and a Confederate stars and bars. I ask her about here opinion on the hole controversy. She is very tactful and tries to demur from offering any opinion. When pressed, she straddles both sides by countering that it is a part of history and if we are to scrub history of anything that makes anyone uncomfortable -- there would be essentially nothing of historic importance. There is a certain truth there -- but of course we are talking about a symbol of division -- both racially and politically that is incorporated into the flags of nearly every former-CSA state.
Outside the visitor's center, there is a very large display map of Lee's Retreat. Apparently, Lee was under pressure from Union troops and had successively abandoned a number of positions over the course of three weeks. At the train station in Appomattox, Union troops destroyed two of three Confederate ammunition trains further crippling Lee's ability to hold off Grant.
The courthouse at Appomattox looks too small to shoulder its place in history.
Heading east on Virginia 24, I wind through a series of Civil War battlefields. The historic markers come fast and furious, sometimes two and three at a stop. Soon revolutionary events are intertwined with Civil War events and I begin to get a fuller measure of the depth of history in this region. It would be a great deal of fun to really study events and come back and visit this area again.
After I make the turn at Orange onto Virginia 20, I notice a large Harley Davidson dealer. I decide to pull in to see if there is anything interesting to look at. Someone has placed two large photo albums documenting a trip from Virginia to Tillamook, Oregon and back. They did this trip in eight days. Over half the pictures were taken from the motorcycle while it is in motion. The shop turns out to be gigantic. Half of it is downstairs. The merchandise part of the store has a mind-boggling array of Harley logo merchandise. Upstairs the motorcycles on the showroom floor share space with three restored Crosley cars from the 1950s. Back in high school, I learned about Crosleys from my friend Tim. They're nothing special -- in fact sort of goofy looking.
At the intersection with I-95, I turn north towards Washington, DC. As I cross the Potomac River into Washington, I am greeted by the wonderful sight of the capital dome in bright sunlight. From the bridge you can clearly see the capital, Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. Getting across central Washington to my hotel is a challenge as I've arrived at rush hour. The traffic is very heavy with an unusually high mix of tour buses. The traffic circles where diagonal avenues cross the orderly grid patterns present the only tough spots.
Once at the hotel, I have the usual problem of a big hotel not knowing what to do with a motorcycle. But again, they are really helpful and give me a great spot where the bike will be safe. After a nap, its off to the Washington Eagle for some disco music and beer -- the universal meal of gay men on vacation.
Continue Reading: The Weekend in Washington
Depart Lynchburg heading east on US 460.
At Appomattox turn onto Virginia 24 heading east.
At Buckingham turn onto US 60 heading east.
At the intersection with US 15 turn onto US15 heading north.
At Orange, turn onto Virginia 20 heading east.
At intersection with Virginia 3, turn onto VA3 heading south.
At intersection with Interstate 95, turn onto I-95 heading north.
South of Washington, DC transition onto I-395.
Arrive Washington, DC
(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 05/11/2001
