Here you might rub elbows with local luminaries like former governor Douglas Wilder or Chickahominy Chief Stephen Atkins while hoisting beverages with fellow trail riders. I pedaled on toward Sherwood Forest, President John Tyler’s country home, whose grounds include Fort Pocahontas, the site of one of the Civil War’s fiercest battles between Black Union troops and the Confederate Army.Ĭharles City, site of a 1730 courthouse, marks the trail’s midpoint and Cul’s Courthouse Grille, formerly the town’s general store, bank, post office, and ABC store, remains its epicenter. After that, it’s Westover, the Byrd family seat, where Cornwallis crossed the James in pursuit of Lafayette. Up next, Berkeley, site of the first Thanksgiving, is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison-a signer of the Declaration of Independence-and his son William Henry Harrison, the nation’s ninth president. When I asked chef Carlisle Bannister what was in his signature “comeback sauce,” which united it all in a sumptuous warm glow, he only grinned. I guiltlessly ordered Upper Shirley’s Route 5 Burger, version “2.0,” two patties of blended short rib, brisket, and chuck with American cheese and smoked bacon on toasted brioche. “I’m trying to get people to press pause,” she told me, “to smell the breeze blowing across the field and to see what’s around.” Poarch says the arrival of more small businesses-purveyors of food, lodging, and services-continues to enhance the trail experience. She’s also been known to belt out a rousing version of “Amazing Grace” during stops at Westover Church. Owner Anne Poarch offers bike rentals and excursions and delivers picnics to her riders along the trail. Upper Shirley is a hub for Basket & Bike, one of the trail’s earliest small businesses. This winery and tasting room overlooks the James and Presquile National Wildlife Refuge-a 1,300-acre island and eagle, heron, and osprey habitat. With 30 miles behind me, I pulled into Upper Shirley Vineyards, about a mile and a half south of the trail. You’ll see Curles Neck, once home to Nathaniel Bacon, who famously rebelled, setting fire to Jamestown while farther down the path is Shirley Plantation, the nation’s oldest family business, now in its tenth generation of Carters. The trail serves as the back alley to the grand estates facing the James, with scores of historical markers to narrate. Here, you’ll pass Dorey Park followed by Four Mile Creek Park, another popular trailhead. Whizzing alongside the James where the Confederate Navy built ironclads during the war, I felt a whiff of history tinged with adventure.Īs I headed through Varina, it was good to see new life: Kul Wheels, a purveyor of electric bikes and bike tours, and a refurbished convenience store offering last-chance necessities. Setting out on a sunny morning, I rode past the site where the notorious Libby Prison stood during the Civil War followed by the Great Shiplock, part of the historic Kanawha Canal surveyed by George Washington. The unofficial trailhead lies just through a doorway in Richmond’s floodwall, beneath a stack of roads and train tracks rising above Shockoe Bottom. And three wars were fought here-the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War-forging, challenging, and preserving our budding nation. American colonists developed vast tobacco plantations on the James. The Capital Trail allows us to time travel to the place where the Powhatan Confederacy-a nation of more than 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes-flourished under the rule of Chief Powhatan. And it has inspired others, including a planned Fall Line Trail, from Petersburg to Ashland, which will eventually connect to it. The trail links urban and rural communities, providing an economic boost. “There were 1.2 million trail users last year, the biggest year ever,” Cat Anthony, executive director of the Capital Trail Foundation, tells me. ![]() And by all accounts, the Capital Trail has been a resounding success. ![]() There’s something special about this 51.7-mile ribbon of blacktop-62 miles if you continue on to Williamsburg. The trail-which runs parallel to the James River, between Richmond and Jamestown-invites us to dwell with history while surrounded by natural beauty. I first cycled the Virginia Capital Trail when it opened to much fanfare in 2015, and I was eager to see how it had evolved since then. (Anne Poarch of Basket & Bike photography by Adam Ewing)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |