Wildwood Visitors

It isn’t unusual to see folks enjoying a picnic or a snack at the Outdoor Classroom shelter in the middle of Wildwood. However, on September 8, I could see by the loaded bicycles leaning against the table that the couple eating at the table must be serious bikers who were probably just passing through. 

Camera in hand, I inquired about their destination. They replied, “Yorktown”. “From where have you come?” was my next question. The reply, “Oregon,” really got my attention! I, of course, asked to take their picture, and they pleasantly posed for me.

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They introduced themselves as Laurie and Jack Schwarte. They were delighted with the lovely natural setting in Wildwood. I learned that after the luxury of a motel room in Christiansburg that night, they would continue on to Yorktown and then would head south to the Florida Keys. There they would eventually dismantle the bikes and fly back home to Oregon.

 

Checking their website, http://eatsleepcyclerepeat.com, I saw that they both had been RNs for a total of 36 years between them. They decided to retire and travel by bicycle “for the next few years or as long as we are still having fun”. New Zealand, Australia, and Bali are next in their immediate plans.

                          My camera and I meet the most interesting folks in Wildwood!

 

Nancy’s note: The TransAmerica Trail that stretches from Astoria, Oregon, to Yorktown, Virginia, passes through Radford and Wildwood Park. Please take a look below at the previous post (if you haven't already done so) to read about another biker traveling on this route.