...but I really want to. I consider 55 mph a sweet spot speed. You can be on a quiet, relaxing side road, taking in the scenery and stopping at will, while still making decent time to your destination. D.C. area motorways are essentially the opposite of that. They are either way too slow due to traffic, or way too fast and chaotic on the off-chance there isn't any. This lack of a speed sweet spot struck me on a recent day trip to Richmond, Virginia, for a college buddy's baby's first birthday. D.C. to Richmond requires the dreaded I-95, twice in one day in this case, taking the shortest route distance-wise. It was the weekend, but I-95 is notorious for traffic even outside rush hour for any number of reasons, including constant construction and routine accidents. So predictably miserable it is that another friend in the D.C. area drove his family down to Richmond the night before and stayed in a hotel. I chose a different mitigation technique, one that would incorporate a sweet spot.

Instead of all I-95, I planned departure and return routes that split each direction to half highway, half secondary roads. I could do all side roads and avoid I-95 altogether, but I had a work picnic in the early afternoon to get to, so that would have to wait until another trip when I had more time. The switch point in each direction would be Fredericksburg, Virginia. Hitting the road at 7 am on Sunday, I chose highway for the first stretch hoping it would be relatively quiet. Fortunately, that was correct, and I made it to Fredericksburg at a comfortable time and relatively relaxed pace. I popped into Agora Downtown Coffee Shop after riding around a few backroads for a quick cup of cold brew. At that time, the downtown area was tranquil, and I reflected on what appeared to be a decent amount of Civil War history to learn about the area. For another trip, when I had more time.

I continued as planned for the first switch onto Route 1, finding that 55 mph sweet spot. Even though I-95 wasn't too bad in the morning, Route 1 was still a breath of fresh air. I cruised along from small town to small town, occasionally hitting stoplights, which go from a hindrance to an opportunity when you view the journey as a priority. Once in Richmond, I meandered down the unique Monument Avenue, illegally parking for a photo, naturally. I then decided to hop over towards Belle Isle and catch more views, discovering the twisty section Riverside Drive between the Robert E. Lee and Boulevard Toll Bridges. If blocked off, you could have some real fun there, but it is very residential and narrow with runners, bicyclists, and some blind corners. Under open circumstances, I didn't push it. I crossed the James River back into downtown over the Boulevard Toll Bridge, worth the 30 cent toll for a unique, older style bridge with solid views.

Photo by Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31996448.

After spending an hour celebrating with screaming children, cute games, and a classic cake smashing mess, I returned to I-95 for a first-half highway stint towards D.C. Now in the early afternoon, I was quickly reminded of why you avoid 95 by speeds of 80+ mph, sporadic drivers, gusty wind, semi-trucks, and pockets of slowdown traffic. I still made decent time to downtown Fredericksburg where I stopped again for coffee, this time at Hyperion Espresso. Instead of taking Route 1 north on this return switch, I followed the GPS through backroads towards the picnic in Northern Virginia. I passed through many small-town/classic Americana scenes. I saw a herd of John Deere tractors neatly organized, but would have to wait for another trip when I had more time. I saw a giant 1970s style roller skate as tall as a school bus, but would have to wait for another trip when I had more time. Civil War battlegrounds, scenic bridges and waterways, farmland with crops as far as the eye can see only disrupted by a small farmhouse, paintings of pigs, cows, and American flags - but I'd have to save stopping for another trip, when I had more time.

I arrived at the picnic happy that I was able to ride so much around a busy day, but reflective on how much I still missed due to time constraints. I still had to take a major highway for half of the trip and wasn't able to stop along the slower backroads. If there's one thing I've learned from my longer adventure trips, taking quiet roads over shorter distances allows more stops, more stops allow more experiences, and more experiences allow more joy in riding. It's unfortunate that even with a ride like this where I get off the highway and hit that sweet spot of 55 mph, my schedule is still too busy to enjoy fully. Right now, I still can't really drive 55. I guess the only way to make time is to find a sweet spot for early retirement, say, 55?

Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Historic Resources, https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/127-0174/.