Biking in Williamsburg?

[Emm]

I have to be in Williamsburg next Mon-Fri for a training. I booked an extra night at the hotel so I could explore and stay through to Saturday–I’ve never been to Williamsburg before! I’m considering bringing my bike, and if the weather is nice going for a ride on Friday (we get out at noon) or Saturday.

Does anyone have experience biking in Williamsburg? I see the Virginia Capital Trail is close by in Jamestown, and it looks like that trail is a short drive from Williamsburg to Jamestown where the trail starts (plus, I can explore Jamestown!). Is this trail good for a road bike, or is a hybrid better? Any other places worth biking in the area? Since I’ll be alone, I’m not looking for a super-intense ride. I’m looking for scenic 20-40 miles that I can easily drive back to NoVA after.

This is all predicated on me being able to get my bike into the back of my little hatchback Focus…which I’m pretty sure I can pull off if I take the front (and possibly back) wheels off…

Topic

[DismalScientist]

The Colonial Parkway between Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown is fine for biking. (I don’t think you can go through the tunnel under Colonial Williamsburg.) The surface is funky– sorta like conglomerate stone–which might be more comfy on wider tires.

[TwoWheelsDC]

If I had to choose, I’d ride out to Yorktown over riding to Jamestown. Jamestown has a couple historical things and is kind of a snoozefest, but Yorktown has a fun little “downtown” area along the river and the (epic) battlefield. As Dismal said, Colonial Parkway should be fine on a bike, since it’s wide, has low speed limits, and a surprisingly low volume of traffic (although I’ve never actually ridden it). You can also cover Colonial Williamsburg in about 10 minutes on a bike, since it’s just a few blocks. The new visitor’s center is pretty awesome too, so definitely check that out. There are also a lot of fun places to eat and drink around CW, since William and Mary is right there too.

[baiskeli]

The Colonial Williamsburg area is very scenic and most roads are car-free, though some are either gravel or rough pavement. Good for a slow sight-seeing segment of a few miles

As Dismal said, no bikes allowed in the tunnel.

More help: Williamsburg Area Bicyclists

[ginacico]

And if local exploring isn’t enough, the new Virginia Capital Trail takes you all the way to Richmond.

[PotomacCyclist]

I biked on the Colonial Parkway a few years ago. I enjoyed riding near the old Jamestown historical site as well as the replicas of the three Jamestown Settlement ships. And yes, the surface is a bit rough. I rode on skinny tires but I would have been a lot more comfortable on wider tires, or on a mountain bike. However, I think it’s a fair distance between Jamestown and Williamsburg. A MTB ride might take a while.

The Jamestown sites are not bike-accessible though. You can ride near the sites, but you won’t be able to bike around the site itself. There are at least a couple different sites. There’s the larger settlement site but there are also other structures, like the glasshouse (a reproduction of the Colonial glassmaking building).

http://www.nps.gov/jame/planyourvisit/glasshouse.htm

[baiskeli]

@PotomacCyclist 126975 wrote:

The Jamestown sites are not bike-accessible though. You can ride near the sites, but you won’t be able to bike around the site itself. There are at least a couple different sites.

My mom lives down there so I’ve been a few times lately. There’s a state park with a large museum and reproductions of an Indian village, parts of the fort, and the three ships. Then down the road is the federal site, which has the actual archeological site of the fort (still being dug up after being discovered in the 1990s), a couple of smaller museums and some other interesting sites.

[KayakCyndi]

Where to begin …. we have a house there and ride ALL the time.

Colonial Parkway is great but the surface is “rustic”. It is paved with a rough aggregate material to make it feel historic and to slow people down. Fine with 32s or wider.
The Virginia Capital Trail is now complete to Richmond. It is possible to create many great loops off of that that explore great country roads.
The Brick Bat/Jolly Pond road loop is a particular favorite of mine (park either at the high school on route 5 or at Jamestown Settlement.
If you have time and inclination, the riding across the river in Surry County is great. Ride from WB to the ferry at Jamestown, take the ferry across and then there are many more loops.
Rather mountain bike? Freedom Park is AWESOME!

You can pick up cue sheets for various rides at Bike Beat on Monticello. Or go to RidewithGPS and search for rides around Williamsburg.

[mstone]

This is the sort of thing I keep a folding bike in my trunk for

[Sunyata]

No one has mentioned the best cycling in Williamsburg area yet… 😎

Freedom Park!

Granted, you would definitely need to have a mountain bike for riding there. But if you love to ride on dirt, I HIGHLY recommend it.

[consularrider]

@Sunyata 127022 wrote:

No one has mentioned the best cycling in Williamsburg area yet… 😎

Freedom Park!

Granted, you would definitely need to have a mountain bike for riding there. But if you love to ride on dirt, I HIGHLY recommend it.

What is Cyndi, chopped liver?

[Emm]

Thanks everyone! I think I may take my commuter if I can fit it into my car and bike on the colonial parkway to Yorktown–the tires are 32s so hopefully they can handle the road. It could make for a fun Saturday morning before driving back to DC next week

Worst case if the commuter wont fit into the car, I’ll take my road bike (lighter and easier to fit into a car), and bike along the Capital Trail along the river. I’m excited to check out Williamsburg, I’ve always wanted to go!

This is also a good reminder that I need to get a roof rack for my car soon… (my hatchback isn’t compatible with trunk racks due to its spoiler )

[KayakCyndi]

@Emm 127038 wrote:

Thanks everyone! I think I may take my commuter if I can fit it into my car and bike on the colonial parkway to Yorktown–the tires are 32s so hopefully they can handle the road. It could make for a fun Saturday morning before driving back to DC next week

Worst case if the commuter wont fit into the car, I’ll take my road bike (lighter and easier to fit into a car), and bike along the Capital Trail along the river. I’m excited to check out Williamsburg, I’ve always wanted to go!

This is also a good reminder that I need to get a roof rack for my car soon… (my hatchback isn’t compatible with trunk racks due to its spoiler )

A few other recommendations —

1) The Bottle Shop — Beer tasting and good selection right off of Duke of Glouster (DOG) Street.
2) The Cheese Shop — in Merchant Square on DOG Street. Awesome cheese, sandwiches, wine etc.
3) Nawab for Indian — Not in the historic area but really pretty good Indian food — on Monticello Ave.
4) Carrot Tree in Yorktown for lunch on Saturday if you ride there.
5) Aroma’s for your morning coffee.

Get your bike out other times to ride if you can. Getting around WB is simple and very bike friendly.

Have fun!

[Sunyata]

@consularrider 127025 wrote:

What is Cyndi, chopped liver?

Whoops! I totally missed that line in her post. My apologies to Cyndi.

(Either way, Freedom Park deserves to be mentioned twice, so… :cool:)

[JimF22003]

I’ve ridden the colonial parkway on a road bike with skinny tires many times. It’s not that bad. It’s like little mini-cobble stones or something.

The Capital Trail is fine for a road bike, if a bit dull. It’s basically a big long straight bike path, some of it over and along the river, but mostly not.

I do recommend taking the ferry across the river and riding in Surry County. Very flat, but very pleasant riding.

[Emm]

Sadly, biking in Williamsburg was a fail. Training + associated activities went from 8am to 8pm every night, and Saturday was giant rainstorm all day so biking was out. I biked a little bit around the colonial area, but nothing major. Overall it is a super bike friendly place. My hotel even had a covered bike parking area. It was outside, but at least it kept my bike out of the rain.

I did make it to Jamestowne’s historical/dig site for part of the training. Totally worth it. It was also a lovely drive, so if anyone goes to Williamsburg I recommend biking it. It was very scenic, and the dig site was really cool.

[Author]

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