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By Stephanie Lee
VIRGINIA BEACH
After 3,700 miles, 39 days and a lot of flat tires, Haymarket resident Rey Roy concluded his bicycle trip across the United States in Virginia Beach on Friday.
Roy, an avid cyclist for 10 years and a financial planner, said he undertook the journey to challenge himself. Along the way, he raised nearly $100,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which supports wounded veterans and families of military personnel who have died in the line of duty.
With his wife following in an RV stocked with food and water, Roy, 46, left San Francisco on June 17. He pedaled through the Southwest toward Virginia, spending up to 8 hours on the road daily.
"The most picturesque was probably the Utah-Colorado area, but when you go on the Plains they have their own beauty as well," Roy said.
In the tradition of bikers who have made the trip before him, Roy dipped his rear tire in the Pacific Ocean in June.
On Friday, he splashed his front tire in the waters of Little Island Park.
"There's a lot of things to see and it's absolutely amazing if you can do it by bike," Roy said.
Stephanie Lee, (757) 446-2628, stephanie.lee@pilotonline.com
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falconski
I just laughed so hard my morning beer came out of my nose.
Ya'll remember what the man said.
Ira
No one who doesn't live on Knotts Island is ever really safe on Knotts Island.
He's lucky to be alive....
America is not so friendly to cyclists. If more of us open carried while cycling they might give us more room. Just a thought, hard to avoid school zones at times.
Easy cheesy
As resident of Knotts Island I can assure you it is safe to ride here. Just keep a line and be polite. The roads are narrower as you leave VB. Just FYI, call the sheriff here. They are responsive. First, what you described is a felony. Second, even having an empty beer bottle in a car in NC is considered 'open container.'
The ride down here is worse. PA Rd. is scary.
Hope he's got a police escort...
...because those last few miles on Sandbridge Road are probably the most dangerous of his trip. Second only to Knott's Island where, speaking from personal experience, the local rednecks like to throw bottles out of their pickup trucks at passing cyclists.