"Cul's Briscoe Burger was fabulous and the trail was awesome!"  That is how my friend, Lucy Meade, answered my question, "How did you enjoy your visit to the Trail?"  She and some new-to-the-trail friends recently spent an early evening biking the 7.5-mile Courthouse phase with a 2-mile side trip to Lawrence Lewis Jr. Park, and capped it off with dinner.  Everyone agreed it was a perfect ride.  Whoa.  A perfect ride on the Virginia Capital Trail and still the Briscoe Burger gets top billing? I guess a beautiful trail is one thing, but a beautiful trail in close proximity to great food is entirely another.

For us, promoting the trail to the masses is a big part of our mission.  A dedicated, non-motorized

L-R: Tricia Sauer, Betty Jenkins, Lucy Meade, Liza Cabell

path, beautiful scenery, wildlife, and rich history entice a significant number of people to walk, run or ride a bike and enjoy the trail.  And they'll come back again and again because they love it.  But Lucy hit on something important.  It doesn't always have to be just about how great the trail is.  It's about how great the whole experience is. 

My guess is there are significant numbers of people who will venture out for the first time because they've been promised a delicious meal when they finish, not because they're necessarily excited about this fabulous trail.  Everyone has different hot buttons, and getting people out is the goal.  And almost always, once first-timers are out, they're on their way to buying a bike and coming back. 

My husband and I have shared an off-road route to some of downtown Richmond's outdoor patios with friends who would normally rather drive.  They're inevitably surprised at how much fun it is to ride a bike, since in many cases it's been ten years. And everyone has been game to do it again.   But the food and drink were the hooks that got them to agree to the ride.  Lucy told me about another outing, this time with a seasoned group who rode from the Chickahominy Park to Jamestown, and then pedaled the Colonial Parkway and had lunch at the Trellis. Again, the trail experience wrapped around a meal.

To those of us already sold on riding bikes, the idea of enhancing the joy with a dining experience is an obvious one.  But to others who may need more coaxing, it always helps to dangle a carrot.  Or better yet, a big, fat, delicious Briscoe Burger.

Even with only sixteen miles of the Virginia Capital Trail complete, anyone more motivated by the post-ride food options can hit a pizza place in Richmond (Bottoms Up), two great restaurants in Charles City (Charles City Tavern and Cul's Courthouse Grille), and a high-end cafeteria at the Jamestown Settlement, without venturing farther from the trail than across a street. 

 

Keep an eye out for an invitation to a ribbon cutting and celebration for our new trailhead in downtown Richmond at the beautiful Shiplock Park.  It's coming together and we're tentatively planning an October opening.

 

 

  

Grading the new Shiplock Green

Making room for the Virginia Capital Trail

Building a ramp to Chapel Island

Beautiful Progress on the Sherwood Phase

Wetlands section of the Sherwood Forest Phase Courtesy of Al Covey, V-DOT

New Market Heights phase:  10.5 miles  

Construction should begin within the next 60-days, and wrap up by Spring, 2015

Varina Park phase:  4 miles

The last public input meeting is scheduled for October 10, 2013.  Details to come.  Current completion date: Summer, 2015

Varina phase:  10.5 miles

Estimated completion in Spring 2015

Downtown Richmond:  3 miles

Estimated completion:  Summer 2014

Earlybird registration will begin in the Fall.  Stay tuned for updates.  In the meantime, here are a couple great ones coming up:   Heart of Virginia, September 14   Martins Tour of Richmond, October 5