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Today was a pretty quite one. We rode into Norfolk
a day early to do a minor service. We crossed the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and after doing so I got some information on
this very interesting crossing.
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| Overhead view of the Bridge-Tunnel we rode through |
The
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) is a 3.5-mile-long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64. The HRBT and I-64 connects
the South Hampton Roads cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach with the Peninsula cities of Hampton and Newport News. The Hampton
Roads Bridge-Tunnel has two 12-foot-wide lanes each way, on separately built structures (original, now westbound, opened November
1, 1957; eastbound in May 1976). The twin tunnels are each 7,479 feet long, and
the roadway is 108 feet below sea level at the lowest point. The bridge roadways are located at an elevation of 17.5 feet
above the average high tide sea level, and span the remainder of the crossing.
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| Riding across one of the bridges before the tunnel |
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| Mike was all thumbs up when he rode into the tunnel |
The North Approach Bridges are 3,250 feet long each, and the South Approach Bridges are 6,150 feet long each. There
are two manmade portal islands to transition the roadways between bridge and tunnel, and the roadways on each are about 1,500
feet long, and the portal islands are built to an elevation of 11 feet above the average high tide sea level. This is a pretty
cool roadway.
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| Riding through the tunnel at 107 feet BELOW sea level |
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| Now we know what it means to see the "light at the end of the tunnel" |
We
rode into Honda of Norfolk and Dave Hunter let us take over the shop for a couple of hours to make sure our bikes were in
tip-top shape for the rest of our ride to North Carolina and then on to the Honda with a final check-over as we will not do
any more work on our SuperHawk’s from here to the end of the ride in Knoxville. The bikes are still perfect mechanically
and I am just about to think that we brought way to many tools and spares as all we have needed so far comes in the standard
tool kit right off of the bikes!
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| The folks at Honda of Norfolk were nice enough to let us take over the Service Department for awhile |
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| Dave Hunter is always willing to help a Honda customer |
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| Three old Honda's like these are not likely to be seen in a shop at the the same time |
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| Mike cleaning up after looking over his ride |
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| Making sure that everything is "good to go" |
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| Mike hanging with some of the folks at Honda of Norfolk |
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| Making final adjustments to the bikes |
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| Linda in Parts is always ready to help |
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| Dave working on an ATV that has seen its share of salt water |
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| Steve making adjustments to his carburetors |
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| Synchronizing carbs the old fashion way. By "exhaust feel" |
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| Honda of Norfolk is an HRCA Chapter of course! |
The
ride back to our hotel was the first time we came across any sort of traffic since we left California and the 88-mile
ride ended up feeling more like 250! We played stop and go for way to many miles and since you can not split lanes here like
in California, we suffered from the 100+ degree heat with enough humidity that it takes your energy away just to walk up the
street. I do NOT miss humidity!
Tomorrow we meet with a group of riders from Honda
of Norfolk In Jamestown and start the ride by crossing the James River on a ferry and will place our front wheels in the Atlantic
Ocean and then make our official stop at Honda of Norfolk. We hope the weather holds up!
As mentioned above, we rode only 88 miles today
and that takes us to a total of 3705 miles.
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