Routing from DC to Norfolk, VA?
 

Hello all! I'm currently on my first cross country tour, started in San Francisco back in late may and I'm now in Louisville Kentucky. I have the rest of route to DC all planned out, because I have some family spaced out all around the area. However, I decided to extend my tour down to Norfolk to visit another good friend, but for this I do not have any slight idea of what route would be the best/safest. Ideally it would be doable in two large day rides. I wonder about the peninsula and its many bridges, and if they are at all bicycle accessible? Just curious if anyone here has done some riding in that area. Thanks in advance.

You can ride to Point Lookout, take the ferry to Crisfield with a stop on Smith Island, and then ride to the tunnel. Not sure about getting a ride across the Bay to Norfolk, but I know you cannot ride a bike across.

Yea that's a possibility, though it may be in my best interest to just stay off that part of the peninsula all together and maybe go closer to Richmond?

I also wonder about route 17 or that general area

East coast greenway, into Jamestown cross river on ferry and go into Norfolk from the west side.

The most direct would be Route 1 south to Fredericksburg, then 17 south, but once you reach the peninsula (Yorktown/Hampton/Newport News) you're kind of stuck. You'll need to hook a ride through the Hampton Roads Tunnel to Norfolk (most direct) or get across the James River Bridge to the south side (may be bikeable, may not be) so you can ride into Norfolk.

Greenway DC-Fredericksburg route:
http://www.greenway.org/pdf/S300.pdf

If rider parallels Rt 17, the George Coleman Bridge at Yorktown permits bicycles. & then you could go west a bit to pick up the Jamestown Ferry (which is 24-hr service!). The Rt 32 James River Bridge does not allow bikes which is a shame since it has reasonably-wide shoulders.