Rubik's Cube, the 3-D puzzle invented in 1974, isn't easy to solve, and neither is planning out my trip. It's requiring lots of patience, attention, internet and phone calls. I've taken today as a vacation day to try to finish my itinerary. I've already spent about 6 hours on it this past weekend. There are so many parts that have to work together... mode of transportation to PGH, bike shop close to trail to ship to, when the bike shop is open, how far I want to ride each day, whether the B&B's are any good, whether there is room at the inn, how far the B&B is from the trail, whether they provide a shuttle if they are not close, whether they have breakfast or in-room bath....I've kind of given up caring about cost too much...or at least that's far lower on the list of things I'm worrying about. I've spent hours trying to match up rides and stops. The trail goes through some very small and rural places, with great distances to cover in-between. I'm finding that while I want to average about 30 miles per day, there is at least one place where I might have to go almost 45 miles for the privilege of staying in a B&B that is 7 miles from the trail and which gets poor reviews. But the next town would be a 60-mile ride. I am realizing that in some respects, a bike tour where you camp can be a bit easier...you can set up a tent anywhere. Hopefully I can wrap the plan up today - if these B&B's return my calls. When my ride is over, I will post my itinerary (with reviews) for the benefit of future riders who might want to do a similar trip.
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![]() Blue Heron, Columbia Trail The past four days I rode a collective 95 miles on three different trails. (Nothing else is getting done at home.) And in the process, I passed the 1,000 Miles Ridden This Summer mark. I think I get some kind of medal for that (Does anyone else remember the President's Physical Fitness Test of the 1960's? -- the embroidered patches you earned for bronze, silver and gold performance? I deserve one of those. I wonder if my old ones are still around.) My prize was seeing this fantastic blue heron on the Columbia Trail. I discovered that the missing trail link in Long Valley was completed and open, so I rode all the way to Chester. On the way back, as I was passing through Califon, I noticed the railway station museum was open. Initially I sped by, thinking of how long I'd been out and other things I needed to do. But then, in all the times I've gone by the museum, it's never been open and I knew this was a good opportunity. So I turned back and stepped inside and couldn't get away for the next 30 minutes. There was the most knowledgable docent in there...a guy who had grown up in the area and was an amazing storyteller. He cleared up the debate about the naming of the Columbia Trail -- declaring firmly that it was in fact named after the Columbia Gas Pipeline Company. ![]() Canal path, Easton, PA He also told me of other train accidents on the same rails, one quite gruesome where a switchman was picked up by an unsecured mailbag hook, and dragged for many miles. That comes with a good old fashioned Califon ghost story. The other interesting thing he told me was the stone supports on the bridge over the gorge are still the original supports...no mortar holding them together...just good engineering. I'll be seeing lots of railways and rail remnants on my trip and because of these stories, I'll be seeing them entirely different now. And speaking of bridges, this pretty scene came from my ride along the Delaware River canal path outside Easton, PA. I love the reflection in the water. ![]() I was talking to a friend about my trip, specifically, about how I was trying to sort out my arrival in Pittsburgh (PGH), at midnight, on Amtrak, with my bike in a box, somewhat disassembled. My bike shop had recommended I let a Pittsburgh bike shop reassemble the bike and check everything out and I was telling him this. This way I begin the long ride confident of my bike (and I don't have to carry things like a pedal wrench). With the clarity that comes from thinking about it for 2 minutes, my friend said, "Why don't you just ship your bike to a bike shop in PGH instead of taking it on the train?" Brilliant! I wouldn't have to arrive at midnight; I wouldn't even need to take Amtrak. Greyhound is not only half the cost, but it's two hours faster and gets in at civilized times. So I started looking into PGH bike shops that might be on/near a bike trail that leads to Homestead (where the GAP trail begins). You might think that'd be easy...turns out Homestead is more like a bedroom community from what I hear so far. One bike shop quoted me about $15 if no repairs are needed. The other closer one quoted me $45... the cost of a tune-up. When I said, "Oh, you'd be doing a whole tune-up?", he said, "no" -- that's just the cost to put the pedals back on and look it over. Hhmmm. Then I started searching the web for info about shipping the bike. There's a lot of consensus about not using UPS because it's too expensive. Then I found a FedEx Ground calculator and came up with an approximate cost of $50. I'll be making more calls since I'm not sure what direction to go. Right now I'm thinking $5 on Amtrak, it arrives with me, and $10-20 for a pedal wrench..surely I can learn how to do it and look over my own bike? I think I'll go talk to another bike shop tomorrow and see what they think. What would I be doing with my mind if I didn't have all this stuff to figure out? My friend Claire sent me this email today... how cool!!
![]() I thought I got an early enough start this evening to beat the anticipated storms and the dark. I intended to do 34 miles, Frenchtown to Lambertville. I was keeping a watchful eye on the sky and on my return trip, when I came out of the canopy of trees and saw one of those black and purple skies off in the direction I was headed. Crap. In a situation like that, you immediately begin a risk assessment. How many miles do I have to go to my car (11) and how much faster can I go? (Only a little.) Will the storm blow by or am I riding right into it? (No way to know, but it looks pretty bad.) Are there places to take cover? (Few) If have to take cover and wait out the storm, will the delay mean the path is dark? (Yes) Is there someone I can call? (Yes) You know, if you're on the vacation trail and this happens, there won't be anyone to call. (Yes, but I'm not on vacation and I don't have to demonstrate my survival skills in Stockton -- nobody cares.) So I phoned a friend. And then, after she was already on her way, the black and purple clouds moved out. Missed it by that much! Oh well. So I did 22 of my 34 intended miles and got to visit. I hate the shorter days...I know I've said that in previous posts. Work is interfering with my riding time! Makes me want to leave on my trip now so I don't lose conditioning because my time in the saddle drops off. The first fall-colored leaves are just starting to fall! Have seen many and I'm surprised since we are not getting the cooler nights yet. I do look forward to the cool fall days -- should make for some awesome rides. Ride report: 4 bucks all together (very cool) and one snake slithering across the path (had to swerve!). ![]() I'll be doing my ride on Bontrager H5 Hardcase tires. These are mostly impervious to flats and they are a bit wider and more aggressive (knobby) than what I've been training on till now. It is nice to have less likelihood of a flat tire while on my trip, but a bit of research revealed that a flat in a hardcase tire is quite a bit more difficult to change out. This biker wrote a funny blog about her experience changing one. And this video gives great advice on how to make it a bit easier. It's kinda funny because the old man doing the demo is breathing hard while doing it...making the point that it's going to be a real challenge I think if I ever have to do it. I decided to travel with some string or wire after watching his video though. They weigh nothing. A funny story while at the bike shop getting the new tires... My usual bike shop wizard Rudy had more time to spend with me because I purposely came in on a Monday night, knowing that there would be fewer customers and I'd get more attention. I always go in with a bunch of new questions. He greeted me with, "You must be getting excited. You've come so far...we've been calling this your Get Even Tour!" (Rudy knows that taking up biking is part of my healing-from-divorce journey.) That just cracked me up. I told him that as it draws closer to actual departure, I grow a bit nervous - in the what-am-I-possibly-thinking kind of way. He and his wife have done a lot of bike touring and he was very reassuring that this was normal (he still gets it) and part of the fun of what you're doing. Rudy also put me in touch with a Pittsburg friend to get a bit better information about how to manage once I get to Pittsburgh; that was really kind. Before I left the store, a technician from the back spent time showing me some typical things that could go wrong on the bike and what to do about them (some I can do, some that mean go to a bike shop!). Not sure that improved my nerves, but it was necessary. I have baptized the new tires and they do feel somewhat heavier/clunkier on the trail, but I don't think they made me any slower. I'll get used to them in no time. ![]() Meet Mark & Ray... I actually decided to stop and say hello to these denizens of the Columbia Trail. They are not actually using the trail; they are more like trail groupies... hanging out at its edges just watching the real trail people. Curiosity got the best of me. So here's what I learned: Both are retired. Ray worked for the state as a mechanic and retired at 46 (nice, huh?). Mark (the skinny one posing somewhat strangely for the photo) told a somewhat confusing story from which I extracted he was an artist of some sort and had evidently, at one time, been featured in Architectural Digest. That could be true or could be his imaginative story. The truck is a 1972 Ford that has only slightly more than 100,000 miles (church miles no doubt). The rusty, hulking snow plow? Still works...nearly 300,000 miles -- "moves snow like nobody's business". As for why they are always out there...well, "it's just the perfect place to be every evening". Ray told me there are a number of cops who use the trail. I said, "That's good to know. Although I don't generally see any creepy people on the trail." Mark laughed and said, "Yeah, we're the creepy people!" Hhhmmm... when it comes to men I learned a long time ago to always believe what they say when you first meet them, especially the stuff that seems like joking. They really mean it. Ray objected to Mark's joke; I'm sure he didn't want to draw possible attention to their secret basement room. Our conversation ended with them telling me to stop by anytime for a beer, that there's always a cooler of them 'right here' and a lawn chair to shoot the breeze. Sure enough, if you look closely at the pile behind them in the photo, you'll see many empty boxes of Keystone Light. Or maybe I'll just keep waving 'hello' as I go by. ![]() This is the story of Columbia Trail, my favorite training ground. 127 years ago, in 1885, a 46-car freight train carrying 500 tons of iron ore crashed into the South Branch of the Raritan River when the wooden trestle bridge it was crossing collapsed. The engine, not coincidentally named Columbia, and most of her cars fell 60 feet into the river. All but 1 of the crew members were able to bail out to safety. Amazingly (remember it was the 1800's!) trains were able to resume crossing the river a mere 6 days later on a temporary bridge. And even more interesting, the engine was recovered and put back into service. I stop on the bridge every ride and think about the engineering required in this rural place to recover and move 46 train cars and an engine. It wouldn't even be easy today. And what kind of business would you search for in the Yellow Pages? Maybe "Train Removal", right next to "Tree Removal". A side note... there is some controversy about how the trail got it's name. Columbia was the name of the engine, but it's also the name of the gas company that owns the railroad bed right-of-way and granted its use for Rails/Trails. I think it's more poetic to believe the trail was named after its storied history and not some corporation. Imagine if someone from a major news program called YOU up and said, “I’m from NBC and I want to write a story about you.” Most people I know would be like, “Really? Why?”-- not able to fathom that their ordinary life would be at all interesting to the masses. But this is what a TV news reporter did years ago. (The story was relayed to me, so I don’t know the reporter’s name or I’d give him credit.) He would throw a dart at a map, go to that town, find a phone book, flip it open, put a finger on a name, call the person, ask for an interview, and then write an engaging story out of this random, ordinary person. His underlying assumption had to be that everyone was at least a little bit interesting. I think that’s why I have never forgotten this story. I like that notion.
If I were a journalism teacher, this would be a standing assignment to my students. It’s not an easy thing to create a connection with a stranger that is trusting enough that said stranger would open up and share their lives. And what if your stranger truly is an ordinary schmo who started working at the mill right out of high school? How do you find an odd kernel to hang an interesting story on? It would teach great interviewing skills. What does this have to do with my great biking adventure? A couple things. First of all, the Columbia Trail has a story, which I’ll tell you in tomorrow's post. Second, it might be fun (and good for me) if I challenge myself to deeply engage with at least one stranger per day on the trip, and try out this idea of making the conversation a story. I think I will find both the conversation and the story writing really hard. And lastly, I’ve been looking out beyond the end of my bike trip and wondering what comes next on a variety of levels. It seems surely that this blog about my bike trip would need to end. But I’ve really come to enjoy the challenge of writing something daily. I do a lot of business writing at work, but blogging exercises a different muscle. So maybe this leads to my next blog… Since I took it easy yesterday (2 naps) and the weather cooled down, I figured I'd be all energetic today. Not the case! I had to rely on mental toughness more than physical preparation. I intended to do about 35 miles in Kingwood Township but was completely ready to quit at the halfway point. I tried thinking of all those amazing Olympic athletes I'd been watching these past 2 weeks but a little voice would say, "you're not really an athlete". Its not a bad thing to have an off day, but my whole week was light on miles and I probably can't ride again till Wednesday -- one evening @ the bike store and one rain forecast. So I bribed myself. With pizza of course. My deal to myself was that I could leave Kingwood (thus getting a riding break), drive to Frenchtown area and park where I would have to do the other 17 miles to get to/from my pizza. It worked. And maybe geting on the shaded path helped too.
Lambertville was hopping. Lots of people out. Lots of Serious Bikers in town. The bike path was even crowded. Hundreds of tubers on the river again. I was grateful I persevered through my ride and I feel none the worse for wear, having earned a Silver Medal. |
DorkyBikeShortsFour months from now I intend to ride 334 miles in 10 days -- from Pittsburgh to Washington DC -- by myself. This blog will document the journey. Archives
October 2012
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