I've done vacations on my own before, and they are OK. But when you see something really cool, it's nice to be able to turn to someone and go, "wow, isn't that amazing?" Having someone to share the trip with means the challenges are shared along with the cool stuff. Two people who can pay attention to where to get off the trail. Two people who can figure out a solution to a bike problem. One person to distract a bear while the other bikes furiously the other way for help... I'm sure glad you'll be joining me, Deb.
Since I conjured up the GAP/C&O bike tour idea in April of this year, I've been planning to do it alone. Not for any particular reason other than I am alone -- which isn't a contagious disease, so it wasn't sufficient reason to not take this grand trip. As I told my friends about it early on, many would react with, "Wow; I'd love to do something like that!" To which I responded, "Well, come with me!!" -- never actually expecting anyone would. It's a big commitment of time to do the training and then take two weeks away from work and family -- well, it's just not something I thought any of my friends were positioned to do. And then there was Deb!! Deb had recently finished off a job at a shuttered refinery in St. Croix and moved back to VA. She's been exploring new career pathways and since she hasn't yet jumped into her next new thing, she actually could make the commitment. A trip to her local bike shop and some new dorky bike shorts later, I gained a travel companion!
I've done vacations on my own before, and they are OK. But when you see something really cool, it's nice to be able to turn to someone and go, "wow, isn't that amazing?" Having someone to share the trip with means the challenges are shared along with the cool stuff. Two people who can pay attention to where to get off the trail. Two people who can figure out a solution to a bike problem. One person to distract a bear while the other bikes furiously the other way for help... I'm sure glad you'll be joining me, Deb.
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We are having some awesome summer days -- low humidity, in the 80's -- perfect for bike rides along the river. Today I did 25 miles before 11 am, enjoying the stillness of familiar trails and also exploring some new side routes. I woke up chilly, put on long sleeves, and by the time I was parking my car at a trailside lot, it was warm enough to push my sleeves up. Silly me! Three pictures for you today: Do you know what this is? Ten points to Gryffindor if you know what this is. Guesses? It's a fish passageway or fish ladder. There are two of them on Easton's dams. These structures are supposed to allow fish (shad in this case) to swim up river for spawning. The velocity of water falling over the steps has to be great enough to attract the fish, but not so great that it washes them back downstream or exhausts them. It's not clear that they work. Who tied up this boat anyway?! There's always something new on an old ride; I'm never bored. And I'm always amazed (and pleased) by how much actually see when on a bicycle. It's so easy to stop and look at things. My friend Deb, out on a Richmond, VA ride the other day came across a huge hawk feasting on roadkill. Cool Love raptors. Algae bloom on the canal This is my favorite algae. If PA can have a State Fish (brook trout), I can have a favorite algae. This blue-green algae blooms in warm weather and waters that flow slowly, making picturesque floating carpets -- like astroturf for rivers. I've temporarily mislocated my bike computer, so today's ride was refreshingly 'unmeasured'. I didn't realize how much I look at my distance and speed while I ride -- either feeling like I should try to go faster or wondering how far I am from my destination. It was quite free-ing and peaceful to just ride. I did 40 uneventful miles (trail has mile markers) on the D&R Canal path. No critters today. The most unusual sighting was this hard-to-explain choice of seats at a canal lock. I rode with the panniers for the first time and they seemed just fine -- hardly knew they were there except for some new rattles/squeaks and Rudy's bell in one of the pannier pockets. He used the bell when touring to alert himself at campgrounds of people messing with his bike/bags at night. I'll use it in bear country. My trip is about 3 weeks away and I believe I'm physically ready. I think my training has probably been sufficient. I'll watch some more bike repair videos, get my bike tuned, buy a few more supplies and then off I go! Remember the TV show, Name That Tune? It has reincarnated several times over the years since it first appeared in the 50's. In one contest, the host reads a clue to a song and players bid as to how few notes they needed to identify the song: "I can name that tune in X notes." Working on what to pack for my trip I keep thinking I'm doing something similar... "I can make that 12-day ride in 9 pounds." "No, wait...I can make that ride in 7 pounds 4 ounces." Vacationing with only bike bags to fill -- and you have to carry them the whole way -- is most women's nightmare. I already commented to Brian that when I got back home I'd have to burn the few clothes I take. He reassured me that I'd be able to wash things out along the way -- missing my point entirely. I was thinking I'd be so sick of wearing the few clothes I pack after 12 days that I'd never want to see them again. "Silly girl!" he snorted. But really, how little clothing can I take and still make do? I sure don't want to carry more than necessary, but I also need enough to cover all possible weather situations. It could be hot or cool -- or both in one day. I'll be in the mountains. It'll be early fall. It could rain. And in the evening, I want something really comfortable and decent enough for dinners. My diet scale is in the bedroom right now and I'm weighing things to make choices! Might seem silly now, but I'll be better off on the trail. Over the summer I've been investing in better athletic shirts - lightweight and wicking. I think I'll have more space than I need in the great panniers that Rudy is loaning me. This weekend I'm going to ride with them on the bike and get them 'Scotchguarded'. And while I'm not camping along the way, the girly toiletry products that I will sacrifice and leave home will be my version of roughing it. DEET is necessary. Body lotion is not... or is it? Eat. Pray. Love. is the 2006 story of Elizabeth Gilbert - who decides she's unhappy, divorces her husband, and takes off on a round-the-world journey to "find herself" - paid for by her publishing company. The book is her one-year diary from the three countries she visited. Don't worry if you didn't read the book -- you can tell how her life worked out from the title.
A couple of people have asked me if this ride I'm doing is "like an Eat. Pray. Love. kind of thing." Ew. I might be divorced and taking a trip, but the similarities end there. I didn't break up my marriage. I'm not unhappy. My trip is only two weeks long, and I have to pay for it myself. Like Gilbert though, I'm writing about my trip (albeit a blog) and if this were to become a book, a good title might be Ride. Think. Discover. I'm riding. While I'm riding I'm thinking. And when the trip is over, I will have discovered many things -- places I've never been too, deeper healing, more confidence... it's hard to imagine the discoveries and insights in advance. But I have certainty there will be some. I have long felt there is a book inside me; I just haven't figured out what hasn't been written yet. I'm not convinced I'm interesting to more than the 40 or so people looking at my blog (pretty much polite family and friends I think). Gilbert's take-a-trip-write-a-bestseller-about-it formula was copied again earlier this year by Cheryl Strayed in Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. The book is her story of hiking alone on the PC Trail, a trip started because her life was in meltdown. The NY Times writes a great review of the book. Full disclosure...I have not read it yet, but I did buy the iBook for those quiet nights roughing it in a bed and breakfast without TV or internet. I don't know. As noted in a previous blog, it's hard to believe an ordinary life can be a fascinating story, let alone a bestseller. Maybe if I survive a major, unexpected weather event or a life-changing wildlife encounter or I meet the next Prince Charming, there will be something more to hang a full-length book on. There will be a book one day. For now I blog. The last piece of the itinerary dropped into place today. Initially I was just exhausted by the process. I'm a good planner, but when it comes to vacations, I don't like to plan them. I prefer to arrive without having read anything about where I am going, have a hotel the first night and then make it up from there. Years ago, I used some frequent-flyer miles for my Dad and I to go to Germany and Switzerland. He did all the planning, which meant three hotels (arrival day, one particular city and the night before departure). Other than that we winged the trip through the countryside, loosely aiming for certain towns and going down roads just because they looked interesting. It was a great trip. On a bike going through small towns with limited accommodations, this would not be a good idea. Failure to find a room could mean 30 more miles of riding! I feel some real excitement about going now. I've picked out some great-looking B&B's (like the one in this photo) and talked to many of the innkeepers while making arrangements. They were all very nice and helpful with biking information; they survive in large measure because of the trail. I figured out how I am getting to Pittsburgh...my friend in DC, where I will leave my car at the beginning of the trip, generously offered to drive me to PGH! This means the bike goes with me, no assembly in PGH required. No shipping, no Amtrak or Greyhound long rides... a much softer launch onto the trail, don't you think? I'm sure I will be a bit nervous and I think it's going to feel like being dropped off at college for the first time... so much unknown, but great adventure ahead. I don't think I'll cry this time, but you never know.... :) 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.
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!!
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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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