I washed the caked dirt off the bike last night (in the hotel parking lot). I woke up early to lubricate the chain and cables.

I found a broken connection on one of my panniers (saddle bags). I tried to rethread the plastic nut using a spare bolt but my fingers began cramping from the detailed nature of my effort.  So I MacGyver’d it using a couple of zip ties. Without this critical repair, the bag could have fallen off the mount.

As an aside, I experience finger and toe cramps pretty frequently when bicycle touring, especially when I subject these digits to unexpected moves. They’re used to simply going along for the ride.

Weather is clear today but winds from the North are fairly strong. When I started my ride, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  I reveled in the sunshine!

I rode through some quaint Pennsylvania towns like Columbia and Lancaster.

I crossed the Susquehanna River into Columbia.   I was struck by the massive width of the river.  It supplies fifty percent of the fresh water in the Chesapeake Bay, and is the longest commercially non-navigable river in North America.

In Columbia during a water stop, I was engaged in conversation by 86-year old Bob Snyder, a retired businessman.  I could see the sparkle in his eye as he talked about his town. He was fascinated by my adventure. He guessed my age to be in the 40’s.  Thanks, Bob!

Lancaster had a more modern vibe, and lots of hills.

The second half of my ride was through farmlands and Amish Country. Lots of horses, cows, and chicken farms (which I could spell from a great distance away).

I observed several Amish horse drawn buggies, but followed the custom of not taking pictures without permission. One buggy driver actually waved to me.  I did snap this picture:

For twenty miles or so, I had to beware of horse droppings.

I also came across this covered bridge:

As expected, the winds picked up as the day wore on.  Clouds populated the sky.  And hills populated the entire route, but my legs didn’t seem to mind as much today.  All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable day.

Tally for the day: 63 miles; 2,900 feet of climbing

Today’s ride was a rinse and repeat—similar to yesterday.  Forecasts varied from moderate to heavy rain to morning only to morning and afternoon.  Building off yesterday’s confidence, I decided to go for it.

After about 10 miles of mostly climbing, the heavens opened up.  I needed to stop because heavy rain makes my bike computer go haywire. I took shelter under a large tree. I stopped for about an hour when the heavy rain subsided.

Here a picture:

Here’s the radar I was watching:

I climbed a lot of hills today.  This picture provides some perspective:

I did take note of some of the points of interest: Prettyboy Dam (built in 1933), the first commercial ice cream company founded in Seven Valleys, PA, in 1851, and this cool artwork near York College:

The last 11 miles of the journey was on a rails-to-trails unpaved road. The trail has the best compacted base I’ve ever ridden on. The heavy rain had minimal impact on the trail’s ride-ability.  I did encounter a couple of down trees:

This tree required me to lift the bike—up and over!

As I rode along, I heard a loud crack. A tree was snapping as I was passing it.  I instinctively pedaled madly, hearing the large branch crash to the ground.

I Continue reading →

Today’s forecast was rain. The forecast called for moderate to light rain ending by late morning. So I decided to begin phase 3 of my cycling adventure.

I donned my gear: rubber booties to keep my shoes dry, rain pants, waterproof jacket, seat cover, and helmet cover.

The morning was cool but humidity was high.  My rain suit does a good job of keeping the rain out. But it also keeps the heat in—and the sweat.  The good news is that sweat doesn’t have the soaking effect that the rain has.  As the rain began to stop, I removed the rain gear and was reasonably dry by the time I reached Baltimore.

The journey through Virginia was primarily on bike trails.  I enjoyed the cardinals, squirrels, and chipmunks frolicking in the rain.

I entered DC through Georgetown.  Sites included Georgetown University, Watergate, some of the really nice homes in that part of town, and numerous historic bars.  I appreciate DC for the exceptional bike lanes.

As I crossed into Maryland, I rode a combination of bike trails and two lane streets.

I anticipated that there would be a lot of hills today.  I conquered the early hills with relative ease. But hill climbing is progressively taxing so I had to take it easy on the Maryland hills, stopping when my heart rate monitor suggested the need for a break. I also had to work through a cramp in my hamstring. Drinking more electrolytes helped.

Even with the rain and hills, it was a good ride until I encountered a road closure near the Patapsco River near Baltimore. There was no posted detour so I had to scout it out.  My escape added 2 miles and another 500 ft of climbing. But, all in all, it was a good day one!

Tally for the day: 65 miles; 3,500 ft of climbing

It’s been 3-1/2 weeks since I completed phase one.  Herminia and I spent half that time on a delightful trip to Portugal and Spain.  Here’s a recap of phase two:

• 16 days of cycling; 1033 miles; average 65 miles/day
• Dropped another 10 pounds in body weight
• Resting heart rate has settled into the 60’s
• Energy level is great
• Flexibility is outstanding

Observations from phase two:

• The continued generosity of donors to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance continues to inspire me. I appreciate you all!
• To date, this ride has been as hard as I thought it would be. High winds have been a persistent challenge. There have been more than a few mornings when I thought about waving the white flag due to fatigue and the anticipation of yet another day’s challenge. But after assessing that I feel “good enough,” get on the bike, and begin pedaling, these thoughts evaporate. And, before I know it, I’ve logged another 60+ miles without a journey-ending injury or mechanical failure. This gives me the confidence to continue.
• I’m going to miss cycling through rural areas as I prepare for phase three. Cycling in areas of increased vehicle traffic requires a lot more focus for obvious reasons.  As such, cyclists lose some degree of independence. I treasure the feeling of serenity that comes with cycling on a rural road when there is no one else around.
• I’m convinced that flying an American flag on the back of my bike tends to suppress negative behavior from passing motorists. The number of irate motorists I’ve observed has been remarkably low (less than 5 for the entire trip thus far).

Lessons learned:

• A daily goal of 60-70 miles is about right for me.
• DoorDash isn’t something I used in the past.  I’m a new fan, especially on those days when I’m too tired to go out to dinner!
• I’ve found no optimal cycling route planning app.  I triangulate between Adventure Cycling Association maps, RideWithGPS, and Google Maps. I’ve become very skilled at making route adjustments on the fly. And I’ve started to ask AI if there is a route that requires less climbing when the elevation profile for a planned route is disconcerting.
• Speaking of climbing, I climbed over 3,400 feet on the day before I finished phase two.  This was good practice for what’s to come in phase three, especially in Maine.

Preparations for phase three:

• Shift to a minimalist mindset for the amount of stuff I carry in my panniers. Maybe I don’t need to carry a spare chain through routes that have more bike shops along the way? This is in anticipation of the climbs that are to come, especially in Maine.
• Fix the minor wobble in my back wheel. I’m guessing that the wobble developed on gravel and sand roads, which tend to impose more lateral stress on the wheels. I have the tools to true the wheel by adjusting spoke tension.  I just have to be careful not to over tension any spokes, which can result in them breaking on the road.
• Perform detailed planning for the route.

Here’s a panoramic view of one of the places we visited in Portugal, Nazaré:

Having arranged to meet my family and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance officials at the Lincoln Memorial, I decided to make this last day of phase two an easy one.

I slept late (0600 is late for me).  I spent an hour cleaning and maintaining my bike.  And I headed off for the short ride to DC.  I soon connected with the Mount Vernon Trail, which provided a leisurely ride into the city.  I stopped at Gravelly Point, a popular place to watch planes take off from Reagan National Airport.  I stopped to admire the monument-rich skyline of the city of my birth.  And then I rode over the Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial is one of my favorite DC monuments.  As a child growing up in DC, I used to ride my bike from my home to the various monuments.  I was inspired by Lincoln’s words inscribed on the walls of his monument.  And I sometimes felt that his statue was looking straight into my eyes. It was as if this great man was conveying high expectations to me for whatever was to come in my life.

I was greeted by Herminia, our son Robert, nephew David and his significant other.  Shilpy Vohra and Erica Chapman from the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Team also joined us.

Here’s a picture courtesy of Shilpy:

The scene was loud, with an activist group playing music and making speeches in the background.  Gotta love DC!  Yet we enjoyed a grand celebration.

Afterwards, our son Robert joined me to bike the remaining 19 miles home.

Tally for the day: 32 miles.
Tally for Phase Two: 1033
Tally for Atlantic Coast: 1595

Today’s winds are sufficiently minor.  I woke up feeling pretty good.  I re-planned my route to minimize climbing, at least as much as I could.

Even with rerouting, I encountered many, many hills dispersed throughout the route.  Knowing that this would be my last day of relatively long miles during phase two, I attacked each one of the hills.

One of the sites I passed by was the National Museum of the Marine Corps:

It was good to be back into familiar territory.

Towards the end of the ride, I decided to shorten my route by finishing on highway US-1 North.

Today’s tally: 56 miles.

The morning was cold but winds were light, and shifting towards my direction of travel as the day wore on.

As the day warmed, I was entertained by more butterflies.

I knew that today’s ride was especially hilly–and it was.  Hills were generally longer and steeper.

I usually love crossing a bridge over a creek but today was different.  Going downhill to a creek bridge just meant that I needed to climb back up to match the surrounding topography.

I experienced the lowest speeds going uphill (6 mph) and the fastest speeds downhill (30 mph).

Speaking of speed, I sped through a downhill so fast towards the James River bridge that it was unsafe for me to take the left turnoff to the pedestrian/bicycle bridge.  I crossed the bridge with cars and trucks and was fortunate to be able to cut over to the intended path before having to explain my situation to the toll taker.

As I transitioned from days of rural riding towards the urban sprawl of Fredricksburg, stoplights seemed like a new thing to me. I missed the rapid stop-and-go of those rural stop signs.

I also encountered rush-hour traffic, which I readily navigated through using bike lanes and medians.

Although today was tiring, I felt remarkably good at the end of the ride.

Today’s tally: 85 miles

Today was groundhog day–fierce winds against me and even colder than yesterday (34 degrees feels-like temperature when I started).  Ironically, the hills didn’t feel as challenging as the previous day but there were more of them.

Early in the trek, I ended up on the worst dirt road ever and ended up walking the bike for half a mile because it was safer than riding. Flat dirt roads are generally manageable.  Steep uphill dirt roads–oh my!

As a man of faith, I took note of the number of one particular state road that I encountered:

I studied the map to see if I could take an alternate route–no luck.  As I took the turn and headed down the mile stretch of this road, I couldn’t help but notice that the birds weren’t singing as much compared to earlier portions of the route.  Strange but true.  Suffice it to say that I was happy when I made the next turn.

As I rode past farm fields, the sound of my bike or rustling American flag often flushed doves out of the brush,  They make a distinctive repetitive chirp when they take flight.  Today, I was surprised then a very large and beautiful pheasant took flight in front me me. I marveled at it’s distinctive tail feathers.

Also, I took note of significant logging operations in the area.  I gave the logging trucks their respect, often pulling off the side of the road.  Here’s a picture of logs stacked a few stories high:

Today’s tally: 65 miles.

I begin every morning by evaluating the weather in my current location and intended destination.  Today’s evaluation was disconcerting.  Winds are forecast to be heavier than normal for the next two days, and morning feels-like temperatures will be in the low 30’s.  And, oh by the way, the climbing profiles get higher by the day.

I was motivated by the opportunity to cross into Virginia, getting ever closer to home.  So I decided to press on.

I surprised myself with my leg’s ability to handle today’s hills.  I did have to downshift more frequently.

In previous days, I’ve held back on going all out so that I could have sufficient reserve to get to my destination after fatigue set in.  Today was a turning point, giving me the confidence to know that I could cycle all out for longer distances.  No more need to hold back!

Yellow and Black Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies seemed to enjoy today’s winds, gliding across the roads in front of me.  Whenever I stopped for a water break, a few seemed attracted to my bright yellow helmet as they made cautious approaches to me.  It’s often the simple things that make bicycle touring such a joy!

Through many miles of rural cycling, I observed many stately looking homes as well as scores of dilapidated and abandoned homes.  A few of the latter had their own sense of history and beauty, such as this one:

This sign, located on a very remote farm road, warmed my heart:

Today’s tally: 62 miles