"I'd Do It Again"

At orientation for the ride, America by Bicycle gave out caps with their logo on the front and, on the back, the phrase "I'd Do It Again." I thought it was a little presumptuous to have that at the beginning of the tour, but now that it's over, I'd say it's an understatement. Now, I would say "I WILL Do it Again."

When I set out to prepare for this ride, my goal was to train enough so that I would enjoy the ride rather than endure it. While the ride obviously involved some work, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. To be sure, some days were extraordinarily hot, but I had trained for that and once I was hot and sweaty, it was just a matter of making sure I didn't get dehydrated. There was a fair amount of climbing on the ride, but again, I had trained for that, and except for a time or two that I didn't get into the right gear at first, the climbs were just difficult enough to be satisfying. I had even found enough rainy days in Southern California to train for the experience of riding in the rain and, though it wouldn't be my first choice of riding weather, it was easy enough to adapt to it.

In the end, I found I was among the stronger riders on the tour, and several of the riders commented on my ability, especially on the climbs. It was great riding, and it was fun to know that it was something others think I am good at.

I look back at the trip as a series of great rides. One reason I love to bicycle is because it allows me to see the country in a way and at a speed I can't get any other way. Although each day involved the goal of getting farther toward our destination, the routes were well chosen to provide great riding conditions and to see the fabric of the areas we traveled. Most of the time, we were on quiet roads with little traffic and great views. We rode through woods where people have worked for hundreds of years, farms that feed us, and communities where we live and work. We visited smaller cities that you will never see if you fly from one point to another and might not see even if you drive. We found roadside restaurants where the owners were thrilled to see us and where the food was simply good and nutritious. I lived on the east coast for 21 years and traveled the I-95 corridor dozens of times; after the last nine days, I now know it far better than I ever have.

Going into the ride, I was concerned in the back of my mind about how I would find riding with a group. Of the 6,600 miles I rode in the 18 months before the ride started, less than 100 miles was with anyone other than myself, and I had gotten used to riding at my pace and with my thoughts. I wasn't sure that I would find riding with others congenial.

I needn't have worried; in fact, I found riding with and getting to know the others on the tour was one of the high points of the ride. And "riding with others" came in a variety of flavors. I spent many miles just in front of, just behind or right next to Chris, and found that having someone close by brightened the ride. But I also rode right with several other riders for just a short while, and the chance to share a brief part of the ride with a variety of people was also enriching. And finally, there were some riders I would not see much at all during the day, but the fact that we had shared the route made the day more complete when we gathered at the end of the day. One of my resolutions coming off of this ride is to spend more time riding with others.

So yes, I will do it again. I'm not sure when, and I'm not sure where. It is hard to carve out 10 consecutive days to do a tour like the one I just completed, let alone the 20 or more days to do some of the longer tours America by Bicycle offers. The training also is time consuming. After sacrificing most of the day each Saturday for the six weeks before the tour, and riding early and late each week day, I was ready for the training to end and the tour to begin. But AbB offers tours down the West coast, up the Mississippi, around New England and across the country and I'm anxious to try all or part of some of these tours in the not too distant future.

Thanks for following my travels here, and if you are a rider, ride safely and remember to keep the rubber part of the bicycle on the road. I look forward to riding with you (again) sometime soon. If you're not a rider, maybe it's time to start . . .

Day Nine -- Hunt Valley, MD to Washington, DC

We started out this morning riding through the suburbs on the outskirts of Baltimore. Although there were plenty of horse farms and woods, there was also quite a bit of traffic compared to what we had been riding through, and the roads were narrow, making the riding a bit more stressful than past days. But we had a pleasant enough ride in perfect weather as we worked our way first north, then west and south to the northern edge of the DC metropolitan area.

Our route took us through the Patuxent watershed and by Brighton Dam, just as we crossed into Montgomery County. While other riders have been dutifully chronicling our crossing of state lines, I had to stop for a picture entering Montgomery County Maryland, my home for over 20 years.





I had arranged to meet Scott Alexander, friend and former minister from Bethesda who has ridden across the country twice (shown below), to meet me along the route and ride in to DC with me. We met up at a small crossroads in Brookville, MD, and I enjoyed catching up with him as we rode into DC. Chris, Scott and I joined a larger group at the last SAG stop, and Scott was very helpful in leading us through Rock Creek Park into DC.

We arrived downtown DC, the end of my trip, about 2:30, where Toni was there to greet me. I quickly introduced Toni to some of my riding buddies, but then had to quickly say good-bye while squeezing in a quick shower and packing up my bicycle to ship back to California. I hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to leave the trip when most of the rest of the group is pressing on to Florida, and I wish I could go on with them.

Toni and I spent the evening celebrating her birthday, though I was asleep by 9:00.

Here's our route for Monday: 82.1 miles; 1,893 feet of climbing. I plan to give some overall thoughts on the ride in another posting in the next several days, so stay tuned.

Day Eight -- Lancaster, PA to Hunt Valley, MD

We started out this morning riding down to, and then along, the Susquehanna River. After riding in high heat, high humidity and rain, it was a special pleasure to ride on a quiet summer Sunday morning with highs in the 80’s and not too much humidity. Our route took us up and down, away from and back to the river, in what was advertised as a “very hard” day for climbing. The climbing proved quite manageable, and was over by the time we were thirty miles into the ride.

The “down” part of the up and down actually proved more challenging, as a good many of us found ourselves fishtailing around one particular curve on a wet road with debris in the middle. I used all my cycling skills (including a few I didn’t know I had) to stay upright, and was fortunate no-traffic was coming up the hill as I veered into the far lane. Two of our riders, Julie and Debbie, were not quite so fortunate, and took a spill at that point. Debbie escaped with some road rash, but Julie broke her collarbone pretty badly. We are all glum over her injury.

That descent was followed by a long climb out of the Susquehanna River Valley and into open farmland. This is a shot looking back over the river valley, and is typical of what we saw until we crossed into Maryland.

Shortly after crossing into Maryland, we rode through a beautiful wooded valley along Rocks State Park, and then climbed out into the horse country northwest of Baltimore. We stayed in this type of area until we arrived at Hunt Valley around 1:00. Nine of us walked a block to a local restaurant, where we were treated to some regional variations on old standards, including a very good “Eastern Shore” seafood wrap.

Today’s route is below: 67.7 miles; 2,415 ft of climbing.

Day Seven -- Pottstown, PA to Lancaster, PA

Our dousing as we ran into Pottstown yesterday was a warm up for a lengthier bit of rain this morning. We got out in between rain bands, but got pretty wellsoaked within the first hour. I could tell from looking at the relief map that we were rolling through some pretty little hollows, but between the rain and fog, I didn't see much of it. We did get a chance to see a characteristic east Pennsylvania barn before we got too soaked.

The rain made it hard to follow the cue sheet directions along with all the other distractions, and I just about blew past a turn, but fortunately was alerted by riders just behind me. I was able to return the favor a few moments later as they nearly led me past another turn off, but I called them back. There are some definite advantages to riding in a group.

The rain finally let up just as we got to the first SAG stop. We wound around the Maple Grove Raceway where traffic was backed up for drag races, which were likely cancelled due to the rain. Just after that, I came around the corner and found half a dozen wild turkeys crossing the road. I was recovering from a bit of a climb and didn't get a picture, but the contrast in less than a mile from the frenetic bustle of the raceway to wildlife was remarkable.

The countryside abruptly opened up to open farmlands,
and we spent the afternoon riding through cornfields with corn over 8 feet tall surrounding us. We were in Amish and Mennonite country, and saw a couple of horse drawn buggies and carts on the road. The weather was still iffy, so the pictures weren't great, but this gives you an idea of the terrain.

Today's ride was relatively short, and we were all pretty well soaked from the morning's rain, so most of us pushed ahead to the motel in Lancaster and arrived before lunch. We spent a good hour cleaning the day's grime off our bikes and then ourselves and our clothes. As sticky and dirty as I felt after cleaning the bike, a little water and soap left me feeling great. Chris and I ate at the hotel restaurant, which was remarkably good, and I had a terrific burger and a decent glass of wine.

Here's today:s route: 65.6 miles and 2,425 feet of climbing.

Day Six -- Easton, PA to Pottstown, PA

The Delaware River was good to us yesterday, so we continued along it for a while this morning along dinky little roads (the best kind for bicycling!) that ran right alongside the river and were usually called (appropriately) River Road. For a good long while, I was in a stretch between other riders, and more or less by myself. One of the joys of this trip is the chance to ride with others, but it was pleasant to spin along with just myself and the river for a while.

We eventually left the river and climbed out of the Delaware River valley into the surrounding Pennsylvania countryside. Most of the day was spent rolling through farmland and some country estates. As we have traveled south, the dense New England forests have given way to more open woodlands and farms.

While the group today was broken up into smaller groups, many of us were fairly close together, and we had just about the entire group at our second SAG (rest) stop in an open park about 45 miles into the ride. The wife of one of our riders (Andrew Stroukoff) joined us for dinner last night and brought chocolate bundt cake and chocolate chip cookies, which we broke out at this SAG stop. I think we stayed here longer than most stops. . . .

Shortly after this stop we rolled into Skippack, PA, a small town with a good collection of little restaurants, and several of us stopped at "Butterflies" cafe for what has become the almost obligatory chicken wrap and smoothie lunch. The proprietor was thrilled to have us, as she has been struggling in this economy since she opened in July.

A line of thunderstorms made the final run of 20 miles into Pottstown a little exciting. The sky grew quite dark and a strong cool wind whipped us around for a while. There were strong thunderstorms and hail in the area, but we escaped with just enough rain to get us thoroughly wet. Just as the first few drops began to fall, Chris and I were passing a peach orchard selling peaches out of the barn, and we ducked in in case we needed to get off the road. After about five minutes, we decided to press on, but stopped long enough to enjoy some freshly picked, sweet, ripe and juicy peaches.

Here's today's route: 70.6 miles, 1837 feet of climbing.

Day Five -- Port Jervis, NY to Easton, PA

Today was all about the Delaware River. Our hotel last night was a few hundred feet above the river in Port Jervis, and tonight in Easton we are just about a half mile away from the river, and we weren't much further away from the river at any point during the day.

We spent most of the morning in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, where there were fewer cars than cyclists -- at least today. It was foggy and moist all morning, so we had few great views of the surrounding highlands, but it was relatively cool and pleasant riding.

We swung away from the river a few times, and that always involved at least a bit of a climb, as the terrain pitched up sharply on both sides of the river, as shown here. We didn't have to climb this particular escarpment, but there was one climb that felt almost like it!



For a good part of the morning, Chris and I rode out ahead until we caught Cindy Holthouse -- who's always leading out ahead -- and then rode with her until lunch. She's shown here, resting comfortably after the morning's hills.

We stopped for lunch at a standard road-side sandwich and ice cream place, which had great wraps, shakes and fruit smoothies. Chris and I were with the first group to arrive at lunch, but left last, and took up the rear in the afternoon. Though it was fun to let ourselves go and put in some quick and hard miles in the morning, I'm taking care to enjoy the trip and not try to "win" it. Unlike this video (thanks Ellen!) it's NOT all about performance, at least on this trip.

After lunch, we rode on quiet roads that ran right alongside the river on both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides. The riding was generally on even grades along the river (with just enough exceptions to remind us what climbing was like). The dampness of the morning had dissipated somewhat, but it was still cloudy enough to avoid being hot, though the air was still close whenever we stopped or slowed for a hill.

Here's today's route: 74.2 miles, 2,310 feet of climbing.

Day Four -- Poughkeepsie NY to Port Jervis NY

Our ride this morning started out crossing the Hudson River on the Mid-Hudson Bridge. We had to walk the approximately one mile across the bridge, which was just as well, as it would have been a bit harrowing for me to ride a narrow sidewalk hundreds of feet above the Hudson.

We quickly climbed out of the Hudson River valley, and rode through quiet wooded countryside, wetlands and small towns beneath the prominence of Milbrook Mountain in the Shawangunk (White Faced) mountain range. As someone said, they are not quite as impressive as the Grand Tetons, but they were still a distinctive backdrop for the ride. We were still in wine country, but all the wineries were closed, so I was not tempted to stop for any tastings today.

After we swung away from the Shawangunks, we rode through gently rolling countryside on an easy and relatively short ride. A few weeks ago, if I had done this ride, I would have remarked about the spectacular beauty, quiet roads and fun riding. Today, it was just “another great ride.” The fact that the spectacular has become commonplace is a testament to what a great trip this has been.

Almost the whole group of 18 riders stopped for lunch at a deli/market in Otisville, New York, a small town that consists of just a handful of buildings. While we were there, I think bicycles well outnumbered buildings. The proprietors of the market were thrilled to have us visit and very helpful.

The last 15-20 miles of the ride consisted of a gentle run into the town of Port Jervis, which lies where New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey meet. About a half dozen of us came into town together, under somewhat threatening skies, and we quickened the pace a bit to avoid getting caught by a thundershower. In the end, we only ran into a few drops of rain, and the sun was emerging as we climbed up the last little hill to our hotel.

We ate this evening at a typical, small town diner, where I enjoyed getting to know Cindy Holthouse, from the Boston area, and Jean-Francois Munn, a labor lawyer from Montreal, a little better. With my ride almost half over, and most of the riders going on to Florida, I am beginning to wish I could spend more time on the ride getting to know more of the riders better.

Here’s today’s route: 68.9 miles and 1,750 feet of climbing.