Lotta States In A Short Time
Well, I’m currently sitting in Manhattan. I started riding again on May 8, but it feels like that was a month ago because of how much I’ve seen and done in that short amount of time. A lot happens on this route between Richmond and New York City. I noticed my photography slowed down this week and I’m not sure if it’s because I was too busy enjoying this stretch of the Greenway or it was the hills…. the hills never stopped. I guess at the end of the day less photography makes my life a little easier as it leads to less time editing and an easier time selecting photos to show people.
May 8, 2021 74.80mi
Back. On. The. Saddle. Whenever I take a zero I always get a bit anxious the night before I hop back on. Thankfully last night I was with some childhood friends and it’s always a blast getting to spend time with them. The second I get back on my bike all the nerves go away. I got a new sleeping pad because I wasn’t sleeping well on my old one and I left some stuff behind to get shipped back, so my bike felt a bit different, especially with the new Marathons installed. My new pad is bigger in every dimension and takes up half the space in my bag. Slowly made it out of the disgustingly hilly Richmond where I linked up with the Route 1 Bike Route. It is quite beautiful out here in the back roads that take you through farms and wooded sections, albeit a bit hilly. They add up fast, those tiny hills. The wind was supposed to be pretty calm today but it ended up being a consistent 20+ all day in the wrong direction. Here’s a fun fact: I rode more elevation today than the entire first month of my tour combined and what a shock to the body that was. The south has the wind for its hills and as you get further north well, they have hills for hills. It’s a fun mental game having to consistently bike up and down hills all day on a fully loaded touring rig. I passed loads of roadies all morning and one even slowed down to chat with me for a bit before speeding off! It’s always nice to talk to other cyclists, it doesn’t matter who it is or what they are riding. It is kind of funny though, when they wave they all seem to do it in sync, and I was joking to myself that they practice waving like that so they can stay as aero as possible.
May 9, 2021 74.54mi
Woke up early knowing I had a long day of riding to get to DC. Got some great donuts in Fredericksburg and hit the hills. I’ve realized that there is no warming up on flat roads around here. It’s straight out of the door and on to the hills. So, so many hills. By the time I hit mile 25 for the day it felt like I was on mile 80. One real good thing about all the hills is that the surrounding land is real nice to look at while you’re riding 4mph uphill on your 85lb touring rig. Made it to a relatively quiet National Mall by later afternoon and took a few minutes to soak it in before biking up to stay at a friends place. The hills though… I’ll be having dreams about those hills.
May 10, 2021 40.22mi
Took it easy this morning and walked around town with my friend. It was a gloomy morning but the early afternoon burned off the clouds just in time for me to get on my bike around 1pm, which is the latest start I’ve gotten so far. Last night I did some quick route peeking and thought I had only about 20-25mi to ride today. I was wrong. But that’s alright because I spent the majority of the day on bike paths. It made for an enjoyable and stress free day on the saddle.
May 11, 2021 62.01mi
Very tired and very sore today, my body feels like it is in a slump. My warmup time on the bike took a bit longer today than it usually does. I was kind of bumming about how I was feeling but a Bald Eagle and a Blue Heron flew past me at the same time. I hadn’t seen a Bald Eagle yet this trip so that got me pretty stoked. Biked through Annapolis, ME today and ate in a small park on top of the hill. Seemed like a cool town. I finally made it to the B&A Trail! This was a section I was looking forward to since I started looking in to the ECG over a year ago, and it was a well kept and fun trail to ride. Suffered through the rough road and path conditions in to Baltimore. I’ll probably be taking a 0 here tomorrow to see some old family friends.
May 13, 2021 54.68Mi
What’s up with diesel trucks and their need to “roll coal” on me at least once a day? It’s usually when I’m going real slow uphill as well. I pity them for thinking that is something fun and smart to do to a cyclist on the side of the road. Anyway, getting out of Baltimore wasn’t that bad. Hit those lovely back country roads that my body is still getting used to. It’s the knee pain that I haven’t had this entire tour that’s kind of annoying. Really, there wasn’t that much traffic in the morning, just me and the sounds of springtime with lots and lots of horses and cows that are interested in my presence. They usually stop eating and watch me slowly roll by going 5mph uphill. It was quiet enough to hear them chompin’ on their grass. For a while there it really felt like I was pretty far away from everything but the traffic started to pick up pretty quick in the afternoon. I’ve realized I’m taking less photos. Must find 35mm to get my Sure Shot going again.
May 14, 2021 65.01Mi
It was cold last night, woke up to a brisk 40 degrees. Spent most of the day on back roads surrounded by dump trucks. I couldn’t figure out where they were coming from or going to. Made it to Delaware and passed my first big car crash of the tour. It was between a car and a dump truck. One of them hit the other and they both veered across all 4 lanes and in to the woods, making me quite grateful that I have been able to bike around the trucks with no issues. So, Delaware has around 950,000 residents right? It felt like every single resident was in their car for the first 10 miles or so. It wasn’t that much of a bother though because there were adequate bike lanes in the street, actually they might be the widest lanes I’ve been in this tour. I passed through New Castle which felt very European with its stone row houses. Finished up the day on the Jack A. Markell Trail, or locally called The Jam. Again, it is always so nice to finish up a day on a dedicated bike path. Getting out of the traffic feels so good. Biked through Wilmington then finished up the last four miles that went uphill the entire time. My Warmshowers host says they never tell people how bad the hills are getting up to their house. It’s okay though, because this was yet another fantastic Warmshowers experience.
May 15, 2021 82.39mi
Today was a good one. Got a tip from my host last night that cut a few miles off the start of my day… and it was ALL downhill! Didn’t take long to cross in to Pennsylvania and made my way up to Philly. The heat hit hard and fast today, by the time I made it to the city I was pretty scorched. Meandered around the city and got myself a cheese steak before pushing out of town. It was fun zig-zagging through the tight residential neighborhoods outside of Philly. Oh yeah, south of Philly I rode the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. It was full of birdwatchers and folks just enjoying the outdoors. Most of the trail riding I did today was on mixed surfaces like gravel, packed gravel, or packed gravel and sand. It was all rideable on my rig but I definitely feel every bump with all the weight I’m carrying. Passed in to New Jersey mid-afternoon! Three states in one day! I rode the first section of the Delaware & Raritan Trail on my way to Princeton. New York City tomorrow!
May 16, 2021 61.51mi
Spent the first 23 miles or so on the D&R Trail. I did end up riding small sections of it on the adjacent road just to get off the gravel and speed up my riding a bit. By the end of the trail my bike had a nice red sheen to it from the red gravel. Half way through the day I decided to take a detour off the ECG so I could ride through Staten Island on my way to Jersey City to catch the ferry over to Manhattan. I’ve spent so much time riding my bike around NYC but never took the ferry over to Staten, so this was a perfect opportunity to finally cross it off the list. Plus it took about 15mi off my ride today, which I loved because I was quite eager to get to Manhattan. Met Kenzie and some friends in Battery Park before riding uptown to where we will be staying for a few days. It’s pretty neat to see how much the City has changed since we moved out a few months ago. I spent most of last year biking up 8th Ave by myself. Sure, there would be a few people but it was nothing like what it was. So seeing everyone out today felt good. I’ll be back on the saddle in a few days after I catch up with some friends and get my City time in.
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