Coda: The Perfect Fit

I wake up to my alarm clock and race to find the button that will shut it off. Reaching through the darkness, I find my bike clothes and pull them on. It's chilly, so I add on the long sleeves and leggings. It's not yet 6, so I've still got time before I absolutely have to leave.

Breakfast is cold cereal and yogurt, with a cup of orange juice. This is the way life should be, I think. Starting the day with a bike ride is perfect. There is nothing better, except for starting the day with a bike ride with friends.

On this morning, I will not be riding with my friends, for they have scattered to the four winds (are there REALLY only four? I'd have to disagree with that). Instead, I'll be truly ending my Big Ride. Since I returned from my cross country trip, I've been riding into school every day. I've ridden to a doctor's appointment in Lunenburg. I've ridden to visit friends 30 miles away...but I really didn't think about it. After all, I'd ride that far to get to my 2nd breakfast/1st lunch.

After today, I'll have a Honda Fit...I'll be among the car-owning again.

I fly today...it's exhilarating to feel the early morning air streaming across my face. Averaging 15.2 miles per hour, I reach Northampton before 9 am. My ride takes me 2 hours and 40 minutes.

This trip confirmed for me what I already knew. There are many, many good people in this world. Big projects can't be done in a day - it's necessary to break them down into smaller, manageable chunks. The less time you spend preparing for something, the more you will suffer later on. Going down a hill at 52.0 mph is both exhilarating and terrifying...but I'll do it again in a heartbeat. I love my bike. And I also love my dog, and all the things I do outside (like kayaking...and hiking...and EVERYTHING...), and all my friends. There just isn't the time in the day for me to do it all! And I can do anything (except downhill ski through a revolving door).

As much as I missed all my "old" friends, I miss my new friends, too. I love the simplicity of waking up, packing my tent, and riding 80 miles. The most difficult decisions are what flavor of ice cream I'll have (the daily dose of ice cream is a given), and where I'll set up my tent. Someone else is in charge of making sure that there's a meal for me, and there's no such thing as cleaning the kitchen.

One day, I will ride again, another long-distance trip. And I will hike the Appalachian Trail. But until then, there are other things that need to be done: I need to teach music, play violin, hike with my dog, play with my kayak, hang out with my friends. I need to do laundry, finish unpacking my apartment, pay my bills and yes, wash the dishes in my sink. All the mundane things in life that I've been able to avoid this summer.

Who knows what else life will bring? Whatever happens, I'm game...

Day 57: Home

55.04 mi max 41.0 4:23.20 avg 12.5

That is all that I have written in my journal, just the statistics for the day. I don't remember much of the ride. I do know that I spent some time in the morning trying to figure out logistics for buying a car. I remember lunch at Papa Gino's, burning the roof of my mouth on the cheese. I learned that the song "Mary Had A Little Lamb" was written in Sterling, MA - and there's a monument for the lamb on the common. I remember that I wanted to be home, regardless of the renewed viciousness of my saddle sores, regardless of the final hill (which I STILL had to stop on), regardless of the fact that if I wanted to sleep on my bed, I'd have to unpack stuff and find a place to PUT my bed.

I remember seeing Peter walking towards me on my new street, welcoming me home. He'd half-expected helicopters and flashing lights...but I'd rather just appear quietly (which is what I did). He asked me, "So, what's next?" I said, glibly, "Oh, the Appalachian Trail, but not this week." Before I do that...there are bills, laundry, dishes...all the things of "ordinary life" that have to be taken care of.

Madison came home, because Andy is the best! School is in session, and life has settled back into a different kind of insanity, a more complex version. I can't wait to get on my bike again. It's been a great trip.

Day 56: Running out of Road

75.63 mi max 35.5 6:20.04 avg 11.9

I did it! I officially biked all the way across the US. I've run out of eastbound road. I could go further east, I suppose, if I went all the way to Eastport or Lubec, up in Maine, but I started by dipping my rear wheel in the Pacific and ended by putting my front wheel in Pleasure Bay in South Boston, in the Atlantic. I can't go further east without going significantly further north.

I had intended to leave Erik's by 7. At 10:30, I finally pulled out, after a yummy pancake breakfast. I should mention that the rain did nothing to hasten my departure. The terrain was far gentler than it has been, but I've worked my body really hard and it just hasn't been able to recover.

The sky did clear...it was exciting to be visiting places I'd been before. The Concord Scout House...I stopped at Wheelworks and bought a new tire (something that needed to be done). I called Nate as I went by Walden Pond, so we did some catching up - that was awesome. Plus, it was watermelon day (check out what Thoreau is holding). I'm home.

Because I'd spent so long moseying to Lexington, I didn't get to spend as much time with my Russian family as I'd have liked. It was still great to see them for the time that I did. I'll just have to bike back here!

As I was cruising along the bike path at 16 mph tonight, I realized that I'd never dreamed, back when I was commuting from home in Lexington to work in Boston, that I'd ever ride those trails as part of a cross-country adventure. Not when I was struggling "up" the hill. I'm not even sure that I noticed the incline this evening.

So, only one question remains: What's next?

Day 55: Entering Massachusetts!

60.94 mi 47.0 mph 5:02.19 avg 12.1

I totally did not want to ride today. I dragged my butt getting out of the hotel (after a very nice buffet breakfast).

The hills were, well, hilly - in Bigelow Hollow State Park, there was one on which I struggled to break THREE miles an hour. My shoulder started hurting early on, too. When I called Erik at 11:45, I was very nearly ready to ask to be picked up. He was off to a hike, though...instead of asking for a ride, I resolved to muddle onward.

When I broke spoke #5, I wasn't all that upset. It was, of course, on the drive train side, so there was nothing I could do. I tried calling several people whose numbers have the misfortune of being stored in my phone, finally coming across Bob's. Ironically, he was out kayaking but his son Anthony was home...so he came and rescued me. For the record, we did try to fix the spoke, but just didn't have the right tools (Anthony brought with him a whole arsenal of a tool box). He drove me to Bicycle Alley in Worcester, and then to his roommate's party for a quick snack before I got back on the road to Berlin.

Around 5:30 or so, I let myself into Erik's house, took a shower, and decided to nap...I didn't move until after 11 (I smelled the food cooking). We had a late dinner of chicken and broccoli. Erik took one look at me and said, "That wasn't enough, was it." It was much more a statement than a question. A large bowl of spaghetti solved that problem in short order, and I went to bed a happy camper...and I wasn't even camping!

Day 54: NY to CT

122.38 mi max 52.0!! 10:11.27 avg 12.0

Another great day of riding. Things are starting to hurt though - my left shoulder the most, a little bit in my hips, my left knee clicks sometimes. 3 more days. Only 3 more days. And tomorrow will be the longest.

Tough hills today, all day long. I got rid of my panniers in New Hyde - the first town that I went through with an open post office. As I crossed the mid-Hudson bridge, just before Poughkeepsie, there was a tour coming the other way. 144 people, on all kinds of bikes. One of the projects their group is working on is to convert the railroad bridge into a pedestrian bridge. That would be very cool. The traffic on the Mid-Hudson is loud and it's right next to you and it makes for a less-than-pleasant ride. Actually, you can't even ride across the bridge, you have to walk.

I had a very irritating episode in a convenience store today. In general, I've noticed that the quality of the facilities has decreased sharply as I've travelled east, despite the fact that "civilization" has become more "evident". A greater population is NOT indicative of a greater civilization. I asked the 16-year-old clerk in the store if I could use the bathroom. I must have looked like a great (smelly) threat, because he said it wasn't available. I really had to go...I'd have gone in the woods if it hadn't been for the rampant poison ivy along the road where there weren't any houses. I explained that I had just biked 100 miles. He looked at me and replied, feebly, "It's broken..." Probably a line his manager had told him to give to difficult customers. Exasperated, I asked where the nearest restroom was. He shrugged his skinny little shoulders, suggesting that I go back up the steep, winding hill I'd just come down - in the lane of traffic because there was no shoulder. It took a lot of self control - some of which was being diverted to other pressing matters - to say thank you, smile wanly, and step outside.

Tonight, I'm in Windsor Locks. It's awesome to be on roads that I've travelled before. It's like I'm home!

Day 53: The 'Gunks!

120.01 mi. max 38.5 10:33.35 avg 11.3

What do you do to work out? Walk? Lift weights? Run? Hike? Imagine doing it for 10 1/2 hours. It was a long day in the saddle. The one redeeming thing about the day was the weather - another gorgeous riding day. I'm well into New York now...state #15? I'm not really sure if I should count Pennsylvania twice, since Maryland was in between.

The majority of the day was uneventful. This morning, I woke up and took a couple of pictures of the cornfield in the early morning light. It was cold last night - anything warmer than what I had with me would have been appreciated. Additionally, the dew fell very heavily...even if I wasn't soaked, I had to get out of the field, which meant walking through chest-high grass. I'm glad I started out with an uphill. It meant a great warm-up!

I met more wonderful people today. Heather (age 12) and Kelly (age 17) were on their own local bike ride. They were pretty impressed with my trip. While I talked with them, I ate the worst sundae ever. I bought it at a country store at a remote crossroads. When I walked in (after I figured out how to make the door work - it was on a heavy spring), all the locals turned to look at me. You could have seen the light flash above their heads. It screamed: "INTRUDER!" That was in Layton. The town that I passed through before Layton was Peters Valley - apparently it is a artists' retreat during the summer. Despite the fact that it follows the Delaware River for a while, the road to Peter Valley is very hilly and often VERY steep.

The sun coming up over the Delaware River was nice, too. I crossed it a total of three times between yesterday and today. In Lambertville (yesterday), I stopped for a yummy soft pretzel and ice cream. I might have reached my limit on ice cream - I'm actually getting tired of it. The last crossing today was in Delaware Water Gap...it also marked my second crossing of the Appalachian Trail. I'll be crossing the Delaware River on exactly the same bridge. There, I ran across a cyclist out walking her dog. She gave me directions to her house, and I met her there so that I could pump up my tires...she had a floor pump designed for road bikes.

As night fell, I began looking for a place to pull in. I didn't realize how suburbified the east is. I tried stopping at a bed & breakfast...their asking price for one night was almost enough to send a child to college for the better part of a doctoral program. I didn't even bother asking if I could camp in the backyard - they didn't seem like the type that would want a smelly cyclist contaminating their property.

I relented and decided to check in at the campground listed on my map, off-route by 2 miles. No problem, I thought. I'll call ahead just to make sure, and to get directions. This was at about 8:45. No answer. I couldn't stay where I was, so I rode in the general direction I thought it might be. Ooops, that added on about 4 extra miles. When I realized my mistake, I turned around. In the opposite direction, there was a sign pointing to the campground I was supposed to be going to. I followed that sign, but the directions on the map weren't clear, because I wasn't supposed to be on that road until I'd been on another road which didn't seem to be anywhere near where I was, wherever THAT was. By this time, it was well after 9 pm. I needed a place to stay. I didn't want to pitch my bivy sack on someone's front lawn...and I was just about out of energy and out of options.

OK, get ready, here it comes: thank goodness for cell phones. I tried calling a number of friends, but no one was home or answering. Andy pulled through for me, though, and he was in front of a computer too (perhaps most importantly). So, standing in the dark in the middle of the road somewhere in Shawangunk, NY, I tried to give Andy the details of nearby intersections while he triangulated my location on a Google map, sitting at his computer in Massachusetts. The funniest part is that I probably could have thrown a rock from where I was standing at that moment to where I eventually set up camp. Well, if I had a great arm, I'd have been able to throw it that far.

The best part of the day was getting a hot shower. It's a luxury that we sometimes take for granted...but when you don't have it, you definitely miss it.

Day 52: Phoenixville to Belvidere, NJ

93.25 mi max 37.5 7:48.20 avg 11.9

Phew. I am pretty stinky.

I'm holed up in my bivy sack (actually, Matt's bivy sack) in some cornfield. It's not far from a nuclear power plant. Every now and again a voice calls out over a loudspeaker, the kind you might expect the police to use when they are tracking down suspects. I'd have made it farther, but I spent an hour and a half trying to change a flat. I destroyed 2 at the valve - one of them, I sheared off the valve at the point it meets the rim, and the other one I punctured at the base of the stem. So, I have to buy tubes tomorrow. I should also mention that I lost a tube on Sunday, climbing up a hill. And speaking of kindnesses, a woman in an SUV stopped to ask if I was alright. I asked her if she had a floor pump, and she said she did. She offered to go get it - her house was about 10 minutes from where we were. Unfortunately, her pump only had a Schraeder fitting (the old fashioned kind - most tires today are made with a Presta valve) and it only went to 100 psi; my tires take 115 pounds per square inch.

And, if that weren't enough, this morning when I was riding on the Schuylkill Traill with Dom & Kim, I broke spoke #4. Fortunately, it was on the non-drive train side, so Dom was able to fix it for me. Thank goodness I bought a spoke tool!

I've been stopping a lot less for pictures. I want to go home! This evening, I did stop at the Cycle Funattic in Phillipsburg, to have my wheel trued from this morning, and also to get a bike headlight. I'm anticipating that I'll be riding in the dark at some point. Especially since I don't have a set itinerary, and there's no camp set up for me, there's really no reason for me to stop before dark (which is what I did tonight).

I met a woman today, Joan, because I needed some water. She was also another example of someone who was very kind. I asked her if I was headed on the right track, partially to find out how challenging the hills would be up ahead. By now, I know that non-cyclists have a VERY different, car-based perspective on hills. By their calculations, hills aren't even really issues. Riders, on the other hand, often gauge the difficulty of a hill from behind the wheel - sometimes, I don't even realize I'm doing it, it just happens. Virtually every person I've shown my map to has scrunched his or her eyebrows, and said, "Well, this map is ALL messed up." Even cyclists on the Big Ride. It's not a conventional map, for sure...but once you get used to reading it, it DOES make sense.

Joan was also very concerned for my safety...suggesting even that I travel with a gun. I'm not sure how that would make me safer. She also suggested that I take a "short cut". Unfortunately, my map isn't detailed enough for shortcuts. As she explained the different turns, my eyes glazed over and I said, "Thank you very much," when she was finished...what she didn't realize is that I can't handle more than three directions at a time...and sometimes even THAT proves to be more of a challenge than I can take! (Besides, my route took me close to a river. That generally will be a flatter ride than "cross country").

Day 51: Rest day in Phoenixville!

Yup, I took today off. So it goes. Yesterday was TOUGH! Today, I woke up at 8, and took a nap from 11-2. I spent some time checking out RAAM. That's the Race Across America - it covers the distance we did, only in 10-12 days. You can do the math - 3300 miles in 10 days...that's pure insanity. Sleepless insanity. If you thought the CRC was ridiculous...

I'm including a few pictures from yesterday. Right now, the Tour de France scandal is rocking the cycling world. I don't think that Floyd Landis is guilty of doping...it takes several doses of testosterone to make a difference. A one-day thing isn't going to make him Superman. Furthermore, he's being watched like a hawk. It would be extreme stupidity to try to get by with something. I think he was framed.

Day 50: Jarrettsville to Phoenixville

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Day 49: On my own

57.83 mi max 38.0 5:02.45 avg 11.4

Weather was perfect. If only it could have been like this for the entire summer.

The hardest part was getting out of the city, on the bike path. It was slow going around all the people. I ended up calling a Big Rider from just south of Baltimore, Rick. While we were still on the ride, he told me to give him a call if I needed anything. I realized that my map had two options, including a Baltimore spur. Originally I hadn't planned to take it, but it meant a safe place to stay. As it turned out, I didn't make very good time today so I figured out where I was and Rick came out to pick me up. I'll probably lose about 40 miles in Maryland...but I GUESS that's ok.

It was weird climbing with my pack on my bike. It was shimmying, especially when I stood. I've eliminated as much stuff (junk) as possible: all my "cold weather" gear - even though I used it all yesterday - my sandals, extra Clif bars, even the key for my Kryptonite lock and the 2 extra scoops of Cytomax. I'm probably destroying my frame.

The three pics you see above are somewhere in Maryland. My DRG told me to take this road. It never said anything about the bridge being under construction. I had no plans on backtracking and taking the detour. I had to cross the bridge - good thing it was Sunday, because the construction workers probably would have made me turn around.

Yeah...so tonight, I'm roughing it in a house in a bed in Maryland. I confess to taking a shower this evening. What kind of hard-core cyclist am I??

Day 48: Good things don't HAVE to end...

53.33 mi max 38.5 3:53.53 avg. 13.7

For the record, my average was over 14 until I hit the city. We had to ride on the sidewalks, and the pedestrians here don't move like normal pedestrians. They're kind of like slugs...except that I'm not allowed to squish them. Weather was fantastic, although last night I almost froze to death. Not really, but by morning, I was wearing my long sleeve shirt, my leggings, my hat, and had slipped inside my fleece liner and was wearing my thick wool socks. I'd have been much happier in my 20 deg. bag. Everyone made fun of me this morning...but it took the first 5 miles before I even started feeling warm.

Lunch was at the old postal pavillion. There's a former Big Rider who owns a Greek restaurant, so he always feeds the Big Riders their last lunch. It was good!

Debbie & I rode to the finish line together. I'll miss my new friends!

Charlie V. said almost exactly the same thing at the end that he did at the beginning: "We aren't going to talk too much here because you won't remember what we're going to say anyway." We received our certificates of completion and handshakes, and then moved en masse to the hotel to pick up our bags. That was it.

I gave most of my stuff to Justin, and packed my remaining stuff into the back end of Katie's parents' car. Once we got to the hotel, there was a bit of small talk, and then Katie's parents and younger daughter decided to go out for a while so that we could take a quick snooze. That nap was the best ever! I slept for about 3 hours - Katie was out for over 5. I even left the room a couple of times and she didn't even roll over.

For dinner, Brian & I went to Fuddrucker's in Chinatown after wandering aimlessly for a long time. He's funny - he used his stern teacher-voice to tell me to call or email when I got home, and to Be Careful. Katie met us in Chinatown, and they went to see the monuments at night, while I went back to the hotel (after all, tomorrow's a riding day - I don't want to stay out too late!)

Day 47: The Last Supper

51.45 mi max 40.0 3:21.31 Avg 15.4

It actually got cold last night...and it's supposed to be colder tonight. I'm going to sleep in my long sleeve shirt - I have leggings ready and my fleece hat, too.

Dinner was at Applebee's. A lot of us went to the strip mall beforehand, and browsed Barnes & Noble for a long time. Ellen gave a really nice speech about bicycle mirrors and reflecting light into dark places. And we all gave the staff a nicely framed picture of our group.

I'm excited to almost be in DC. A lot of people tonight are celebrating with alcohol...but I'm not sure how that heightens the experience.

The ride itself was very easy. 51 miles happens now in the blink of an eye. Interesting parallel: both our first night & our last night are in state run campgrounds that are completely wooded with numbered sites.

Day 46: Rest day in Gettysburg

Some people rode to the battlefields. Other people went to see a musical this afternoon. Me? I slept in, went to an internet cafe to check my email, and that was pretty much all I did. Oh, yeah, and I spent a lot of time whittling down my stuff to what I'll truly need for the remainder of my trip. Might as well get used to carrying a lightweight pack. It's funny, people's reactions. Most can't believe that I'm going through with my plan. I have received countless offers for rides home. They are all quite ready to be DONE. I know that I've got some serious distance to cover, though, and so the "hurry-up-and-finish" fever hasn't affected me.

Day 45: The Final Exam

101.87 mi max 48.0 7:42.46 avg 13.2

Once again, another perfect day for riding. 75 and sunny, that's what I like to hear. The ride reminded me very much of home - lots of green, farms & trees & hills. There were some steep climbs in the morning. We crossed the Appalachian Trail on Rt. 30, about 12-13 miles outside of Gettysburg...there was also a very sweet downhill into town. I liked that.

Christy's bike is having issues again; this time, her derailleur cable snapped. She is so good at being even-tempered.

The end was very nice, too, right at Gettysburg Middle School. Some of last year's riders came out and prepared lots of food for us. There was a party, too, at the pub in town. Now that we've completed "the final exam" ride - our last really tough day, our last century of the ride - now, we are starting to feel like the end might actually happen. I think that there's a mixture of excitement because soon we'll all be going to see our friends and/or family...but also a sense of loss, because we've created our own pseudo-family. It is highly unlikely that we will all be together again as a group. Sure, we'll make those gratuitous promises to stay connected, but will we? (I'll definitely keep in touch...cultivating spare rooms and back yards is a great way to travel across the country! There's always space in my house for friends, too!!)

Day 44: Confluence to Bedford

I really liked last night's campground, under an earthen dam...just like Quabbin. I went swimming in the outflow beneath the dam (away from the current). It was cold like the Deerfield. It felt GREAT.

The weather today could not have been better. Temp was 75, low humidity, and sunny. It started by raining - the front moving through. The shower, though, was brief, and we all took off on our ride. We had an option today - either we could do "some hills" - including the highest point in PA, and we'd begin with a 14% grade, or we could continue on the rail trail. Since a climb like that didn't excite me, I took the easy option. Of course, it was all climbing. The people who had to go up that hill also got to come back down it. I was happy with my decision, however, because I got some cool pictures and I also pressed my fast button and hammered down the trail.

Although the trail will someday go all the way on that railroad bed from Pittsburgh to Washington DC, that project hasn't been finished. Our first town off the rail trail was Meyersdale. Our route also took us past the Flight 93 memorial in Shenksville. That was kind of interesting and very saddening. The chain link fence with all of the personal effects left in memoriam was REAL...hearing about it on the radio or seeing it on TV is not the same. The media numb us. Being there is a totally different experience that opened my eyes - it was more than just a news story. Just like going to Auschwitz made it real for me.

I caught up to Brian at the top of one of the hills, and we rode together for a while. He waited for me to catch up a bunch of times (on the uphills). That was cool. I'm still not fast on ascents (as my average indicates!). We had some awesome descents; one was a 9% grade for 6 miles. I only hit a disappointing 46 mph. Yeah...it was an awesome day.

Compared to some of the places we've been staying, this campground is a resort. It has beautiful bathrooms. There's a building with two washers and driers (yeah! for getting in early so that I could do my laundry). There's mini-golf and a store with hard serve ice cream and lots of flat places to pitch a tent. It's like moving from Kadoka, SD to New York City. We are truly living in the laps of luxury now!