Here it is, more or less. No, you can’t have the KML file or waypoint data because I just eyeballed that line. Click to enlarge.
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The trip is over. I rode a total of 4,765 miles this summer in a great zig-zagging arc across the United States.
There’s more to say about Philadelphia and arriving at the shore (both of which were inspiring moments), but I’ll say it all later. I’m in New York for a couple of days and I’ve shipped the bicycle back to California already. From here I’m headed to Boston by bus for two nights, and then to Champaign, IL by plane and will be there for about a week. Friends, I’ll be back in California the weekend of the 20th; let’s celebrate.
Well, I limped out of West Virginia with a cracked rear rim (screaming down foggy, rainy, steep descents), and got a new wheel in Cumberland, MD in the midst what was one of the most intense weeks of climbing I’ve had all summer. The mountains out west are taller, but the climbs are nowhere near as steep as they are throughout the Appalachians. The C&O Towpath was too muddy to use, so I took the Old National Pike one of the first grand east-west highways in the nation, which is now mostly empty because of the interstate highway system (paralleling I-68 and I-70 through western Maryland). More huge climbs. I’m not the first cross-country cyclist to think this, I’m sure, but I underestimated West Virginia and western Maryland. Pennsylvania I’m sure will have lots of ups and downs between here and Philadelphia.
I rode through Hagerstown and onto Frederick, MD and had a great visit with my cousin Eric and his wife Alex. Yesterday afternoon, I rode into Pennsylvania to catch up with an old friend. Today, on through York and toward Lancaster mostly using one of Pennsylvania’s signed cross-state bike routes about which I’ve read mixed reviews (route information link - I’ll be on route S across the southern tier of the state).
I’m fast approaching the end of this long trip. I’ll stay in Philadelphia through the weekend and then plan on riding through the pine barrens of New Jersey, up the Jersey shore, and then taking the 35 minute ferry from Atlantic Highlands (at the very northeast tip of the Jersey shore) to Manhattan. I’ll likely ship the bike home from somewhere close to the ferry terminal to simplify things in New York City. A couple of days there and then I’m homeward-bound, either on planes or trains–I haven’t decided yet. So far, I’ve ridden somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,500 miles.
The road was wet, the fog was thick, the coal trucks were in a hurry,
and the grade was steep; but I survived and now I'm having lunch at
the Chat 'n Chew on the Maryland side of US 220.
I'm 20-some miles out from Cumberland and a bike shop which can help
me diagnose and/or doctor up this back rim of mine. I'm also hoping
for the best.
Yes, that's me putting my finger through a giant hole in the sidewall
of my rear tire. And, yes, I'm in the creepiest motel room in all of
West Virginia. $24.58 after tax.
I rode through a 10 mile sliver of Maryland this afternoon and the
difference between the two states based on road conditions and first
impressions is serious. Tomorrow, I'm gladly headed for Maryland again.
I've mounted my spare tire, but this drama may not be
over. …grumble, grumble…beat-up rim from that rough trailriding a
few days ago…the rim may be a little…cracked…let's all hope for
the best at least until I can get somewhere with a bike shop…in
Maryland.
The traffic on US 50 died down significantly a few miles east of
Fellowsville (the sign for which had been vandalized to read
"Cranksville") and then the real climbing began. So far, I've had two
mountains to get over, each of which having 9% climbs for 3 miles up.
It's beautiful up here.
From here I'm aiming toward Frederick, MD to visit some family before
heading into PA and Philadelphia.
For most of the way between the Ohio River and Clarksburg, WV I used
the 72-mile North Bend rail trail which includes 9 dark, damp, echo-
filled, spooky tunnels. People have often asked me on this trip if I
get scared out there all by myself. Up until now I always said no
without a second thought. Those tunnels, though, were scarey. Some are
as short as 300 feet, but at least 3 of them were longer than 1000
feet, one nearly a half-mile long. Some had a couple inches of water
through long stretches, some had a couple inches of mud I tromped my
way through. I had to dismount and walk through many of them, and
there were a couple occasions when I couldn't see the light at either
end from the dark, dark middle. I bought fresh batteries for my
headlight at the only store in Cairo after the first tunnel.
The western half of the trail is in pretty good shape, but things get
rougher in the east. If I were to do it again, I don't think I'd use
the whole trail without some knobby tires. I was fine, but it was
rough riding in sections.
Yesterday, the rain (and the hills…and the narrow roads with coal
trucks) slowed things down for me and I only made it 32 miles to
Grafton. Today (through more rain), I'll hit the far western Maryland
state line and may end up in West Virginia again. West Virginia is the
only state which is entirely within a mountain range. I'm not seeing
any high peaks in this part of the state, but the terrain is rugged
and the ups and downs are steep and unrelenting.
I had a real nice visit with some old friends (Dan, Amy, and little
Elise) who I've known from both Austin and Silicon Valley. Athens (in
southeast Ohio, at the edge of Appalachia) is a university town with
more granola eating citizenry than gun-toting folks, a big contrast
compared to the rest of the Ohio I pedaled through.
Ohio, though its roads were infinitely better than those of
neighboring Michigan, was hard on me. Nowhere in the United States
have I been honked at and cursed out as much as in Ohio.
This newspaper is from a few days ago, picked up in Dodgeville,
Wisconsin, but the headline is one worth remembering. I've seen great
signs of things to come for cylists who use their bikes for
transportation. The separate infrastructure in Madison made a strong
impression on me. The Southwest Commuter Path in that city rides like
a legit bicycle freeway, with onramps and exists, a stripe down the
middle to keep traffic organized, and hundreds of cyclists enjoying
their ride to and from work, school, errands, etc. I was told it even
gets plow service in the winter–amazing. The exit ramps have real
street signs making it easy to navigate. Planners: if cycling
infrastructure is built to help people do things they already need to
do, it will be used.