46 miles: Wednesday was a tough day. The second day with no riding. By mid-afternoon I was going a bit stir crazy. We went to a couple of doctor appointments with Fran - Mike's mom. It's weird being in a car again...movement that is so passive. And I'm not in control of where we're going (obviously I wasn't the driver.) It was a bit frustrating.
I've been thinking about what it will be like going back to our other lives. We've had this life on the road that seems like it exists in another dimension. Riding through towns and other people's lives, we are mostly observers rather than participants. Time and space were different.
We occasionally became aware of time - the day traffic was light (is it Sunday today?) and when the gentleman in Indiana told us to hurry up because the restaurant would be closing at 2:00 PM (we thought it was just 1:00 PM...we never changed our clocks for Eastern Time in Indiana.) But really our time was dictated by when the sun came up and when the sun went down.
And space - sometimes we felt vulnerable on our bikes, exposed. But mostly it was liberating not to be confined in a car or an office or a shop or a house. Our space was the whole world. Walt Whitman wrote, "I am vast...I contain multitudes." You can't argue with vastness...for me it's emptiness and fullness at the same time. I think this is why I liked Nevada and Nebraska so much. Vast empty spaces that are so full of life if you slow down and look around.
Change of plans today. Decided we didn't want to fight traffic all day, so we took advantage of the miles and miles and MILES of bike path around Philadelphia. Rode the Schuykill Bike Trail (which runs from Valley Forge to the Philly Art Museum) downtown, and then rode back on the Wissahickon Bike Trail to the Forbidden Drive, and then back roads to get to Conshahocken and the Schuykill Bike Path. The bike trail brought us back to the Farm Park which leads right to Erin and Dennis' front door (where we're staying). How awesome is that?
Packing up Friday and flying home Saturday am. Down in Philly, when I asked Mike, "are we there yet?" He said, "It depends on your definition of 'there'." I like that answer - since we're not 'there' yet, it means our adventure isn't over.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Day 53: East Norriton, PA (rest day)
Just some random cycling quotes that I like...
"Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym."
~ Bill Nye
A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"
The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the first student, "You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do."
The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!" The teacher commended the second student, "Your eyes are open, and you see the world."
The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."
The fourth student replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings." The teacher was pleased, and said to the fourth student, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming."
The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, "Ahh.... I am your student!"
"Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym."
~ Bill Nye
A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"
The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the first student, "You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do."
The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!" The teacher commended the second student, "Your eyes are open, and you see the world."
The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."
The fourth student replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings." The teacher was pleased, and said to the fourth student, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming."
The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, "Ahh.... I am your student!"
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Day 52: Norristown (rest day)
We slept in! What a treat. And Fran made us a wonderful breakfast. We've started to make preparations to go home: reserving airport shuttles, tracking down bike boxes to ship our bikes home, buying packing supplies.
We had a special treat after dinner. Fran (Mike's mom)is an active member of the Greater Norristown Art League, and she invited us to a special talk that the Art League hosted. Victoria Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth's granddaughter, gave a presentation on her family and Andrew Wyeths' work. She was a great speaker - giving us all sorts of intimate details about her grandfather and the making of his paintings. I was particularly surprised to learn that nearly all of his paintings have been done within a 10 mile radius of their home in Chadds Ford, PA (and their summer home in Maine). Here we rode 3500 miles across the country in search of adventure, beauty, knowledge, people - and Andrew Wyeth found all of these things and more without ever really leaving home. The art of paying attention...it's quite a remarkable gift. (FYI - Andrew Wyeth is still alive and painting at 91!)
As a last hurrah, we'll be riding down to the Delaware Bay at Wilmington tomorrow. I'm hoping that we'll have time to stop at the Brandywine River Museum at Chadds Ford to see some of the actual paintings!
We had a special treat after dinner. Fran (Mike's mom)is an active member of the Greater Norristown Art League, and she invited us to a special talk that the Art League hosted. Victoria Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth's granddaughter, gave a presentation on her family and Andrew Wyeths' work. She was a great speaker - giving us all sorts of intimate details about her grandfather and the making of his paintings. I was particularly surprised to learn that nearly all of his paintings have been done within a 10 mile radius of their home in Chadds Ford, PA (and their summer home in Maine). Here we rode 3500 miles across the country in search of adventure, beauty, knowledge, people - and Andrew Wyeth found all of these things and more without ever really leaving home. The art of paying attention...it's quite a remarkable gift. (FYI - Andrew Wyeth is still alive and painting at 91!)
As a last hurrah, we'll be riding down to the Delaware Bay at Wilmington tomorrow. I'm hoping that we'll have time to stop at the Brandywine River Museum at Chadds Ford to see some of the actual paintings!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Day 51: Parryville PA to East Norriton PA
76 miles: (Mike) An excellent day for riding, history and scenery. We went over the mountain to Bowmanstown. A really screaming downhill, the first of several today as we did 3600ft of vertical. This is less than the 5000 we would have done if not for some creative route making. At Bowmanstown we took the frontage to Palmerton; unfortunately that ended at a Zinc mine south of town. We tried to bushwack to the tracks but Aquashicola creek ended that. We backtracked to town and found remanents of the D&L canal on the other side of 248(248 is motorized only). This also ended at the creek. However the road was not barricaded so we used it to cross and road about 1/2 mile to where there was no shoulder and a hannging roadway. We heisted the bikes over the guard rail and bike/hiked 1/2 mile to 873. Not too bad as we were expecting this from a conversatin we had had with a state trooper. However he must have forgot about the creek.
After this we rode the applachin foothills into PA Dutch country. We knew we were there when we saw the township was giving PA Dutch lessons! No time to spracken ze duetsch. We went by the bear mtn ski area for a great twisting downhill to Hereford, In Green Lane we picked up the Perkiomen rail trail (awesome). In Rahns we got on the Skippack trail all the way to the old metal bridge near Evansburg. Five miles of back roads and we were home with no rush hour traffic to deal with. How now?
After this we rode the applachin foothills into PA Dutch country. We knew we were there when we saw the township was giving PA Dutch lessons! No time to spracken ze duetsch. We went by the bear mtn ski area for a great twisting downhill to Hereford, In Green Lane we picked up the Perkiomen rail trail (awesome). In Rahns we got on the Skippack trail all the way to the old metal bridge near Evansburg. Five miles of back roads and we were home with no rush hour traffic to deal with. How now?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Day 50: Bloomsburg PA to Parryville PA
67 miles (10 mph average): Awoke to a cool and dry day - yea! As we pushed our bikes through the lobby of the Econolodge, an older woman stopped me because she noticed that the top tube of our bikes reads "Long Haul Trucker". She said, "My son is a long haul trucker and and I keep telling him that he needs to bring a bike along on his trips for exercise. I'm going to tell him that I found just the bike for him!"
Beautiful quaint and quiet roads this morning (we think everyone is at church.) The hills afford us fantastic panoramic views of ALL the hills in our future today. I don't know if you know this or not, but PA is hilly!
Our lunch choices in West Hazelton were Burger King, McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts. Naturally we chose DD. I had an epic dining experience - 2 breakfast sandwiches, 3 donuts, and 2 bottles of oj. We are redefining the meaning of a balanced diet.
Change of plans: we abandoned the route we initially planned that took us 20 miles out of our way (to access rail trail), and instead went directly to Jim Thorpe PA. Not that this way was any easier: 9% grade and and warnings for trucks on the down side to use low gears.
Jim Thorpe - I had no idea it was so nice here! Rafting, mountain biking, train up the Lehigh Gorge, and quaint downtown. So enticing, we stopped for a beer (or two in Mike's case).
We left town in search of the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Trail. The guy with the "Ithaca is Gorges" t-shirt on at the bike shop gave us some rough directions - back over the bridge, behind the Jim Thorpe Market, beside the wastewater treatment plant there is a sort of trail that will take you to the canal trail. Evidently he had ridden his cyclocross bike there, so Mike deemed it acceptable for the Surly Long Haul Truckers too. With beer in belly, we felt overconfident and ready for bushwacking. Happily Mike's directional dynamism was working. 100 yards of rocky trail turned into singletrack (hey, I miss mountain biking!), which became the canal trail - complete with remnants of the old locks. Very cool trail! The path is where the mules used to walk to pull boats through the canal. On the other side of the path is the Lehigh River. Really awesome when you stop to thinkg about what it took in manual labor to build these canals. (Mike tells me that there are working locks up around the Fingerlakes in NY and in New Hope PA.)
We ran out of trail when we hit Perryville PA. Staying at the Country Inn and Suites trying to figure out how we will get through the gap in the Appalachian. There are two main roads: Niether allows non-motorized vehicles.
We're not ready for our trip to end. I'm getting a bit sad anticipating the last days. Riding our bikes every day has become a great habit.
Beautiful quaint and quiet roads this morning (we think everyone is at church.) The hills afford us fantastic panoramic views of ALL the hills in our future today. I don't know if you know this or not, but PA is hilly!
Our lunch choices in West Hazelton were Burger King, McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts. Naturally we chose DD. I had an epic dining experience - 2 breakfast sandwiches, 3 donuts, and 2 bottles of oj. We are redefining the meaning of a balanced diet.
Change of plans: we abandoned the route we initially planned that took us 20 miles out of our way (to access rail trail), and instead went directly to Jim Thorpe PA. Not that this way was any easier: 9% grade and and warnings for trucks on the down side to use low gears.
Jim Thorpe - I had no idea it was so nice here! Rafting, mountain biking, train up the Lehigh Gorge, and quaint downtown. So enticing, we stopped for a beer (or two in Mike's case).
We left town in search of the Delaware and Lehigh Canal Trail. The guy with the "Ithaca is Gorges" t-shirt on at the bike shop gave us some rough directions - back over the bridge, behind the Jim Thorpe Market, beside the wastewater treatment plant there is a sort of trail that will take you to the canal trail. Evidently he had ridden his cyclocross bike there, so Mike deemed it acceptable for the Surly Long Haul Truckers too. With beer in belly, we felt overconfident and ready for bushwacking. Happily Mike's directional dynamism was working. 100 yards of rocky trail turned into singletrack (hey, I miss mountain biking!), which became the canal trail - complete with remnants of the old locks. Very cool trail! The path is where the mules used to walk to pull boats through the canal. On the other side of the path is the Lehigh River. Really awesome when you stop to thinkg about what it took in manual labor to build these canals. (Mike tells me that there are working locks up around the Fingerlakes in NY and in New Hope PA.)
We ran out of trail when we hit Perryville PA. Staying at the Country Inn and Suites trying to figure out how we will get through the gap in the Appalachian. There are two main roads: Niether allows non-motorized vehicles.
We're not ready for our trip to end. I'm getting a bit sad anticipating the last days. Riding our bikes every day has become a great habit.
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