Day 10 (part 2):
The Susquehanna River and I are not friends. A road traverses the river, how bad can it be? BAD. Hills everywhere. Up and down, for miles and miles…although it did make for some great scenery:
On a slightly less positive note, I made my first huge mistake that didn’t result in bodily harm (yes Lisa, this one’s for you.) Apparently somewhere during my four years of college I became dyslexic. Traveling on route 462, needed to get onto route 624. So what did I write down? Continue on 462…I left out the part about it bringing me 5 miles in the entirely wrong direction. Luckily I booted up the old GPS, obnoxiously shouted a few obscenities, and reversed my course.
Anyway, eventually I got back on route and rode out to Otter Creek Campground for the night. What I didn’t expect was to wake up freezing halfway through the night. The middle of June and I’m working with 55 degrees after the sun goes down. I hear it has something to do with El Niña…sounds like a lake beast.
Here's pictures of the hammock, since I never put anything up:
Miles covered: 65 (but 75 if you discount the “detour”)
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Day 11:
Today was a good day. Nice weather, felt great, no complaints. I even ate lunch with two very nice people who bought took pity on my peanut butter sandwiches and bought me a cookie (but really, it might have been the best cookie I’ve ever had).
I finally got into Maryland, which is a pleasant stroll compared to what PA had in store.
After cranking out 78 miles, I was ready to call it a day but unfortunately in an area very foreign to the idea of camping. So, naturally I bugged a family to let me camp in their backyard. Nothing fancy but it was a safe place to spend the night. My favorite part of the evening:
The Guy (I actually never got his name…): Do you have water?
Me: Yup, plenty of water, thanks
-15 minutes later-
Guy: I know you said you had water, but I brought you two bottles, just in case.
So now I have two bottles of water…
Miles covered: 78!
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Day 12:
I should also note that I diverted from the Adventure Cycling Association maps in Maryland to ride my own more…scenic…route.
Yeah, that gravel road was flooded.
Luckily a guy in a huge flatbed truck came along out of nowhere (THAT is my luck) and took me and the bike across the “puddle.” Apart from that unexpected obstacle though, the ride was rather pleasant. Onward to Virginia! And so that is where I find myself.
It was a hot, humid, muggy day to be biking. Rain in the morning, a bit of sunshine in the afternoon, but otherwise a very bug-filled day. Despite the weather though, the single greatest thing thus far happened to me in the afternoon.
I was riding along my route, unknowing of what lay up ahead, when a woman name Clare planting flowers called out to me. Being at mile 65 for the day, our conversation soon led to me asking if I could camp in their backyard. A short time after that, I had this conversation with her husband:
Bobby: “So where were you going?”
Me: “Uh, Eubank, right down the road”
Bobby: “Eubank, what’s that?”
Me: “A town”
Bobby: “There’s no town down the road, just a mountain”
Turns out, I was about one mile away from hitting a gravel road heading straight up a mountain, then taking me on a winding path to what would soon turn into the Appalachian Mountain chain. In short, Claire and Bobby saved my life.
Not only that, they gave me a bed to sleep in, made me a delicious fish dinner, and turned out to be two of the nicest people that I have ever met. Fully satiated and fully of corn, fish, potatoes, beets, and cookies, I headed to bed. In the morning I got my laundry done, ate a delicious egg breakfast, and plotted a much better route dodging the gravel mountain road of death.
Here they are, Clare and Bobby:
So where am I now? Biding my time, of course. I’m in Front Royal, VA, at the foot of Blue Ridge Parkway. What lies ahead is 200 miles of isolated pedaling along the Appalachian Mountains. This should be interesting.
Assuming I make it though, my legs will probably be bigger than my head, and I’ll have enough confidence to last me until Colorado. Then we’ll talk.
Oh, and I know what you want to see. More farmland!
Until next time…
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