Month: September 2006

Well, i’m at it again. After three weeks off the saddle, i’m back into bikebums mode, on my way to DC. Things are going well so far – great weather, nice backroads, good scenery – but the ghost of zach humes haunts me. My knee is giving me much grief. I think i’ve got the problem licked, so we’ll see if it holds out.

as i was crossing the ohio river, i saw that it was bespeckled with ivory towers of hope, aka nuke plant cooling towers. I decide to document my proximity to so much radiation with my trusty camera phone. About half an hour later, as i was tediously crawling my way out of the river valley, i saw behind me the flashing lights of johnny law. That’s right – i got pulled over for taking a pic of a nuke plant – about six miles after the fact. The PA po-po never lose a bicycle riding terrorist. Lord help us if the bad guys start using mopeds or telephoto lenses. I feel safer – do you?

Things are going well so far. I’m on a 300 mile long trail that should take me all the way to dc. It also gets me through the mountains without exceeding a 1 percent grade! Not bad! Yesterday had a few frustrating/harrowing detours where the trail isn’t finished, but i think it’s smooth sailing from here on. The scenery has been amazing – sorry, not many pics – the camera phone wouldn’t do it justice. The weather has been a bit chilly, especially this morning, but other than that, it’s gorgeous. I only slightly regret that i’m about 2 weeks ahead of the fall leaves being in full swing, but it’s cold enough. My knee isn’t 100%, but i’ve got it under control. Well, it’s bedtime – catch ya later.

Well,folks – I made it! Not quite coast to coast, but close enough, I say. The last few days of riding were a lot of fun. The trails were really nice, and offered some great scenery, although I did detour off of them fairly often – the trails were certainly smoother than a mountain bike path, but it was still off-road riding, which was tough on both my bike and me – it’s hard to get in 80 miles in a day when you have to work to get above 12 mph. Of course, when I detoured onto the local roads, I found myself on a self-propelled roller coaster of steep hills. It was hard, but a lot of fun.  Anyway,  I recommend the Great Alleghany Passage Trail/ C & O Canal Trail to anyone looking for a fun 300+ mile ride from Pittsburgh to DC. So, there you have it – I started under the Space Needle and ended under the Washington Monument, and had a heck of a lot of fun along the way. Met some great people, saw some amazing sites. I now have 10,222 miles of self-supported bicycle touring under my belt – if I keep up this pace, I’ll have 50,000 by the time I’m 40! But for now, i have to go back to Oakland and find some work so I can start saving up for the next adventure. Anybody got suggestions as to where I should ride next?