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 A tobacco drying barn with geometric pattern This morning was very cold when I got up — about 25 F. Even after the sun was up for a hour it was still below freezing. It would be a slow start. I normally go slow to warm up but today would be even slower and involve multiple stops for layer adjusting. Looking at the ACA route, there would be no restaurants along the way to buy lunch. I’d be snacking it today. Plus with it so cold, I would not be sitting by the roadside to enjoy a lunch either. Somehow this 52 miles felt like a long distance between services sort of like being out west.
The ACA routes are nice because they try to put you on roads with little traffic. Today was certainly one of those days. It seemed like hours that I could ride in solitude with no noise but my tires and the birds.
I did run into a few dogs who charged my bicycle barking but now I have found that if I ignore them they lose interest pretty quickly. But there was one today I could not ignore. He ran out in front of my bike right in front of the tire. I was going about 12-14 mph which seemed a little fast for him to run along with his head turned completely around barking at me. It was a little comical but I was worried about running him over. I kept having to brake and steer aside. Eventually he gave up. Continue reading Day 74: Harrodsburg to Berea, KY (November 11)
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 The birthplace of President Abraham Lincoln I woke up this morning thinking I had to get going to cover a lot of ground. But I stopped myself. The birth place of Abraham Lincoln was just minutes away. I could not be this close without visiting. I had read Bill Bryson’s less than enthusiastic description…but he basically hated everything he saw while driving through the USA so I didn’t feel it was a useful guide.
The birthplace park is small. There is a visitor center and a stone, monumental building that houses a log cabin. The cabin is supposed to represent the cabin that Lincoln grew up in. Unfortunately, the monument was closed for repairs, but the visitor center was interesting. The rain started as I got ready to leave the birthplace. The route would take me by the Lincoln homestead and another farm that Lincoln lived on as a child before the family moved to Illinois. The farm was in a little valley that was extremely picturesque. The steep hillsides came down onto a lush green field. If it had not been completely pouring rain I would have stopped for more than a couple minutes. Continue reading Day 72: Hodgenville to Bardstown, KY (November 9)
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 The rest of the weekend turned out to be windy and rainy so I was very happy to have crossed the Rockies. When we went out to do some shopping for my friend we could see the mountains to the west, and when the clouds cleared they all had snow. The news reports were that enough snow fell over the weekend (starting the day I went over) that the ski resorts all opened. Phew!
I spent some time looking at the possible routes to connect up with the Adventure Cycling TransAm route that goes across the southern part of the state. Although the traffic seemed to be a bit much, I decided to ride US 85 to Castle Rock. From there I’d take Colorado 86 east through some small towns until it met up with US Route 40 again near Limon, CO. (Looks like I’ll have a small stint on the interstate I-70…) Then follow US Route 40 through nothing in eastern Colorado until Kit Carson and then take 287 to Eads where I hook up with the TransAm. Distance is 171 miles, and I have heard it is pretty flat so maybe 2-3 days. The Colorado Dept. of Transportation says the shoulders are decent sized after Castle Rock. Hopefully it all works out. Continue reading Day 39 to 43: Rest Days in Denver, CO (October 7-11)
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I spent my rest days in Salt Lake City mostly resting. In addition to sleeping, relaxing, and talking with my friends, I also cleaned my bicycle, cleaned and oiled the chain, and readjusted the rear derailleur. I had never really spent the time to adjust a derailleur, but after hanging my bicycle up with some parachute cord to the underside of my friend’s deck so the wheels could easily spin, it was not too difficult. I have been cleaning my chain regularly, and carry around a little can of 3-in-1 oil. I know it is not the best oil for cycling since it is relatively light, but it seems to work OK, and there was nothing else where I bought it.
I had ordered new front panniers that were the same make as my rear panniers (Ortlieb) and in the same color to make sure everything matches. After all, I gotta look good. Although some might argue that since I chose the bright yellow I wouldn’t look too good. I wear obnoxious, fluorescent green shirts and jackets. Certainly not going to win any fashion contests with them, but I like to think that because I wear them people can see me more easily. The sooner a motorist can see me the better, I think. The same thinking went into my color choice of panniers. REI offered red/black, black, and yellow/black. All have reflective patches to be seen from the front or rear of the bike, but red and black are really dark so they don’t help to be seen from the side. The yellow is not obnoxious, but at least it is lighter and more visible than black or red. Continue reading Day 28 to Day 30: Rest days in Salt Lake City, UT (September 26 to 28)
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 Union Pacific train I did not want to get out of bed this morning and maybe it would have been better to sleep in. Today was the worst time to distance and difficulty. The route from Delta was almost all flat with some mild hills for the last 15 miles but nothing hard. On the flat I struggled to even do 10 mph and there was no wind. My legs did not have anything in them.
Continue reading Day 26: Delta to Eureka, UT (September 24)
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 West Falmouth Harbor After a month of not getting on a bike up in Alaska while on the Juneau Icefield almost the first thing I did when arriving back on Cape Cod was to go for a ride on the bike path in Falmouth.
I only did about 10 miles so not to hurt myself, but I made sure it was long enough to get to see the salt marshes which is my favorite part. There were some osprey in their nest. I would have liked to have seen them fishing but it was still nice to see.
Continue reading Shining Sea Bike Path
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 The Forbidden City lit up at night. I try to ride around three to five times a week. When I started, I’d leave my apartment building and ride down Chang An Avenue (长安大街) from one side of the second ring road in Jianguomen (建国门) to the other side in Fuxingmen (复兴门), and then back again. That route is not bad for a quick ride. The bike lanes are usually over 5 meters wide. It was about 16 km round trip. But not too exciting.
After some experimentation with different routes, I found that Di’Anmen Street (地安门大街) is good to ride on. The bike lane is somewhat wide and most of the buses are electric so there is less pollution. So the whole ride takes about an hour depending on traffic. I usually go counter clockwise so that my return to Jianguomen is on Changan Avenue and I can ride fast in the big bike lanes. Plus it goes past Tiananmen Square (天安门). There is almost always a crowd to look at taking pictures of the square or of the gate to the Forbidden City so people watching at stop lights can be interesting.
The pollution in Beijing is pretty bad. I get sore throats from it if I go out and ride on bad days. (Check the Beijing US Embassy website for current conditions — usually between very unhealthy and hazardous.) Once I went out during the rain, and when I got home I was black with tire particles and greasy soot that was sprayed up on me. It was scary to realize all that is normally in the air.
Sometimes when I feel like a leisurely ride, I go around the Forbidden City (故宫). The area surrounding it is dimly lit, and seeing the massive walls and grand entrances with nobody around are always impressive. Sometimes it leaves me with an eerie feeling especially after the spotlights have been turned off.
Continue reading Daily Loop
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My friend Kate bicycled across the US a few years ago and followed much of the same route that I will be going on. Not exactly sure where she is now, but pretty sure fairly unreachable from her blog. While looking at her current blog, I saw that she had posted her previous blog’s entries on the cross country trip.
I was looking for time lines and any other useful information. From her entries of California to Colorado, my one month time line for getting across the continental divide seems like a good estimate. She also did it mostly alone like I plan to do.
I was also pleased to read that after getting across the continental divide she made good time being able to easily do 100+ miles a day.
Please consider making a donation to the Dana Farber and Jimmy Fund to support research, treatment and care of childhood cancers allowing children to grow up and lead full, healthy, exciting lives. Thank you.
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I was thinking about not bringing camping gear for the first week or two of the trip since there would be lots of mountains, I probably wouldn’t be in the greatest shape, and it would save about 10+ lbs. Saving weight it always a bonus. Continue reading To camp or not to camp?
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After talking to some colleagues from Texas and Kansas, I decided on the more northern route which was the one from Adventure Cycling that is the Western Express then connecting with the TransAm in Colorado. My friend from Texas and Kansas told me that even in September it can still be very hot in Texas, and the guy from Kansas sold his state well. Granted, he was selling the bonuses of going through Kansas while we were at a bar and he was buying…but even so, it seemed compelling. Another consideration is that the route will be several hundred miles shorter than the others. That will mean I have a few more days to relax and see things along the way…hopefully. Continue reading Route Decided…for now.
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