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 The C&O Trail next to the Potomac River The rain was coming down as I rode through the gate marking the beginning of the C&O towpath in downtown Cumberland by the park service visitor center. Cumberland is a CSX town and the train horns could be heard at all hours with trains coming and going. The rail lines paralleled the towpath for about half the day. Even when the trains could not be seen they were present with the low throb of the locomotive diesel engines, the clatter of cars on the rails or the screech of wheels going around bends. Continue reading Day 79: Cumberland to Hancock, MD (November 16)
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 The Eastern Continental Divide Waking up to a hard drizzle or maybe rain, I went to eat breakfast at the Sweetie Bakery next to the pizza place I got dinner with the night before. Buying some donuts and a bagel with cream cheese I checked my email and hoped the rain would stop. The rain eased up and was only something between a mist and a drizzle when I headed back out.
Before Meyersdale, was one of the big things on the trail today: the 1908 foot long Salisbury Viaduct. So not to lose elevation, the railroad made a big bridge to cross over a valley. The bridge is narrow — one track wide — which makes it seem even higher than it is. It looks too be about 100 feet off the ground (but probably only 60 or so) and only about 10 feet wide. Continue reading Day 78: Confluence, PA to Cumberland, MD (November 15)
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 Kentucky Bluegrass with blue skies and puffy clouds I stepped out in the morning just before sunrise, and was faced with a crisp, cold morning. It was below freezing by quite a bit. The weather channel said it was about 24 F. I had some breakfast and hoped it would warm up by the time I was ready to go.
When I left the temperature was just about freezing. I bundled up so that I’d warm up warm instead of trying to go out cold and warm up. I knew that I’d have to change out of something in about twenty or thirty minutes. The day was somewhat breezy so it might be even longer. Continue reading Day 73: Bardstown to Harrodsburg, KY (November 10)
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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 St. Louis Arch on a beautiful fall day Halloween Day (October 31)
I started out Halloween with a western omelet from Bauhaus Kaffee. I took my time enjoying the omelet and coffee before heading over to Enterprise to pick up my rental car. It was nice that Al’s Place has inside storage for bicycles downstairs. I locked up my bicycle with a note saying I’d be back the next day. I left my bike but took all my gear with me.
Driving up to St. Louis was not much fun. I had a bit of trouble focusing on driving since it is so different from cycling. It seemed to take more mental energy than I remember while at the same time being more boring. It was about an hour and half to drive from Farmington to the Arch in St. Louis. Continue reading Day 63 and 64: Rest Days in St. Louis (October 31 & November 1)
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 Real Apollo astronaut suits in the Cosmosphere Late start because I decided to go back to the Cosmosphere to look at the Apollo and shuttle section since I ran through them as the museum was closing the day before. Arriving shortly after opening I stayed until after one o’clock. One of my favorite things from today was a sign with statistics of the Saturn V rocket and what a colossal machine it was.
“On liftoff, the five F-1 engines on the Saturn V first stage generated the energy equivalent to more than 176 million horsepower — nearly twice as much energy as could be attained by damming up every stream and river on the North American Continent!”
“The five smaller J-2 engines on the Saturn V second stage generated a thrust with an energy equivalent of 72 Hoover Dams!”
“The Saturn V first stage burned fuel at the rate of 3,500 gallons, or 30,000 pounds, per second. That meant the rocket’s weight was reduced by nearly 2 million pounds during the first minute of flight!”
“So powerful was the liftoff of a Saturn V that the shock wave of each liftoff was recorded on seismic instruments in New York City — more than 1,100 miles away from Cape Kennedy, Florida!” Continue reading Day 53: Hutchinson to Hesston, KS (October 21)
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 SR-71 in the Cosmosphere lobby I started by heading to the grocery store and then the hardware store. I was happy to find pepper spray on clearance at the hardware store. I bought two which should get rid of a few dogs.
Then I headed over to the Cosmosphere. Being greeted by a real SR-71 Blackbird in the lobby was just the start. The space exhibits are amazing. Very comprehensive starting with a narrative that includes real V-2 and V-1 rockets, Operation Paper Clip, testing at White Sands, Mercury’s Liberty Bell 7 recovered from 16,000 feet below the ocean, Gemini, the Apollo 13 Command module, and the space shuttle. Continue reading Day 52: Rest day in Hutchinson, KS (October 20)
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 Kansas...wide open Cold start to the day so I retreated until it warmed up a bit…at least to freezing.
Somebody I met at my friend’s place in Colorado told me that anyone biking across the US after me would be stupid because it would be cold. The other day I was thinking about that and broke out laughing. I thought, “It must follow that I am a bit stupid for going so late, but the next guy is even stupider. But what if there is no next guy? That would make me the stupidest.” So I figure I could be the stupidest person cycling across the US this year. (Hoping to hear there are others out there so I don’t hold the title…) Continue reading Day 51: Larned to Hutchinson, KS (October 19)
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 Fort Larned where the wind did not stop After going to sleep to the sound of rain pounding down on my tent, I was pleased to wake up to mostly clear skies and sun. I woke up very late for me. Usually I get up without an alarm at about 05:30 to 06:00. Today I was surprised to see it was 08:25 when I checked the time.
I went over to the farmers co-op gas station to use the bathroom. When I came out an old guy wearing a bright green John Deere hat asked me what I was doing. After I told him I was biking cross country and was camped in the park, he said, “You’d better get back over there. There is a black bear loose. It’ll tear your tent to shreds.” I wasn’t sure if he was pulling my leg or not. He said it escaped from a nearby zoo. Not sure which nearby population center would support a zoo considering the nearest convenience store was six miles away. Continue reading Day 50: Rush Center to Larned, KS (October 18)
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