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We are officially or unofficially, Half way!!

OK, I hate to sound like a broken record but we knew the day was going to be hot and humid and we had our longest day (74 miles) so we were up at 3 AM and as they say in the aviation industry we were wheels up at 3:55 AM. The route was south to Richmond, VA (about 20 miles) then east for the remainder of the ride to Williamsburg, VA. It was a beautiful morning and traffic was light (didn’t see a car for the first 4 miles). We made a fuel stop in Richmond at a convenience store, Breakfast burritos, donuts, water, more water, powerade with ice and pickles. Ok, for those of you wondering why pickles for breakfast they are a good source of potassium and sodium and help with leg cramps. Oh; they taste good too! After that brief stop we made our way through town and found the bike trail out of town that was supposed to go all the way to Williamsburg (50 miles of trail). We were not disappointed, it skirted the highway the whole way and compared to what we have been riding it was relatively flat. It was a great ride! So, along the way were plantations that went as far as the eye could see, it was beautiful. Tina called it plantation highway. Nothing exciting except the 3 foot long black snake that squirmed it’s way across the bike path in front of Tina. I was behind about 50 yards and just saw her flailing her arms. She was terrified, she doesn’t like snakes. Once we were within about 15 miles of our hotel it started to warm up and the last 10 miles were a bit brutal. We pulled in around 2 Pm (10 Hours!!) We are slow but pedaling an 80 lb bike is no easy task. What we pulled in to was a nice site to behold, The Historic Powhatan Resort. This will be our nicest accommodations for the entire trip. Our room is a not a room, its a condo. Wish you were all here so we could have a party. The grounds are beautiful but the shameful thing is we don’t have time or the energy to enjoy it. We walked over to the pool and ordered food and drinks at the cabana and I am now writing this blog while Tina sleeps. Tomorrow we head to Suffolk, VA and will have a ferry crossing across the James River. This will be our first of three ferry crossings.

 

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Before I blog about today, I have to mention the storm last night.  We had just finished dinner and a crack of thunder hit.   We were staying just around the corner from the diner we ate at and by the time we walked home it started to rain.  Then the real storm hit with buckets of rain, lot’s of lightening and strong winds.  We were tucked away in our little AirBNB for the evening and enjoyed the storm and glad we were not traveling in it.  It lasted quite a while.  Woke up to wet bikes but all our gear was with us inside and dry.

Up and out on the road by 4:40 am.  It was nice, cool and cloudy but still enjoyed riding through town,  some memorial battle grounds and the pitch black woods.  Tina was hoping the shows she watched about Sasquatch were not true because she was looking out for one the entire time.  She had her head on a swivel this morning.  We didn’t have much trail riding today.  Mostly hilly country roads.  Beautiful farm fields.  Several of the roads were one car only through some beautiful shady lanes.  We passed through one area where I saw the most green grass I have ever seen.  Thank god I didn’t stop and try and walk on it.  It ended up being a  SWAMP!   By the early afternoon, we had, heat, humidity, hills and now headwinds.  Tina was over joyed when the head winds hit.  NOT!!!  It was kind of a tough day with some the hills, but we made it to Ashland around 1:OO.  Tina did laundry while I charged electronics, etc.   Heading to bed as tomorrow we have a 70 plus mile day

 

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We were up at 3:00 AM and on the road at 4:00 AM. Nice cycle ways and wide non busy roads for most of  the morning.  But.. hills, hills and more hills and roads with “Hill” in their name.  It was a hilly day again.  Later on, some of the roads were a little sketchy for cycle travel.  Narrow country roads, no bike lane and more car traffic then we would like but over all not too bad.  There were a couple of places on the more major roads that were narrow where Tina got a little spooked and got off an walked for a bit.  For  breakfast, we rolled into a WAWA’s and I ordered us a couple of egg sandwiches and we loaded up on water, water and more water.  I can’t believe the amount of water we are consuming.  We also have been eating individual wrapped dill pickles for the salt.  The day was warming up when we arrived at Fredricksburg, VA.  We rode straight to Carl’s, a famous frozen custard shop.  Tina ordered a pineapple shake and I ordered Vanilla with cherry slush.  It cooled us down for a bit then we walked around the corner to the AirBNB we are staying tonight.  We arrived here at 11:48 AM.  8 hours on the road. Our top speed for today was about 37 mph, a nice treat after climbing up a long long hill…..Tomorrow, Ashland, VA.

 

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Started the day early again at 5:30 AM because the heat is killing us. We had trails and cycleways for a good part of the journey which was really nice. Once we hit Washington, DC we slowed down a bit. Didn’t have time to take in the tourist sites because we wanted to move on as the day was getting hotter by the minute. My favorite part and I think Tina’s as well was at a point where the trail was at the end of the runway for Ronald Reagan Airport. The planes happened to be using that runway when we passed so we stopped for awhile to watch as they came in for landings as they passed in close proximity overhead. I could have spent all day there. We then kept along the Potomac for the remainder of the trip until we turned slightly inland to Mount Vernon and our home for the evening. Tomorrow our map shows a lot of elevation and it is going to be hot again so our plan is to be up at 3:00 AM and on the road by 4:00 AM, so……goodnight

 

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Once again we were up at 4:15 AM and on the road at 5:23 AM. It was very dark out so I told Tina to keep her head on a swivel. Then as we got into worse areas, such as pitch black parks, trails and side roads I told Tina we are turning off our tail lights so we would be hard to follow. What I thought was good advice turned out to worry Tina even more and her heart rate shot up like she was pedaling up a 13% grade. It was 7 miles of not so fun for me and pure terror for Tina. Then as the sun was coming up at about the 7 mile mark we were heading through a really bad area and pulled up to a stoplight. I glanced right and saw what appeared to be a gang fight with about 8 guys that you would not want your daughter dating. They were moving in our direction and only a few hundred feet away. There was not a car in sight (I wonder why?) so all I said was “lets go” and we blew the light and got the hell out of there. After that all was good and Tina’s heart rate got back to normal (for the time being).  Then came the hills and the heat so we keep doing the smart thing by drinking tons of liquid but are making more resupply stops. All was going well until we turned down a road with a pretty long hill. Part way down we started seeing road closed signs but me being the optimist could not imagine it would be closed to bicycles, WRONG! We got to the bottom and I rode right up to the sheriff and told him our situation and that we needed to pass. He was very nice when he said SORRY. He, another cyclist and a motorist all helped us figure out a way around but it meant climbing back up the hill we just came down, UGH!! Anyway after maybe a 5 mile detour we were back on track. Made it to our hotel at 3 PM sweaty and stinky like always……..Tomorrow through DC to Virginia

 

 

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Was on the road at 5:45 AM because it was supposed to be a warm day. Started out climbing and pretty much had a steady climb for the first 16 miles but had pretty cool weather with overcast skies. After we got out of Bel Air we travelled some country roads with lots of farm land all around, very pretty. After that it was rolling hills all the way in to Baltimore including a 10+ mile river trail.  As the day grew longer it started to heat up and by the time we arrived in Baltimore (3:00 PM) it was hot and we were a sweaty mess. I think between the two of us today we drank several gallons of water and Gatorade. We are staying at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore so walked to an overpriced restaurant and had dinner. After dinner Tina was nodding off at the table so we are back at the hotel and she is in bed (6:30 PM). I’m not picking on her because as soon as I finish this damn blog I am going to slumberland myself. We are tired! Even though we are zonies the heat and humidity here is killer. Add to that climbing hills all day and it takes it’s toll. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse so we are planning another early start. I just checked the weather and tomorrow at our destination it is forecast at 90 degrees with 53% humidity. Tomorrow our destination is Glenn Dale, MD. Doesn’t sound too exciting……

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Left our beautiful hotel at 5:30 AM in the dark and in the morning cool air, had to get out of there…spider in bed! Made an immediate stop at WAWA’s for water and snacks. Well……The hills were alive today but I did not hear the sound of music, all I heard was the sound of moaning coming from my cycling partner.  Some were long and rolling hills and others short and steep.  It was a hilly day!  Mostly cloudy with some breaks of sunbeams.  We got about 8 miles out and Tina was flying by me and I could not keep up with her.  Something was up.  We pulled into another WAWA’s (they are everywhere) and checked the air in my tires.  Mystery solved.  I only had 40 lbs of air in my back tire when I should have around 70 to 80, Tina’s were low too.  I should have checked them sooner….lesson learned.  After that I was able to fly down the hills….Until several miles later I had more coasting issues.  I felt a drag…..We stopped on the side of the road in a little town and I discovered my front brakes were rubbing. UGH…worked on them and was able to get them somewhat fixed….  Continued on with more hills, passed through Perryville and came to the dreaded Hatem Bridge….  This bridge is one of the only snafu’s along the East Coast Greenway so far.  It is not bike friendly and dangerous.  They only let cyclist on it Saturday and Sunday. Today is FRIDAY.   So we got creative….We pulled into Dunkin Donuts and called a Uhaul place on the other side of the Sasquehanna River.  Bingo…we scored a van.  I called Lyft and within two minutes I was picked up and taken across the river to the Uhaul place.  Drove the Uhaul back across the river picked up Tina and the bikes, drove back across the river…dropped of the van and off we went.  This little deterrent cost us about 2 hours, a couple of extra miles and 70 bucks!  Totally worth it….

Here’s the funny for the day. After dropping off the Uhaul we stopped at a Burger King in Havre De Grace for a quick food break. As we were getting ready to leave I told Tina I had to use the restroom and she suggested I take some of  our toiletries in because the restroom was out of toilet paper. I said just because the ladies room was out doesn’t mean the mens room is out and her comment was the bathroom is unisex because there was a mens urinal in there. Yep you guessed it, she was in the mens room!! And yep she was right, it was out of toilet paper.

So here we are at the AIRBNB…ordered in pizza and getting ready for tomorrow.  Baltimore, here we come.

Click here to view todays ride:                https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10007447532

Today was a beautiful day. We left our hotel next door to the Philadelphia airport at exactly 7:11 AM. The hotel was supposed to have breakfast but all it had was coffee, mini muffins and really tiny granola bars so I snagged several of each for the road. I guess that’s what to expect when you book 2 star hotels! Not saying I’m cheap I just don’t believe in spending a lot on a hotel room when you’re commuting on a bicycle and you’re dirty, sweaty and stink. Besides, if I did book a nice hotel are they going to let us ride our bikes through the lobby to our rooms? The places we stay at have no problem with it; just saying. To put it in perspective Tina is wiping down everything right now with antibacterial wipes as I write this blog. Last night we slept on a blanket we packed and on top of the sheets. Anyway, on with our day. The first part of the ride was mostly industrial areas with roads off the beaten path. We skirted the Delaware River most of the day and crossed over into Delaware short of the halfway mark. After that we hit some trails through some nicely wooded areas and had some climbing to do. Not too bad but the day was warming up and so was the humidity. Had lunch in Wilmington, DE and I had another cheese steak, why not (had to compare with Genos). Next stop we made was a little farmers market where we got some fresh peaches. Arrived at the hotel around 2:30 and then went into a routine of charging batteries for all our electronic gear, go pros, Garmin gps, cell phones, headlights and tail lights. Best part of the day was when we discovered a bar and grill called The Green Turtle right behind our hotel. After a shower and change of clothes we headed there for some food and beverage. Back to our hotel to get ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow we head to Bel Air, Maryland which will be a little bit longer day. Weather is supposed to be sunny and warm……..

A rather uneventful day but tiring. We awoke around 2 AM and was picked up by SuperShuttle at 2:50 AM. Arrived at the airport around 4 AM for our 5:30 AM flight. After switching planes at Chicago Midway we arrived in Philadelphia a little ahead of schedule at around 2:30 PM Philadelphia time. We then needed to catch a Lyft to the bike shop in downtown Philly but instead of going direct we made a little detour to the famous Geno’s steaks for a cheesesteak with whiz. Tina was unable to partake because she is a vegetarian so I ate the whole thing myself, I took one for the team!  After that we arrived at the bike shop with all our gear so loaded up our panniers and after about an hour or so putting them together we headed out for a short jaunt to our first night hotel. Bicycle therapy did a great job in having our bikes ready for us and they even threw in a couple pairs of socks on the house. Tomorrow will feel like we are finally starting our tour so until then….

38 days till we leave for Philly on 08/14/2019 to continue on our East Coast Greenway trip from where we left off last year. This year we will start in Philadelphia and our goal is Wilmington, NC.. We have shortened our days a bit so we will have more time to enjoy the places that we pass through. The plan is 910 miles in 18 days. We have been training about every weekend through town but this morning we rode to the top of south mountain fully loaded to test out the legs. Bikes were heavy but we made it! A few pics below.  Until 08/14…………

Link to our ride (click to view): https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10006284161