And away we go!

Here I go again on my own.

Going down the only road I’ve ever known.

Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.

And I’ve made up my mind.

I ain’t wasting no more time.

(Is it impressive, predictable, or pathetic that I can recite these Whitesnake lyrics from memory?)

So where to begin... Well for those of you that don't know, I'm riding my bike somewhere... for some amount of time. I am carrying maps for the TransAmerica route, but who knows what is in store for me? I'm sure plenty of readers remember last year when I aborted a long distance bike trip before getting out of Pennsylvania. Laugh it up because <drumroll> I managed to not only travel to another state, but also a federal district! As I sit here in Washington, D.C., I will recount my past week of bicycle travel.

Last week, I left State College with two male escorts, Scott Woods and Clay Chiles. My friend Scott was happy (and a bit sad as my former boss) to ride with me and ensure that I got at least out of the borough. Check. Then Clay (who was riding to continue his training for the Transylvania Epic mountain bike race) rode with me until we were about 20 miles away from town. That was sufficient momentum to keep me headed on my way. Over the course of three days, I rode to Lancaster, PA on a route that I had already ridden a couple of times with my friends on previous tours.

The reason that I went to Lancaster first was to attend the wedding of my friends, Sam Zehr and Lori Reeder. This necessitated in not only carrying a 6 lb suit and dress shoes (strapped to my handlebars), but also paying for a haircut and shaving. I realize that most no one actually believes this since I resemble Bigfoot more than a human most days, but the wedding photographer did record me on camera. I'll be sure to share pictures of this anomaly once I see them. The wedding was a beautiful affair and the ceremony was conducted by Sam's sister, Julia. A reception followed with a dinner that Lori and Sam had prepared earlier themselves with desserts contributed by numerous others. Sufficed to say, I tried my damnedest to make up for calories lost on the ride down and load up for the future! I also sat in a hot tub for several hours at the B&B for further recovery.

Then on Memorial Day, it was time to depart Lancaster. Fortunately, Mike Zehr, Sam's father, had the day off and wanted to ride along with me for the day. We were both a little reserved about this idea for opposite reasons. Mike kept fretting that he was "out of shape" and "might not be able to keep up". I on the other hand thought back to the previous spring when my friends and I had ridden a stretch with Mike back to his house. At the start, Mike looked back at us with a grin deserving of the Cheshire Cat and then left us gasping trying to stay on his wheel for ten miles or so. That and the fact that when I had weighed my bike without food or water it tipped the scales at 87lbs. In the end though, we maintained a great pace together for about 65 miles down to the outskirts of Baltimore. It turned out to be a absolutely gorgeous day of first riding rolling country roads to York, PA and then riding the Northern Central Rail Trail. The funniest part of the day was on a deceptively flat looking portion of trail where Mike and I both kept quiet about hitting our personal low point of the day. My legs were tiring and I was breathing hard and couldn't figure it out. Later as we started coasting downhill for miles, we realized that we had been charging up a subtle incline earlier for miles which explained our fatigue!

In Cockeysville, MD, Mike bid farewell and got a shuttle home from Mary, his wife. After a night's sleep that more resembled a coma, I descended down into Baltimore on what felt the hottest day yet. Navigating the city this time was much easier than when Eric and I traveled through last fall and I even stopped down at the Inner Harbor for lunch. After that, I found US Route 1 which beelines towards DC. The fact that it is a relatively straight shot is a positive thing. The forty miles of no shoulders, 40-55 mph speed limits, broken pavement, construction zones and scattered glass were slight negatives. But I liked it rather than try to cobble together numerous small roads that would only succeed in getting me hopelessly lost. But I made it into the city and to my brother's apartment safe and sound where I am spending several days checking out the capital.

It's only been 300 miles of riding thus far and I have no idea where this trip will take me, but so far I have met so many good people and received so much support. Jeremy who gave me advice down at Zeno's the night before I left. The park ranger at RB Winter state park who shared wisdom from his cross country ride.  Beatrice and Bethany who will include me in their prayers. The guy from Quality Bike Products who caught up on his fixie outside of Harrisburg and chatted me up for a mile. George (a relative of Sam's) who regaled me with tales of two cross country rides as well as being a support driver for the Race Across America. Greg and Sue (other relatives of Sam's) who within moments of meeting me offered a place to stay at their house when I pass by. Of course I cannot begin to thank the Zehr family for all of the hospitality, food, showers, prayers and encouragement that they have given me over the years. Thank you Mike, Mary, Julia, Sam and now, Lori. I would also be remiss in not thanking Scott Woods, Ieva Perkons and the rest of the crew at West Arete for their support and for putting up with my "early retirement".

Guess who's going to win this race?  Clay Chiles at the start.

Break in Centre Hall, PA

Yes, yes it is.  Appropriately, this is at the top of a long climb.

Lovely day for riding on 11/15 to Duncannon, PA

I have spent more than one evening in this pavilion at the Riverfront Campground while it was raining, relaxing with friends

Folks from western and central PA will get the joke.

Sam and I picked 2 gallons of fresh strawberries for the wedding.

Mike introduced me to mulberries, which were prolific between Lancaster and York.

Mike Zehr after riding to Maryland

Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  Apparently they have pirate ship rides on Fridays now!

Note to reader: Never bike tour between Baltimore and Washington on a Monday, lest you  be disappointed

Alpacka Raft's Denali Llama packraft

"Spring Creek is nice and floatable" read the text message from my friend, Jeff, who had biked along it's banks yesterday morning on his morning commute.  "YES!" I exclaimed as I pumped my fist in the air and kicked up my heels in glee (at least that's how I remember it).  For the past month or so, all of the creek levels had been depressingly low.  It was made all the more depressing in that I had just recently purchased an Alpacka Raft Denali Llama packraft and hadn't gotten a chance to use it.  But with the past two days of heavy rain, the creeks were up and I would apparently get my chance.

NOLS newsletter on packrafting courses

I try to think back as to why I even got a packraft in the first place, besides it just being so obviously awesome.  It probably had something to do with a blog post on Surly's website a year ago regarding a small whitewater packraft that could be carried on a bike when ridden and conversely a bike could be carried on the packraft when paddled.  Hmmmm.... that's sounded awesome so I tucked that one away for later.  Then I watched the below video and my brain exploded.

I kept it in the back of my mind and then ordered one about a year later.  I had dreams of biking to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon aka Pine Creek Gorge and doing a packrafting/trail running/biking extravaganza.  And once I received the raft, I started seeing mentions of them everywhere.  The most recent NOLS magazine included an entire article on a new packrafting course.  Then I went to the Banff Film Festival and three of the films had adventurers using packrafts.  I also read Jon Waterman's book, Running Dry, that is his account of paddling the Colorado River from source to sea using a packraft for many sections.  And the packrafts used in all of these occurences: Alpacka Raft's.  I had made the right decision apparently.

What a dork.

When I got the box in the mail that I had shelled out over a grand for, I thought that I had been swindled.  I have owned three person tents that couldn't fit into this box that was supposed to hold a whitewater packraft and a four piece kayak paddle.  It didn't weigh much either.  Sure enough though, it held a sub 6lb whitewater raft and a paddle.  Holy shit.  The Denali Llama is their biggest single person whitewater model and it weighs in at 5lb 3oz.  The optional spray deck that is welded on at the factory is an additional 8oz.  I also got an Aqua-Bound Manta Ray fiberglass four piece kayak paddle.

Overall, the packed raft was about the size of a two person backpacking tent.  This along with the paddles can easily be strapped somewheres on a backpack or to the rear rack of a bicycle.  Inflating the raft is an absolute snap.  Included with the raft is an inflation sack, which is a big sil-nylon sack with one end open and the other with a threaded valve on it.  Screw the valve into the port on the raft, fill the bag with air, compress the bag and push the air into the raft.  Their video does a better job explaining this.  After practicing twice, I easily inflated the raft streamside yesterday in less than a minute.  One initial point of concern however was that the valve on the boat is not a one way valve.  Thus, when you stop pumping or take off the inflation bag, air will flow out of the boat.  It turned out to not be a problem in the end.  I could unscrew the inflation bag quickly enough and cap the valve without losing too much air.  Then there is a small secondary port to inflate by mouth to reach final desired pressure.  No problemo.

Just add water!

So after weeks of staring at my neglected packraft, yesterday morning I got the message that streams were boatable.  As an initial test, I didn't want to paddle with my bike strapped on the boat but rather just get a feel for how the boat handled.  To be completely honest, I haven't kayaked much at all, so all my boating experience comes from canoeing.  I biked over to the whitewater course on Spring Creek behind Tussey Mountain Outfitters in Bellefonte.  On the ride there, I barely noticed the boat on my rear rack.  Of course before launching, I stopped by my friend Jeff's office to grab lunch so that we could discuss packrafting, biking and interoffice politics.  But after that, I made my way down to the creek and readied my craft.

The stream was flowing much faster and higher than I had ever previously seen when I canoed there.  But my enthusiasm for trying out the boat told me the hell with it and to just goof around in the eddies.  I paddled around in some of the eddies and slackwater to familiarize myself with the boat.  Then I began ferrying back and forth across the main current from bank to bank to see how it would respond to me.  While I personally couldn't paddle against the strongest parts of the current and move upstream, the raft otherwise behaved beautifully.

With the paddler sitting so low in the craft, it is quite stable.  However, with such a low position and an inflated tube at your side, paddling is a little more difficult.  I found myself bringing the paddle higher and paddling at a sharper downward angle than you would have to in other craft.  I am sure though that this is also a function of me needing to get more accustom to using a kayak paddle.  With the raft being flat bottomed and with the bow having less of a pronounced "point" than a canoe, I found it a little harder to paddle upstream and track into the current, but again this could be a function of poor paddle skills too.  With the flat bottom and the raft floating high, I noticed that breezes easily affected the boat, so paddling flatwater into a headwind would probably suck.

Overall however, I am absolutely pleased with my investment in a Denali Llama packraft from Alpacka Raft.    After reading about the rafts, their history, and accounts of what others have done with them on the company's site, I know that I have made the correct decision for a craft that fits into my car free and adventure filled lifestyle.  Just the other day, at a lunch with my friends Jason and Eric, we were discussing a particular ice route that forms in the Pine Creek Gorge.  You can cross country ski into the route on a rail trail, but you are still on the opposite side of the creek from the climb and the creek isn't always frozen over.  Our concerns over whether or not the creek is frozen evaporated with the realization that we have a packraft in our quiver now.  Stay tuned...

One fish. Two fish. Redfish. Hare fish.

My father and I have been talking lately about going fishing.  It's an activity that he and my brothers and I enjoy getting together for, but hasn't happened as often as we would like in the past few years.  So I am definitely looking forward to getting out on the ocean waters off of North Carolina with him in about a month to fish for redfish.  We have sought out small & large mouthed bass, muskie (with limited success), pike, walleye, salmon, trout, crappie and who knows what else, but never redfish.

This will be another opportunity to try my hand at catching large fish with a flyrod.  And since my heavier flyrod has been gathering dust in a friend's basement since I flailed it about at Quebecois pike a couple of years ago, it would behoove me to get some casting practice in.  Now that winter has left us and summer has taken its place in mid March, I got out on the lawn to do just that.

To mimic a large, fluffy fly that is agonizingly wind resistant, I tied a bit of plastic grocery bag on to the end of my leader.  Since it made it a pain in the ass to cast, I figured it was fairly realistic substitute.  Then I shook out some line and began working it into the air and maintaining it aloft.  At first my movements were jerky and the bag fly kept clipping the grass on my backcast.  When I would release the line the fly would slam into the ground and the excess line puddle around it.

After a bit, a transformation came over the process.  The whistling of a poorly cast line fell silent.  The line stretched out taut at the end of the cast and the leader unfurled and the hideous bag fly would crisply plop down on the grass.  And peering into the sunset, I began looking for fish.  They appeared everywhere.  That patch of dead grass was a group of trout.  That large stick transformed into a lunker bass.  And as I began depositing my fly right at their periphery as desired, I saw the boil and splash of the strikes.  When I pulled the line back in, the knots in the leader would catch on the grass and mimic the nibbling of an inquisitive walleye.

Then, my trophy swam into view.  A pair of the rabbits that infest my neighborhood hopped out of some brush and began feeding.  A few exploratory casts made to gauge distance somehow did nothing to faze my quarry.  It was after one or two more attempts that were slightly off their mark that I landed my grocery bag fly squarely on one rabbit's head.  I felt proud as if I had just hooked a twenty inch trout.  The rabbit didn't budge an inch.

Maybe next time I'll tie some baby carrots onto my line.

Schwalbe Marathon Mondial review

So, a couple of months ago, I parted with some cash to purchase a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires.  It was my first experience with the brand and was a little hesitant to purchase these more expensive tires.  In the end, I'm sure glad I did.

These tires did see a fair amount of off-road action...

I wrote about my first ride with the tires here.  After riding about 500+ miles (I kinda didn't keep track) I feel like I can give a better evaluation of these tires.  About 80% of my riding was done on roads and the rest was on varying surfaces including gravel, mud/dirt, and snow.  Half was commuting and the other half was longer recreational rides.

As a pure road tire, I would opt for a different model obviously.  The more aggressive tread of the Marathon Mondial is just plain overkill if you sticking to smooth pavement.  While I didn't notice it on the first ride, after a while I could tell that there is some slight rolling resistance with this tread.  Of course, since I wasn't switching between tires or bikes, this is entirely a subjective assessment.  Where the tire definitely excels is transitioning between many different loose riding surfaces and still working quite well on roads.  They offered great grip for their width on gravel and mud and didn't even shy away from packed snow.  For those wondering, they offer little to no grip on bare sheets of ice... I had to find out the hard way.  In warmer winter conditions, the tires seemed to quickly gather snow on them in the tread and then eventually jam against fenders.  However, that's probably going to happen with any lugged tire combined with a fender.

The test lab.

I did get the opportunity in the past week to take a ride out in my local state forest with a modest load of overnight equipment.  Although this winter has been fairly tame, I was still concerned about the condition of the roads and what traction problems I may have.  Whether it was a long fire road climb on packed snow or a long, long climb on soft and tacky mud, the tires never skipped a beat.  My legs may have skipped a couple of beats though.  The Marathon Mondials definitely gave me the necessary confidence to maneuver my loaded bike along the slippery roads.

After over 500 miles of riding, there is no evidence of wear on the tires.  I really would have expected more of the tread to be rounding off in spots.  You would also think that if the rubber is so firm to resist wear that it wouldn't offer much grip on rock or wet pavement.  That thought has been dispelled as the tires provide great grip on such surfaces.  Also, the claims of high puncture resistance in the Schwalbe Marathon line have so far held up.  I  haven't gotten a single flat with these tires yet (and I hope that I didn't just horribly jinx myself).  Lest you think I have been babying them, I haven't.  I live in a town with a major college and everyday I literally ride over tons of broken glass provided by intellectuals' copious broken bottles.  I'd say that's a pretty fair test.

If you are looking for a tire that can ride anywhere well and stand up to abuse, this is it.  If you are already looking at the Marathon Mondial specifically, buy them.  They're worth it.

Update 10/18/2012-  I have over 8,000 miles on this pair of tires now and have only suffered 3 flats total.  That includes riding across the entire United States.  The tire that was on the rear was wearing more and the tread was a bit worn in the center.  I have swapped the front and rear tires and will continue to ride them.  After all of the miles, I am still 100% pleased with them and stand behind everything I've written previously.

Jazzercise

I have always had a sneaking suspicion that exercise plays an important role in my life.  Many people might view it as a chore or a necessity to fit into their new jeans or one of many possible things that you could do on a Saturday afternoon.  Up until recently, I might have agreed that it's something I "do on a Saturday afternoon" and that I find it fun.  But now, after taking it for granted for so long, I realize that I need to exercise.  It is largely who I am and what I do.

About 10 days ago, I was out on a bike ride with my friend, Eric.  At the top of a particularly long climb, we stopped our bikes to walk to the top of a fire tower and look at the panorama.  Trying to climb and descend the stairs of the tower, I found myself hobbling.  Which is definitely not normal.  Often I make myself feel like shit from doing way too much physical activity.  But it's an all over "feel like shit" sensation.  But right then, only the outside of my right knee felt like shit.  Uh oh.  Eric identified it as an inflammation of my IT band.  He recommended that I rest in order to keep from further damaging it.  I finished out the ride in an easy gear, hoping that I wasn't destroying my knee further in those last twenty or so miles.

Looking into the matter, I found that many of my activities including hiking, running, bowling, biking, and cross country skiing can cause or further compound IT band syndrome.  There are many recommended remedies, but the most essential one is to rest the knee until the inflammation goes away.  So, for the past nine days I have largely done nothing but work, read books and watch TV.  It has also provided me some time to think about things-which those that know me well know I'm introspective already, so I guess this was hyperintrospection.

It made me realize that my life more or less revolves around exercise or physical activity or whatever you want to call it.  I get some sort of exercise in every day and have been doing so more or less for years.  It's the fun thing that I like to do and the only area of my life except for food and shelter that I actually spend money on.  I bike or walk everywhere for transportation.  To a fault, it's one of the few things that I talk about with people and the way that I meet new people.  My personal definition of a friend is someone whom I have done something outdoors with.  Whenever I feel anxious or depressed (which happens a bit), running or biking takes the place of medication to even out my mood.  The only thing that kept me from a complete alcoholic stupor for years (and to this day) was the notion that I should beat the shit out of myself with exercise instead of with a whiskey bottle.  It's what I wake up for, save for, daydream about, and is my single biggest pleasure.  Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket.

I am honestly not over dramatizing the role that getting outside and sweating plays in my life.  But I realize that there's no reason for melodrama yet.  I am giving it another week to see how my knee feels.  I've been trying to stretch more regularly.  There's probably a couple of adjustments that I need to make to my bike too.  And more likely than not, I'll be just fine.  Human beings have dealt with a lot more than just an achy knee and done far more than I will ever do, so I should just shut up already.  Which I will.  But I still have to say "WOW" because I didn't know just how much I love to get outside and play until now.

p.s.  Jazzercise still exists.  I thought it died out the same time as my favorite musicians did from heroin overdoses.

Untitled

The cable lock securing my bike to the rack was nearly frozen in place and I struggled to unlock it.  An older man exited the coffee shop next to me and began heading for his car when he stopped and looked towards me.  My hearty "Good morning!" brought him closer.

"I got some advice for you." he said.  I peered at his face in the dim early morning light to see his expression.  It revealed a mild intensity.  "I used to do everything in all crazy weather like this too.  I wanna tell you to keep doing it.  Look at me.  I'm 81.  No pills.  People think I'm 65.  I still ride 14 miles a day, everyday.  You're thin and athletic.  Keep in shape and you'll live long."

I shook his hand and thanked him for his advice because he truly looked amazing for 81.  He turned to walk away and I thought he was done.

"One other thing:  I wouldn't ride on the road.  It's too dangerous.  I stick to sidewalks, bike paths, alleys and parking lots.  I've seen too many accidents." he added.

I thanked him for a second time.  I pretended to adjust something on my bike until he drove off in his car.  I didn't want him to see me pull out onto the road.

--

One day, my friend, Eric, and I were riding up a long climb with our bikes laden down.  It was a cold spring day and rain was steadily falling.  He commented to me, "Y'know, I really like to smile a lot when I'm doing dumb shit like this.  I figure if passing cars see me smiling, they'll think I'm insane."

This time, I was riding alone in well below freezing temperatures.  My beard collected a film of ice on it from  my breath.  Gusting winds pushed my bike to and fro as I rode past miles of farm fields.  Each time I saw an oncoming car, I found myself sitting up straighter and grinning from ear to ear.

--

Ice covered the road its entire width for a distance of 40 feet.  Since I was riding slowly up a slight incline, there was plenty of time to think and react.  My first thought of course was to stop and not try to ride on a sheet of ice.  My next thought was that if I was going to try to ride across it, I should be going much faster so momentum would carry me across.  It also occurred to me that I should slip my feet out of the straps holding them to the pedals in case I did fall.

I did none of these.  Slowly I crept across the first four feet of ice.  Without warning my bike shot out from under me like a greased pig.  I was immediately slammed down on my left side right there in the middle of the road.  Reviewing the damage, I realized it was slight.  Sprained wrist, banged up knee, bent brake grip, and saddle skewed by 30 degrees.  Since I was minutes away from Jason's house, I shook it off and rode the remaining distance standing, holding my butt off of the cockeyed saddle.

--

We matched each other in height and endurance so our strides were nearly identical.  Footfalls crunched down on the frozen leaves and sticks in unison as we ran steadily through the woods.  Our pace was moderate enough that we could hold a conversation with one another, comparing notes about work, the weather, and dreams.

Every twenty minutes or so, either our exchange of words or a random muscle twinge would occupy too much of our attention.  Jason or I would put a foot down and instead of finding the secure purchase of dirt or gravel, we would be greeted with a skating rink.  Avoiding the ice would have been rather easy, but once on a sheet of it there was little one could do.  You accelerate your pace to take quick, short steps and pinwheel your arms in a comedic attempt at retaining balance.  Eventually we would come to an uncontrolled stop and exchange laughs at avoiding the spill.

Against all I odds, I do eat food.

There is a widely held belief that I do not eat food.  This is probably fueled by me telling folks that I am on a hunger strike to bring the Berlin Wall down.  Regardless, I would like to dispel the myth.  I do eat food, it just has little or no effect on me.

The best part of waking up.

Since the winter weather patterns are entirely screwed up (it probably has something to do with all of those nukes the Soviets are stockpiling), yesterday turned out to be a 50 degree day.  Since skiing was out, Eric and I decided to go on a long bike ride.  We took our time and spent the majority of the day out there on quiet back roads.  Further adding to our relaxed pace, we stopped at a couple of eateries along the way.  All told, the ride ended up being about 75 miles.

This shouldn't be legal.  Even in America.

I took a picture of the crumbs for dramatic effect.  We ate those too.

What I consumed for the day:

2 cups of tea

1 large bowl of oatmeal with honey & raisins

1 handful of prunes

1 cup of coffee

3 apple cider donuts from Way Fruit Farm

1 Pepsi

1/2 of a lunch tray of fries from Spruce Creek Tavern

1 more cup of tea

1/2 of a leftover artichoke & tomato pizza from Faccia Luna

Yet another cup of tea

1 more apple cider donut

In addition to this, we tried to go to the Spruce Creek Bakery to get some pie.  I was carrying peanut butter crackers, cheese, hummus and pita along with me on the ride for emergencies.  We also briefly considered riding to the Port Matilda Hotel with Eric's wife, Meghann, for yet more fries.

Yes, I was still hungry at the end of the day.