I know, thinking that doing anything in United States is doing something in extreme conditions compared to parts of the rest of the world is a stretch, but it's all relative. And hey, I'm trying to not let myself get carried away. I don't feel the need to go "Into The Wild"..... yet.
No, I will settle for covering the most interesting places I can find using my own power. Whether it be on bike or running, I prefer seeing a place, NOT from inside an enclosed, rolling piece of metal. It is so much more intimate for me and as I have become so enthralled with history and love to read about the places I am going, there really isn't anything more exciting.
SO.... I had been trying to think of a ride I could do before my planned Canada to Mexico ride in the fall. I have been shooting Motocross for the last four weeks and that continues until the first week of September. It is amazing to be traveling to these 12 races around the country. Ok, I am surrounded by metal much of the time. In fact I am typing this from about 30,000 feet in the air, surrounded by metal and hoping it stays that way for the duration of the flight. But I love this type of travel as well, just a bit differently.
Anyway, I have a couple weeks off starting June 17th and I figured I could take my bike out for a nice trial run. But where? I already did a few hundred miles down the coast about a month ago. What about the part of Route 66 that we didn't do on the run because we went through Phoenix? That would be awesome and I would love to do that, and will one of these days, but I am afraid it would be too hot in June... hmm.... I thought, well.. maybe take a train towards the east coast and ride for a couple weeks. Then it dawned on me that the races that straddle the break are in Mechanicsville, Maryland and Buchanan, Michigan. I'm not really sure how mad I would have been at myself if I would have never realized how PERFECT this is!!
I am flying my bike out to this weeks race, then riding the 870 miles to the next race. Not only is it one of my favorite parts of the country, there are also tons of historical sites along the way. Historical sites for our country and a couple personal ones as I will be heading a little farther north and riding through the town I was born in, adding about a hundred miles to the trip, had it been point to point. Of course I am sure I will find most of the craft breweries along the way and as an added bonus, I will be visiting my cousin in Lansing who owns a brew supply store. I actually just found this out last week from my other cousin. He's had it since 1999. How did I just find this out? There is actually a longer story in there, but I think I will save it for another time. Perhaps I will start a journal on the road and post here. Lots of people do that while touring on a bike. Since I am hoping to have more energy cycling rather than running, maybe I can actually keep up with one. Ahhh! I have threatened to do that before, so I won't make any promises.
Speaking of bike touring, here is the full set up.
I shot this while doing an overnighter last week to see if I was forgetting anything. It's best to be prepared! And boy have I prepared. I fretted over every choice, from the bike to the panniers to the camp stove. I am very happy with all my choices and I even realized a little bonus when I discovered that my Ortlieb panniers will also fit very nicely on my baby jogger making me look a lot less homeless!
Yes, I like cycling, but running is still my love and it is nice to know that the things I am getting will work for both. The lightweight camping gear will also work for backpacking if and when I decide to REALLY rough it and do the Appalachian Trail or a backpacking trip in Europe or elsewhere :) But first things first!
I'll head out from Mechanicsville, Maryland and ride through our nation's capital and from there enter the C and O Canal that runs along the Potomac. Then, after about 150 miles, I'll hit Cumberland and start down The Great Allegheny Passage. To say that I am excited about this would be an understatement. Chris and I did about 75 miles of this and it was my favorite part of the run. I always knew I would go back. I didn't think it would be this soon. This really is PERFECT!! Well, except I wouldn't mind having a lady riding with me and tour like these guys. But, you can't have everything.
From there, I will leave The GAP in Pittsburgh and make my way to Ann Arbor then Jackson, up to Lansing and on to Buchanan in time for the race on July 5th. I'll have 19 days to cover the miles which should give me a chance to see a bunch of stuff along the way but still give me a decent amount of miles to do, that I will feel like I have earned that beer (or 2) at the end of the day.
So that's that! That's the map and that's the plan.
As I look out the window of the plane, somewhere over northern Arizona, I am so thankful. Thankful to be traveling. Thankful to be meeting people. Thankful to be seeing so many beautiful things. Thankful to feel connected. But maybe most of all, I'm thankful that I stopped longing to be safe and started living. I think it's true that you don't really appreciate things until you don't have them. Or stated another way, maybe experiencing pain makes pleasure that much better.
As always, I'll post pictures on Facebook. But, I really am going to try and keep a better journal/ travelogue on here. It is much easier to read and eventually Facebook will go the way of MySpace... right? :-D
Paul
