Spring 15 Tour Day 4 - Virginia Beach to Nags Head, NC

Hello from Nags Head North Carolina! At the fabulous Rodeway Inn!

It was a tough day today. 83 miles of stiff headwinds. It was slow going, on narrow shoulders of four lane roads. It was a beautiful sunny day, temperatures in the low 70s.

We started with Breakfast at Java Surf, in Virginia Beach.

They have art you can buy on the walls at Java Surf.

I can't even begin to figure out what's going on with that painting.

The plan for the day was to go south into North Carolina to Knotts Island, then take the Currituck Ferry back to the mainland, then go south and over a bridge to the Outer Banks. We rode through Kitty Hawk, and end at Nags Head.

For this to work we would have to make the 12:00 ferry, which Google Maps says is 32.5 miles from the start. We left at 9:00, which you would think would be no problem. But there were bad headwinds, and mostly all salt marsh with no trees to block the wind.

We made it with 10 minutes to spare. We had a scare when the sign 10 miles from the ferry said it was 12 miles to the ferry.

Here is an osprey. It had it's nest on a piling right next to the ferry landing.

To get out to the island, you take the Wright Memorial Bridge. It is two two-lane spans. It is two miles long. Minimal shoulder. One span was closed for construction. So it was one span each way, with posts between the lanes. After a few cars passed us, the next vehicle behind us was a big truck pulling a giant RV. It was two wide to pass us. So we created a massive backup as we rode across.

And here is the ocean at Kitty Hawk.

Lunch was at the Pass the Salt Cafe, right by the ferry landing. It was great. Dinner was next door at Sam and Omie's, where Abbie the bartender makes very strong margaritas.

Today was opening day, I listened to the Orioles game while riding. If I stick my phone in the front of the trunk rack it's right behind my head, and I can hear it great. The O's won 6-2 and it sounds like they were very sharp.

Here are the tracks for today.
https://www.strava.com/activities/280602659
https://www.strava.com/activities/280602755

Spring 15 Tour Day 3 - Exmore to Virginia Beach, VA

It was a wonderful short ride today. We went 32 miles down to the lower tip of the Virginia Eastern Shore, then I did another 12 across Virginia Beach to meet Debra, Max, and Jim's family for lunch.

Riding the lower Eastern Shore is terrific. You really never have to go on US 13. You can do scenic back roads that parallel the highway the whole way. We were really happy with this route.

Here I am at the end of the first leg, waiting for Debra to come shuttle us over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

Check out the shoulder on the Bridge-Tunnel. I could ride that. I could even ride that for 22 miles, which is how long the Bridge-Tunnel is.

Riding the tunnel sections might be a problem though.

I went across Virginia Beach on the Cape Henry Trail. It looks pretty nice here, and it's really scenic the whole way.

Still looking good here, too. But just after this it becomes not paved for four miles, with lots of sandy patches. This is not enjoyable on a recumbent with skinny racing tires. At all.

Amazingly, I got the KOM on Strava for the full trail...

Here is the end of day at Doc Taylor's in Virginia Beach. This was a bit of an adventure, because Jim kept calling it "Doc Martin's", which made me wonder what kind of place it was, and I couldn't find it on the map anywhere.

Everybody is happy because of food. Also Bloody Marys.

Here are the Strava tracks.
https://www.strava.com/activities/279858370
https://www.strava.com/activities/279858501

Spring 15 Tour Day 2 - Salisbury, MD to Exmore, VA

Howdy from Exmore, Virginia!

\

I'm sure happy because this was about the easiest 70 mile day of bike touring ever. Temperature around 60, dead flat terrain all day, and a roaring 20 mph tailwind.

You might be wondering how come we only went 70 miles if it was flat and there was a roaring 20 mph tailwind. The answer is because Jim was only managing 12 mph at best despite the tailwind, and generally had the demeanor of someone enduring a death march rather than enjoying bike touring.

I think he rode more miles yesterday than he had in the entire year to date.

So we decided to adjust our plans, and not attempt to ride 100 miles today to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Despite the roaring 20 mph tailwind. We decided to ride until we decided to stop, somewhere where there was a motel with food nearby, especially if there was a bar.

Yep, right next door. Electrolyte Replenishment Therapy, and steak and cake (although they don't know it's called that). No 6, it's (Red Dot of) Quality night.

So tomorrow will be a short day (30 miles) to the bridge-tunnel, then we will proceed at an enjoyable pace until wherever we wind up on Thursday night. Then Suzanne will pick up Jim, and they will go listen to banjo music, and I will continue to ride and get to banjo music whenever I get there, or Suzanne will fetch me on Sunday morning on the way home.

The scenery today was quite nice. There were way less stinky chicken farms, and way more nice forests.

 Much of the morning was on the Seagull Century route from Salisbury to Pokomoke City Maryland. It was sad to leave the spray painted seagulls behind.

Here is my bike leaning on something by Pokomoke City. I spend a lot of time standing around waiting for Jim to catch up, so I might as well take pictures.

Lunch was in the middle of nowhere at the awesome 4 Shore Mart. You might think it looks sketchy, but the delicious smell of burgers cooking on the grill when you walk in totally overcomes the impression left by the plexiglass and unfinished 2x4 cage around the cashier. The bacon cheeseburger sub totally had the required 30 miles in it.

Breakfast this morning was at Bob next to the 6. Nothing interesting to report on that.

But here is a good story from the Golden Corral experience last night. I'm in the line to the cashier, where you pay in advance and get your drink and a tray.

Bored cashier girl: "You have any special discounts, active military, retired, stuff like that?"
Me: "Nope, I'm just handsome. Do I get anything for that?"
Bored cashier girl: "You sure do! $17.40."
Dim cashier guy from the other register looking over her shoulder: "You didn't give him any discount!"
Now indignant cashier girl: "He was joking."
Me: "Maybe I should have said I was modest. Would that get me anything?"
Rest of people in line: laughter.

Here's the track on Strava. Note the massive 66 feet of climb over 73 miles.
https://www.strava.com/activities/279305145

Spring 15 Tour Day 1 - Home to Salisbury, MD

Hello from the Motel 6 in Salisbury, MD! It's the end of the first day of the Spring 2015 bike tour, in which JIm and I ride to North Carolina to hear banjo music.

Today was warm, up to 70 outside, and mostly light rain all day, with some heavy showers in the late afternoon.

Suzanne is driving along more or less with us with a minivan, so we are traveling light. I'm riding the Z-Bone, and I only have 20 lbs. of stuff. That is the lightest I've ever toured.

The first leg of today's ride was from home to the west end of the Bay Bridge. Jim rode with me. He says he can't remember when ridden more than an hour and a half. He is slow, especially on hills. And he was 40 minutes late getting started. We got to my favorite deli, Caroline's Gourmet, at noon, where I ate. Jim met Suzanne at the McDonalds. Suzanne ferried us over the Bay Bridge.

Jim decided to shorten his day by starting at 404 and 50. So they dropped me off at the Valero in Stevensville, and continued on. I headed out on the Kent Island bike trail. At the end of the trail there was a big problem.

The old Kent Narrows bridge is closed and under construction. I was completely unsuccessful trying to talk the construction workers into letting me go through the construction site on my bike. The only other way off the island is US 50, which is a limited access freeway. Here is what it looks like from the east end of the new Kent Narrows bridge.

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I had to pretend not to notice two different "No Bicycles Allowed" signs. 50 has a nice shoulder, but it still was horrible.

The thing about the Eastern Shore most people don't realize is it's all chicken farms. It's 50 miles of stinking chicken manure. I like to think of this as the "Larry Hogan Bike Route", after our new governor who has made Maryland "Open For Business". Every single new pro-business policy he has come up with can be described as "Let Polluters Pollute".

I hammered it out and caught up with Jim around Federalsburg. Somehow I passed him without seeing him and got to the Woodland Ferry first. I had to wait here for about 20 minutes. Luckily there was a gap between rain showers.

18 miles later, we are in to the Motel 6, just after sundown. Dinner was the Golden Corral next door. You don't get many choices by the 6 in Salisbury.

It was 106 miles for me, and 87 heroic miles for Jim.

Here are the tracks on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/activities/278743097

https://www.strava.com/activities/278743159

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 7 Coralville to Davenport by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 7 Coralville to Davenport by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

The last day was longer than last days usually are, with a lot of hills in the beginning, including a 12% climb on the Iowa State campus. There were no clouds, so it got hot very early. This was a very tough RAGBRAI, with hills, heat, humidity, and a wind from the east for the last three days.

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 6 Grinnell to Coralville by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 6 Grinnell to Coralville by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Long day, with a wind from the east, and some surprising rollers at the end.

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 5 Altoona to Grinnell by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 5 Altoona to Grinnell by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Day 5 had tough rollers right up to the end.

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 4 Boone to Altoona by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 4 Boone to Altoona by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Day 4 was short and flat. I had nothing after hammering Century Day yesterday.

RAGRAI 2011 Day 3 Carroll to Boone by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGRAI 2011 Day 3 Carroll to Boone by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Day 3 was Century Day. I knocked it off in exactly 6 hours.

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 2 Atlantic to Carroll by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 2 Atlantic to Carroll by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Day 2's track. This time our campground is next to a motel with a nice public computer and air conditioning. It was a grueling day, nonstop hills, and the heat index is 100.

I'll start making proper blog postings with pictures if and when my MacBook starts remembering it has an airport card.

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 1 - Glenwood to Atlantic by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 1 - Glenwood to Atlantic by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Here is the track for the first day of RAGBRAI. The first half was pretty hilly, but the second half was mellow. The heat index was around 100. Luckily our camp site was next to the swimming pool.

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 0 - Omaha to Glenwood by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI 2011 Day 0 - Omaha to Glenwood by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

Here is the track riding to the start town from downtown Omaha.

RAGBRAI Day -1 Eppley Airport to Downtown Omaha by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI Day -1 Eppley Airport to Downtown Omaha by drewinbalto at Garmin Connect - Details

RAGBRAI Day -1, Home to Omaha

Debra, Jim and I are at the Embassy Suites in Omaha.



Our room is so huge, you can barely see the T-Bone back there in the other room.

Travel out was good for me and Max. He's staying with his cousins in Chicago while we are riding. He was very excited by flying, he is a veteran air traveler. We had an awesome thunderstorm come in right as we were landing at Midway. Lighning and a wall of rain right next to the plane. The pilot was weaving around the downpours, and there was a lot of turbulence. The passengers gave the pilot a big ovation as soon as we were on the ground.

I had the same flight from Chicago to Omaha as Jim and Debra had as part of their trip from Baltimore to Omaha. We all got in together. Southwest lost Debra's bag with all her bike clothes, so she took a shuttle bus to the hotel with her bike in a box. We still don't know where her bag is. Southwest said it would be on a plane arriving two hours ago, but it did not arrive.

Jim and I put our bikes together at the airport and rode the 4 miles or so to the hotel. The security at the airport were complete jerks. After I had unpacked my bike in an out-of-the-way corner near the baggage claim they told me I had to put it together outside. (Temperature: mid 90s). Then when I did a short test ride to make sure the shifter cable was adjusted properly, they told me I am not allowed to ride on the road by the terminal.

"You can take your toy away from here and play somewhere else." <- direct quote from the security guard. There is no excuse for this attitude.

This is the seventh year I've put my bike together at Eppley Airfield. The first five were no problem, and I remember shooting the breeze with security while I was assembling the bike. The last two have been very bad. I think the security staff has a personal agenda against cyclists.

This excessively posh and silly Embassy Suites did have free tequila sunrises at happy hour. Then we went a couple blocks to our favorite Omaha brewpub.

If only Amtrak would have honored the reservation I made back in January, I wouldn't have had to deal with the jerks doing security at the airport. But Amtrak dropped checked baggage on the train from Chicago to Omaha a week ago due to the flooding (they can't get a train to the station at Omaha, and they are running a bus). So I had to fly. At least I didn't have to go through a porno scanner.

Introducing others to randonneuring

So I know a guy new to cycling who I think would enjoy randonneuring, and I am working on developing him as a recruit to endurance riding.

Today, he was game for a bike ride, and we decided to try an out-and-back route he's never ridden, farther than he has ever gone before.

We set out, and we made our first break stop with no problem. We decided to go for the whole route. I told him to be sure to save enough energy to make it back. There is no cell phone coverage at the turnaround point.

Despite his enthusiasm, he was flagging pretty badly as we approached the turnaround. I wound up pushing him up the steeper hills. (I was on my trike, which is very stable when pushing.) He perked up at our turnaround point, which is very cool and scenic, but about 15 minutes later he was done. And so was my cell phone. And he doesn't have one.

What to do.

We wound up riding back with him riding curled up on my lap while I pushed the bike alongside me with one arm. As we rode back, most of the people we passed stood and cheered.



The ride was from home to the swinging bridge in Patapsco Valley State Park.
7.5 miles, about 2 hours. Max rode 4.5 miles, an all time distance record for him.

He turns 4 on Wednesday.

Bike Ride Report - Solomons Century and the Dangers of Wal-Mart

Yesterday, I made my second attempt at a Crista ride this year. I finished, eventually. Here I am, after 10 hours and 102 miles, in 90 degree heat.



Most of the reason it took so long was because I got hit by a car. This one here.



Driven by her.



As it turns out, if I hadn't got hit by the car, it probably would have taken a lot longer. Here's the story.

So I started out fine, but after 10 miles I got a flat tire. The tube was the second of two new Forte (Performance Bike house brand) tubes I got for cheap last week. The first of the two went flat in the shed overnight, and then again after I patched it. So I decided these Forte tubes are junk, and I put on my last spare tube, which I got with the bike when I bought it off E-Bay a year and a half ago.

At 25 miles, I had some food (ham and cheese bagel) at the Wawa, which was tasty and delicious, and I'm feeling great.

At 35 miles, I'm riding through Prince Frederick on MD 2-4, in the marked bike lane, and the car above does not yield at the yield sign, and runs into me. She basically was going about the same speed as I was, and her front bumper hit around my rear hub and pushed me over. I think I was going about 15 mph, based on the GPS track. Down I went.

After I got done yelling at the girl, I examined myself with the help of another driver who acted like he had first responder training. I have some road rash on my elbow, hip, and knee, and bruise on my shin where the handlebar hit it, and a torn shirt (which was my favorite sweat-wicky Patagonia workout shirt). No damage to the bike.

The girl was very horrified, and profusely apologized, and explained how she didn't see me because her two kids in car seats were throwing stuff at her while she was driving. I took a picture of her and her car in case I keel over dead later. I told her it looks like I'm OK, and the bike is OK. The guy who stop and inspected me for damage agreed. I told her she could go.

So I get back on the bike and keep going. The bruised shin is a little sore, and the scrapes sting, but it's nothing major. Two and a half miles later, I have another flat tire. And I realize the tube is probably as old as the dry rotted tire that blew up on me last week, and I might have a problem since I have no more tubes. So I set to patching the tube.

A few minutes later, a Calvert County police car pulls up, followed by the Sheriff. I told the police officer I have a flat, and it's no problem. He asks if I was in an accident at the Wal-Mart. I said I was. He said an eyewitness had reported a pedestrian hit by a car. I told him it was me who got hit, told him the story, and showed him my various scrapes and bruises. He asked if I got the ID of the driver. I said no, because I think I'm fine, but I took some pictures just in case. I showed him the pictures on my iPhone, he took down the license of the car, and he took my information from my driver's license. I told him the driver didn't attempt to flee the scene, I told her she could go after I decided I was OK and the bike was OK. He asked me if I needed any medical assistance, or if I wanted to file a complaint, and I said no, I was fine. He said he had all the information he needed, and to call the county office if any injuries appear later. I thanked him for following up.

I have to say I think the Calvert County police are first rate, and I really appreciate their diligence, professionalism, and the way they take cyclists seriously.

So as soon as the police pull off, I'm putting the bike back together, and two cars pull over. The one who hit me, and another one. A woman gets out of the other one and says "I'M HER BIG SISTER WHAT WERE YOU TELLING THE POLICE!"

I told her an eyewitness at Wal-Mart had seen the accident and called it in. The police found me fixing my flat tire by the side of the road. I told the big sister what I told the police, that I was OK, and that I told her sister she could go, and wasn't fleeing the scene or anything like that. They both calmed down some, and asked if I was sure I was OK. I said I was, and I started pumping up the tire. They went back to their cars.

And I keep pumping up the tire, but the pressure is going down because the patch didn't hold. Now I am stuck.

Luckily, there were a couple girls nearby who owed me a favor. I explained my predicament, and how I don't think getting hit by the car caused my tire to go flat, but would they possibly be able to give me a lift up to Wal-Mart so I could get some more inner tubes?

They did, and I was back on the road in no time. The girl who hit me gave me a friendly wave when she drove off.

All this flat tire business wound up costing me an hour, so by the time I got to Solomons, everyone else was long gone. Here is the view of the mouth of the Pautuxent from the end of the land.



The rest of the day was very hot, in the 90s, and it was quite exhausting. I stopped for a Gatorade in North Beach, to prepare for the steep hills I remembered from when I did this ride a few years ago. On the way back the route goes up the very cool Leitch Road, through a huge horse farm estate called Tocaro. My GPS claimed at one point Leitch Road has a 28% grade! It was bad, but not that bad, and not for long.

Rooting around on the tubes, it seems Tocaro was for sale recently. It was $5M, but it was reduced for $4.3M, and it's no longer listed. No idea if it sold or they gave up. I'd rather buy Belmont, which is going for about that much, and is much more convenient to work.

Here is a real estate listing site for Tocaro, and a virtual tour. The house is 10,000 square feet, and built in the 1930s. You'd think it's older based on the ancient cedar trees that border the property. The Maryland Historical Trust doesn't have much to say about it.

Here is the GPS track for the day.

Bike Ride Report - DC Rand Croom and Other Delights

This was written a week after the fact. I decided to write a late update on this because I am annoyed that I can tour days on end with no difficulties, and then the first two DC Randonneur training rides I try when I get back turn into fiascoes.



So here I am after the first one, sitting in a park and ride outside Upper Marlboro waiting for Debra to come rescue me.

These rides are organized by Crista Borras for the DC Randonneurs, which is why I often refer to them as "Crista Rides". There is one pretty much every Saturday and Sunday, 100 miles, with short options. My goal is to spend Saturday on yard work, and do the Sunday ride. If I do the Crista ride on Saturday, I'm not likely to get off the couch on Sunday. We'll see how that goes. It hasn't gone well so far.

My first Crista ride this year was in the Prince Georges County, and described as an "easy cruise". (You don't want to know what the DC Randonneurs considers hard.) So I decided to try it on the Z-Bone, which is set up as a go-fast bike. It doesn't have really low gears for climbing up extremely steep hills, but it should have no problems with anything in southern Maryland.

The day started off very rainy. I dawdled at the start for a half hour, until the weather radar looked like it was going to clear, but that was just a trick. It wound up pouring a half hour later. I hid in a Dunkin' Donuts and ate some food.



After that, it cleared up, and I was rolling right along happy as could be. The halfway point was at Merkle Wildlife Management area, which was well worth the stop. They have lots of trails for birds (note for future reference) and a great nature center with displays of all the reptiles and amphibians that live in Maryland, with many of them crawling around in aquariums for you to look at and admire. Max needs to see this.

As soon as I left Merkle, and got through the closed road, which is not really closed for bikes, since you can lift your bike over the four layers of Jersey barriers, I started to hear this thump-thump-thump-thump sound when the pavement was smooth. I stopped for lunch a few miles later, and saw that there was a big lump on my back tire where the tread was giving way. These tires might be a little old.

I was 60 miles into the ride. If I abandoned the ride, and headed straight back to my car, it would be 20 miles. Or I could try to finish the route and do 40 miles. I decided to be an optimist.

I made it 5 miles.



I walked a couple hundred yards up MD 4 to the park and ride, and called Debra to come rescue me, and watched the thunderstorms come.



Here is the GPS track.

On the way home, I went to the Performance Bikes in Columbia, and bought some new tires and tubes. The new shoes I bought there last week are awesome, and were definitely a couple years overdue.

Post RAGBRAI Day 9 - Frederick, MD to home.

I'm home.

There is not much to report for the last day. The ride home from Frederick is one I've done plenty of times. It was hot, humid, and hilly, with temps in the 90s, a heat index near 100, and Code Orange air pollution. Welcome home.

I stopped off at Mt. Airy to take a break and look at the bikes. I got home around 2:30.

I ended up doing over 1000 miles in 10 days. Mission complete.

Here is the track for the last day.

Post RAGBRAI Day 8 - The C&O Towpath mile 175 to Frederick, MD

It was only 100 miles even, but it was a hard 100 miles.



For starters, yesterday was a very long day, which ended in a primitive camp site with no shower. Then there was 40 miles of very bumpy towpath. Somewhere in that, I lost my camera, which devastated my outlook on life, because it was full of cool pictures from yesterday. Last, I went on regular old roads from Big Pool to Frederick, which means no nice flat rail trails or canals. It's very hilly, and there are two big ridges to cross west of Frederick.

It turned out to be 3500 feet of climb.

But I have completed my 9th straight 100 mile+ day. I got in as the sun was setting, and I'm beat, but I did it. This will be the last century day of the trip. I am only 45 miles from home.

Here is where I had a tasty burger for lunch in Hancock.



This place was very entertaining. The crowd was half coming from church, and half bikers. The waitresses were tattooed. I enjoy western Maryland.

Here is the track for today's ride.

Post RAGBRAI Day 7 - West Newton PA to the C&O Towpath

This is where I spent the night.



I don't see any wifi. I'm posting this the next day.

This was an absolutely awesome day of riding. I did most of the Great Allegheny Passage trail. It was 116 miles of unpaved, but very smooth trail to Cumberland, MD, where there were no motel rooms to be had. So I ate dinner, and rode 8 miles down the towpath, and stayed at a primitive hiker/biker site.

I can't say enough about how cool the GAP trail is. I took tons of pictures, and today, I lost the camera. So no pictures.

The best way to tell the story is to look at the elevation profile in the GPS track below. It was uphill at a gentle 1/2 to 1% grade for 92 miles. Then you cross the continental divide, go through the 3000 foot long Big Savage Tunnel, and then COAST 22 MILES TO CUMBERLAND. According to my GPS, the grade is between 1 and 2%, it never changes, all the way from the tunnel to downtown Cumberland. With the crushed stone surface on the trail offering some rolling resistance, I basically rolled along at 16 mph without moving a muscle for over an hour.

I was awestruck by this feat of engineering. If they needed a tunnel, they built one. If there was a valley, they just built a viaduct. Most impressive is the Salisbury Viaduct, which is 1900 feet long, and a couple hundred feet above the ground. But the grade does not change. 2% westbound, when the hopper cars are empty, and 1% eastbound, when they are full of coal. It makes a great bike trail. The surface is smooth, it's very popular, and there are lots of towns with services for bikers.

I will definitely do this ride again. It was fantastic.

Here is the track for this ride.

Post RAGBRAI Day 6 - Austintown, OH to West Newton, PA

Howdy from West Newton, Pennsylvania!



I'm 20 miles down the Great Allegheny Passage Rail Trail, where my "Bed and Breakfast" is 500 yards away, and the wifi is conveniently located at the Trailside Pub.



Where it's Hurricane Night. I AM SO HAPPY.

This B&B thing could be weird. It's $85. That would be a lot, except the alternatives are primitive camping (the "shower" is called the Youghiogheny River.) or climbing a bunch of hills for a motel off the exit for 79. So I called the B&B place number this morning, and I woke up this woman who said something like "I'll leave the door unlocked and your invoice taped to your door. I'll leave some food in the kitchen for breakfast." OK. Well then. I'm supposed to go up to an empty house and make myself at home.

The ride today was pretty great. The weather was perfect, temperatures in the 70s, partly cloudy, frequent tailwinds. At my first stop of the day I ran into a nice couple out for a ride on their new trikes. I think this is in New Palestine, OH.



It was very near the Pennsylvania line.



It's not exactly what you would call flat getting to Pittsburgh. I decided to follow the river as much as possible, but there was still a lot of climbing to get to the river. Here is my first view of the Mighty Ohio at Beaver, PA.



I got to ride on Big Beaver Road today. Hehhehhehhehheh.

20 miles of heavy industry, trains, mills, and no shoulder, there is Pittsburgh under the railroad bridge.



Pittsburgh is quite an experience to ride through. Everything is severely constrained by the geography, and roads are a lower priority than trains and factories. I spent a lot of time riding against a stone wall in the right lane of two lanes of 55 mph traffic.

Here is mass transit in Pittsburgh. It's one of the inclines. I'm not holding the camera crooked.


Pittsburgh just screams "industry". There are bridges over bridges. There are railroad bridges and freeway bridges, and there are no flat roads anywhere.



I think the Gorilla Lawyer looks just like Jim. McA. wearing a suit.



This is the start of the Great Allegheny Passage trail in McKeesport, PA. There are still bridges and bridges. The GAP is a rail trail along the old Western Maryland right of way.



The visitors' center here in West Newton is a preserved train station, and a decaying heavyweight baggage car.



The rail trail is very relaxing. It's not paved, but the surface is crushed stone which is smoother than most of the roads in Pittsburgh. I am very much looking forward to tomorrow.

Here is the track for today.