Northampton to Lake Shirley

After a breakfast at which I may have amazed Robin's friends by the amount of food I consumed (and hoarded for a second breakfast down the road), I rode off with my sights set on Lake Shirley to the north-east.  I had long been waiting to get my butt kicked by hills after so much time travelling in flat areas.  Turns out I was right that it would come, and I would even go to say that I was a bit shocked.  It was hilly and quite steeply so.  Luckily, I had well-rested legs and lots of daylight, so it was simply a long mixture of awesome downhills, winding roads, and embracing my granny gears (Note:  this is apparently a socially acceptable term in the cycling community for the lowest gears and smaller chainring.  Just to get everyone "up" on all the two-wheeled jargon).

Just one spot at which I felt the need to take a rest on this hill-filled day

 When I did arrive at the Mullen's house on Lake Shirley, I was thrilled to have made it in one piece and they immediately ushered me inside.  Bill and his daughter Christie, a Warmshowers host family (along with Bill's wife who was out of town that night), were clearly enthusiastic bicycle riders and I had a great time geeking out with them as well as talking about all sorts of adventures.  Christie fixed a tasty vegetarian supper and I got some great route advice.  Christie is getting ready to cycle across the US to Colorado and I hope to hear of her tales in the future.  Best of luck to both of you on your upcoming bicycle trips!

Springfield to Northampton

After eating breakfast, I headed off for the relatively short two hour ride up to Northampton, MA.  Robin, a close friend who I know through our time at Mount Allison University, is on exchange at Smith College for the semester and I was very excited to see her.  Riding into town was pretty mellow all-in-all, and riding into the downtown it was clearly a picturesque place.  Robin and I found each other and, with some minor squealing, headed up to campus to put my stuff in her residence room.

I spent two nights at Robin's and had a great time.  She showed me around the town and campus, took me along to several tasty meal hall meals, and we just enjoyed lounging in the sun and seeing a friendly, familiar face.  The beautiful sunshine and relatively high temperatures made for an extra enjoyable visit to be slothful outdoors.  I was also happy to get the chance to meet some of Robin's friends from the university and share in her life for a wee bit.  We even had a granola-making party on the second evening so I would have some snacks for the road. Simply awesome.

The ride to Northampton.  For whatever reason (likely being distracted by Robin's well-missed cackle and company), my camera stayed in my bag for the rest of my stay.

New York to New Haven, CT to Springfield, MA

I left New York by commuter rail to New Haven, Conneticut and rode over to the house of a fellow Naomi who is studying music at Yale.  Naomi and I hadn't seen each other in probably a dozen years, but thanks to the wonders of small world syndrome, my mom had put us in touch after they had run into one another a few months ago and Naomi had heard I would be in New England.  It was great to spend some time reconnecting, eating Thai food, and getting a grand tour of the Yale campus.  I especially enjoyed getting to hang out while she rehearsed with some friends and hearing about life in a college town such as New Haven, which certainly has some of the same university-town challenges as Sackville.


After a morning walk in the sunshine around the campus with Naomi (and drooling a bit at their infrastructure and architecture), I headed off on the Farrington Canal rail trail.  What a great trail!  Other than the fact that it is a work in progress and therefore disappears for a dozen miles or so between two towns, it was blissful riding: well-paved, flat, well-marked, and lots to see along the way.  Glorious!  Because it was a Sunday afternoon, there were tons of people out in the sunshine.

Imagining life at the Yale campus

A fellow Naomi!

I was enjoying a day of semi-solitude, in that there were lots of people around but I was quite content to simply smile and nod rather than try to start up conversations. After so much time in the city, it was kind of nice to be able to hear myself think and embrace a basically car-less day of riding.  When I passed a middle-aged woman running the other direction in the late afternoon, she hesitated before asking if I had any water to spare.  Apparently she had not accounted for the warm weather and had another 5 miles to go til home.  I was happy to hand over what I had left, based on the fact that it was much easier for me to go find some more, and her gratitude was unbelievable.  She could not stop thanking me (and saying "God Bless, a blast from the past).  Not a big deal, but the warm fuzzies it gave me afterwards was a good reminder that often by asking for help, and giving someone else the opportunity to do so, both people get the winning end of the deal.  Thought of the day.

I got off of the rail trail and rode over to the home of the Benjamins, Warmshowers hosts in Springfield, MA.  I had been outside for only a moment before Peter rode up to the house to greet me and get me settled in.  I really enjoyed my evening with the Benjamins, and I really felt at home in their house as I got a taste of Peter's homemade pizza and watched some basketball on TV (no Dad, the pizza was not "better", just different than yours!).

The Benjamins, my lovely Warmshowers hosts in Springfield, MA

New York, New York

I wound up spending almost a full week in New York.  Sam was around until Thursday, at which point
he headed off in the direction of Montreal (his final destination).  What a fun-filled week it was!  In an attempt to not put my fingers into over-use paralysis, I will recap:

-Visit to the Natural History museum, one of my favourite places from the last time I was in NYC.
They had an exhibit about food and culture that I found especially neat, talking about the past, present, and future of feeding humans on the planet.

-Wandering around Chinatown and introducing Sam to the world of coconut buns.

-Meeting up with Ali, who I met on the train en route to New Orleans and spent the day with in Chicago, for an afternoon of cycling around the city.  Ali showed Sam and I some of his favourite parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan by bicycle, and he was kind enough to treat us to Italian food for lunch.  Thanks, Ali, for a fun day!

-Having the pleasure of staying with Amy, another Warmshowers host, in Queens for a few days.  Amy was happy to share ideas about what to do in the city and was simply filled with positive energy and enthusiasm.  She also introduced us to a crazy horoscope book filled with insight and 'rusks', these tasty South African tea-biscuit-like-treats.  Thanks for hosting us, Amy!

-Participating at the Triscuit sampler event in Times Square, for which we had to sign a waiver and then taste all sorts of Triscuit-related specimens.  Favourite moment: Wondering why the speaker was saying "only 100 calories per serving" as though it was a good thing.  Ah yes, the bicycling mentality.

-Lazing in the sunshine on the outdoor furniture in the Highline Park

-Buying a pair of $1 pants as I had realized the past week or two that my limited wardrobe was not conducive to 'camouflaging' amongst the non-bicycle-dependent population when it was cold outside.  Aka I had no proper long pants.  Problem solved.

-Staying with Warmshowers host Carolyn, once Sam had headed off, in Manhattan and getting to have dinner together.  It was really interesting to hear her ideas about geographies and the different places she has been to and lived, not to mention her own zest for life and bicycling.  Thanks for a lovely stay, Carolyn!

-Getting to spend time with my cousin Eric and Ariana, who I hadn't seen since their wedding last May.  We got to have lunch together and catch up, and I even got to meet their dog and experience a New York dog park with Ariana.  It was great to see you guys!

Amidst all of those thing that I discernibly "did" and "saw", I really just enjoyed being in the city.  It was nice to spend a fully week in one place.  It was also the first sign of familiarity that I have had since leaving New Orleans.  I got to walk in places I had been to in May and see family.  Everywhere up until this place was completely new to me, whereas New York was certainly not an old hat but there were places and people that I actually recognized.  Just an observation.

Michael Phelps typical breakfast...I think Sam and my's food consumption may be close to on par at times

Ali and Sam on our afternoon of cycling sightseeing

Walking about on the highline

People-watching in Union Square.  There was an excellent street theatre performance about the story of Jesus and faith.

Point Pleasant to New York City

     After some seriously enjoyable vegging out in Point Pleasant and a bit of last-minute searching for a place to stay in New York City, we rode down the road on Sunday morning to the train station. Wanting to avoid the pretty much guaranteed headache of trying to ride into the Big Apple, we decided to arrive via the New Jersey transit line into Penn Station.  It was a busy Easter Sunday on the train and it took a wee bit of convincing on several occasions to convince the staff that we should, indeed, be allowed on with our bicycles, but in the end we got in no problem.

 

       Emerging from the front doors of Penn Station was awesome.  No other way to put it.  It was overwhelming and terrifying yet felt totally normal at the same time.  Not only were there huge buildings, people everywhere, and tons of taxis honking, but Sam and I both seemed to have this recurring "We made it!" feeling that came in waves.  After some initial mental preparation, we got on our bikes and made our way in the direction of Brooklyn and the home of Shira, our Warmshowers host.  Lots of people had warned me about riding in NYC.  I had been worried about riding in NYC.  Given my tolerance for cities, fast-moving things, high levels of noise, etc. (a fragile soul, perhaps?), I figured that it would be doable but perhaps like ripping off a band-aid.  Boy, was I wrong.  It was so much fun.  There were other bicycle riders all over the place, bike lanes to be found with well-timed lights, and a bit of a free-for-all feel that made it feel manageable. 

        We got ourselves sorted out at Shira's and then, at her suggestion, the three of us biked over to Williamsburg to check out some thrift stores and see the neighbourhood.  We had a delicious dinner together along with a friend that evening filled with vegetables and a successful salmon 'experiment'.  Basically, the day can be summed up in the fact that I had Alicia Keys playing on repeat in my head.  Sort of surreal, yet just another part of this bicycle travel adventure.

Vinedale to Point Pleasant, NJ

We set off from Vinedale with full stomachs and anticipation for the day's ride to Sam's family's place  on the New Jersey shore.  With promises of me getting lost thanks to the intricate network of backroads which involved lots of turning and twisting (and the fact that I had failed to pick up a New Jersey map, whoops), it was a beautiful day of riding.  The roads were fairly quiet, well-paved, and went through some beautiful countryside.  At one point, I thought I was in the middle of quiet farmland and started to get confused by the train of cars headed in the same direction as me.  It turns out I stumbled across a giant soccer tournament!  As a soccer player and having attended many a tournament, it struck me how weird of a sport it seemed when seen from the back of my bicycle.  It was really neat though, and I stuck around to watch most of a game while having something to eat.

I rode on, periodically asking for directions and road advice whenever I saw someone out in their yard, and had a lovely lunch break with some fellow bicycle riders (OK, they might have identified as "cyclists").  When I pulled up to a sandwich spot after seeing one of Nancy's long lost carbon fibre cousins, I was greeted with a "Where'd you come from, California?"  When I replied with my actual state of cycling origin, there was a bit of silence and then some sheepish laughter.  I got some great lunchtime company and route advice for the afternoon and left feeling rejuvenated.  Sure enough, the roads continued to be bicycle-friendly and, with a slight stop to help a spandex-clad roadie with his flat tire and an unplanned extra 10 miles due to me doubting my directions and trusting road signs, I was simply enjoying the sunshine.  The last few dozen miles to that day's destination were rather busy as I got closer to the Jersey Shore on a Friday afternoon of Easter weekend.  Despite an oddly recurrent tendency that NJ drivers seem to have that involves driving half in their lane and half on the shoulder, I survived unscathed.

I was happy to arrive at Bay Head to the smiling faces of Sam and his family, a welcome sight after what turned out to be a 100-ish mile day thanks to my creative sense of direction.  I was quickly ushered in and made to feel like part of the family as I got to partake in a memorable evening of basket-ball-score-monitoring, dinner-feasting, late-night-ice-cream-seeking, and a lively game of Apples to Apples.  Ready to hit the hay in my luxurious accommodations, I was looking forward to a mellow couple of days to hopefully kick the last of my cold.

Greensboro to Vinedale, NJ

After a filling breakfast with the Leavells, Sam and I headed off eastward in the direction of Lewes, Delaware where we would take the ferry to New Jersey.  It was a beautiful morning of tailwinds and games of 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral' while cycling ensemble.  While I was still feeling under the weather thanks to my lingering cold, it was well disguised in the morning and I arrived at the ferry just in time for departure.  The had awesome bike racks on the ferry, big props for cyclist-friendliness there.  While I had done well for the morning's ride and had the energy to chat with some people on the boat and have some snacks, I was not looking forward to the large number of miles that were to follow in strong headwinds as we rode towards the north.

When I whimpered/voiced this lack of enthusiasm to Sam, he stepped in and saved the day with his intelligence and iPhone (that I never miss an opportunity to mock but greatly appreciated at this point in time)!  He discovered that there was a NJ transit bus running from Cape May through to our Warmshowers hosts for the night.  With no second thoughts on my part, we were guided by his trusty electronic device only to arrive at the bus depot just in time to hop onboard.  It was a slow bus ride that took several hours and one transfer, but I was happy to not be cycling as I got to drift in and out of fever and nap-mode for the afternoon.

We got off the bus in Vineland, NJ and rode down the road to Tom and Tammy's only to be greeted warmly and with the offer of a warm place to sleep indoors.  We gladly accepted and spent a lovely evening together filled with pasta and bicycle routes.  I was quite tuckered out by the end of the day and had a grea sleep surrounded by an array of plants in their front room!

Retracing my steps...Washington to Greensboro

As Sam and I had become a bit overwhelmed looking at routing to New York through the direction of Baltimore and Philadelphia.  We decided that since neither of us really wanted to spend much time in those cities on this trip, it actually made more sense to head back the way I had come, across the Chesapeake Bridge, and go across the peninsula to a ferry that would take us to Cape May, New Jersey.  The ride out of DC was equally enjoyable as on the way in and, when I arrived, it turns out Sam had met Paul, a friend I had made in Annapolis the first time.  Small world!  We hung out and chatted, got to meet another fellow bicycle adventuress from the region, and had some snacks.  Then, Sam and I meandered over to Mary's place of work, as she and Bill were kind enough to agree to host me a second time.  It was great to see a familiar face and, with some finagling of the bike rack Mary's friend had offered, we drove over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and back to their place in Greensboro.  While I had been very fortunate finding a comfortable lift westward over the bridge, it was great to not have to deal with getting a pair people and bikes across via hitchhiking (especially at rush-hour), so thanks for being so accommodating, Mary!

I really enjoyed being back in the Leavell's home for the evening, and even got to meet Sheryl, a fourth  family member (or sixth, if counting Brandie and Snowball).  With murder-filled options for Sam (his terminology for meat, not mine), delicious vegetable-filled quinoa pilaf, and ice cream with crazy coconut toppings, we went to sleep with our stomachs full of food and the feeling of contentment that comes with joining a warm family at their dinner table.  Thanks for a great second visit!

Washington DC

The days spent in Washington DC were welcome rest days, especially since I managed to come down with a bit of a cold while there.  At the same time, thanks to an in and out fever for large chunks of it, the days kind of blur together with this whole retro-active blogging business.  So, just a brief summary.  Our hosts were all wonderful, Nancy got some fixing-up and maintenance, and I did wind up going to the photo exhibition suggested in Annapolis called "Documerica".  If anyone reading is in the vicinity, I highly recommend it.  It was a series of photos taken through an EPA program in the 1970s that showed daily life all across the USA and the role and concern about the environment and environmental protection.  I would say it was well worth the hour or so that Sam and I spent in the near-freezing rain in line to enter the National Archives building.  Luckily, times like these are great for games, so I got to introduce him to 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral'.  Awesome.

I also went to the Natural History Museum and spent some time cycling around the city as well as out to the Velocity community bike space.  Met some great people there and got to put on a new chain, even left with some cycling shoes to try out and a set of SPD pedals should I decide I want to transition to clipless.  A great way to spend the afternoon and cleaned tons of muck and North Carolinian sand out of the gears.

When we did leave DC, it was in the direction of Annapolis once again.  Sam and I had sort of planned to head up northeast in the direction of Baltimore and Philadelphia, but when we realized that routing was quite complicated and neither of us had a burning desire to spend great amounts of time in those cities, we opted to go back the way I had come and take a ferry to New Jersey.  Thanks to Chris, Dani, and Sarah for a great time in DC and helping one of those Northerners to enjoy your capital city!

Awesome orchid exhibit at the Smithsonian.  I learned that vanilla is derived from an orchid!

Highly worth a stop for anyone passing through.  The people in here were friendly, happy to help, and doing some great community outreach programs!

Greensboro to Washington, DC

With traces of frost on the ground and clear sunny skies, I headed out in the direction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  While Mary and Bill had offered a ride over it to Annapolis, it was so beautiful outside that I opted for my original plan of cycling closer to the bridge and then finding a friendly soul with a pick-up to give me a lift across.  I was quite enjoying it, but the 20+mph headwinds made for slow going, to the point where I was going down a hill and if I stopped pedaling I started to go back up it backwards.  Less than ideal for getting from A to B.  After a couple dozen miles, I came across a 'Park and Ride' lot.  Still a good distance away from the bridge, I figured it was a good time to have a snack, slowly oil my chain, and ponder my situation.  I was amidst shoveling trail mix into my mouth when I heard a fellow say, "You've got courage, girl".  Of course, it took about three repetitions for me to catch what he was saying, but I've gotten used to that.

We wound up chatting and, as it turns out, he seemed like a friendly soul.  With a truck, no less!  We got Nancy loaded up and, when his friend joined us, we piled in and headed to the bridge.  These two were certainly characters and I could not have asked for a more fun truck voyage.  Both in their sixties, they were roommates in college and proceeded to give me lots of wisdom and hilarious tales about life, love, and the trials and tribulations of women and online dating.  Awesome.  Once over the bridge, we even made a photo-op stop and then they dropped me in the quaint downtown of Annapolis so I could poke around in the sunshine before continuing my ride.  Thanks for a great time!

I spent a few hours wandering around Annapolis, had some delicious cake for lunch and chatted with a man who teaches law in Washington.  He told me about a photo exhibition that was open at the archives that sounded really neat, so I'll be sure to check that out.

The rest of the ride into the city was quite lovely.  There was a good dozen miles of beautiful secondary highway which, finally, had some rolling hills and twists and turns.  It made me very excited for the rest of the trip through New England.  There was also a good cycling path most of the way into  downtown and I arrived, was reunited with Sam, and we went to our hosts' place.  The rest of the evening entailed catching up on our respective trips and routes and locating delicious Greek-Turkish food.  

In Annapolis

I refrained from posting all the pics I took of Route 450.  Great cycling road!

Quaint cookie shop in Annapolis

Stockton to Greensboro

While there was no snow on the ground when I woke up, it was definitely a day for layers.  Filled up with some tasty breakfast and recharged from my stay at the Mountcastle Manor, I set off towards Greensboro.  I enjoyed the first few hours of riding once I sorted out the proper amount of clothing needed and realized that exposed skin was not a good idea in the cold wind.  Even though the sun was shining, I looked like a bit of an alien with my black coat zipped up past my nose, hood over my helmet, sunglasses on, scarf around my ears, and two pairs of black tights one over the other.  Still, I was happy!  I had lots of time to ponder my existence with some strong headwinds as I went from Maryland into Delaware at a pace that was slow even by my tortoise-like standards.  An hour or two past noon, I ducked into a gas station to try and figure out how far I had ridden and how much further I would be going that day, as I was starting to wonder whether I would wind up riding after dark with my planned 85 miles.  As I talked to the cashiers in the convenience store to try and gauge my progress, there happened to be a man with a truck who lived in the direction I was headed and offered me a lift.  It was one of those moments where the term "coincidence" doesn't quite seem to cover the way things wind up working out when you least expect them.

A resident of Harrington and avid outdoorsman and hunter, he lived about 30 miles from the gas station and 10 miles short of Greensboro.  He had all sorts of stories to tell about the region as we drove along.  When I got out at his house, he even gave me some "homegrown" venison pepperoni sticks and jerky from the freezer for a protein snack to put in my bag.  Because of this 'fast forward' bit in my day, I was able to really enjoy the rest of the ride to Greensboro in the sun and wind and even got to spend some time in their town library.

After some time perusing bookshelves and enjoying the warmth and book-smell of the room, I headed over to the home of my warmshowers hosts for the night.  Bill and Mary greeted me with open arms to their house along with Brandie the enthusiastic dog and Snowball the cat.  Their son, Albert, who had done a cross country bike trip, arrived home just in time for a tasty supper and time to swap entertaining stories about cycling.  A great evening of warmth, both in terms of temperature and company in Greensboro.