It's been a while since my last post, and for good reason: I have been in the wilderness for most of the previous week. Saturday night I spent in Shenandoah National Park for a friend's birthday, and the past two nights I have been camping out on my cross country car ride; all with no …
Continue reading "Dolly Sods – a day (and night) to remember"
A day after my previous exploration, I discovered what most outdoorsmen/women fear discovering a day after a hike: ticks. I found not one but two ticks near my, how do you say it, nether regions. The second of which I actually found two days later, which goes to show: even after a thorough search, these …
Gear List I know what you are thinking: Delaware, how exotic! It's not a tropical paradise, but in the summer, the Delaware beaches have a lot to offer if you are looking for water adventures. The beaches are the main attraction of course, but across the highway there are some sparsely explored bays, rivers, and …
Continue reading "Paddling – 2 days through the ICW, Indian River, and Atlantic Ocean"
It's been 5 days since my failed journey across the United States by bike. My consolation prize that I thought of this week is biking from Philadelphia to Montreal: only a ~600 mile journey, just a bit longer than Delaware to Pittsburgh (as far as I made it across the country). And, learning a lesson …
In my haste to bike across the country, I didn't get to stop and smell the roses very often. I completed a ride of the GAP and C&O towpath, roughly 330 miles, in under 4 days (not recommended). As a result, I couldn't tell you much about anything I rode past. The Great Allegheny Passage …
Once you have completed the C&O canal from DC to Cumberland, you can continue directly onto the Great Allegheny Passage, or GAP for short. The GAP has a much better reputation among cyclists. The surface is crushed stone which is very tightly packed. It is also meticulously maintained. I saw crews in multiple locations either …
Continue reading "Shooting the GAP – biking the Great Allegheny Passage in two days (or less)"
The C&O Towpath (trail) is 184.5 miles long and runs parallel to the Potomac River and the partially-completed Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. It runs from Washington DC to Cumberland MD (it never made it to the Ohio River). I have a history with this trail. On two occasions I have attempted to complete the entire …
Continue reading "The C&O Canal Towpath – biking North in two days"
Ideally I would have started today's ride at 9, but 10 at the latest. I was able to get myself out of bed at 7:30, so I had a shot to start earlyish. I stayed up at my friend Allen's place playing some bizarre video games until 11pm the night before. Probably should have gone …
Continue reading "It’s really good to have friends – day 2 on the bike tour"
So the plan was to start early; no later than 9. However I didn't sleep well the previous two nights so I allowed myself to catch up on sleep. So I wound up getting up at 9 and not leaving until about 11:30. I think it was worth it. I didn't want to start the …
Continue reading "The first day is the hardest – starting a bike tour"
I was very slow to adopt to the smart phone. I just got one last year. I suppose my reservations would be that I would get absorbed by the phone or the government would track me. But the world we live in is amazing. I am writing this blog with my smartphone. How connected everything …
= More money spent. On my last bike tour, I purchased a brand new bike a few weeks beforehand. $900. I still have that bike, but now that my planned route involves a lot of trails, including the gravelly C&O towpath, I did my research and decided to go with the Surly Troll. $1700 woo! …
Welcome to the blog. I used to think blogs were a waste of time, but I think I understand one of their purposes now: sharing ideas. Well it looks like I finally have one 🙂 In theory, my idea is to be a point where you can see objectively where and how you might want …
