June 30: Winona MN to Kasson MN

70 miles

All 3 of us rode all day.

Climbed hills out of the Mississippi valley. Nice farmland with cows corn and soybeans. Lunch at Dels in St Charles was great - an omelet with pie is a bit unusual, but tasted great. They even had a birthday special for Abby!

Saw a church building with a bridal shop in the front - one stop shopping!

To avoid dirt roads took US 14 into Rochester, where we met a man who'd taken long bike trips out to Mt Rushmore and the Tetons with his own son. He was interesting to listen to.

Nice bike path next to Bear Creek in Rochester, then headed west on 7th St and picked up US 14 again, but it's a very heavily used 4 lane and even with a good shoulder wasn't much fun.

(sent from Blackberry; be tolerant of spelling.)

June 29: Elroy WI to Winona MN

91 miles

Lots of highlights today.  The Elroy-Sparta trail is very pretty and includes 3 tunnels.  We sang "Happy Birthday to Abby just to hear the reverberation.  We stayed out of the wind while on the trails.  The Bike and Space Museum in Sparta is highly recommended -- a bunch of nice old bikes, some Pearl Harbor exhibits, and space memorabilia -- mostly from Deke Slayton, an original Mercury astronaut.

After lunch and the museum, it was 2 p.m. already so we split up.  Abby and Beth went from Sparta to Onalaska, and I went from Onalaska to Minona, MN.  We'd planned to do these shifts in order, but this way we didn't run so late.

The Great River Trail in Wisconsin (Onalaska west) is a pretty trail with occasional glimpses of the Mississippi River, an Indian burial mound visible from the trail (a small one, nothing like Cahokia -- but the same group of native Americans.  Lots of wetland views in the national wildlife refuge and stage park.

At the end, it's 5 miles in Wisconsin to Winona -- downhill with a nice shoulder.  The bridge itself has a narrow, seemingly plywood floored side path that worked ok since there was nobody coming the other way.

All in all, a great day.  But after a while, the trails all seem a bit the same, so I'm looking forward to hitting the road again tomorrow as we head west into territory I've never been before.  More adventures to come!

June 28: Madison WI to Elroy WI

91  miles

First day with true team biking -- so we cover more miles by not doing all legs, the way we have to do later when we are self-sagging when Deb goes back to Chicago to take her class.

If Brett Hulsey is as helpful to all of his constituents as he was to us, he's worth considering. We saw a lot of his signs in local yards. See http://www.brett4us.org/ for more info.

We got a late start -- after a bagel breakfast and adjustment of new pedals/shoes it was 9:30 before Beth and I started.  Madison has great bike paths, but it was hard to cross-reference them with the cue sheet I had. We only took one 3 block detour, but had to stop and ask for directions a lot.  We were staring at a map when a politician rode up on a Trek 520 (the classic touring bicycle) and asked for our vote. Despite being out of his district by some hundreds of miles, Brett Hulsey took us home to find a Dane County bike map and gave us improved routing instructions. 

We saw a lot of his yard signs, and he clearly knew a lot about bicycling and bike advocacy, so we wished him luck.

Lots of headwinds again today on the way to Sauk City (on backroads, and then the shoulder of US12). We met for lunch in Sauk City.  Abby and Beth did the next leg to Reedsburg, encountering steep hills (Abby's max speed was 42, with a headwind).

Abby and I did the last leg on the 400 trail to Elroy.  We got stopped by a man active with the 400 trail, who snapped some pictures (picture to come) of us, a jogger, a woman with two small children in a trailer, and another older gentleman on a bike -- pretty much hitting all summer constituencies except dog walkers.

Fun fact: the trails are used by snowmobilers in the winter -- who have a 55 mile per hour speed limit during nighttime hours. That seems fast, but I don't know much about snowmobiling.

June 27: Delavan WI to Madison WI

92 miles

We left Delavan in the rain, which lasted about an hour. There was a pretty ride through the countryside -- a bit too pretty, as the favorite route with the best views (and peacocks!) turned out to be longer and so we had some bonus miles.

We met Deb in the sag car at Helenville, and ate in a bar and wings restaurant there. It was the best restaurant in town (only). After that, Deb, Abby and Beth went off to get Deb's birthday present, a Garmin GPS system to go in the car.  I did the last 47 miles on the Glacial Drumlin trail (blocked in 3 places by storm damage from the previous night).  The trail is very confusing as it gets rerouted around the highway construction on WI 26, and I had to seek the help of locals who weren't always sure where it went either.  Good prairie wetlands views -- in one case, I was on a dike for about a mile and a half with periodic bluebird boxed uniformly every so many feet. A weird feeling. Didn't see any bluebirds, though.

Jess, a friend of Beth's, patiently put us up for the night.  We went out to supper at a restaurant appropriately called "The Weary Traveler."

June 26: Glenview IL to Delavan WI

82 miles

A bit of a slow start; when they put together Beth's bike they tightened the pedals so tight that we could not remove them to replace them with clipless SPD pedals. We'll have to try a bike shop, maybe in Madison.

Mark Junge joined us for the 42 miles to lunch in McHenry; it was good to have some company and to have someone else provide early navigation (since we were following Mark's commute to work route for a while).

There were nice prairie wetland views north of McHenry on the trail (basically the northern extension of the Fox River trail, all the way to the Wisconsin line -- where it ends abruptly, on a small path between two houses on a side street.

Friday, I was unable to find a hotel room in Elkhorn and barely found one in Delavan -- it's June, near Lake Geneva resorts, and there's a Jimmy Buffet concert!  The intermediate connections with the car got messed up, so Beth, Abby and I did all 82 miles, which is tough duty for the first day back on the road.

One problem with our new jerseys for the trip (see earlier post until I get pictures up from yesterday) is the big "K" on the back.  The 3 of us were walking together and (twice) someone said "Hey, it's the KKK".  I responded back "Hey! Everybody needs a sponsor", but Abby didn't seem to think that was the appropriate response.

In Lake Geneva, they'd rerouted county H since I was last there, and it's now on the expressway.  We got a bit lost, but then headed west on WI 50 to Delavan, which had a nice enough shoulder.

Trey drove up from Chicago, and we had a nice meal celebrating Beth's recent completion of her master's degree.

Restarting the trip Saturday, June 26

The aim is to leave Saturday from home at 8 a.m. and ride 78 miles to Elkhorn, WI and stay overnight there.  If anyone wants to ride along, they’d be welcome.

McHenry, IL is about 42 miles in and that’s a likely lunch spot. My knowledge of McHenry restaurants isn’t extensive, but I think there’s a strip along W Elm St.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=81+Park+Dr,+Glenview,+IL+60025&daddr=Independence+Ave+to:Independence+Ave+to:Shermer+Rd+to:School+Dr+to:Walters+Ave+to:Walters+Ave+to:Commercial+Ave+to:Forest+View+Dr+to:Portwine+Rd+to:Cty+W24%2FRiverwoods+Rd+to:Cty+19%2FN+St+Marys+Rd+to:Cty+19%2FN+St+Marys+Rd+to:Cty+19%2FN+St+Marys+Rd+to:St+Marys+Rd+to:E+Maple+Ave%2FMechanics+Grove+Rd+to:W+Bonner+Rd+to:W+Burnett+Rd+to:Bull+Valley+Rd+to:Walworth+St+to:Co+Rd+H+to:42.564302,-88.413205+to:Co+Rd+H+to:Co+Rd+H+to:La+Crosse,+Wisconsin&geocode=FZgAggIdB-jD-ilZfpGSyMcPiDFUiQKlkDyYDQ%3BFfQdggIdLPfD-g%3BFWwUggIdZNjD-g%3BFdRcggId8dPD-g%3BFbCMggIdO8jD-g%3BFSfQggIdba7D-g%3BFVrQggIdAmPD-g%3BFSsbgwIdciTD-g%3BFcAXgwIdZf3C-g%3BFZg_gwIdt8vC-g%3BFSA6hAIdgKnC-g%3BFTl0hAIdkF3C-g%3BFVrIhAId4F7C-g%3BFQnihAIdIF_C-g%3BFXEOhQIdj1_C-g%3BFWAOhQIdxGvB-g%3BFXwUhQIdtLC--g%3BFeY3hQIdoie--g%3BFdLDhQIdi828-g%3BFcJ4iAIdWTe8-g%3BFXr-iAIdgZq7-g%3B%3BFVMMjAId2le4-g%3BFcyPjQIdtgq4-g%3BFQxbnAIdY8uP-imVszJn31T5hzGwIjcZFYipfw&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=21&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23&dirflg=b&sll=42.57233,-88.40548&sspn=0.027432,0.044074&ie=UTF8&ll=42.673664,-88.537745&spn=0.027388,0.044074&z=15&lci=bike

 

 

 

 

 

Oil spills, financial debacles, and the limits of current institutions

From Bob Garfield at Ad Age (he also does public radio’s On the Media):

“President Obama is under pressure to explain why he hasn't fixed the problem (of the BP oil spill).

“That's rich. Fix the problem, how? By executive order? By tasking the National Deepwater Oil-Rig Blowout Plugging Agency? Lowering taxes? Telekinesis? Mind-bendingly, the same critics who accuse the president of seeing government as the solution for everything, now berate him for not miraculously, governmentally plugging the leak. This is "Alice in Wonderland" material.”   http://adage.com/article?article_id=144553

Clearly there is a failure here at the interplay between government and business.  The oil spill is in many ways like the subprime mortgage meltdown – a failure to properly consider risks either on the business side or in the governmental regulating that attempt to govern the business side.

But it’s hard to have much faith in governmental regulating.  The SEC investigated Bernie Madoff several times, but was unable to find the gigantic Ponzi scheme.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, quasi-governmental bodies, are among the worst of those involved in the subprime mortgage mess that has thrown the world economy into recession. The oil regulators seem not to have thought about what might happen if the “fail safe” valve structure failed, any more than BP did.

Government obviously can’t fix the current oil spill because government doesn’t have the equipment or the know-how – that’s all in the oil service industry. You can’t just send in the Marines and tell them to fix the well. The depressing thing is that we might not be any better at regulating the financial services industry.  Many of the expensive problems were because large institutions were “too big to fail” – but there seems to be no serious attempt to break them up so that the pieces are small enough to fail.

Sure, that’s less of a problem of lacking equipment and expertise. It’s question of lacking political will (and the heavy contributions and lobbying by the financial industry), and the tendency of regulators to become less effective over time. But the net effect is depressingly similar: big problems that we don’t seem able to deal with on either the industry or governmental side.

 

 

Trembling Hands Perfection

As many of you know, I have a benign hand tremor, which means my hands shake either a lot or a little, but can seldom be relied on to be still. This is why I decided early on I needed an occupation in which small muscle control wasn’t required (surgeon? Forget it!).

 

So it’s no surprise that when I came across the economics term “Trembling Hands Perfection” I had to follow the link, which led to Bryan Caplan: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2010/06/escape_from_the.html

 

“A trembling hand perfect equilibrium is an equilibrium that takes the possibility of off-the-equilibrium play into account by assuming that the players, through a "slip of the hand" or tremble, may choose unintended strategies, albeit with negligible probability.

 

“When first described, the concept seems like a mere make-work project for game theorists.  But I've gradually noticed that it's a big deal.  It explains, for example, why imposing harsh punishments for small infractions isn't nearly as smart as it seems: People sometimes accidentally break the rules.  Automatically imposing harsh punishments imposes needless costs on well-meaning people, and gives incentives to avoid valuable actions with above-average accident rates.  In a noisy world, forgiveness and second chances are common sense, not sentimental folly.

“The trembling hands concept also explains the value of trying to exceed others' expectations.  In the real world, it's not smart to apply the minimum acceptable level of effort, or pay others the smallest amount you can get away with.  Accidents happen - and if you cut everything close, those accidents will have needlessly bad consequences.”

 

 

Luckily not on our route for this bike trip

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/11/most-dangerous-roads-in-world.html

Best beginning for a news story

"A German student "mooned" a group of Hell's Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10333211.stm

Atlantic Ocean to Glenview summary

Miles: 1083
(we cut off 120 miles by not going through Erie, PA)
Days: 17 (16 riding, 1 rest)
Average miles: 63.7 including the rest day, 67.8 overall.

Highest miles: 88.5

A good accomplishment, but many more miles to go!

Flats:
Mike 1 (rear)
Abby 1 (rear)

Appropriate sign in a BP station

 

Wednesday June 16: Chesterton IN to Glenview IL

83.35 miles

A variety of trails today.  From Chesterton, we headed WSW on the Prairie Duneland Trail, went through Hobart, and easily caught the Oak Savanna Trail.  This was true to its name and had some great views (see water plants above).  In Griffith, IN we picked up the Erie Lackawana Trail. The Erie Lackawana trail gets interrupted in Highland, IN, and we had a lot of trouble locating it.  We asked several locals for directions. Even though these were mostly locals on bikes, they had no clue. Finally, we rode a scary mile on Indianapolis Blvd past I80-94 and then picked up the trail again, then crossed the Illinois state line at Sibley and State Line Rd (no big welcome sign here, either).

We went past Wolf Lake on the Illinois side and up the Burnham Greenway Trail.  Wolf Lake is one of those places that's determined to be pretty, despite the power lines, railroads and interstate highways that surround and even cross it.  There are always a lot of people fishing in Wolf Lake -- I wonder if the fish are edible, since there is/was so much heavy industry nearby.

A few miles farther north, we caught the Chicago Lakefront Trail, which is an experience not to be missed. On a warm sunny day nobody seemed to want to miss the experience and the trail was crowded, especially in the usual spots from Soldier Field to North Avenue Beach.

Just after that, Cliff Hoffman said hello on his way back from work, and he paced us up to Evanston.  I served with Cliff on the Evanston Bicycle Club board, and have worked with him on the North Shore Century, so let me take this moment to say that Cliff's a prince, even before speeding us along on our journey today. We headed west on Church/Beckwith and made it home.  It feels great to have come this far.

Back home, I went over to Fed Ex to pick up our new team jerseys for the second part of the trip (pictures to come).  Abby designed them and Pactimo made them (it's great that their order quantity minimum is small, although there are, of course, setup charges).

The next part of the trip starts June 26, when we head west with a larger contingent. 

Tuesday June 15 Goshen IN to Chesterton IN

88.5 miles -- highest daily mileage so far

Fortified by a good breakfast and a top-up of the tires (since Abby had a flat yesterday and those minipumps don't get up to 110 psi easily) we left our hosts and headed west.
There's a picture of the gas lights in our hosts' house above. They do a good job of lighting the house when needed.

Once again, we abandoned Google's directions when it seemed to ignore whether the road was paved or not. I don't know how far Osborne isn't paved, but didn't feel inclined to find out since we were supposed to spend an hour on it.

Crosswinds from the south and an overcast day may for great biking and we covered a lot of ground quickly. There was rain ahead of us, rain behind us (it's been raining most of the evening) but we only felt a few drops.
We went past many fields in which mint seemed to be growing, judging from both look and smell. This was a substantially more pleasant odor than the cattle feed lots earlier. Of course, there were also many fields of corn and soybeans.

Camels were an unexpected highlight of the day. The Chicago hot dots in Fish Lake, IN weren't quite authentic (I think they needed celery salt), but the ad for 312 beer made us feel we were getting closer to home.

In the evening, lots of rain -- but we'd been off the bikes for over an hour by then.  Nevertheless, we skipped the 3 block walk to Applebee's for a well-deserved steak and went to a closer Chinese place.  On the way back, Abby caught and released several frogs -- they weren't nearly enough to give her another basket of frogs legs.

Sunday June 13: Perrysburg OH to Hamilton, IN

75.09 miles

A good day.  How do people stand watching The Weather Channel? We watched for half an hour while packing up and it was almost scary to go outside.  6 inch hail.  Flash floods in a campground in Arkansas.  Hurricanes starting in the Atlantic. Lines of thunderstorms advancing toward us.  87 degrees forecast.  10-15 mph headwinds.

Well, the headwind part was true but otherwise the weather was great.  I’d planned on 42 miles being on the Wabash Cannonball Trail. The first 10 miles were very nice, but then the path became overgrown with overhead brush and the surface one that only a mountain bike could love.  We abandoned that and used Alt-US20 until we hit the backroads again (County K in Williams County).

Abby and I took a rest at a gas station / liquor store near the border. Abby caught a small frog, which was the highlight of her day and something the frog will remember for a while as well.

Near the Ohio/Indiana border the road is gravel for a couple of miles, and the actual border is unmarked.  The picture shows the first road sign in Indiana. We’re in Amish territory,and perhaps there’s not much advantage to paved roads for a horse-drawn buggy.

Some barns only get started, not fully raised.  There's a story behind this partially completed barn, but I don't know it.  The picture below shows the typical views of rolling territory and green fields.

There’s only one place to stay in Hamilton, the Cold Harbor Resort Hotel on Lake Hamilton, and we seem to be the only people staying here tonight. It’s serviceable, but obviously has seen more profitable days.  It reminds me of Palisades, Michigan a bit.

We’re 207 miles from Chicago and so we are making considerable progress, particularly considering the strong headwinds.  All those people who said it didn’t make much difference whether you went west to east or east to west might have been true in general but not on this trip.  We would easily have make 100 miles if we’d had today’s wind as a tailwind.

Monday June 14 Hamilton IN to Goshen IN

58 miles

Riding through Amish farm country all day. Very pretty but no gas stations or cstores to stop for water and stuff. Met an Amish farmer on a Burley recumbent who invited us for dinner tonight.

The dinner was a 40th birthday celebration, but most of the men had been on a 2 day, 120 mile bike ride one year earlier, several commuted to work in Elkhart by bike, one worked in his brother's bike shop, etc.  Lots of interest in bike by the Amish.

Of course, we learned a lot.  I've been through Amish country before, but without really having more than superficial contact.  Dinner with Lavern, Glenda and their friends reminded me a lot of Glenview New Church member get-togethers: people who know each other well and share a religious bond and maybe have a few relatives in the bunch.

We got a buggy ride; Abby even took the reigns for a brief spell.

They gave us a nice place to sleep and provided a hearty breakfast -- hearty enough to do our longest day the next day.

Saturday June 12: Norwalk OH to Perrysburg OH

66.5 miles

We never ran into the scattered thunderstorms that were forecast.  It was a nice day with mostly crosswinds and good trails and roads – well, until the end, when it got hot with heavy headwinds.

There was a lucky accident. I ripped my shorts and stopped at a bike shop near a trail in Elmore (North Coast Inland Trail).  The shop had a good selection, and also Cliff bars on sale.  Mike at the shop also gave me improved directions to Perrysburg that involved less of US 20, although he couldn’t provide a route that didn’t have afternoon heat and headwinds.  We saw considerable damage from the tornado earlier in the week – the high school was pretty much destroyed.

On the trails, we’re seeing lots of groundhogs and chipmunks.

At this rate, it’s likely we will  be in Chicago by next weekend.

Friday June 11: Richfield OH to Norwalk OH

65 miles

 

A relaxing day.  We were tired, so we slept in and got a late start. There was a lot of mileage on the Cleveland area metropark trails (very well marked), and the trail from Elyria to Oberlin and beyond.  The roads connecting the trails were far less harrowing than in Pittsburgh. A bit of rain, but not much, and mild temperatures.  Good Thai curries for lunch. 

 

We’re much better rested than we  were yesterday.

 

Even the final 16 miles to Norwalk on US 20 wasn’t bad. Actually had some tailwind, and the shoulder was adequate.

Thursday June 10: Columbiana OH to Richland OH

76 miles.
Rough day. We started late because we watched the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup and the game went to about 11:30. Because we were trying to dry everything out, we had to repack everything. I needed brake adjustments, which Abby provided. We didn't get going until almost 9:30. Lots of headwinds on Ohio 14. Beautiful day, blue skies and moderate temperatures and llamas but we were going in the wrong direction, into the wind, which is very tiring hour after hour.
I got a flat. We postponed lunch and got fatigued and overhungry. We detoured to find a bike shop to get new gloves, a new pair of bike shorts for Abby and more chain lube. Eddy's Bike Shop in Stow, OH is huge. I don't think I've seen another shop so large. We also found a gigantic dragonfly in the front of the shop.
By now it's late (4:30) and we've only done 45 miles. But the rest of the way was mostly on a network of paths through Cuyahoga National Park and nearby metroparks and was quite pleasant, except where you had to make the climb out of the valley.
We decided to have dessert (first) and Dairy Queen and then have something healthier at Subway, but by the time we finished at DQ the Subway was closed so we ate more junk food at DQ (Cheeseburger and Chicken Strips). At least we both had salads for lunch.

Wednesday June 9: Conway PA to Columbiana OH

32.4 miles

Rain varying between very hard to relatively light, but definitely a lot of it.  Finally left Pennsylvania behind and on to Ohio, but bagged it at noon and calling this a quasi-rest day.

We might have bagged it this morning, but the motel we were staying at was so depressing this prospect wasn’t exciting. Tiny room with two bikes and I’m on a mattress on the floor because “the rollaway bed tends to collapse”. Plus, oddly enough, there were no towel racks or toilet paper dispenser in the bathroom.

Tonight we’re in by far the nicest place we’ve stayed at this trip, Das Dutch Village.  Just being dry would probably be enough, but the room is spacious and the people are very nice.

We did see a couple of other bike tourists going the other direction, on their way to Richmond VA.

Mystery Butterfly: can you identify?

June 6 pictures: C&O canal trail, complete with turtles

Abby brakes for turtles, and we saw several today. I think that's a red stripe turtle at the top, and a snapper in the second picture.  We also went through a fair amount of mud. Between the mud and the road rash on my right calf, the legs were looking ugly.

June 7 pictures: Great Allegheny Passage

June 8 pictures: Pittsburgh area

The waterfall looks pretty, but it looks this way because of acid outflow from an old mine (1906).  There was a faint smell of sulphur in the air.

Note: the bike path entrance is between several "wrong way" signs. That's my excuse for missing it the first time.

June 8: West Newton PA to Conway PA

66.25 miles today

Correction on Yesterday: 86 miles

 

As Abby said, today was surreal.  We had lovely trails with poor connections as we went through the Pittsburgh area.  It’s clear there’s a commitment to making the connections, but they weren’t there for us today.

 

We had the end of the Great Allegheny Passage, a bit of backtracking until we got some route advice from a local fireman, several construction zones, a nice ride into downtown Pittsburgh, some wonderful bridges, a long ride past chemical plants on Neville Island, and finally a cheap motel here.

 

It’s good to be back where T-Mobile has a signal again, although the Blackberry trackball isn’t working which pretty much limits its use.

 

Tomorrow: leaving PA behind and into Ohio.

 

 

 

June 7 Meyersdale to West Newton PA

About 83 miles.
Great day. Late start (915) but flat with a slight persistent downhill all day. Cool 56 in the am and only 59 at noon. Highest 70.

Terrific views of Castleman and Yougheghenny Rivers all day.

Only 1 town with T-Mobile access all day, and its not this one so Ill schedule this to post later.
(sent from Blackberry; be tolerant of spelling.)

June 6 Paw Paw WV to Meyersdale PA

About 68 miles

C&O towpath muddy. Great Allegheny Trail nice limestone. Both great in their own way.

At Cumberland, towpath ends and the Great Allegheny Passage begins -- with a 22 mile uphill at 1.75% grade. Not terrible, just unending. It was a great relief to reach the Eastern Continental Divide

Past Eastern Continental Divide so its mostly all downhill to Pittsburgh -- a gentle downhill, but downhill all the same.

June 5 Hagerstown MD to Paw Paw WV

64.8 miles

Picked up C&O towpath at Williamsport and spemt most of the day on it. 28 mm tires not ideal for muddy limestone, but OK. 22 miles on W Maryland RR trail then even more mud. But flat!

Abby found the variety of turtles on the path fascinating, but the turtles must have tired her out because she was tired by the end of the day. She claims it was my snoring the night before, and since my nose is a bit stuffed up that might be true.

Staying in a B&B here in tiny Paw Paw which we thought was closed, but another rider told us that they just aren't good at answering the phone.

Highlight of the day was the Paw Paw tunnel, a 3000 ft cut through a mountain so the canal could pass through.

No TMobile service here, phone or wireless or internet, so this post is probably late and pictures will have to wait as well.
(sent from Blackberry; be tolerant of spelling.)

June 4 Hagerstown MD (rest day) Butterflies

There are a bunch of butterflies in downtown Hagerstown done by various artists.  They do a good job of livening up the place. 

 

A man in the local tourist center was very informative about the area in terms of prehistoric settlements, German immigration, and of course the extensive involvement in the Civil War.

 

Here's one Civil War story:

 

"In 1864, Hagerstown was invaded by the Confederate Army under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early. On Wednesday, July 6, Early sent 1,500 cavalry, commanded by Brig. Gen. John McCausland, into Hagerstown to levy a ransom for $200,000 and a large amount of clothing, in retribution for Federal destruction of farms, feed and cattle in the Shenandoah Valley. McCausland misread the amount, instead collecting $20,000. This is in contrast to neighboring Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which McCausland razed on July 30 when the borough failed to supply the requested ransom of $500,000 in U.S. currency, or $100,000 in gold."

June 3: Columbia PA to Hagerstown MD pictures

Vintage neon sign on what used to be US 15 north of Gettysburg, but now is just Business 15.

Lincoln Diner in Gettsburg was spiffy looking with all that stainless steel.

Here we're leaving Pennsylvania (for a while) and heading into Maryland. By this time, we've been over South Mountain and my legs are shot.

Elevation chart coming up

We’re in Hagerstown, and will head tomorrow 7 miles to Williamsport.   The C&O canal is pretty flat and a bit upward to Cumberland MD, which is 93 miles away but there’s not much in the way of lodging between here and there since the B&B in Paw Paw I was hoping for (65 miles) doesn’t answer the phone and their web site is gone.  After Cumberland, you can see we have a bad upward stretch, but  “it’s all downhill from there”.

 

I think “Maria’s Hill” from yesterday was South Mountain. The canal saves us going through Sideling and Blue Ridge.  The route up to the Eastern Continental Divide is limestone (not so great) but has a maximum grade of 1.75% (good).

 

We slept so late that when we went down to breakfast the Oriole-Yankee game was on!  We felt better when we realized this was some sort of 9 a.m. start.

June 3: Columbia, PA to Hagerstown, MD

86.84 miles


Abby and I decided that instead of staying on BikePA route S we would cut southwest through Gettysburg to Hagerstown, MD and then take the Potomac towpath and the Great Allegheny Passage to Pittsburgh. This is about 24 miles longer for the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh portion, but the hills will be fewer.

It was another one of those 90+ degree days with little to no shade for most of the trip. Combined with a more or less constant headwind and a number of hills it made for a rough journey. After travelling through Gettysburg we rode through a small forested area, the clouds covered up the sun, and it rained slightly. After the hills, Abby learned there is no joke funny enough to make Mike laugh while he’s tired. (Abby, I was laughing on the inside).

We climbed a huge hill. Periodically on the pavement were messages to Maria: Happy Birthday Maria, Halfway There, Maria, Just one More Hill Maria. My legs were fried and I was walking up when Abby started a conversation with a woman getting her mail.

Abby: “Wish us luck”

Woman: “I know it’s a tough hill. I walk it every day.”

Abby: “Are you Maria?”

Woman: “Yes”

So our curiosity about whether Marie was cyclist, jogger, walker or masochist was answered. Walker, and possibly masochist. 

The resulting downhill was partly on that road (Lower Gum Road? Furnace Road?) and then on PA 16. PA 16 had a paved shoulder, but the left side of it was deeply scored -- more like scooped -- to warn drivers they were going off the pavement. There was a guard rail on the right.  There were two fairly narrow traffic lanes.  I elected to ride on the shoulder, riding the brakes and trying not to get my wheel in the scooped out scoring or have the panniers hit the guard rail. I didn't fully succeed and when the pannier bumped the guard rail I had some anxious moments playing ping pong ball between the rail and the scoring before I got the bike stopped. (This is why I have my leg bandaged in the pictures taken on the next few days.)

Abby took over the lead for the last few miles into Hagerstown, where we searched for a nonexistent hotel (must be some Google Maps error) and ended up staying at the first place we found, a Best Western.

We decided to push on from Gettysburg to Hagerstown in order to justify a guilt-free rest day. We’re taking a rest day tomorrow to let some of the muscles reload. Coincidentally, there’s a Blues Festival in town, so we may take that in.

Photos will be posted later.

June 2 Phoenixville PA to Columbia PA pictures

Pictures from today, mostly from farm country east of Lancaster, PA