Wrapping up Trip #1, Planning Trip #2

I sat down to write everything out, pull out the notes I salvaged from my water-logged sketchbook, and piece the trip back together, and I dug out this photo. Prepped and ready to pull out of Chambersburg, PA, I set the camera on a tree stump with the timer on. Leaning on the "drying rack" end of my rig. It's good to see the bike all saddled with gear again. I look forward to doing it again soon. As I'm crafting the story for this trip, I'm planning the next one in my head.


The next trip will be a series of sub- 24-hour overnight trips (S24O's) in and around New York City. The practice was developed, as I gather, by a fellow at Rivendell Bikes. The experiment will cover how far one can get from the city in an afternoon ride for a 1-night camping escape, along with reviews of the campsites available in a 35 mile radius of the city.

-rz

Home safe now in NYC

Having taken a day of rest on Labor Day, I'm now back in the office and attending to my regular duties of work and home. I'll be taking the next two days to return borrowed gear, and the next month shall be spent assembling, editing and packaging the story. From here, I'll retro-actively post entries and sketches, maintaining a visible warehouse of raw materials for the story. Upon completion, it shall be re-pitched and reviewed by a collection of interested editors, and published in one or more national venues.

My thanks again to all of my sponsors and providers of gear, campsites and utilities, without which this experiment in economy-bicycle-exercise travel would not have been possible.

Cheers,
-rz

J'arrive!!

I touched down safely in Pittsburgh at 4:30pm this afternoon. My associate, Ms. Goe, is set to arrive with the U-Haul at 9:30pm. Her landlord and neighbor granted me passage into the apartment, wherein I layed down my gear, set out a mat to stretch, and promptly went down for a 45 min nap.

Now awake and showered, I was briefly concerned that a small "lumpus" on my back, just out of my sightmight be a deer tick, and quietly panicked, I went downstairs to consult with the neighbor to happily find that my lump was but a simple pimple.

Now with 2.5 hours to kill in Pittsburgh, I'm off to the Warhol Museum, as I'm told it's a must-see.

A brief note, to be elaborated upon soon-- Many, many thanks to Oscar Mejia of Bike Land (Chatham, NJ), Grace and Bob Kline of Strausstown, PA, and Scott Kocevar of In Gear (Hummelstown, PA) for each one donating a pair of gloves to see me comfortably down the road. Having lost my first pair that Mr. Mejia graciously donated in Shartlesville, PA, I encountered the Klines, who gave me a pair of cotton yard-work gloves. Then in Hummelstown, thanks to Mr. Kocevar of In Gear, I upgraded to another pair of cycling gloves, proper. Having ridden different stretches of the ride with and without gloves, I'm thankful to those who granted me such comfort and utility.

Cheers,
--rz

Day 2 done, Day 3 beginning.

Good Morning!

Typing from the front desk of the Pine Hill RV Park, hanging out with owner, Pam Hasse and flanked on my right by their desktop Shi-Tzu, Lexus. All black and cozy on a little mat, the dog is friendly and serene, easily plied with belly rubs.

Had a slight mishap on the road just before camp, in which I took a wrong turn 1.5 miles from my destination and accidentally ended up on the Highway just before dark, which was terrifying. Barreling down the blistered shoulder with Big Rig horns blaring, I was never more eager to be off of a road. On the bright side, the adrenaline boost made me pedal remarkably fast and forget entirely the pain in my legs.

Highway debacle aside, highlights from yesterday included Stopping in at a gallery in Easton, PA, at the NJ/PA border, where the gallery owner liked my work and so we're talking about a show for December. In Allentown, I rode through the Tour de Brew, a closed-course "criterium." Essentially, a cycling race looping around two blocks, through a spiral ramped parking garage, barreling back down the ramps and cutting back through the local brewery, coasting on a "victory lap" past dining patrons and beer drinkers, 16 times over. Given the photo op, I introduced myself to the folks in charge and accidentally signed up to ride with the "expert" class, despite my luggage-laden rig. Coasting through the bar, someone snapped a photo of me for posterity, and I received a warm welcome from the crowd, being announced by a man with a microphone.

Today being Day 3, I'm heading now to Hershey, PA-- home of "the chocolate." 61.5 miles to go today, and so I'm departing earlier to make good time. Best to all, and I'll log in again when next I can.

Heart,
--rz

p.s.-- Special thanks again to Nora Dye for loaning me a hands-free, head-mounted flashlight, which made setting up my tent after dark possible.

Day 1 down, Day 2 beginning:

Good morning.

Up and just about on my way from a great evening spent in Stewartsville, NJ, at the home of NJ State Parks employee, Mrs. Kim Russ, and her husband Richard Russ, who just goes by "Russ." Upon being received safely into town, we sat down to a beautiful and bountiful meal of shrimp and squash, stuffed peppers, fresh corn on the cob, salad and wine. Having heard of my penchant for 'amateur gourmet cookery,' Mrs. Russ invited me to attend to the scampi, which went well. After stuffing ourselves to the gills, we retired to the patio for an evening coffee by the fire.

The Russ home sits upon 2 acres of beautiful rolling country, alongside a corn field and speckled with wildlife, which Russ is constantly photographing, and so the home is abundantly stuffed with photos of deer, wild turkeys, snow geese and foxes, all of whom have come to nestle into the blurred boundaries of human and animal habitat.

After fixing breakfast with tomatoes and peppers from the garden to show my gratitude for such wonderful lodgings, I sat down with Russ who re-directed my Google Map directions onto a more favorable route out of town. Now off to Kutztown, PA, a moderate 41 miles down the road. The lesser distance will be a welcome rest after the initial day of the tour. On Day 1, the NJ countryside, presented me with far more hills than I had ever thought to imagine. For my next tour, I have already decided upon the following:

• Learn to read a topographical map
• leave myself more time to pause and enjoy the countryside
• train more on monster hills.

All that aside, though, the ride from Newark to Stewartsville was a wondrous exposure to the breadth of terrain and architecture along the way. From the busted grit of Newark, past Rutgers and Seton Hall, into the palatial estates in Millburn and Chatham, on through the townships of Mendham and Chester and the downtown strip of Washington, NJ with its pubs and movie theatres, and all the vast areas in between which ranged from marsh and grasslands to wooded mountains. More on that later, as I've got to be out on my way. All thanks again to Kim and Russ for their warm welcome and hospitality.

Cheers,

--rz

Late night packing

All the gear is assembled. Double checking my checklist, working to balance the panniers for even weight distribution. A special thanks to Messrs. Mike Bleakley and Michael Watson at Toga Bikes here in the city for donating a pair of clipless shoes for the ride. It's miraculous how much extra power I seem to get out of my stroke, though I have had a couple near-mishaps at stoplights, forgetting that my feet are clipped in. The folks at Toga seem to really know their stuff, and helped me to select the right gear for my needs and my budget.

Printing my maps and lists of contacts, and spraying them down with Krylon Crystal Clear to prevent ink-bleeding in the event of spill or rain disasters. Off we go, first thing in the morning.

Heart,
--rz

2 Days 'til Departure: All booked up!

I'm immensely pleased and relieved to have booked all six nights between NYC and Pittsburgh in donated campsites and campgrounds and friendly places along the way. All thanks and praise to the many folks who've graciously donated the use of their campgrounds for the trip. The official route now, is as follows:

Day 1: NYC --> Stewartsville, NJ: 72 miles.
Lodging with Mrs. Kim Russ of the NJ State Parks Service at Round Valley State Park, who heard of my trip, and offered her back yard of 2 acres, adjoining a corn field.

Day 2: Stewartsville, NJ --> Kutztown, PA: 41 miles.
Lodging at the Pine Hill RV Park, courtesty of Mrs. Pam Hasse, owner.

Day 3: Kutztown --> Hershey, PA: 55 miles.
Lodging at the Hershey Highmeadow Campground, courtesy of Mr. Mark Panassow, Manager.

Day 4: Hershey --> Chambersburg, PA: 62.9 miles.
Lodging at Twin Bridge Meadow Family Campground, courtesy of Mrs. Florence Mackey, Owner.

Day 5: Chambersburg --> Bedford, PA: 63.7 miles.
Lodging at Friendship Village Campground, courtesy of Ken and Darla Rhodes, Owners.

Day 6: Bedford --> Greensburg, PA: 65.6 miles.
Lodging at the Madison/Pittsburgh KOA, courtesy of Bill and Gette Jones, Owners.

Day 7: Greensburg --> Pittsburgh, PA: 27.1 miles.
An easy ride in, with time to putter around Pitt and peruse the sights, prior to meeting my associate, Ms. Goe, and her truck 'o' boxes.

Glad to have it all plotted out. Now to check the roads in between each site