BICYCLE TREK
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Cross Country Bicycle Trek | Tour
Wednesday May 21
Travelogue | Notes...
Max Speed: 32.3 mph Total Riding Time: 4:18:28 Trip Mileage: 39.65 Total Mileage to Date: 141 Wake Up Time: 7:00am Leave Time: 9:00am Wrote 7:41am... Got up at 7am and learned that it was only 40 degrees. It was comfy inside my sleeping bag and even inside the tent. I know when I get outside that it will be chilly. I'm going to wear my cycling tights and jacket. If possible I would like to make it to Amish Country (a.k.a. Lancaster, Pennsylvania). I'm going to have breakfast, which consists of a box of glazed donut holes and half a bottle of Gatorade-breakfast of champions! Wrote 1:20pm... I'm somewhere past New Rockhill on Route 563 South. Just ate a turkey and swiss sandwich and bought some food supplies for camp tonight and two rolls for breakfast tomorrow. When I left the Dogwood campground this morning I took the back-back roads to Route 611. Om my god, I thought I was going to die... I had to dismount numerous times and rest and then walk/push the heavy bike up steep and narrow grades. Must avoid road names with "Hill" in them!!! So far I've ridden 2 hours 44 minutes and 32 seconds and done 23.99 miles.
Arrived around 4pm at this campsite called Spring Mountain. Was not what I had in mind location-wise. While riding Route 563 it ended at Route 63 East/West. Thereafter it was just like the morning having to push the bicycle up hills and riding through little back roads. Road surface was good except when I got to Route 63. Route 563 was silky smooth and had a magenta hue to it, which I found odd as it looked as if someone had gone over it with a pastel pencil. It was also somewhere along Route 563 that I stopped at the side of the road and lightened the load on my bike even further by throwing away some cooking utensils, an extra bowl and some excess food. I can't believe I brought so much shit with me. When I got to camp there was no one to register with so I just picked a spot to stake my tent. Someone should be around to collect the camping fee. It's been very windy the entire day and they say the same for tomorrow. I hate fucking wind. My left knee still hurts on the outside portion, but not as bad as on Monday (May 19, 1997). Hopefully, it will get better. If not, it will cut my mileage and hill climbing capability a lot. YOUR COMMENTS
How much did your gear weigh when you started out and how much weight did you have to discard before it felt comfortable? At this point in time, did you think more conditioning before the ride would have made a difference?
Posted Oct 05, 08 | 10:16 am by E. Brinson
I recall my gear weighing around 70 pounds at the start. Took lots of food, cooking items, Nikon camera, flash and lenses, paper items such as maps... By the first night I quickly realized I was carrying way too many unnecessary items and started shedding weight the first few nights. I was actually sitting in a motel room the first night tearing unnecessary pages from my atlas and camping directory and it added up to a lot! Figure I shed about 20 pounds by the fourth day. It made a big difference cycling and did not affect my safety or well-being as there were always plenty of stores to pick up food and water. As for conditioning; yes, I certainly could have used more of it, but that occurred as I rode each day anyway. Posted Oct 06, 08 | 5:20 pm by Bernie
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Bicycle Trek - Cross Country Bicycle Tour Travelogue
