Day 4 - 58 miles

Today had one main thing that we haven't faced much of yet. Wind. In some of my practice rides I had decent wind and didn't like it. Now we have the wind and hills. They call the area around here The Endless Mountains. Nobody seems to know where they end, but we get the feeling pretty close to the Ohio border. We've had a couple people tell us about a very large hill we will face in the next day or two. I almost don't want to know about it because now I have to think about it. In the same respect I wish I didn't know the Rockies existed.

Today was a surprisingly long day. The last stretch seemed to go on forever. When I finally hit Mainesburg it was a lovely site. I stopped at the only store in town, chatted up the teller and drank a root beer. This gave me a chance to ask about places to stay in town. I asked about his land, but he was going to be out of town tonight and thought the neighbors would freak out. Julie showed up and as we were walking away he suggested we try the town park. Once we got to the park it was great, real big and secluded.

Just to be safe we wanted to ask the neighbors to make sure they didn't care. First house we went, Bernies, turned out to be the park supervisor. He said it would be fine and that nobody would bother us. Another town, another nice place to stay for free. Maybe we should write US Bicycle Touring on $5 a day. The only small notch at this sleeping site is the large family that is having a late bbq after a funeral. Hopefully they don't stay too late, we tend to hit the sack early. Once again though, thank you to small town America and welcoming their land to the weary bicycler.

I'm so excited that we are planning on sleeping in tomorrow. 6AM alarm instead of 4:30. I did not want to get up this morning, but biking early in the morning is nice. Armin has been having daily flats to his back tire, so were hoping to find a bicycle shop in the large town 4 1/2 miles down route 6. This might cost us some miles tomorrow, but poor Armin needs to get this issue fixed.

Recap:
* 58 miles (total = 223)
* Laceyville, PA to Mainesburg, PA

Q&A

A few people have posted questions in the comments section that I wanted to respond to.

Q: Have we showered yet?
A: We have not showered yet, and it could be a while before we do. To get by I make full use of bathrooms along the way. This includes rinsing my hair out, taking my shirt off to wash my body, and washing my face. I really don't feel that dirty, but I do stink.

Q: how are you getting internet service? Do you have a laptop?
A: I don't have a laptop. I've using this device called Pocketmail that allows me to write emails when I have free time and than to transmit I just need to call a 1-800 number on a pay phone. I hold the device up to the phone and it transmit/receives similar to a fax machine. Armin and Julie have been using the internet at small town libraries we pass through if they get the chance.

Q: Did you or your fellow travelmates happen to record your "physicals" before you left? Hair color, weight, height, skin color, number of limbs, etc.? I would imagine after riding across country something might change!
A: I weighed myself (180) and plan to take pictures of my face daily to show change. Armin also weighed himself and took profile shots with his shirt off. Julie also weighed herself and all her gear. I think I heard her say she's really into stats, so besides daily mileage she is recording her average and top speed.

I think that is all the questions. Keep them coming, I'm happy to answer them.

Day 3 - 49 Miles

Today once again started early and actually cold. A welcome change from sleeping in hot humid conditions. The plan was to meet up in Factoryville for the first major break. Julie and I got their first and took a bathroom break and waited for Armin. At some point Julie turned on her cell phone and had a message from Armin. He had another flat to his back tire and was out of spares. He was forced to turn around and search for the nearest bike shop. So, once we heard back from him we made a plan to meet up in Tunkannock.

We heard from him once again after waiting for a while and he was in route, but because of bad directions still behind us. So, once again we changed the meet up location to Laceyville. I write this as were waiting. It's starting to get late, so once he gets here I imagine it might be our stopping point for the day.

One funny or not so funny thing I noticed today while riding is all the road kill. When driving you see some of it, but miss out on the animals that make it to the roadside grass. Going at a slower speed, the biker gets to see all of it. And if you don't see it, you smell it. The smell of death. In just three days I've see perhaps 20 dead deer and smelled many more. I also came across a wild boar of some type today. Sorry, haven't taken any pictures. I'll write about them, but there is just too much to stop every time.

Well, Armin finally made it and we set off into Laceyville to find a place to sleep. The first lady we talked to on the side of the road suggested we go a block down to the mayors house and ask him. Mayor Ken was very nice and said we could sleep in the secluded area down by the river. Can't beat that, river side property and the mayor of this very small town's permission.

We had been talking about treating ourselves, so we went up to the only restaurant in town, The Wiser Choice. I had the Maryland Crabcakes and they might not have been the best in the world, but they were fantastic after a day of riding! We didn't get a ton of miles in today, but Laceyville has proven to be a great town to rest our weary bodies.

Recap:
* 49 miles (total = 164)
* Carbondale, PA to Laceyville, PA
* Beautiful chilly morning
* Riverside camping

Day 2 - 52 Miles

Sleep was rough last night. The heat took a while to let up and being on a main avenue, cars were coming by at all hours. But, we still woke up early and were off by 6AM.

We had seen the hill leaving Milford yesterday and I was dreading having to start the day going up it. Hills just take the juice out of you. You go from a nice 15 mph all the way down to 4 mph once you hit a decent hill.

One thing that is nice is the heat has left us for now. We can ride with a little more energy. As I sit at the half way point I'm actually a little cold. Great feeling! And despite the hills the Poconos are a beautiful area.

One thing that is interesting about bicycle touring is the various car honkings and cheering you get. Today has been full of this so far. We have even had some a few local truck drivers pass by honking their horns multiple times and yelling out the window and pumping a fist in joy. Whoever you are, thanks!

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After the break we hit the hills for the remaining climb to Canondale, PA. Which was in a valley, so I'm sure tomorrow we'll start with a climb. Oh well, I'll worry about that at 6AM. Right now Julie and I are waiting in the city park for Armin to catch up. Than we will head out once again to find a place to sleep. We can see two churches up and down the road that are good bets. It would be great if they let us sleep inside.

Its been a while since we expected to see Armin. We just had a big rainstorm roll through and that might have stopped him. Hopefully he's okay. Another guy bicycle touring that we passed earlier just rode by. I wonder where he is headed?

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Carbondale, PA: fourth oldest city in the state, location of the first underground coal mine in the US.

We finaly found Armin. He had been searching for us for a while in the town. Were not sure how he missed us, but he ended up going an extra 8 miles looking for us. He had already given up and was looking for a place to sleep for the night.

After Armin fixed a flat we searched for places to sleep. Nobody was answering doors at the churchs in town, so we headed west on 6 where Armin had seen some houses that had big yards. Two rejections later one of the owners suggested we sleep in a park around the corner. The park was secluded somewhat, but houses were around, so we went door to door to ask if it was okay. Nobody seemed to really mind, but they did not want us near their property. That was until Julie went to the last house and instead of being okay with the park, Ed & Judy said we could use the side yard. It even has a gazebo that they gave us the permission to use. Ed & Judy rock!! It turns out that Armin talked to Ed earlier in town when he was looking for us. Despite being turned down a few times, Carbondales good name was saved by the grace of Ed & Judy.

Tomorrow were going to try and make it to Wysox, PA. We expect more hills, but the road does follow the mighty Susquehanna River, so that should be pretty.

Recap:
* 52 Miles (total 115)
* Milford, PA to Carbondale, PA
* High Knob Moosic Mountains, elevation 1940 feet (tough climb)
* A lot better weather!!

Day 1 - 64 miles

I don't even know where to start. Being escorted off a miltary compound, crushing heat, our bicycler friend named Click Shrek, Armin being escorted by the police up a hill at 2mph, making it out of our first state, being lost in the first 15 miles and having a police officer help us, or the kindness of a Presbyterian minister in Milford, PA.

Let me talk about the heat first. As we passes a bank reader board the temperature reading was 108 degrees. A 108!!! Now, it wasn't supposed to get that hot and the bank could be wrong, but it's the only proof I have, so from now on it is a fact in my mind. As I recount this story 20 years from now I will start off by saying it was 108 and the hills were so steep, cars couldn't make it up them.

Within the first 15 miles Julie and I also got lost. Getting out of Jersey required quite a few turns to avoid major roads, and the one we were looking for never showed up. Armin some how figured this about before we did and took a different road. Julie and I ended up in Danville TWP and a nice officer gave us alternative directions that led us back to the waiting Armin.

Not long after this we were in the back woods taking some side roads that we located using Google maps. One road wasn't even paved a had a decent uphill section that forced me off the bike for lack of traction. Once that was done we came upon a small army base and our directions required us to take a road through the middle of it. I got to the road we needed to turn onto first and about 100 yards down they had a military checkpoint. I waited just inside the fence for Armin and Julie to catch up. After about ten minutes the MP's showed up and started asking questions. Where you from, where you going, do you have a bomb in that trailer. After they really grilled me I was asked to not stand inside the fence area. So I moved 10 feet away and the world is a much safer place now.

Of course not all the people on the base are bad. Once Julie and Armin caught up a fellow biker, Click Shrek, came riding by and stopped to say hi. When he found out that we were trying to use the military base road, he agreed to show us the best alternative route. Off we went following Click down the hill. We didn't get to talk to him for too long, but it is people like Click who go out of their way that make this world special.

The day continued with heat, hills, and breaks along the way to cool off and regroup. At one stop Armin shared his experience of being escorted up a hill by a police officer. Armin was going pretty slow and the officer was concerned, so he followed behind him at 2 mph. Luckily the road widdened and Armin could bike in peace.

The final story is about a little Presbyterian Church and Minister in Milford, PA. Finding places to sleep is going to be our biggest challenge, as we don't plan to stay in hotels or campgrounds. Armin is the seasoned veteran at this and he suggested we ask at churches in Milford. The first one we came to, right on Main Street was glad to give us a spot to setup tents and a spicket to get water fromm. Again, it is people like this that I hope to meet more of.

Day 1 Recap:
* 64 Miles
* Lincoln Park, NJ to Milford, PA
* HOT & Hilly

12 Hours

The bike is ready, my gear is packed, food has been purchased, but am I ready? It's really something I won't know until tomorrow and the heat is going to make it a worthy test. Tomorrow it looks like it might get up to 97. Ouch!! Good thing we are planning on getting up at 5:30am. Extended forcast says its going to cool down, maybe into the upper 70's.

We decided not to take two days to bike to the Jersey coast, so tomorrow we leave Lincoln Park, NJ and head West. We are pretty close to PA, so we should make it out of our first state in the first day. Than we plan to stay North, basically following route 6 through the state. I think its around 400 or so miles through PA.

PA Map: We will be following the orange route most likely. Route Y. Source: http://www.bikepa.com/

Last night Armin, Julie, and I went to a wedding of Armins friend from college. Ate so much good food that I was readyto burst. As most people are probably carbo loading a few days before an adventure of this magnitude, we were scarfing down the best food I've ever had at a wedding. Not to mention the multiple glasses of wine and bottles of beer. I'm actually looking forward to this amount of eating on the road as we will be burning up calories like crazy. I'm really looking forward to Chicago where we plan to take an extended break. That first drink of beer is going to taste oh so sweet!

Below is a picture of my face the day before the trip. I'm going to try and take a picture every day and see the changes as I cross the country. I expect to lose weight (I weight about 180 right now), get a really great farmers tan, and as long as it doesn't start bothering me I don't plan on shaving for the duration. So, after two or so months, I should look significantly different.

Only 12 hours and this trip will officially start. Stay tuned to find out how the 90+ degree weather and hitting the Appalachian Mountains on the first day turns out.

Side note for those bored at work:

• While exploring the northern coast of Florida in 1528, the members of the Narváez expedition, including Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, found a Native American town which they transliterated as Apalachen. This name and its pronunciation were applied to the Apalachee Indians, as well as a nearby body of water, now spelled Apalachee Bay, to the Apalachicola River, Apalachicola Bay, and the Apalachicola Indians, and to the city known as Apalachicola, Florida. The word "Apalachen" was also applied to an inland mountain range, and through the course of time it became applied to the entire range and its spelling was changed.

Portland Blues Festival

This is a video from the Portland Blues Festival currently taking place in Portland. This guy was rocking the air guitar the whole set. Got to love it!!

I leave for New York tomorrow night!!!!