Day 4: Burke, VA to Fredericksburg, VA

Fantastic day today! The two guys in the first picture are cyclists that I met about halfway through my ride and finished the day with. Got a couple good tips from them and heard about some interesting things to keep my eyes open for as I move West.

Day 3: Bowie, MD to Burke, VA

With Google Maps throwing me a couple of curveballs I rode about 45 miles today. Rough total mileage is 160 so far. More (and better) pictures to follow soon!

Pictures from Days 1 & 2

As you can see, the first couple days of riding were pretty boring. I did think the purple hues in the first couple pictures were a little pretty. Picture 3 is the Choptank River which is right before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Pictures 4 and 5 are my favorites from this batch. Anyway, enjoy!

Stay tuned for pictures from Washington, DC!

P.S. Due to the ride today being unintentionally extended due to issues with Google Maps I am not able to post a layout of my route at the moment.

Day 1: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to Denton, Maryland

Miles: 48.4
Times ejected from bicycle: 1
Roadkill up close and personal: 3

Arrival

Pictures from Day 0, arrival at Rehoboth Beach!

9 Days!!!

Well I'm 9 days from leaving Rehoboth Beach, Delaware! Here are some details on what's happening between now and then. My last day working at Walmart is April 24th. Saturday the 25th is moving day. A couple of great friends offered to let me move a few coffee tables, boxes of books and clothing and some small appliances into a small storage area they have. Saturday night will be my last night in my apartment. My mentor is giving Fledge and me a ride in his pickup truck from Hanover, PA to Lewes, DE. We're leaving right on the dot at 7 am, arriving in Lewes around 10 am. I'm meeting with a reporter at the Cape Gazette (the local paper) around 1:30 and giving him some more details and perhaps getting some pictures. Planning on arriving at my host's home around 3 pm or thereabouts. My departure on Monday the 27th will probably be around 9:00 am.

Now once I get going, here's what to expect... I'll try to update on a daily basis when I'm able but it's not going to be detailed. For me, this trip is about getting back to nature and that means using technology as sparingly as possible. I'll show you where I'm starting and where I'm finishing and I might give you a sentence or two if I think words are necessary. A few pictures might find their way in also. :-) As for details, those will have to wait for my rest days once a week or thereabouts.

Walmart World!

Great news today! I was contacted yesterday by my company's magazine, Walmart World, about putting together a story on my ride! Thanks to a great friend and coworker I'll be able to get the word out to a whole lot more people on Lou Gehrig's disease and what the ALS Association is doing to combat it. Hopefully this will mean many donations and an end to this disease forever!

In other news, I'm getting so much better at changing tires! I picked up what will hopefully be my last couple of inner tubes this morning and got a mirror for my bicycle donated by another great friend/coworker. I'm two weeks away from my last day at Walmart until July and seventeen days from the start of my journey! Three weeks from today I'll be in Fredericksburg, VA and very close to starting the Trans-America Trail put together by the Adventure Cycling Association. I'll have already passed through Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, and a good chunk of Virginia!

It's hard to say how often I'll update this blog while on the road. Depending on how my daily routine gets set up I may give a very small update every day, a couple times a week or just once a week. I'm looking into how to link maps into this blog so you can see just where I am on any given day. Anyway, that's enough for now! Thanks for reading!

Determined

I'm really pissed off right now. Like seriously upset. This isn't the first time either. Since last May I've been doing everything I can to prepare for this trip and it often feels like I've come up against barrier after barrier after barrier. In May a lot of it was learning how to ride a higher-end bicycle with clipless pedals and cycling cleats. In June I got lost coming back from Carlisle and suffered a minor knee injury. For a good long while I was dealing with popped tires. In December I got stitches. Then I got hit by a car. Then I had to put up with weeks on end of freezing temperatures and snow. The latest thing that's got me down and upset is trying to install these stupid tire liners to minimize my flats on the trip. What would have taken 20 or 30 minutes for a more skilled mechanic has stretched into 2 days for me. My hands are sore. I worry that I may have damaged my tires. Although unrelated to the tire liners, the handlebar mount for my cell phone has a broken piece of plastic now. After straining and struggling I have 2 (possibly damaged) tires back on the rims and NOW they aren't inflating. I think it's a problem with the connection between the pump and the valve on my tubes.

Don't worry. I'm not giving up. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. Honestly, that's a remarkable thing. If you know me, you'll know how easily I get discouraged and just quit trying. I just want to make it clear that this is not easy. Honestly, I think the easiest part of this whole entire thing will be riding from Delaware to California. You see, once I get on my bicycle everything gets a whole lot simpler and easier to manage. And also, I want you to know that *nothing* that's happened in the past year would be considered a trip-stopper. Not getting lost or injuring my knee or cutting my forehead open or getting hit by a car. None of those would put an end to the trip. At worst, they'd extend things by a few days. I hope none of those happen on the road but if they do it won't be the end. Just wanted to let you know; I'm determined.