Rehoth Beach - Rest Day

The boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach

Empty beach...with trash can.

Pond north of Rehoboth

Not very friendly to be charged double if you aren't from Delaware!

Canada geese. 

What do cyclists do on a day off? Go riding, of course.


I spent some time this morning getting all the grime off my bicycle. A clean bike is a happy bike. I then rode north, up to Rehoboth Beach and its reknowned boardwalk. The strand is, indeed, a real boardwalk lined with shops and eateries. We are here in the off season, so the area isn't very crowded, despite the nice weather. Yes, on our day off, it isn't raining! I've been told that during the summer beach goers are wall-to-wall on the sand.


I found a bike store in town and then rode further north along the shoreline and into a park before turning around and going back to the hotel for a nap. It's a rest day, remember.

Hammonton, NJ, to Dewey Beach, DE

Long, country roads through the forest.

Not only do they have fake palm trees on the Jersey shore, they have BLUE ones!

They let the cyclists board the ferry before the cars.

Al, Jan, Sam, Jack, Michel, me, Stuart, and Peter.

Welcome to Delaware!

"Showers and thunderstorms likely. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall in the morning. Humid with highs around 80. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent."


When we left the hotel in Hammonton, it was overcast, but the pavement was dry! Once we got out of town, we were treated to long, straight, lightly traveled, country roads through the pine forest. Jack, Al, Mike, and I took turns at the front of a pace line and never let our speed drop below 20 mph until the SAG stop. (Peter's knee was bothering him, so he had opted to ride in one of the vans instead of riding.) After the SAG stop, it began to rain, but it was a warm rain and we kept the pedal to the medal. There was purpose in our rush - today we were to board the Cape May Ferry from Cape May to Lewes, Delaware. The ferry had scheduled departure times of 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:30 PM. While there was no chance we could cover the 71 miles to Cape May in time to board the 11:00 AM boat, we figured we could easily make the 1:00 PM if we pushed. As we neared the coast, the rain had stopped. We had to slow as we rode through the beach cities, filled with stop signs, but little traffic. We got to the ferry terminal a little after noon. Plenty of time to grab a sandwich and a coke before rolling our bikes onto the ferry for the ninety minute crossing to Delaware. Once we landed in Lewes, we had another ten miles to ride to the hotel in Dewey Beach. It was sunny, hot, humid, and buggy on the highway into town.


This was our eighth day of riding. Tomorrow is a much needed rest day!


Dewey Beach, DE (1981); population 340, elevation 7'
Rehoboth Beach DE (1873); population 1,327; elevation 8'
Rehoboth Beach and its smaller neighbor, Dewey Beach are summer vacation, resort towns. The population can swell to over 30,000 people on a warm, summer weekend. Rehoboth is a Biblical name, meaning "place for all." RB has a wooden boardwalk and a wide, sandy beach.


81.9 miles; 4:53 hours; 650' of climb; 4,293 Calories.

Somerset to Hammonton, NJ

A good day for ducks!

Rain gear off?

At the SAG stop.

Fortunately, we were able to get through.

A couple of pretty horses by the roadside.

"Cloudy. A chance of showers in the morning...then showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Humid with highs in the lower 70s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent."


The streets were wet, but it wasn't raining, when we left the hotel at 7:30 AM. Rush hour traffic was bad, but most of the cars were headed in the opposite direction to that which we were headed. We stopped briefly to don our raingear when large drops of rain began to pelt us. Fortunately, the squall didn't last very long and we soon stopped again to take our jackets off to avoid overheating. After leaving the suburbs, we were treated to some quiet country roads, passing between bean fields and old stands of corn. Before the SAG stop, we had to detour off the route due to a sinkhole that had swallowed up the road. Then, just after the SAG, we were able to walk our bikes around the Road Closed signs and over the washed out pavement, so the detour only added two "bonus" miles to the ride. What started out as rolling low hills earlier in the day, soon turned into level roads. We were sprinkled on and off for many miles and the sun even peeked through the clouds for a short while. About mile 60, we stopped at a Subway for sandwiches. The manager, Pat, offered us free cookies in support of our ride! After our meal, we raced to the hotel in a steady rain. Another fun day of riding!


Tonight, I've been invited by my friends to join them at Rosh Hashana services. I'm honored to be included. Happy New Year.


A large area of the Atlantic seaboard in New Jersey is called the Pine Barrens (Pinelands), due to its nutrient poor, sandy soil. Legend says many bodies have been buried in the pinelands by organized crime members over the years. Maybe Judge Crater is out there somewhere.


Hammonton, NJ. (1866)
Pop. 12,600; elevation 95'
Blueberry Capital of the World
Hammonton is halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City.


81.0 miles; 4:56 hours; 1,670' of climb; 4,058 Calories.

Suffern, NY, to Somerset, NJ

Peter, Tom, Bill, me, Al, Larry

A rare picture of me, courtesy of Don

The SAG angels:  Robin and Carol

What today's ride looked like.  Suburbia.

Lunch stop.

"Mostly cloudy. Areas of fog in the morning. A chance of showers...mainly in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent."


Although it was a little foggy when we started out this morning, it cleared to partly cloudy skies, followed by sunshine. No rain fell on the riders!


Today's ride was very different from yesterday; we spent the entire day riding though the suburbs of New Jersey. Our route sheets (yes, plural) included 32 right turns, 24 left turns, and 7 straights. That works out to one instruction per mile! Having to navigate continuously made the time go by very quickly. Rush hour traffic was a little hairy when we left the hotel, but thinned out as the day progressed. It was the usual group, Al, Peter, Jack and me. We played cat and mouse with Michel and Sam and Stuart joined us at the front for a brief while. A couple of miles from the hotel, we stopped for lunch and a lot of the riders behind us saw the bikes and stopped, too.


We added about four "bonus" miles to the ride when, at one point, we went right when we should have turned left. Luckily, we realized our error before we rode too far off course.


Somerset, NJ (unincorporated)
Pop 23,000 elev 92'
Home to one of the first Marconi wireless stations in the US.
New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the US! Considering all the bedroom communities we passed through, I believe it.


68.5 miles; 4:25 hours; 2,667' of climb; 3,491 Calories.

Fishkill to Suffern, NY

"Patchy dense fog in the morning. Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Light and variable winds...becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon."


A very, very nice day for riding through some of the prettiest parts of New York. A short day, only 53 miles, we left the hotel an hour later than normal. Traffic was heavy as we started out, but thinned out as we got further out in the countryside. Approximately 18 miles into the ride, we crossed the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge and then entered a park for a fantastic, beautiful ride through the forest and along side Seven Lakes. I spotted a flock of turkeys walking beside the road, but they were camera shy. We had a lot of climbing today, but it wasn't extremely steep and was balanced by some nice downhill runs. At one point, the road was closed to automobile traffic due to flood damage from Hurricane Irene. I rode with the Jewish contingent - Al, Peter, Jack, and Mike. After the one and only SAG stop, Mike dropped off the back and the four of us came into the hotel together.


A big shout out to Bitey Girl and the Mutts.


Suffern, NY (1796)
Pop 11,000 elevation 312'
Home of Avon Products since 1897


53.9 miles; 3:37 hours; 3,254' of climb; 2,987 Calories.

Windsor Locks, CT, to Fishkill, NY

"Cloudy with scattered showers. Areas of fog in the morning. Humid with highs in the mid 70s. Northeast winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent."

No, make that partly cloudy skies with no rain at all! ;-)

Photographic evidence that I can indeed stop to smell the roses.

"Truck on cheese" sign.

Peter fills his water bottle with high test! A Big Dog technique.

It's been unseasonably warm in New England. Yesterday, I saw a bank sign that said it was 81 degrees. It's also been very humid - even when it hasn't been raining. Weather Underground says there's a stationary, low pressure located over Chicago that is pulling warm, moist air up from the south. Although riding in the rain isn't as much fun as riding when it's dry, it hasn't been a cold rain and for that I am very thankful.

Today's ride was a long one - 95 miles, with some long, steep climbs. Faced with a long day, I like to break it down into smaller, consecutive rides: first SAG, next SAG, Dairy Queen, etc. Today's route took us down winding, country roads through the forest. This was what I had thought much of our cross-country ride was going to be like in 2009, but wasn't until we got near the east coast. Today is Sunday and there was very little traffic on most of the ride.

The usual suspects left the hotel together. Not far into the ride, Al had a mechanical problem and fell off the back. Jack got another fl*t and got left behind. Somewhere, we lost Mike, so that left just Peter and me, riding together down country roads, chatting about this, that, and the other. Somewhere along the way, we missed a turn and found ourselves off route. We stopped at a gas station and asked for directions (yes, men DO stop to ask for directions.) The unintentional detour resulted in our getting into the first SAG stop after most of the other riders (a first). Leaving the SAG, we called "on your left" and sped away from the group on a long incline. I'm much lighter and faster on the hills than many of the other riders, so I just kept going. Eventually, I spotted Michel ahead of me and asked him where Sam was as I rode by. Michel said, "ahead of us." Well, ahead of us was a long way. I eventually caught Sam and we rode into the second SAG stop together. After that, I was on my own for many miles. At 93 miles, I stopped at a deli for a ham & cheese and a full-sugar Coca Cola! Don caught up with me and the last seven miles were over quickly. A long, beautiful day of riding.

Oh, yes. As Don and I rode the final miles into the hotel, we crossed over Fishkill Creek and we both commented that it was redundant.

Tomorrow, we have a relatively short day and will leave an hour later than usual. I can use the extra hour of rest. I'm tired.

Fishkill, NY (1735)
Pop 1735 elevation 220'
"Kill" is Dutch for "creek." Home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays.

100.1 miles; 6:18 riding time; 5,475' of climb; 5,903 Calories.

Fast Jim and friends.

This is Al's photograph.

Mike, Jack, Al, Peter, and me.

Yom Kippur is coming up soon.

PS If you click on the pictures, they will get bigger.

Worcester, MA, to Windsor Locks, CT

"Showers likely. Patchy fog. Humid with highs in the mid 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent…100% in the morning."


They got it wrong, again! It was dry…well, we had a little drizzle starting out, but it was essentially dry all day. We rode under cloudy skies and made good time into Connecticut. You can tell you're in New England by the churches. We rode through one area that was devastated by a tornado during Hurricane Irene.


The group I've been riding with is now called, "Fast Jim and the Jews." It seems Mike, Al, Peter, and Jack are all Jewish! Mazel Tov.


We rode into the only SAG stop of the day together. After that, I joined Sam and we hustled into the hotel.


My youngest son, Tom, his wife, Neayka, and my youngest granddaughter, HRH Princess Sarah, drove up from Milford, CT, to meet me at the hotel! They are expecting a son in December! It was a real treat to see them.


Great news: Sunday's forecast is for only a 20% chance of showers - warm and humid! Excellent for riding to Fishkill, NY. Lots of climbing and nearly a century of miles, another long day. Is there a DQ on the route? I hope so.


Windsor Locks, CT (1854)
Pop 12,000 elev 157'
Named for canal locks. Home to Bradley International Air Port. Home of the 1965 Little League World Series champions. Legend has it, the first Christmas tree in New England was decorated by a Hessian POW in the area in 1777.


69.3 miles; 4:24 riding time; 3,290' of climb; 3,590 Calories

Portsmouth, NH, to Worcester, MA

"Cloudy. A chance of showers with patchy drizzle in the morning...then showers likely in the afternoon. Patchy fog. Highs in the upper 60s. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain 70 percent."


Fortunately, they got the forecast wrong once more. Although we rode under cloudy skies all day, it only started to sprinkle during the last ten miles to the hotel. It's raining now, but who cares? I'm inside and dry.


Each morning, we take our bicycles and bags to the driveway in front of the night's motel. At 7:30 AM, riders sign out (you can see then lined up in one of the pictures above.


The rider is Jack, from Israel, who rode with us on XC09 from Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Jack is the youngest rider on this trip, a mere 51 years old. He competes in triathlons and is extremely strong, definitely one of the Big Dogs. I'm green with envy over his bicycle; it's a Lynsky Helix with a polished Titanium frame. The tubes are rectangular and twisted to give the frame the proper stiffness, but with a softer ride. I was looking at Lynsky Ti frames when I bought my Colnago.


Today's route took us inland on State Road 111 through some pretty countryside and small towns. We had been warned that today's route involved a lot of climbing, but it turned out to be more rolling than hilly; at least that's what it seemed like to me. Even though my Garmin recorded 4,000 feet of climbing, it wasn't difficult. I began the day with the usual group: Al, Jack, and Peter, plus Mike T and Don. Before the first SAG stop, Jack noticed his rear tire was going flat once more - one of the support cars came along and stopped to help. Peter, Al, and I continued on. Al was having another mechanical problem - he couldn't get his right shoe unclipped from the pedals and stopped to fix it. Al and I didn't wait for him and rolled into the second SAG stop with Mike. Peter wasn't ready when Mike and I left the stop and we didn't see him or Al for the rest of the day. At mile eighty, I stopped at my first Dairy Queen of the trip and rewarded myself with a chocolate shake! Mike left me and I finished the ride by myself, just beating the rain. Traffic and poor roads made the ride into Worcester unpleasant, but I pulled into the Hampton Inn parking lot and the day was over.


Worchester, MA (wuss ter) (1673)
Pop 181,000 elevation 480'
The monkey wrench was invented in Worchester in 1840. Much of the barbed wire for the opening of the west and for use in WWI was made in Worchester.


95.1 miles; 5:55 riding time; 4,058' of climbing; 5,027 Calories.

South Portland, ME, to Portmouth, NH

South Portland, ME to Portsmouth, NH

Weather Undergrounds forecast for today:
"Cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the morning...then a chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Southeast winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent." The forecast was wrong, it rained 100%! While yesterday was sunny and warm, today was cloudy, cool, and wet.


After breakfast, we all gathered for group photos before signing out. It was raining when we left the hotel and it continued to rain during most of the ride. Fortunately, it wasn't a cold rain, with temperatures in the mid-sixties. Our route took us down the coast of Maine on Highway 1A or parallel to it. We passed the home of George H. W. Bush in Kennebunkport, but it was a very gray day for taking pictures.


The riders have already sorted themselves out into groups, mostly among friends who did the cross country tide together; those friendships run deep and they have formed very strong bonds. I joined Al, Peter, Jack, and Al's friend, Larry, for most of the ride. Jack had two flats and Al broke the chain on his bicycle towards the end of the day, otherwise, it was an uneventful day. We crossed into New Hampshire over a draw bridge (we had to wait for them to lower the bridge to continue) and had our "first dinner" in Portsmouth before riding into the hotel.


There was mud in my bathtub! Tomorrow is supposed to be wet, too. Stay tuned.


Portsmouth, NH (1653)
Pop 21,000 elev 20'
Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth to warning that the British were coming.
Home to John Paul Jones, father of the US Navy.


70.4 miles; 4:28 riding time; 1,148' of climb; 3,606 Calories

Yesterday, I flew to Maine. It was a long day, but everything went smoothly and I arrived safely at the hotel in South Portland. My bicycle had been unpacked and assembled by a local bike shop. I checked into my room, unpacked, and went to the lobby to meet my old friends from '09 and the other riders. Several of us went into Portland for dinner at a very posh Italian restaurant.

Bright and early this morning, I went in search of coffee and ran into several riders who said they were going to do a short ride to the coast. Of course, I asked if I could tag along. There were eight of us and we rode a very nice thirty mile loop, stopping for lunch at a local dive and having lobster rolls! You can't visit Maine without having a lobster roll. Oh, yes, it was sunny and warm - a beautiful day in New England.

30.7 miles; 2:12 hours of riding; 1,148 feet of climb; 1,535 Calories

Blogs

Here's a list of the other riders' blogs: 

Jan - http://www.bikingacrossamerica-jan.blogspot.com/ 

Al - http://whereislance.com/ 

Bob - http://www.bykruslatoboston.blogspot.com/ 

Don - http://www.cyclethroughamerica.org/ 

Chris - http://clhall2011easternseaboardtour.blogspot.com/ 

Stuart - http://levycrosscountrybicycletour.blogspot.com/ 

Tom D - http://xclifeintheslowlane.blogspot.com/ 

Champ - http://www.walkerride.blogspot.com/ 

Hank - http://www.crosscountryrider.blogspot.com/ 

Larry - http://larrysride.tumblr.com/

Weather Underground

During my bike ride across the country in 2009, I became addicted to Weather
Underground (www.wunderground.com). The main topic of discussion every
morning at breakfast was the weather, most important, wind direction and
intensity. (It's a myth at the wind always blows from the west!)

Although it's a few days away, wunderground.com is predicting showers for
our first day of riding from South Portland, Maine, to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, with head winds!

I've completed my training, a thousand miles on the bicycle in the past four
weeks! The bags are packed; I'm only taking a bare minimum. Tuesday, I fly
from Los Angeles to Maine. Wednesday, I'll check out the bicycle, meet the
other riders, and attend the orientation. Thursday, we start the adventure!
I'm excited.