The Ride

Another Friend

Wheel full 70px Frank and I met up tonight for dinner at a restaurant in Cape May, New Jersey.

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Wheel full 70px My friend drove down from his home near Philadelphia and we spent a great evening chatting about our mutual love of epic outdoor adventure and the challenges presented by stuff like bad knees, issues with vision and the changes in general that go with being in your 60s.  I can assure you, though, that there was no whining.

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Wheel full 70px I owe Frank a big meal at a nice restaurant someday, and hope he can make it up to Alaska to collect on that debt there.  I’d like to think that I could show him even half the good time that we had tonight.

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Weigh-in #15 – Holding Steady

Wheel full 70px In all the mileage accrued over the past few days, I missed posting the result of Monday’s weigh-in.  It was done on yet another beam scale, so it’s a two-parter.

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Wheel full 70px This is down half a pound from last week to 306 pounds/139 kg.  Not dramatic news, but I’ve learned by this point that the overall trend line over the past 30 days is probably a more accurate predictor of actual weight than any individual scale result.  That still points to around 300 pounds/135 kg and below over the next couple of weeks, and I’m happy with that.

Wheel full 70px And that, too.

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Uh-oh

Wheel full 70px Well, drat.

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Wheel full 70px I was hoping I could make it all the way to Key West without a major tire issue.  Today I had a major tire issue.

Wheel full 70px It actually started yesterday, as I was noticing an “out of round” sensation from the rear wheel.  I was by that time deep into New York City’s borough of Queens late in the day and, after a quick check for broken spokes and not finding any, I continued on, figuring I could sort the situation out this morning.  At that time I did not spot any issue with the rear tire.

Wheel full 70px Unbeknownst to me, I had at some point during yesterday’s ride in from mid-way across Long Island, broken sidewall cords in that tire.  What I was probably feeling was a soft spot as the wheel rolled around over that point on the tire.  In all likelihood nothing was even visible.  I made it across Manhattan, met a friend, then onto the Hudson River ferry over to Hoboken, New Jersey, where I spent the night with my daughter’s in laws.

Wheel full 70px A casual look at the tire this morning quickly disclosed the problem.  I am, frankly, amazed that the tire was able to withstand about 20 miles/32 km of continued loaded riding, and especially over the city’s uneven streets, in that badly damaged a condition.

Wheel full 70px So it’s off to a local bike shop for some emergency maintenance and repair.  More on this situation as it develops.

Into the City

Wheel full 70px My route will take me into and across Manhattan today.

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Wheel full 70px I’ll wind up, after meeting another friend and a ferry ride, in northern New Jersey at the home of my daughter’s inlaws.  They are too kind in proposing to host a guy with a load of motel sink clean, but still pretty whiffy, bicycling duds in my panniers.

Wheel full 70px Oh, and I saw this at a diner yesterday.

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Wheel full 70px Getting closer every day, eh?

Friends

Wheel full 70px It has been one of the big pleasures of the trip to be able to meet friends I’ve made on the Internet over the years as I travel near where they live.  In Groton, Connecticut the other day I had a nice late afternoon snack at a Mexican restaurant with Nancy, who goes back with me in cyberspace somewhere near 10 years.

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Wheel full 70px The notion that someone would take a bit of time out of their life to have a chat with me is really pretty gratifying.  To myself, I’m just a guy on a long bike ride- doing something way less interesting by and large than the everyday lives of most folks I know.  But somebody’s got to do it, I guess.

Wheel full 70px Thanks, Nancy, for a very enjoyable hour before I caught the ferry.