gibbsonabike.com

Still at my aunt and uncle’s as you can see, resting and recovering.  I picked my bike up from the shop today.  New chain, new brakes, all cleaned up, and they secured my front rack to the frame a little better.  Apparently they objected to the zip ties I had securing it.  My body is also feeling better.  Still some sore muscles and funky fingers but ready to get back on the road.

I plan to leave here tomorrow and head in the direction of Denver,CO where my grandmother lives.  Its going to be a long ride though, another 1,000 miles and probably 2 more weeks.  My new stretch goal is to make it to the Pacific coast by my birthday, September 29th.  It’ll be difficult, but is doable.  My other goal is to meet more complete strangers.

I have explained couch surfing to some of my friends.  Basically people offer up their place for travelers to crash.  I recently found out about a site called warmshowers.org which is the same idea but specifically for touring cyclists.  This has inspired me into looking into this as an option so I hope to stay on someone’s couch(yard, futon, floor, etc.)  Hopefully I met some interesting people.

I tried to make a map of my journey so far, you can find it at gibbsonabike.com/map/.  If anyone knows a better way to do it please let me know.

Also I forgot to post the video I promised, my own double-rainbow experience which happened about 10 days ago in Titusville, PA.

That’s me with my Uncle Tom and Aunt Jane and their dogs Sadie and Jake.  The reason I was hauling so much ass (along with all rest of my gear) was to make it to them before Sunday when my uncle leaves on business.  My original plan for today was to bike approximately 100 miles to their house in the northwest corner of the state.  But then I realized, what was the point of putting myself through all that just so I could get here at 10pm, say hi, and then pass out.  I think my uncle tried to hint at that last night but was too polite to say it.  Although maybe he did say it and my brain was too scrambled by biking 133 miles to comprehend it. 

So instead I biked about 65 miles and they picked me up just south of Dixon, IL. (Fun fact: Birthplace of Ronald Reagan.)  They took me out to lunch and then we dropped my bike off at a cycle shop in Freeport.  I can handle basic maintenance, but I wanted them to give it a tune-up and make sure everything looked good.  I still have at least 2000 miles to go after all.  In addition to tuning up my bike I also got a tune-up on my body.  My uncle does Zentherapy, which is a system of body work which help to realign the various bits of the body.  He normally works with horseback riders; check out his website at zenandthehorse.com.

So did I cheat by not riding my bike the whole way there?  I’m not sure as their house is kind of out of the way, but even if I did I don’t mind.  I got a chance to spend a great day with my aunt and uncle and its my journey, so there.

Its going to be a short post today. I’m trying to get some serious milage to make it to my aunt and uncle’s in Elizabeth, IL by tomorrow.  As you can tell by my short time in Indiana I’ve already been hauling ass. 

Looking at their “Welcome to…” signs I think that Indiana and Illinois should fight it out to determine who gets to claim Lincoln.  It could be a contest of studying by candlelight, or rail-splitting, or something like that.  The winner keeps their sign, the loser has to change theirs to “We don’t love Lincoln as much as [winner].”

I’d also like to apologize to the funeral procession I briefly led today.  In my mirror it just looked like a black car.  Then it turned and I realized it was a hearse…oops.

One of the questions people often ask is if I have a route planned out.  The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is: not really.  While I have a general sense of where I’m going (duh, the west coast) due to plans to stay with family in Illinois and Colorado, my day to day plans are pretty fluid.  And generally can’t be made very far in advance. 
Today is the perfect example of how complicated planning even a couple hours in advance can be.  I’m currently in Bryan, OH, at yet another McDonalds, and trying to figure out where to go next.  I’ve done about 40 miles today and assuming I leave here by 3ish I can do another 40-60. But despite the fairly clear skies right now I know there is a good chance of thunderstorms between 4 and 8, aka the rest of the daylight hours.  Its not the rain that I mind, but they’re warning about heavy winds.  Wind I’m discovering puts a severe damper on my milage abilities, cutting my potential distance.  On top of all that there is a chance of hail, which makes me concerned not only about my own well-being, but also the well-being of my gear.  And there isn’t even a drop of rain in the sky yet.

So I’m thinking about staying in a motel tonight (so you worry-warts can breath easier) for the first time on this trip.  But even that isn’t easy.  There isn’t a whole lot west of Bryan for the next 30 miles, especially if I avoid Route 6.  I took it through most of PA, and some of OH, but all the trucks get annoying.  The gusts of wind they generate from both directions really mess with my rhythm.

You didn’t notice but I was gone for the last 30 minutes.  So here is the plan. Take local roads to Hamilton Lake in Indiana and stay at the Cold Springs Resort, about 30 miles away.  Unless the weather looks good then keep going to Gordon’s campground in Wolcottville, IN. Unless all that changes.

First some quick stats: I’ve been on the road for 9 days and have biked 587 miles, not counting today.  You can see more on my new Stats page, which will have interesting and useless numbers on it.

Now the egg bike.  As I was crossing over I-79 on PA 358 I encountered the above “bike.”  We spoke briefly and I learned some more later on the internet.  The cyclist is Frans van der Merwe, and he is riding what he calls a pterovelo.  He is part of an approximately 50 person tour across the country called ROAM, or Roll Over America Velomobile Tour.  They started in Portland, OR on July 28 heading for Washington, DC. Velomobiles are basically recumbent bicycles with aerodynamic shells.  They’re much more popular in Europe and this tour is designed to raise awareness for “human-powered” vehicles here.  Looks like I know what I’m replacing my car with.

You can find Frans’ blog at http://pterovelo.blogspot.com/ or checkout his website http://www.pterovelo.com/.
More information on ROAM is at http://www.rolloveramerica.eu/.

First of all: FINALLY DONE WITH PA!  Now there won’t be anymore hills.  Unless what they say about Ohio is true…you know, high in the middle, round at both…nevermind.  I actually looked at the highest point in Ohio on the map, Campbell Hill, and laughed at its meager 1550 feet. I climb that for breakfast.

On with the state of the union.  The machine is doing ok. Its going to need new brakes soon, but I already have some ready that I picked up in Scranton.  The chain needs to be cleaned and oiled which I’ll do tonight now that I should be rain free for a couple days. There is a hole in the rear tire which I picked along with my second flat a couple days ago.  Seems to be holding up fine however, and I have a spare tire just in case.  I also adjusted the seat and braking levers, which I’ll explain in a minute. 

The body isn’t in as great shape.  My thighs are sore, but only if you jab them. So I don’t. My butt was pretty sore, though I think its resigned itself to its fate and actually isn’t as bad as it was a couple days ago.  Some slight twinges in the knees, though not pain, more as if they’re saying “don’t forget about us!”  All of this is pretty normal. The biggest problem is some faint numbness in my ring and pinky finger on my right hand.  I wouldn’t even really call it numb; when I touch something with one of those two fingers there is a mild pins and needles sensation.  After some research I’m pretty sure its ulnar neuropathy, also known as handlebar palsy.  It’s caused by compression of the ulnar nerve, in my case probably hyperextension of my wrist.  So I made the aforementioned bike adjustments. Plus I’m going to take it easy for a couple days and work on better posture.  Which should be easier in Ohio because when I’m climbing a mile long 8% grade my posture tends to go to crap. I’ve also been biking longer than I probably should.  I did 100 miles on Saturday.  I was getting really sick of the hills in PA.

Did I mention hills suck?

Thanks to everyone who has commented. I was writing this pretending people were reading it, but its great to know that people actually are and are enjoying it. Come back tomorrow when I give some stats and talk about meeting an egg bike.

As I watched the sun set over the “Grand Canyon” of Pennsylvania I tried to think of something profound and came up short. Maybe that will come after I’ve been on the road for more than a week.  As I mentioned there doesn’t seem to be any stretch of Route 6 that could be considered flat.  On Wednesday while coming down a hill I met another cyclist named Gary.  He was using biking as a way to rest his knee after injuring it ultra-running.  As the side of the highway is not the best place for a conversation I didn’t get a chance to pick his brain on ultras.  He did however recommend a side road that was less hilly and much quieter.  There I found my campsite for the night.

The backyard of the Standing Stone Community Vesper Church.  There was a sign welcoming people to use their basketball court and when I asked some neighbors they said camping was fine.  I hit the road the next morning and proceeded to bike about 70 miles to the Leonard Harrison State Park that you see at the top. Along the way I was stopped by a van of five PENNDOT employees who wanted to ask me about Bicycle Route Y, which I accidentally ended up taking through PA.  Apparently when they planned it 10 years ago there wasn’t as much traffic, especially truck traffic. Since then has come fracking, which is huge around here.  So not only does it make your tap water flammable it fracks with my bike route.

After looking around and setting up camp I made dinner.  Angel hair pasta with tomato sauce and pepperoni, a Pepsi from the vending machine, and mustard-garlic bread.  I wanted garlic bread but had no butter.  Mustard seemed better than peanut butter or jelly to spread on with garlic powder. You gotta get creative when you have limited resources.

More than halfway done with PA now.  This state is way too big.

I left Scranton, PA this morning and am currently sitting outside a McDonald’s in Tunkhannock.  Thanks to Jon and Suzanne for feeding me and letting me crash.  As the title of this post says now it really begins. I don’t have plans to stay with anyone until Illinois, which is kinda far away.  No more friends to feed me and give me a bed, just me and the open road.  Its freaking me out a bit.

I’m not sure which I dislike more, rain or hills.  Yesterday was my first rain free day which I celebrated by getting the wierdest sunburn ever.  A farmers tan, if that farmer wore gloves all the time.  And he wore short-shorts but also kept the sun on his left the entire day.  Also a day filled with lots and lots of hills.  Anyone who thinks the Poconos are nice obviously never biked there.  I also learned that Scranton is in a valley.  One I spent more than an hour trying to get out of this morning. 

Should be fairly level for the rest of today however. [See below.] I’m taking Route 6 through PA and this part follows along a river.  Still not sure where I’m camping tonight, so that should be interesting. That’s it for now, I hope to have more tales of misadventure soon.

Almost forgot, I took a video of riding in the rain which you can find here: Riding in the rain.

[Edit: The YouTube link should be working now. Also I was very wrong about it being flat. It wasn’t.]