Sitting here in Williamston NC no miles today

Talk about dreary rainy days, this is the one for all times. This rain will set the all time record rainfall for September and it all occurred during the last four days! We woke up to rain and it has rained ever since. Yesterday, the weather channel said it would stop by noon but it let up a little at lunchtime while we walked to the restaurant but then it started up harder than ever. Bob and I spent the afternoon watching TV and taking naps. Actually Bob took the nap. I can't get Internet service in the room so I need to come down to the lobby when I want to check anything on line or do the blog update.
We wanted to do laundry while we were here but the hotel doesn't have a laundry service and the nearest one is about a mile away. We decided to rent a car but when I called the Enterprises call rental, they said they did not have any cars due to the number of accidents caused by the rain. The laundry will have to wait until tomorrow and New Bern.
There is a fishing tournament starting tomorrow so the hotels are starting to fill up with the fisherman and their boats. They are not very happy. I talked to a couple of them this afternoon who said the tournament would not be canceled but the fishing will probably be bad.
As we were leaving the restaurant this afternoon, Bob caught a ride with a local to the Walmart where he bought some wine for us, He would not open it until 5:00PM though. We ordered Chinese food for dinner. It was pretty good and there is enough left over for breakfast. Tonight we will just watch a little TV and then get some sleep. Tomorrow we ride, rain or shine!!!

Murfreesboro to Williamston NC 54 miles - Cum 1205 miles

Bob and I woke up to a splendid breakfast in the B&B. Marie had fresh fruit, sausage and eggs on the menu, plus bread for Bob. It was only drizzling as we left with the intention of stopping at the McDonald's for coffee. I also wanted to see if I could log onto the Internet. It started to rain heavily after we got there and we congratulated ourselves on our timing. It was still raining when we left and then it started to rain harder. To those of you who sent me warnings about rain today, believe me when I tell you, that it was far worse than you could have imagined. After about 2 hours, we stopped in a convenience store gas station to see if it would let up. We stayed for about and hour and a half but it kept raining. We were getting cold so we decided to get going. It actually was warmer to ride than stay in the air conditioning in our wet clothes. It continued to rain harder but the good news was, we had a good road and a strong tailwind out of the Northeast. We were literally flying along. Around one o'clock, we passed a high school with the school buses lined up and a line of cars waiting to pick up students. having learned my lesson, we pulled over to the side of the road as the crazed highschoolers buzzed down the road texting and cell phoning each other. Eventually the buses came by and then it all calmed down so we continued on! We began to pass flooded areas but only once was the road flooded. Eventually we crossed over the Roanoke river into Williamston. We found our motel and checked in.
This is the wettest I have ever been riding on a bike. It was solid rain for the four and a half hours we were actually riding.
We have one hurricane day built into the schedule and it looks like we will be taking it tomorrow. The forecast is heavy rain with flooding and 25 mph winds out of the South East. It will be impossible to ride in those conditions so we will probably stay here for two days. Bob is already worried that he will be bored with nothing to do.

Templeton to Murfreesboro NC 67 miles - Cum 1151 miles

It was dreary and overcast with a slight drizzle when we left the gloomy hotel. We may have been the only ones there. I kept waking up and thinking there were bugs crawling over me. I couldn't wait to get out of that place if it was the last thing I ever did!! Sounds like there may be a song there! Bob and I rode down the rode to the gas station for breakfast. It was actually better than you might imagine. There were a lot of guys there starting off their work day and they were very interested and impressed with what we were doing.

After awhile, the sun began to come out as we continued south. Again, we are off the Adventure cycling map route and picking roads that make more sense.

We stopped for lunch in Courtland Va. A sheriff's deputy recommended a restaurant that we had passed up a mile back so we went back to the Southern Sister's restaurant. It was very good. We sat outside and enjoyed the daily special. A few miles down the road, we passed Dairy Queen, well actually we didn't pass it we stopped in and had a Reese's peanut butter cup blizzard!!!

We started passing cotton fields along the way. Some of them had been picked by a giant machine that left an empty field and a big block of cotton. The block of cotton is then picked up and put on a truck that tries it's darnedest to run us over!!!! Well maybe not really, but it seems like it.

We came to another state border and this time there is a welcome sign for the obligatory picture taking. It was only another 10 miles or so to the M&M Bed and Breakfast in Murfreesboro. There are no hotels or motels in Murfreesboro except for one which would have been worse than the "Bates Motel" so we were worried until we got there. It was an 1870 house which and elderly couple, Marie and Ned, run. They are in their 80's and are trying to sell the place. It is a fascinating place. Marie has filled it to the brim with things she has collected over the eight years they have owned it.

Bob and I had dinner at an Mexican Restaurant and when back to the B&B for a well deserved rest.

Richmond to Templeton VA 58 mile - Cum 1084 miles

My mother always said that today is Monday unless it rains then it is a rainy day! Well today was a rainy day to say the least, Bob and I said goodbye to Meiri and Amy and headed south towards Richmond and beyond around 8:00AM. It started to drizzle as we neared Richmond. We stopped at the Omi in Richmond for some Starbucks coffee and when we came out it began to really rain. We headed south. We passed Edgar Allen Poe's house but it was raining so hard, I couldn't get my camera out to take a picture. We headed south. We were passing through the Virginia countryside alongside the James river and I noticed it was wide and deep. Yesterday in Richmond, you could walk across the James river and all of a sudden, ocean going ships could sail on it. Bob doesn't think there is a dam or lock anywhere so it must be ocean water coming up stream. It is something I will need to check out in the future.
After awhile, I could see a couple of riders coming up behind us. They seemed to be coming fast but when they caught up with us, they asked if they could ride with us for awhile. We of course, said that we didn't mind,It turns out they are a couple of guys who graduated from the University of Oregon in June and started their cross country tour on July 6th from Portland and will finish in Yorktown the day after tomorrow. Bob and I told them how we had ridden from San Francisco to New Hampshire last year. They asked how we had adjusted to the real world after a trip across the country. I told them that Bob and I were retired so this was our real world!!! We rode with them for about 10 miles or so then we turned south and they continued east. It did seem like a great way to enter the real world after a three month trip. It was too bad Meiri wasn't with us today because that is what she did last year. finished school, crossed the country on a bike and then went to work!!
As we turned from our new friends, Chris and Andrea, I discovered my trailer tire was flat. I took it apart but couldn't find anything wrong so we put it back on and continued on. We crossed the James river on a huge draw bridge and then stopped for lunch at a restaurant beside the river. After lunch, the trailer tire was flat again. This time I put a new tube after checking and finding a hole in the old tube in the restaurant's sink.
It continued to rain as we continued south. Finally we got to the motel. It may be the worst motel we experience on the trip, at least I hope so. It makes the Bates motel look like a resort. It is next to an abandoned Knights Inn that actually looked like it might be better. The good new is, that the price was right!!!!

Richmond Tour 30 miles - Cum 1026 miles

It was wonderfull to sleep in this morning instead of getting up to get on the road. After a great breakfast, Meiri, Bob and I rode our bikes into Richmond for a little tour. It was a 12 mile ride into downtown Richmond. We rode to the old Iron foundry which is a civil war museum. We poked around at the foundry for a a little while and looked a a few of the exhibits. I found it interesting that you can still see the burned window frames from when the Union Army burned the foundry down.

We then rode out to Belle Island which is now a city park but was a civil war prison camp, then a iron works plus a hydro power generating plant. It was a very interesting tour. After Belle Island, we rode over to Browne Island which is a park along the canel. Then it was on to Starbucks and then after a quick tour of the capitol back to Bob's home.

We went to REI to ship Meiri's bike back and to buy a few shirts and tires for the trip. We went back to Bob's and had a wonderfull dinner which Amy had prepared. Meiri tried out my trailer but without a load. She doesn't understand why I was complaining. She did change my tires on the bike so she could get practice in case she had a flat.

Tomorrow, Bob and I head for Florida and Meiri heads home to New York. She will be missed!!!!!

Stafford to LadySmith VA 45 miles - Cum 996 miles

Today is Meiri's last day to ride on this trip. I will miss her company. Meiri and I left at 8:00Am for Ashland to meet Bob Lang for the ride into Richmond. I spoke to the clerk on duty at the motel and he asked where I was going and after I told him he gave me a different route. We left and took the new route. It was a brand new road and was a joy to ride, unfortunately, when it ended, it was not on the road that he said it would be. Meiri and I talked to a man sitting in the parking lot at the end of the road and he said that we should probably just go on Route 1 as the back roads had no shoulder. We were a little reluctant from our experiences yesterday with Route 1 but we had to go for a couple of miles to get to the road we wanted. After we were riding Route 1 for a while we realized that Saturday was a lot different from Friday. We stayed on Route 1 into Fredrecksburg. We then took Bus Rte1 thorough the old town of Fredrecksburg. We stopped to take pictures of some of the old churches and a man came up and started to ask questions about our trip. He mentioned that he had ridden from Fredrecksburg to Pittsburgh PA. I said I was from Pittsburgh and he said he was originally from Mt. Lebanon. He has rode on the Yough trail and several other trails in the Pittsburgh area.
We continued on to the Fredrecksburg Battlefield visitor center. The movie explaining the battle was about to start so we went in a watched it. It is a little depressing to hear how many men lost their lives because of the decisions by their leaders. We also went on a little tour and saw the sunken road and stone wall where the Confederates slaughtered the Union army. I have read about this wall for years and now I have finally seen it.
We left the visitor center and went through the Battlefield park. It was very nice with tree lined roads and quiet woods. After the park we were back on two lane county roads with a lot of high speed traffic and narrow berms. We decided to go back to Route 1 where the traffic was light and it was a four lane highway so we would have some room.
We stopped for lunch and ran into several young boys who were very impressed with out bikes and the ride we were doing.
We stopped in a connivance store and as we were leaving, I heard someone calling to us. He was a homeless man and he came down to see what we were doing. After he heard our story, he took a dollar out of his pocket and tried to give it to Meiri. He said we needed the money. I told him we didn't need it. Another man came down at that point and told the first man that we were rich and didn't need the money. I said we weren't rich but we still didn't need the money.
We were starting to make pretty good time as the traffic remained light and the roads were starting to get flatter. We stopped again at another store and a man yelled from a truck that he said he had seen us earlier in Fredrecksburg and he was impressed that we had come so far.
A couple of motorcycles came in ridden by a man and woman. We talked for them for quite a while. The man said he wished he could ride like us so he wouldn't have the big belly that he had. By then, it was getting to be around 4:30 so we decided that we would just have Bob pick us up instead of trying to ride to his house. As Meiri says, we have ridden across the entire United States so we don't have anything to prove!!!
We got to Bob and Amy's around 6:00PM and Amy had a great meal for us including a lot of gluten free treats for me.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Bob and Meiri and I will do a little ride and then on Monday, Meiri goes home and Bob and I head for Florida.

Alexandria to Stafford Va 35 miles - Cum 951 miles

After yesterday's adventure, Meiri and I decided not to worry about getting an early start. We met for breakfast with Dave and Carol at 9:00AM. I thought getting rested was more important than getting to Fredricksburg. We discussed what route to take and decided that if we took Route 1 straight to Fredricksburg and not go around the Marine Base at Quantico, we would shorten our route by 40 miles or so. We decided to go with the shorter route.
We did our laundry, and left the hotel at 12:00 noon. We went about a mile and decide that a Venti frappachino would help fuel the ride so we stopped and had one. After about 7 miles we made our way to route 1. Even though I had my camera charged, there are not a lot of things to take pictures of along this road except for cars. I kept wondering where all the cars come from and what a hassle it would be to live where this heavy traffic was constant.
We continued on Route 1 until the stress of all the traffic began to get to us plus it was a very hot day. We stopped often for water and other liquids.
We passed the Marine Base and eventually decided around 5:00PM to stop for the night at Stafford and not go for Fredricksburg. Neither one of us wanted to ride in the dark again tonight. We found a nice Country Inn and Suites next to an excellent Mexican restaurant and stopped for the night.
Tomorrow we are going back on country roads!!!!!

Owings Mill to Alexandria VA 79 miles Cum - 916 miles

It was a hot and humid September day as we headed out this morning. It was already 72 degrees at 7:00AM. Meiri, Dave and I started out on the road to Alexandria. The sun was shining and we were on a fairly flat road. We were following a route we picked from the map and not one from the adventure cycling map. We started to go up and down buy the roads were pretty good and we were making pretty good time. Around 12:30PM we stopped for lunch at a pretty nice restaurant. After lunch we got back on the road but stopped after a few miles for some ice cream as we all felt we deserved it. We got into the Rock Creek Park around 3:00PM and started to make our way to the District of Columbia. Rock Creek Park is very nice with the bike trail winding it's way through the park. It was a little cooler in the park among the trees. We eventually made it into Washington DC and crossed the Memorial Bridge into Virginia. Meiri and I got separated from Dave on the way over to the bike trail. Eventually we all got together around Reagan National Airport and continued into Alexandria. It was starting to get very dark and we had about 5 more miles to go. We put on our lights and started up Duke Avenue to the motel. At one point we were beside a police car when he put on his lights and started around the block. I was a little worried that he was going to stop us but I soon realized that we had headlights and tail lights so we were legal.
Dave went ahead and Meiri and I went up the side walk just to stay out of traffic. We made it to the motel around 8:00PM. It was a very long day!
Tomorrow is supposed to be an 87 mile day and I don't think I can do 87 miles after the one we did today so we are going to re-think our plans for tomorrow.
No pictures as my camera needed charged and I can't get the pictures out of my Droid X. I will add them later if I get a data cable that will work.
That's all for today, a new state and DC!!!!

Peach Bottom to Owings Mill 50 miles - Cum 837 Miles

Meiri and I left Peach Bottom this morning and crossed into Maryland within a few miles. We crossed the Susquehanna river over the dam and up Route 1. I have been on and off Rte 1 since I started the trip and I am sure I will see it again as I head south. Dave Moore joined us about 10 miles from Peach Bottom. It was a lot of fun to be riding with Dave again. He of course, is another alumn from the cross country trip last year.

We had a lot of fun in Peach Bottom last night and it was hard to get back into the bike riding groove. We all kind of just cruised along for about 20 miles before we started to get serious about riding today. The terrain began to get very hilly and the roads did not have a good shoulder after we left Route 1. In the late afternoon, Meiri spotted a Starbucks in a shopping center and we decided to stop. Dave had already gone down the hill so I called him up to tell him we just had to have another Starbucks frappachino. Good ole Dave turned around and came back up the hill to join us. Around 5:00PM we noticed the sky getting dark and a storm began to come up. It started to rain and we ducked under an overhang and waited about 10 minutes for the rain to stop. We then continued into the hotel and arrived about 6:30PM.

Dave's wife Carol came down from Gettysburg and we all went to dinner at TGIFriday's. A good day!!

Reading to Peach Bottom 60 miles - cum 787 miles

Yesterday, we went down to Gettysburg to visit with Carole who has been recovering from an operation. Merie, John Boyle, his wife Margaret and I first toured the Gettysburg visitor center and then the battle field. We then went to meet Dave and Carol Moore and Carole in order to go to dinner. It was a very good dinner and a very good visit.

Today was one of the best cycling days I have experienced for a long time. I abandoned the Adventure Cycling route map today and saved about 23 miles and a lot of up and down hills. I rode with Meiri, John Boyle and Rick Boyle today. They are all veterans from the trip across the United States last year. We went down Rte 272 to Peach Bottom Road instead of following the river road down from Columbia. We went through a lot of central Pennsylvania small towns. We were particularly impressed with Denver Pa. There were a lot of old houses that are very well maintained. It seemed to be a very well kept town and a great place to live. We continued through Lancaster county enjoying the countryside. After lunch in Lancaster, we started hitting a few hills and finally arrived at Peach Bottom. It was a gorgeous afternoon on the Susquehanna river. Margaret Boyle came down to pick up John and Rick so they could get back home without pedaling while Meiri and I enjoyed the ambiance of a Peach Bottom evening.

No adventures today just a lot of good cycling with good friends.

We may have to have Jack ride us in his truck into Maryland in order to help us recover from all the ambiance!!!

Don't forget, If you are lucky enough to be on the river, you are lucky enough!!!!

Easton to Reading PA 55 Miles - Cum 727 miles

Today was a great day to ride, John Boyle and his wife Margaret drove up from Reading so that John could ride with us to his house in Reading. The day started out a little cool but quickly warmed up into the low to mid 80's. It was Sunday so traffic was light as we rode through the cities of Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown. We made good time particularly since Margaret also hauled my trailer and baggage as well as Meiri's baggage. My bike felt look a young colt without the trailer dragging it down unfortunately, it was a young Clydesdale and not a young thoroughbred so the bike is still not particularly fast. There is not a bit of race horse in my little iron pony!

We stopped to go into a drug store and met Tony and his wife who were out cycling. Tony was very interested in what we were doing and told us that he was going to retire within the year and he and his wife planned to travel around the United States in order to see the country and to volunteer at the Special Olympics in every state. A pretty admirable goal!

After we left the outskirts of Allentown, we entered the farm county that stretches from Allentown to Reading. We passed through several small towns along the way and stopped for lunch at a very nice restaurant with an outdoor patio.
We finally arrived at John and Margaret's house around 4:00PM. Margaret had prepared a delicious gluten free dinner. She went to a lot of trouble and I thank her a lot.
Tomorrow is a rest day and even though I didn't think I needed a rest day at this point of the trip, I do. My legs ache and I need to rest up. The other thing I realized is that even though I was prepared to do this trip alone, I am glad Meiri and John have decided to ride and I am looking forward to Dave, Bob and Rick along. It does get a little lonely out there on the back roads!