Day 4: 11 Hours In The Saddle

Estimated launch time: between 9 – 10AM. Actual launch time: 11AM. The new bag proved to be very sturdy but it was another learning experience when it came time to mount it to the bike. A majority of the ride was spent in Pennsylvania but I can’t get over how beautiful the scenery is. It was a poor decision for me to leave on Memorial Day because of traffic but I was fortunate to only hit two blocks of traffic.

The first day was both mentally and physically challenging because of the cold but yesterday was mostly mental. It was the first time where I would spend half a day riding continuously. I continue to have odd thoughts about “the ride home.” I’m so used to taking smaller trips where I end up contemplating the ride home during the ride there. The further I get from Chicago, the more it sinks in that I’m really starting this venture around the country and I couldn’t be more excited!

I had a decision to make. Wait 15 minute for a Subway sandwich or have a New Jersey gas station lunch. The picture tells the tale.

Disclaimer: I have never witnessed a large bridge. I know that seems trivial to most people but to see the actual size of the George Washington Bridge was amazing. Immediately after the crossing I ended up on Henry Hudson Parkway which runs parallel with the river. Absolutely beautiful. I took a few GoPro vids which I will be uploading soon.

The Boston I know contains a whole mess of roads that intertwine and confuse people. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was to not have to deal with that when arriving at Adam’s house. A few short miles off the highway and I arrived in one piece. Roughly 600 miles completed for this leg of the trip. This is who I was greeted by.

Right now I’m sitting at a coffee house, the weather is beautiful, and I couldn’t be happier to just relax a bit before I start to venture off into the unknown.

The ride from Pittsburgh to Boston needed to be completed with minimal stops to avoid riding in the dark (because I’m too lazy to take off my mirrored helmet shield). Had I left on time, I would have arrived at sunset. When you are riding for 11 hours, you have lots of time to think. Since this is the last stop before I start camping, I think I need to reevaluate a few things. That seems to be the theme so far.. Reevaluate the bags. Reevaluate the strategy. What I’m trying to say is that I think I should cut my riding down to roughly 400 miles a day. This gives me time to pull off the path, check out the areas I am driving through, and give me time to setup at camp before it gets dark. The original plan has me riding to Virginia tomorrow to stay with Bob’s friend Rob. That’s another 600 mile day. Maybe tomorrow I will find a campground down the East Coast, stay the night, and then venture into Virginia. These are things I will decide today while I once again work on fixing my radar setup. I spent 1/5 the ride without it.

Does anyone have any experience with adventure point-and-shoot cameras? My riding buddy always straps his to his Camelbak so that at any moment he can just grab it and take a picture while riding. I want to take more pictures but there is no way I’m taking my phone off the mount to try to take a picture at 80MPH. Please leave any suggestions in the comments section and I’ll be sure to read them this evening. Thanks!

One Comment

  1. Brandon Weidema May 28, 2013 at 4:43 pm Permalink

    mannnn, i want to do a cross country bicycle ride or something now.

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