After trying out our new wheels and methods on our 3,000-mile New England road trip, we decided to explore a new section of this great country - the Southwest! Our latest North American transect took us through Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. We watched the landscape morph from the Atlantic coast to the Appalachians, to the expansive Midwest and high plains, to the buttes, mesas and mountains of the desert.
Here's a glimpse at the evolution of the great American landscape from east to west:
Climbing Monk's Mound at the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, the ruins of the largest and most complex pre-Columbian city north of Mexico.
Crossing under the Jefferson Expansion Memorial Arch in St. Louis, Missouri - our official entrance into the West!
Crossing the flat (and windy!) plains of Oklahoma
As we entered New Mexico, the landscape changed rapidly to reveal rough rock bulging through the dry ground...
...evolving into beautiful mountain chains like the Sandias.
Stay tuned for more dispatches from the American Southwest!
Our longest stop on our current route was Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We had heard great things about the park - from the fall colors to wildlife and things to do. It's essentially a playground for outdoor enthusiasts. It could easily take weeks to explore everything on the island, so we narrowed our list (and adapted to the very wet weather) to a few excursions:
Bar Island (which gives Bar Harbor its name) is only revealed at low tide, revealing tidal ecosystems for a few hours. It seemed to be just as exciting for the gulls as we watched them pick up a shellfish snack and drop it from the sky to crack open a meal. We had to keep our eyes on the tide though, since it is possible to become stranded across the water from Bar Harbor if you're not careful!
Thunder Hole is a popular tourist spot, giving crowds of visitors a chance to catch the sight and sound of thunderous waves crashing as the tide comes in. Despite our timing, the extremely calm ocean decided not to put on a show for us, though we're told that you can expect to get soaked during rough seas.
Sand Beach is the only beach of sand in Acadia, resulting from the cove's effect on the waves and what they carry inland. On a warmer day, we might have considered swimming. Instead, we walked across the beach to a trail head for a great hike.
The trail took us over rocks, through evergreen woods and past beautiful overlooks of the beach and cove. We moved up into the clouds of mist and rain before heading back down to the beach.
We tried to make the most of our only full day of sunshine.
We started our morning on a tandem kayak exploring Long Pond, which flows between two mountains that were beginning to spark with brightly colored leaves. Our 4-mile paddle included an eagle sighting, as well as loon calls and a bird we've yet to identify!
For the second half of our sunny day, we hopped on our bikes (which had been spending far too much time under a tarp, safe from the rain) and headed for the famous Carriage Trails.
Thanks to John D. Rockefeller, these roads of finely crushed stone are wide enough for a carriage, but are only open to pedestrian and cyclist traffic. They span and loop large sections of the island, and even climb a few mountains. We climbed Day Mountain to give our legs a bit of a stretch. As great as the trails are, however, a good bit of rain can make for slow going on road tires.
Of course, we couldn't leave Acadia without summitting Cadillac Mountain - the highest elevation on the Atlantic, with arguably the best views of the park. So, we did it twice! Unsure how long we'd have sunlight, we drove up to the summit of Cadillac to get some photos from the different vantage points, and were able to get a glimpse of Bar Harbor from the top, including the submerged Bar Island.
The next day, we hiked the North Ridge Trail through the rain, which turned the trail into a stream...
and the climb to the summit into a magical walk through the clouds.
On our way down from Cadillac, we hiked the Gorge Trail, which had become a roaring creek instead of a rocky path.
It was challenging, and should not be attempted by novice hikers (especially during or after heavy rainfall), but it is a rewarding hike through beautiful forests.
We highly recommend Acadia National Park to anyone seeking unique scenery and outdoor fun... as long as you don't mind getting a little wet!
Hello from beautiful Rumford, ME! Stay tuned for a field report from Acadia National Park (gorgeous!). Until then, we wanted to share the benefits of one simple rule we adopted for our road trip (on our new set of 4 wheels this time) through New England.
Rule #1: No Eating in the Car
We started this trip with a new car (new to us; it's a 2003). So, in an effort to keep it as squeaky clean and fresh-smelling as we found it, we adopted this rule. In addition to keeping our seats crumb-free and our hands free for driving and navigating, being forced off the road for snacks and lunch has led to some great discoveries like:
Walnut Beach in Milford, CT
Enjoying a Sam Adams and a cup of clam chowder at The Black Pearl in Newport, RI
This posting is brought to you compliments of the Muskie Memorial Park in Rumford, ME, located on the banks of the "tallest waterfall east of Niagra." We're grateful for the shaded picnic benches, free wi-fi and Rumford hospitality. Here's to more pit-stops off the beaten path!
Looks like we won't be riding the Southern Maryland Century after all...
"As most are aware, several roads incorporated into the various routes have sustained significant damage, flooding, or experienced mudslides. The forecast for the weekend still includes the potential for additional rain and thunderstorms and the possibility of further damage to saturated road foundations. Thank you for understanding. Safety for all participants is and will remain paramount." (Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club)
More information about the Southern Maryland Century/Indian Head 100 can be found on the ride's website.
A friendly reminder to please stay safe and alert on the road!
(Photo taken at Allens Fresh Run, Route 234/Budds Creek Road)
For our most recent ride, we wanted to explore roads on the other side of the Patuxent River in Calvert County, Maryland.
The main drag, Route 4, is a designated bike route with a nice, wide shoulder. Since the straight shot can get a little boring, we jogged onto a few back roads, following part of the Star-Spangled Banner Byway. The byway roads were fairly narrow, winding and even had a few steep climbs. It's a scenic ride, but without the presence of a shoulder, not recommended for novice riders, especially when traffic becomes heavier. We stopped at the Benedict Bridge, which looked a little too narrow to be bicycle-friendly.
So, we enjoyed the view of the river, snapped a few photos and made our way back south.
We opted for a slightly different route back, taking advantage of the dedicated bicycle lanes in Prince Frederick. As we neared the river again, our attention was drawn to the skies as the Blue Angels rehearsed some of their acrobatic maneuvers for the weekend's Air Expo at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
This 50-mile route was our longest ride since stopping at the Atlantic. After a few days off the bikes, one of us already felt the strain. With our century ride only 2 weeks away, it's time to get back into training mode!
After a week of rest (for both our bikes and our legs!), we were itching to get back in the saddle and do some local riding. It was great to be back on familiar roads, and we soon realized how much we had taken for granted when we trained on St. Mary's County's bike-friendly roads. The wide shoulders, relatively low traffic and low elevation changes made for a fun, easy ride. We surprised ourselves with our speed and endurance, even after a week off the bikes.
Our first destination after the Atlantic coast was to pay a visit to Slack Winery. Our good friend was keeping busy with the newly harvested grapes, but took a break to share the new award-winning wine with us - Not a bad way to celebrate our homecoming!
We hurried home (once we realized how early the sun is setting these days) convinced that we should sign up for The Southern Maryland Century/The Indian Head 100. A fellow local cyclist shared positive reviews of the ride, and we're excited to have a fitness goal in the not-so-distant future. The century will also give us a chance to experience some local roads that we have never cycled, and maybe even meet other local riders.
With the hurricane and earthquake behind us, we're hoping we'll have plenty more opportunities to get out on our familiar country roads, including the new Three Notch Trail!
Hello from the west coast! The ride officially begins in a few days, and we're excited to spend this week meeting fellow riders, grabbing some extra gear and practicing riding in a large group. For more updates on the ride as whole, including other riders, check out LVsRide's official blog: www.lvsride.com/social.
On our way home from a wedding last weekend, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out Valley Forge and the Schuylkill River Trail. Time constraints limited our distance, but we were able to take in the sights for small sections of both trails. We found that the SRT was much more cyclist-friendly with no pedestrians, a wider trail, primarily flat ride and a straight shot into Philly (great for long-distance training!). Valley Forge is a great place to visit, but its rolling hills, narrow windy path and relatively short distance loops meant that we spent more time ringing bells and calling "on your left" to the pedestrians and junior cyclists out to enjoy a sunny afternoon.
We've slacked off a bit on our posting, but we've still been venturing out on new and exciting rides. Our most recent rides have picked up the pace as we've converted to a clipless pedal system. We were hesitant to make the change (and the big purchase!), but great finds at our local REI's Attic Sale and loaner pedals from a friend made the upgrade possible. Since swapping our cage pedals for SPDs, we've seen big improvements: We've increased our average pace, and found both uphill and downhill grades to be much easier and more productive. An added bonus: by keeping the leg in a relatively fixed position, the knee issues we experienced on our Annapolis (mis)adventure have largely disappeared. We now understand why so many avid cyclists swear by clipless systems!
Switching out our pedals proved to be pretty straightforward.
Just remember to pay attention to the direction of the screw threads: each pedal is designed to prevent the forward motion of the crankshaft from spinning it loose.
We opted for "mountain" style cycling shoes to make it easier and safer to walk around with minimal damage to our cleats or the ground/floor. After all, we plan on hopping off our bikes to check out the countryside this summer!
It was a perfect test run, as it's a pretty flat route. We enjoyed the beautiful waterfront ride with family, and stopped for a few photos.
A highlight of the route was visiting Piney Point Lighthouse. Our SPD shoes made it possible to hop off our bikes and take a look around...
We'd love to hear from any fellow cyclists who use clipless pedals. Did you encounter any challenges when making the switch? We appreciate any tips/pointers as we get used to the new system!
Our most recent ride taught us a few things about knowing your limits, improvisation and the consequences of making a wrong turn (especially when on a bicycle). We had high hopes for our longest ride yet, and planned a roughly 60-mile out-and-back from the D.C. suburbs to Annapolis on a beautiful spring day, hoping to visit Annapolis' annual Spring Fling.
Our route was a compilation and slight modification of Bike Washington's "Greenbelt to Bay" route and a similar route from our book, "25 Bicycle Tours in Maryland." We began by revisiting the WB&A Trail (see previous post), and then wove our way through greater Bowie. The most scenic views were found on the rolling hills of Governor Bridge Road as we passed quiet farmland on a low-traffic country road.
Our serene ride came to an abrupt halt, however, as we zipped past "High Water" caution signs to find that the Patuxent River had overflowed. Severe weather from the previous night resulted in Governor Bridge road being covered in about two feet of rapid, muddy water. A soggy car being hauled out by a tow truck ahead of us dashed any hopes of "just going for it."
After taking advantage of the snack break, we were offered a ride across the river in a Good Samaritan's truck. We didn't even hesitate to throw our bikes in the bed and hop on.
As fun as our little trip was, we didn't really take the time to think about how we would get back across the river for our return home. "We'll just take another road back." Right. It's not always so easy when you're traveling by bicycle...
Looking Back at Governor Bridge
When we reached Annapolis, we dropped by Capital Bicycle in hopes of getting some advice for a bike-savvy route home. While there were no maps to be found, and the staff had no tips for a different route back across the Patuxent, they were kind enough to let us investigate Google Maps for a better option.
Our new route home took us over steeper hills with smaller (and often no) shoulders. It was longer, with more twists and turns, and the sun was getting closer to setting. We knew we were in a pinch. To top if off, one of our riders had developed an injury and needed to adopt a slower pace. We divvied up cell phones, copied down the new route and decided that two riders would hurry home and return with a car.
Later, now down to two cyclists, we found ourselves at a high-traffic intersection with a very small shoulder. As we stopped to reconsider, two cyclists came behind us and we were able to conference about the road ahead. Both were familiar with the local roads and the dangers of the route we were now hoping to take. We explained our situation and the cyclists offered to modify their route in order to escort us back to a safer road home. "Safety in numbers" was their motto, and we agreed.
Back on safer roads, closing in on home, we were feeling the burn of nearing the end of our longest ride ever. Then we heard the phone ring. When we parted ways with our third rider, we'd forgotten one important piece... the keys!!!
We coached our third cyclist home along the safer route via text messages, and we hit a local convenience store for whatever snacks we could find. We waited. We contemplated calling a cab for our third rider and racked our brains for numbers of local friends with vehicles. Just as dusk drew near, our last rider pulled up, equally exhausted. We were so thankful to have all returned home safely. There were a few lessons for each of us in this day's ride.
We've discovered someone's great decision to utilize the path cleared for the "electric avenue" of powerlines... The WB&A Trail!
This paved trail takes you from backyards to alongside low traffic roads, paralleling a railway that connects D.C. to Baltimore. We're looking forward to revisiting this trail in the near future for a longer multi-city ride.
En route to the WB&A, we visited the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. We were pleasantly surprised to discover an oasis of quiet wooded areas with several trails (for foot traffic only) and a great interactive visitor center. We'll definitely be going back.
While this trip was relatively short with little elevation change, we're gearing up for some long rides, including a route around Sugarloaf Mountain. We'll let you know how we fare on the rolling hills!
Before this last ride, we had both cycled down to Maryland's southern-most tip on the western shore, but never together. This time, we charted a loop course that took us by St. Mary's County farmland, Maryland's first capitol, St. Mary's College and the Potomac and St. Mary's Rivers. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we made great time on our way south. Once we made an about-face, however, we realized why we had made such great time. We quickly saw the importance of calculating the direction and speed of the wind when setting a route. While our ride south followed the straight and speedy Route 235 (which also included a strong tail wind), our route north followed Route 5 - rolling hills aside the river, facing the wind head-on. Needless to say, we didn't make the best time on our return north!
We thought we'd share some photos with you of our scenic ride. Wide shoulders, low traffic, smooth roads and great views all make this a fun trip worth considering (and doing again)!
Pausing for a timer shot across from St. Mary's College
Wide shoulders and low traffic made it possible to keep your head "on a swivel!"
Checking out the sailing team on the St. Mary's River (plenty of breeze for them!)
Entrance to St. Mary's College
Views from the road - St. Mary's County, Maryland
Rolling hills and farmland - St. Mary's County, Maryland
