I've always seen riders going over the George Washington bridge from my car and wanted to be one of those bikers. Today, this happened. I was also anxious to start our final week with the Vermont destination and enter more rural surroundings. We traveled as far as Bear Mountain and the view from our lodge overlooking the Hudson River and Lake Hessian was majestic. Canadian geese were throughout the lake.
Playing tourist in New York city was a first for me even though I am in new York twice a year for business. The day started walking the High Line, a park walk above the city built on unused elevated rail tracks. The High Line ended near Chelsea Market and we explored the market before heading to our final destination of the day, Ellis Island.
Yesterday our route was not long, only 30 miles, but 81 turns made the route a challenge. Cycling into the inner city of Newark with rap music all around us, cars and noises, no longer were we in the countryside that I loved so much.
The following morning the group took the Path train into the city. From the train we cycled on the NY Greenway which circles Manhattan for 44 miles. We continued to cycle in Central Park and then to our hotel on the streets and avenues of the city.
The D & R Canal stands for the @ Delaware and Raritan rivers. The canal was built by hand by Irish immigrants and completed in 1834. Coal from Pennsylvania was carried by mule drawn canal boats. The trail of packed limestone was easy to navigate through until the end. Our 50 mile ride was very complicated after leaving the trail. At one point we thought we were lost and almost entered the New Jersey turnpike as well as the Garden State parkway, both off of route 514. At the end of the day, all the riders were safe.
Cycling 46 miles today in perfect weather. The scenery changed from soybean farms to horses farms to equestrian centers to wildlife centers to historic towns and ended in Princeton near the University.
The delightful pastries at the end of the ride were our reward for the day.
Loved this sign seen throughout the day, especially the bottom quote "private land public legacy"
Weather perfect and I didn't mind that our 61 mile ride became 70 miles when we missed an important turn on our cue sheet. I am beginning to see why this is called the Garden State - farms, open space, lakes and tree lined roads. Blueberries and cranberries are a major crop in the area we cycled today. The town of Chatsworth is actually the home off Oceanspray. Fields of cranberry bogs parallel the road. When the cranberries are ripe, the fields are flooded and the cranberries float to the top for harvesting.
Early morning start to be at the ferry to cross over to Cape May. By the time the ferry reached it's destination we had to start our ride at 11 a.m. and we would be cycling in the heat of the day. Our 60 mile ride ended around 5 as the skies darkened with severe thunderstorms.
Learned alot of history today. Lewes is the first town in the first state in America. Dutch explorer Henry Hudson in 1609 discovered the area and the town was actually founded in 1631. There are unique Victorian homes here dating back to the 18th century.
The day was spent exploring Camp Penlopen, the farmers market, the historical museum, cycling the streets of the town, and touring the light boat. Most of the bikers did jump the waves in the Atlantic ocean but I just loved my day exploring on my bike.
Mary painted scenes of children on thousands of glassware in the late 19th century. The style was from Bohemia and I had never seen this kind of glasswork before.
These light ships were used from 1890 to 1960. Whenever there was no lighthouse, the ship would be situated in the needed area to guide the ships.
Early start today knowing that the heat will even be more intense today. By the time we reached Milton at 10:30 it was 95 and by the time we reached Lewes temperature climbed to 103. Cycling 52 miles again in the heat was a challenge just to stay hydrated.
After recuperating from the ride, I spent the day with Fay Heim, friend and incredible artist, who retired to live in Rohobeth Beach.
Does everyone eat lunch at 9:30 in the morning? When we start our ride at 6:30 a.m. this makes sense.
Day started early to beat the heat and meet the volunteers that were going to trasport our bikes and us over the four mile Bay Bridge. Bikes are prohibited on the bridge at all times. Our route today was part bike path, part road. By the time we stopped for lunch, catered by Blaine, the driver of our support vehicle, we were "fried" from the sun. After being refreshed again we were "refried after walking a mile with our bikes on packed dirt and sand. After arriving in Denton, the pool was very refreshing. This was a very special day for Karen Gordon and ourselves. We were able to celebrate her birthday on the bike!
John, Cindy, and Sharon are neighbors in Vermont and I already introduced Mark from York, England. I am only guessing that they call themselves the Magellans because they are always exploring and mapping their way on their bikes.
Very short ride to Annapolis, only 20 miles, but too far if we had tried to cycle to the next town over the Bay Bridge. Enjoyed walking around Annapolis and going to the mansions, churches and stores in the market place and Main Street. Temperatures again in the upper 90s and felt blistering hot even early in the morning on the bike.
Amazing tree! This mulberry tree in front of the William
Paca house and gardens in Annapolis is the oldest tree in Anne Arundel County.
Cycling out of Washington was quite an experience. The group found the new Metropolitan Branch trail near Union Station that hooked onto the NW Branch Trail and the NE branch trail in Anacostia that connected eventually to the WB&A Trail. I never even knew that these trails existed! Temperature reached 98 and after 35 miles we were ready to cool down.
Karen spotted the sign along the bike trail on Bowie for the Belair Mansion, built in 1745 for governor Samuel Ogle. The family occupied the 2400 acre plantation for more than 120 years.
Today was a free day to test out our bikes and explore. Seven out of the nineteen bikers took the MT. Vernon trail. We stopped on the way back in Alexandria and admired art in the torpedo factory. I had not cycled in this area for years and was surprised to see bike lanes in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue and other parts of the city. Drivers were extremely courteous when we cycled in traffic.
Mark MacDonald arrived from the U.K. yesterday and today is meeting Ziva and Karen. We decided to cycle the historic section of Montgomery county. Underground railroad house, cemetery, and Brookvile were are stops. Brookville was that one day residence of James Madison when the Capitol was set on fire. Relaxing 24 miles on the bike just making sure that our legs are working for our journey to Vermont.
I've been adding to the piles on the bed all week. Many of you do not know know that the day after my cycling three weeks to Vermont, I leave from Boston to fly to Scotland with my daughter Ellen. We'll be in Edinburgh at the Fringe Festival watching my grandson Ryan perform with his high school from Windham, New Hampshire.
I took my mom out to lunch to say goodbye before8 leaving on my trip. When I entered Bedford Court, Agnes appeared and we talked about helping my mom follow my blog on the computer. Agnes was anxious to help again since she had so much fun with my mom following my adventures across county last summer. At 92, mom looked great today.
The art in the gardens can rival the sculpture gardens at the Hirschhorn. My favorite was "The Couple" shown here.
What a wonderful evening. Carl of Charles Schwab invited us for dinner at the Strathmore Mansion followed by a tribute to the Beatles with the Baltimore Symphony. Amazing performance and great dinner.
Before leaving on our trip we completed training to be a C&O canal patrol. Helping walkers and bikers while enjoying the scenery and the ride will make this volunteer job the best ever.
