Paul E. Fallon's Blog, page 48

Trip Log – Day 272 – Front Royal VA to Rixeyville VA

August 3, 2016 – Partly Cloudy, 80 degrees

Miles Today: 32

Miles to Date: 13,846

States to Date: 38

I come from an area of our country rich in history. I stroll by Old South Church where the Adams boys, Sam and John, roused the rabble. I cross the intersection where the Boston Massacre occurred. I pedal past the Lexington Green and Concord footbridge; ‘the shot heard round the world’ echoes still. I pass Washington’s Brattle Street Headquarters during the siege of Boston almost every day. These places rest easy in my mind, unambiguously positive landmarks commemorating our independence from England.

Today, as I pedaled over Chester Gap from Front Royal to Flint Hill and along scenic Benvenue Road, I was keen to the altogether different weight of history in Northern Virginia. Huge clouds, occasional sprinkles, and intermittent sun created thermal updrafts and cool undercurrents. The land itself sighed under its ambivalent burden: a land of honor and glory; a land of ignoble defeat. The Civil War is history. But in Virginia, history is ever present.

The Confederate Army marched from Culpepper to Gettysburg along the route I traversed in both directions. First they headed north: 60,000 confident, strong men; four abreast and three miles long, trailed by artillery and support in a bold move to take an offensive stance against the North. A much smaller number returned along the same route, in the direction I spun, in defeat. As one local said, “After Gettysburg, everything fell apart. The rest of the war was defense and retreat. If we could have just stopped then, perhaps the destruction would not have been so great. But fighting continued and we were humbled.”

One hundred fifty years later the landscape is gorgeous. The stately plantation houses are grand. The few slave quarters still standing appear quaint. There is no evidence of pillage; that hardly a tree stood in all of Culpepper County. But the natives remember. Caught between romantic affection for a way or life out of step with evolving equality and justice, yet baffled why the remedy came so hard. They recall the Civil War. Not as if it were yesterday. As if it were today.

Trip Log – Day 271 – Boyce VA to Front Royal VA

August 2, 2016 – Partly Cloudy, 85 degrees

Miles Today: 34

Miles to Date: 13,814

States to Date: 38

 The moment I wake up I wonder: is my bike tire good? Though I have a very short day, I take a quick appreciation of the Shenandoah River from my host Chuck’s deck and then I’m out. Tom looks fine; my tire is firm. I speed down Chuck’s steep hill. It’s all great, until it isn’t. Two and half miles out, my back tire is flat again; my fifth flat in less than 36 hours.

I ride Schwabe Marathon Plus tires, expensive, heavy-duty tires renowned for no flats. I did over 6,000 miles flat free on my last set. Today I learned the downside of such sturdy tires. When something does penetrate, it can nestle in the rubber and not puncture the tube until the wheels roll and things heat up. That’s the only reason I can explain why repeated repairs held pressure, even overnight, and I could ride for a few miles before the tubes lost pressure.

While Chuck sagged me again, this time to a bike shop in Winchester, I wondered if perhaps this whole bike thing was played out. From inside a car, the world looks pretty good and the AC feels great. But once I got a new tire/tube assembly from Element Sports and tested a few miles around town, I returned to open road and rediscovered there is nothing like being on a bike.

  

I had a perfect scenario, a summery day winding through the Shenandoah Valley, one of the most bucolic places on earth. I rode past plantations and mills, horse country and small villages. There is much conservation land in Clark Country and Virginia has wonderful, well marked, paved, side roads: cousins to Texas’ Farm-to-Market Roads.

Despite so many snags over the past three days, I arrived in Front Royal by mid-afternoon, in part because I set my bicycle tour objectives light, but more because a good friend came to my aid.

Trip Log – Day 270 – Harper’s Ferry, WV to Boyce VA

August 1, 2016 – Cloudy, 80 degrees

Miles Today: 20

Miles to Date: 13,780

States to Date: 38

Maybe its because I dealt West Virginia a short hand, staying only one night in a state of many contrasts. Maybe its because I spun 20 miles on gravel yesterday, which I dislike as much as my bike Tom must. Maybe its because during our email exchange my host for tonight, Chuck Downs, offered to pick me up along the way and Tom, like a petulant adolescent, decided to slough off. Whatever the reason, I pedaled out of Harpers Ferry on a nice firm back tire but after I stopped at a fruit stand for some excellent local peaches, it came up flat.

Thus begins a comedy of errors worthy of the Marx brothers. I fix the flat, but am down to one tube. So I ride out of my way to Charles Town where Goggle suggests a bike store will be open in an hour. On the way, another slow leak develops. I pump it up every few miles until I arrive to discover the store has gone bust. I push Tom through the historic county seat where ‘John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.’ Two swell, tattooed bubbas in a pick-up stop and haul us to Wal-Mart. Way more West Virginians in Wal-Mart than in historic downtown, that’s for sure. I snag three more tubes and eat a Subway foot long before changing another flat. Four miles out and I’m flat again. I push Tom to the Panda Garden, order some food, though I am not hungry, so I can sit inside and use their Internet to find a bike shop. I call my friend Chuck, who swoops down from this mountaintop to save me. The closest bike shop is twelve miles back in Maryland. The mechanic checks the tire with the same care I did and finds no abrasion. He has no suitable replacement anyway, so he fixes the flat and I pray that his more experienced hands will yield success.

  

In the meantime Chuck has taken my question to heart and arranged two house tours with local folks who’ve built sustainable, geothermal, passive solar houses with extensive gardens. We speed through the Virginia countryside to see these interesting places, then climb up to the top of Hickory Knob where Chuck lives in a cabin with a phenomenal view of the Shenandoah River. Despite spending the entire afternoon bailing me out, he throws a terrific dinner party. Seven of us drink beer while the sun sets over the mountains. We dine on grilled salmon and talk about tomorrow. It’s almost enough to make a guy stop worrying whether his tire is holding its pressure…

Trip Log – Day 269 – North Bethesda, MD to Harper’s Ferry, WV

July 31, 2016 – Overcast, 85 degrees

Miles Today: 47

Miles to Date: 13,760

States to Date: 37

I was happy to head west and leave three weeks of pedaling the Boston-Washington corridor behind me. Maryland has a nice network of bike paths that parallel many major roads, and there was no Sunday traffic, so the riding was easy.

  

In Gaithersburg I came upon a ‘New Urbanism’ development with tight packed single-family homes giving over to townhouses, giving over to stacked townhouses as I got closer to the commercial center. The place has a Whole Foods / Panera vibe, corporately conscientious. Hard to believe all the little mom and pop storefronts can survive – how many framing galleries can one town support? Still, the picturesque place is far better than the big boxy single-family houses on half-acre lots that littered the rest of the landscape.

And then, with the abrupt end of sewer and water, development ceased and I was in the country. Farms and forests and narrow roads I shared with occasional drivers.

 

Just beyond twenty-five miles out I got on the C&O Canal Trail and headed north to Harper’s Ferry. It was cool and breezy, but the gravel path was littered with mud and puddles after last night’s rain. I’m not a fan of dirt paths, but it was scenic and historical. Difficult to imagine how different life was during the canal days of the 1840’s and 50’s, when civil engineering marvels were just beginning to bend nature to our will. Harnessed mules and tug laborers used to trod the towpath and camp out in the lock houses that are now photo opportunities for Sunday hikers and distance cyclists.

  

I lugged my bike up the stairs to cross the old railroad bridge in Harper’s Ferry, toured the historic downtown and climbed the steep hill that separates the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. I sat out a thunderstorm at the AT Conservancy, which welcomes long distance cyclists with the same enthusiasm they greet hikers.

I found my son Andy’s photo, May 12, 2010, when he stopped here as an Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker.

When I arrived at my hosts, I noticed my back tire was very low, so I changed out the tube. I also washed down the entire bike, filthy from the gravel path, and cleaned the chain. I was all set to move out in the morning…

Trip Log – Day 268 – Washington DC to North Bethesda, MD

July 30, 2016 – Occasional rain, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 19

Miles to Date: 13,713

States to Date: 36

I spent the afternoon at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I thought I was prepared, but when the doors open from the dark cramped elevators they pack you into to rise to the fourth floor and I confronted the first image, my stomach wretched. The information folks suggest it takes ninety minutes to go through the permanent exhibit, but I spent much longer snaking through the consciously confusing spaces. By the tine I completed the labyrinth, I was disoriented and exhausted.

It is a good that this museum exists, that is addresses the shortcomings of the United States and the rest of the world in ignoring what was occurring in Germany, and that is still packed almost twenty years after it opened. It is important we remember.

Back in the daylight, after a storm that didn’t cool off anything, I couldn’t consider any other sightseeing. I let my mind spin as I pedaled to my hosts in Bethesda.

Trip Log – Day 267 – Mount Rainier MD to Washington DC

July 29, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 12

Miles to Date: 13,694

States to Date: 36

It rained hard all night. My dreams came in torrents. I woke fully rested to the first cool breeze in over a week.

July in DC is for tourists, and so I played the tourist on my one day in a place that is not a state. My host rode me into DC. We breakfasted at a combo bike/coffee shop in Brookland, an up and coming neighborhood. Then I pedaled over to Howard University and spent several interesting hours with people from the School of Architecture; a very enthusiastic bunch the day after the Democratic Convention.

Though I have been to DC many times, there are always new places to see. Since I have been spending so much time in libraries on this trip I visited the Library of Congress. The tour of this incredible building (1897 Beaux Arts masterpiece with breathtaking interiors) is worthwhile. The contents of this amazing institution (163,000,000 articles, and 12,000 new ones every day) are beyond imagining. Anyone over 16 with a valid ID can access the materials. Somewhere buried in those stacks is Architecture by Moonlight, but I didn’t ask for a copy. I’ve already read it.

 

I stayed in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, which is a happening place on a Friday night.

Trip Log – Day 266 – Severn MD to Mount Rainier MD

July 28, 2016 – Sun, 95 degrees

Miles Today: 35

Miles to Date: 13,682

States to Date: 36 

Can a person get too much sleep? Despite yesterday being a light day, I slept ten hours, and then felt draggy all day. I stopped at the NASA Goddard Visitor Center; the only adult not accompanied by an eight-year-old boy. The kids loved all the models of various rocket and space capsules. I was enchanted by the incredible images of our galaxy that line the walls.

  

My favorite exhibit was the Solarium, a black space where they run actual footage of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Each wavelength is assigned a unique color. It takes a team of videographers about ten hours to create one minute of these high-resolution images.

Back on earth, I had a pair of meetings with folks from Greenbelt, MD, a New Deal era new town that has proven to be a fascinating social experiment. Then I pedaled toward Mount Rainier. The saturating heat continues day after day. As long as I’m moving, all is good. But if I stop, even for a traffic light, the heat penetrates me and the sweat pours through the question mark on my back. The swelter created ominous clouds, so I took a late afternoon McDonald’s break to sit out some thunderstorms. Then continued on along beautiful bike paths that sparkled in the dusk to reach my evening host.

Trip Log – Day 265 – Baltimore MD to Severn MD

July 27, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 19

Miles to Date: 13,647

States to Date: 36

Today may be the first day when I didn’t start riding until after 4 p.m.! I spent my day in Charm City, having a reunion lunch with fellow architect Tonia Burnett, and then visiting the NICU at University of Maryland Medical Center that we designed together back in 2011. Due to delays, the NICU did not open until last year. Fortunately Nurse Manager Joan Treacy and her staff agree it was worth the wait – the finished product is spectacular.

I pedaled out of Baltimore to the southwest, through Pigtown and Lansdowne, along the bike path that circumnavigates BWI Airport and on to Harmon. Along the way, I witnessed how the traditional Baltimore row houses get bigger and bigger until, when I arrived in Severn, row houses give over to single-family suburbia.

   

Trip Log – Day 264 – Newark DE to Baltimore MD

July 26, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 67

Miles to Date: 13,628

States to Date: 36

My last ten miles in Delaware took me past two of the state’s best-known brands: University of Delaware and DuPont. Then I rolled into Maryland.

  

The big event of the day was crossing the Hatem Bridge in Havre de Grace on US 40. The bridge has only been open to cyclists since July 1, and there are signs and notices about it everywhere. The bridge has two lanes in each direction but no shoulder. They’ve installed a flashing light sign that cyclists activate before entering the bridge to warn oncoming motorists.

A police officer spoke with me before I got on the bridge. All of this worked well. The only snag was that they’ve closed one lane of the bridge for repairs; workers were hanging off the sides. For ninety percent of the distance I travelled in my own lane. Then I had to signal and shift onto the traffic lane to pass the repair trucks. It all worked fine. At the far end the police officer waved me ‘good to go’. He had crossed the bridge behind me to ensure safe passage.

The remaining thirty miles into Baltimore were uneventful but traffic-filled. I entered into the Northeast quadrant, a historically poor area. I passed blocks of Baltimore-style row houses. I went by Greenmount Cemetery, which sits high above the city with the skyline beyond. By the time I got closer in, the row houses were tight to the street, not a bit of shade or green on a hot afternoon to help the folks on their stoops get cool. Several blocks were boarded up completely.

  

Downtown Baltimore is another matter – flush with tourists and Orioles fans. I stayed with a friend of a friend on the 28th floor with a terrific view of the city. After dinner, Hannah and I strolled through the Inner Harbor and delighted in the city activity on a hot summer night.

Trip Log – Day 263 – Dover DE to Newark DE

July 25, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 51

Miles to Date: 13,561

States to Date: 35

Seattle may be the best city I’ve cycled; Ohio is tops for the network of rail trails; but no state (so far) tops Delaware for overall cycle consciousness. I love cycling here! There are marked lanes everywhere, clear signage, even designated detours. Drivers are super-courteous. Even in construction zones, no sense of hurry, absolutely no heckling. I only wish the state were bigger; I could cycle in this environment a long, long time.

   

Unfortunately I pretty much reached the limits of this tiny state today. After entering the southeast corner in Lewes. I climbed the hills of Northwest Delaware to visit my VISTA-volunteer friend Adela and her husband Scott who literally live only a few blocks from the Pennsylvania line.