Yup - I’m still here. Dealing with some depression today. Embarrassing confession: I started today by dropping my cell phone in the toilet. Quickly grabbed it out, wiped it off, and it’s totally fine! Damn, they build those things well. I panicked, of course, at first, since losing my phone on this trip would be disastrous, and maybe I screamed a little... The phone in my motel room rang. “Hello?” “Miss Blue, are you awake?” I burst out laughing, as I thought this question was a little ridiculous. The lady on the other end wasn’t laughing. Someone had called her to complain about the noise I was making at 5:30 AM. I apologized.
I had breakfast downstairs, and though the sign on the wall said it was a complimentary breakfast, no one came by to tell me how nice I looked...
The manager was from Middlebury, and she was very sweet. We chatted a little, and she pointed me in the direction of the trail suggested by Google Map’s bike directions. I was off my route, and needed to get back. The trail started out beautifully. Well paved and very pretty. Then it ended. I put my faith in Google and continued on the teeny tiny little footpath in front of me. It got worse. I ended up in the middle of the woods, and trust me, they weren’t flat. A deer bounded by in front of me, and I thought I heard her go “Ha ha!” I pushed and shoved and struggled to get my bike and trailer up a few hills, over roots and downed trees, while trying to avoid poison ivy, ticks and mosquitoes. Trust me, that’s not as fun as it sounds. I finally stumbled out of the woods into a condo development. I’ve never been so happy to have a dog barking at me.
I made my way back to my route. I stopped for an iced tea at Dunkin Donuts, and a man wearing a matching Red Sox hat approached me. We chatted for a bit. I had some nice riding after that, although Maryland doesn’t seem to care about bikers much. The roads have no shoulders, and there’s tons of debris at the sides of the roads. They don’t trim the trees and bushes either, so I was constantly getting hit in the face. I did have one really nice run, where I almost got up to 35 mph. I ended up next to a very active gun club, which made me a little nervous.
It was 85 degrees at this point, and muggy. I stopped for a salad for lunch, and had a nice chat with the bartender. Unfortunately, the printed directions on my map told me to go right here, and that was totally wrong. I rode a few miles and then had to turn around, which you know pisses me off. I got over it though. I’ll contact ACA about the error if they don’t already know.
I made it to Rockville just in time for the Red Sox game, but couldn’t find anywhere to watch it. It’s a good thing I was inside though. A storm came through and it started pouring. I have to say, although it’s been hot at times, I’ve been pretty lucky with the weather. Riding a trail for much of my ride tomorrow and then I’ll be in Virginia. I’ve always liked Virginia, and I’m hoping it’ll be a little more bike friendly than Maryland.
Oops, almost forgot...I added up my mileage today, and I’ve ridden almost 1,000 miles! Yay me!!
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