“What a long, strange trip its been”

It was like a bizarre episode of the Twilight Zone – “The Train Ride from Hell“. We lumbered along at 5 mph, then slowly shuffled off onto a siding. Hours later we’d begin to lumber along again, until we shuffled off onto another siding. Repeat endlessly! Eventually we were running more than 24 HOURS behind schedule. This was no small feat, given the whole trip was supposed to take that long. Sleep deprived and trapped in the madness, we laughed hysterically at the thought that we’d make it to our destination faster if we unpacked our bikes and rode the rest of the way. We passed the time making up verses to the Grateful Dead song “Truckin.” Amtrak staff seemed not to care. On the rare occasion when an Amtrak employee came through our car, they seemed genuinely surprised, and somewhat annoyed to find the train full of people. One sensed they wished we would just go away. Things came to a head when Milo, a very large and intimidating man picked up the conductor and pinned him to the wall of our coach. I have this vivid memory of the conductor’s feet dangling a foot off the ground as Milo stood nose to nose and yelled, “You WILL get me and my family to Miami to meet our cruise ship! We are NOT going to miss our boat!” Staring death in the face apparently jolted some brain neurons into action, and sparked the novel thought that perhaps all these people hanging about were actually meant to be taken someplace. This led to a flurry of activity, and before long we were all herded off the train and placed on…buses…to take us to our destinations. You can’t make this stuff up. Strong work Amtrak! “What a long, strange trip its been!”

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In spite of Amtrak’s best efforts, we did arrive in Richmond, Virginia. Bikes came out of the shipping boxes, were re-assembled and loaded with camping gear. And just like that, our great adventure began. We had biked and toured before, so in general we knew what to expect. We’d never had the opportunity to travel in this part of the country for such an extended length of time. Looking back now, the objective facts of the trip are easy to recount. Trip length…49 days. Miles traveled…2,600. Total cost for two months of travel – $962. Route…Virginia along the Skyline drive portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. To Berryville to visit old family friends the McCuans. Washington D.C. to visit the capitol and a distant relative of Sharon’s. From there it was north through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. We turned right and wandered through, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. We hopped a ferry from Bah Hahbah to Yarmouth, Novia Scotia. North through the land of Evangeline, around the land of Anne of Green Gables (Prince Edward Island), New Brunswick, and down the St. Lawrence Seaway in Quebec to Quebec City.

People

Bicycle travel is special, in that it makes you uniquely accessible to people. I can’t begin to count all the conversations we had with complete strangers. People would just begin talking to us. Most had questions. Many of the questions were similar “No – we’re not teachers” and “Tires actually last quite a long time – although we do bring a patch kit for blowouts.” Many of those interactions blend together, some were more memorable.

• “The road ahead is so crooked and rough you’ll be shakin’ before you know yer shakin‘” Local sitting on his rocking chair, when asked about the route ahead.
• “Where y’all from?” “Wisconsin.” “Is that over by Rochester?” Conversation with geographically challenged folks in upstate New York.
• “If the fire’s hot enough – anything will burn” (fellow bike tourer Tom on his love for massive quantities of gummy bears, gummy worms, and all manner of penny candies).
• Arthur in Novia Scotia. He had traveled by bicycle for five months, biking in cut off jeans and a flannel shirt, and living on $4.83 per day. He refused to leave us alone while at the same time extolling the virtues of traveling alone.
• The McCuan’s. Neighbors from when I was a wee lad. We visited them in Berryville, VA. where they lived on a 162 year old farm. I had always thought Winnie and John were the coolest people – ever! Teachers who had traveled the world, they were the consummate hosts. They gave us a tour of the area and welcomed us to be part of daughter Laurie’s graduation from high school. (I was in 3rd grade when Winnie brought Laurie home for the first time).

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• “Do you have problems with sheet?” When we failed to comprehend the question, “You know – #2!) French-Canadian cyclists Suzie and Sophie quizzing Sharon on whether biking had given her “problems with sheet” as well. This was their first ever bike trip. While they didn’t mind camping, they had a unique method for securing lodging for the night. They would wait until early evening before stopping at small town convents. “Oh seester…we ‘ave been cycling all day and are hungry and tired. Would you have room for us???” Apparently this never failed. I recently connected with Suzie via Facebook. She currently runs what looks like a lively B & B/Cafe. http://gitechambrechaletstmathieuduparc.com/en/photo/
• We met Tom and Ruth Stuwe at church in Barre, Vermont. They invited us to their home, fed us pizza, gave us a tour of the town, engaged us in fascinating conversation, and as we continued our journey, gave us some excellent route suggestions and told us where to buy the best apple fritter ever.

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Places

While not quite as slow as Amtrak, cycling hits the sweet spot. It allows you to cover significant distances while also immersing you in your surroundings. There is no way to share everything we saw over the course of two months. So, perhaps, just a few highlights will suffice.

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A few more notable memories…

• Prince Edward Island: A bluebird day biking along the deep blue Atlantic, with colorful fields of lupine in the foreground.
• Adirondacks: Biking late into a warm evening and finding not only a perfect wild camp next to a lovely stream…but also a polaroid picture of some guy’s…”manhood”. He was obviously proud of it – Sharon thought it was no big thing!
• Hantsport, Novia Scotia: Celebrating Canada Day in Hantsport with an awesome parade. Everyone in town was either in the parade, or sitting along the road cheering.
• Panmure Campground, Prince Edward Island: Celebrating the 4th of July grilling burgers with fellow cyclist Kevin from Delaware.
• Novia Scotia: Days of huge tailwinds and cruising easily at 20+ mph.
• Quebec: Days of brutal headwinds and barely moving at 3 mph.
• Spending the most romantic, memorable day ever in Vieux-Quebec (old Quebec) on Sharon’s Birthday. It was a magical day wandering the streets, sitting at sidewalk cafes, watching street performers. It was a magical day, right up to the point late at night when we realized someone had stolen our bikes…in spite of locking them for the first time on the trip.
• Getting home several days later to have Sharon get horribly sick and bedridden…only to find out it was morning sickness. Hello Aaron…we’re your parents!

The objective facts of the trip are easy to recount and document with pictures and stats. The subjective effects are much more difficult – perhaps impossible – to convey. Safe to say that the experience had a profound and lasting impact on us. Only two years into our marriage, we learned that we could work and play together, all day, every day, for two months, often in difficult circumstances. We experienced the joys of seeing new places and meeting new people. This trip reinforced our wanderlust and desire for human powered travel. Over the years, we’ve often joked that this was just our first “trip of a lifetime!” It is also a big reason why we’ve continued to seize the carp so vigorously in the years since, and why we’re excited to dive back into the bike touring scene.