Day 147: Downsville to Stokes State Park, New Jersey, 83 miles
Day 148: Stokes to Frenchtown, NJ, 68 miles
Day 149: Frenchtown to Philadelphia, 56 miles
Day 146: 8/05/14
Back on the road! Got some breakfast at McDonald's with the family (obviously) and then jumped on the bikes by 8:30 a.m. Rode out the first 26 miles with dad to South Edmeston on Route 8 and Route 18 and then rode another 30 miles to Sidney where I stopped for lunch. The morning ride had a slight headwind and low rolling hills and was really hot and humid. I was definitely feeling it at lunch and took a two hour break to eat and rehydrate before riding out again. From Sidney the hills started to get longer and steeper and culminated in a 2 1/2 mile hill out of Walton, NY with a 10% grade. Just as I was getting to the top of the hill it started to rain and I could see lightning up ahead so I decided to tuck under a NYS Environmental Agency building that had an awning for the bike to stay dry and I hid under a tree that had a picnic table. The storm lasted about an hour and then I jumped back on the bike and flew down the hill to Downsville. There was a hotel that would have cost me $50 bucks but, I decided to take a look at the local park first and lucked out. There was a covered pavilion that I tucked under and popped the tent. Free night! Winning! Went back to the classic peanut butter and honey sandwich for dinner and hit the sack pretty early. Thankfully, I had a roof over my head because it rained most of the night but I stayed nice and dry and slept splendidly.
Day 147: 8/06/14
Ate a breakfast sandwich and had a coffee at a local deli in Downsville and then started riding by 7:30 a.m. Lots of ups and downs through some back country roads and some pretty decent climbs all day... Also, got my new record for max speed. 53.4 m.p.h.!!! Oh yeah! Butt was a little sore after another pretty grueling work day. I guess those 10 days off didn't help for my bike butt. Rode 64 miles to Port Jervis, NY where I stopped for lunch and then rode across a bridge and entered New Jersey! No signs unfortunately.... Finished the day at Stokes State Forest Campsite where I got a nice "sink shower" and ate another dinner consisting of peanut butter and honey sandwiches.
Day 148: 8/07/14
After one of the darkest and quietest nights of sleep... Only a little creepy, I packed up and rode out of the state park. Overall, the day was much nicer and flatter than the previous 2 days. I rode on a few different trails and rails to trails routes en route to Frenchtown. The trails ranged from good crushed stone sections where I was able to cruise along at a nice pace to almost unrideable sections with huge rocks and roots and potholes that dropped my speed down to a crawl. Sometimes the paths were wide and other times they were no more than a deer path through the woods and every peddle I took my down foot would get stuck in the weeds and grass that was overtaking the trail. Thankfully, it was a relatively short distance day and I still got to Frenchtown by 2:30 p.m.
As with much of this trip things have just seemed to work out.. It ended up that my parents were already planning to go down to visit friends of theirs from college who lived in Frenchtown this weekend and with Frenchtown being right on my route going down the Atlantic Coast I decided to stop in and hang out with them for a night. It didn't hurt that Bob and Sally, my parents friends, have a sweet house and an awesome back yard and pool area! We hung out around the pool most of the rest of the day and night eating and drinking and playing some intense games of kan-jam with Bob and Sally, their daughter Chrissy, and my parents other college friend from Lori.
Day 149: 8/08/14
Had a slow and sleepy morning enjoying coffee and bagels and bacon and looking at pictures from Bob and Sally's recent trip to France... Lori told me a story that she remembered from when I was about 2 years old where I had gotten a hold of a tennis ball and was throwing against a wall and catching it, each time trying to perfect the throw and catch of the ball.. She said that this went on for hours and they were all amazed that I could keep on going throw after throw.. I found it quite fitting for me in my current little escapade.. I guess I've just always been a tenacious little bugger. Either that or I've just always been crazy...
I finally got on my bike a little before 11:00 a.m. and said my goodbyes to the parentals and their friends and started down the road to Philadelphia. It was a pretty flat and easy ride and I got here by 4:30 p.m.
Now that I'm here I'll be spending the next two nights catching up with a lot of my own college friends and getting to the the 3rd Annual F&M and CTC Ten Day at the Philadephia Union Game tomorrow before continuing on down the road to Key West...
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