Recently in Biking Category

As I sat in a bar and watched the final game for the Stanley Cup the primitive nature of sports crept into my mind. There is a very clear us and them mentality based on home towns. I considered the wars of long long ago, fought out by only two men- the best warrior from each side. While riots often follow big games, I can't help pondering what our world would look like if we fought our battles out in sports arenas. I suppose that's too much pressure to put on athletes.

I have come to enjoy the sense of community found upon entering a bar during a big game. Every cheers, claps, or groans in disappointment as a group. Some bars are smokier than others, so after the first period I headed over to a nearby friend to watch the rest of the game. As I was riding, another goal was made- and I could hear the entire city ecstaticly cheering. It was a thrilling moment that was, perhaps, far better than watching the goal beign made.

I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I am simply buying a house, and I feel like any minute now the folks from candid camera are going to come out from around the corner and say "Smile, you're on candid camera!"

First our loan fell through at the last minute(4 days before closing). We found a new lender and are renting until we close - theoretically next Friday. Today we got a call saying our second round of earnest money had been lost in the mail... Everything has been resolved but- wow!

So - Eric and I are off tonight to see a Pirates game and then we'll be biking along the C & O canal up through the allegheny passage. It will be lovely to get away from humanity for a bit. Next time you hear from me I will be a home owner... if everything happens properly...

We're planning a bike trip on the C & O canal memorial day weekend. I'll be getting my third pin to signify what has becme an annual journey. We're hoping to have time and energy to bike on the canal again when we move to PA. After we've moved all our stuff we might bike from DC to PA - and would be glad to be joined by anyone who has the time and enrgy (think mid August) to bike with us for about a week.

A lot has been going on in my life. And this weekend I am going to forget it all as I bike with a friend on the C & O Canal. That's the lovely thing about biking. You are forced to live only in the here and now. It will be bliss, even when it rains. I would say if...but I have a history. When I come back I intend to go to an employment agency and find a job to tide me over for a year.

Yesterday Christopher and I drove an hour and a half to West Virginia to visit the home of Civil War battles and John Brown's attempt to cause/lead insurrection and create a new government for our nation.

I drive past signs for Harper's Ferry every time I drive to or from Ohio. I also pass Harper's Ferry when I bike the C & O Canal. I've seen the town once before and thought it was worth returning to, and it was. After a few hours in town we set off on the Canal Trail - which is the spot where the canal and the appalachian trail meet- and head 6 miles down the canal to a small town called Brunswick. We were headed towards Beans in the Belfry, a cafe in an old church. The path was pretty flat, but along the way there were two miles of path strewn with debris and large trees. There was one spot where several trees fell down next to each other- and we crawled through about 4 yards of tree.
When we got to town I exchanged some Spanish with two locals in order to find the cafe (we've always gone to a small diner close to the edge of town). The cafe was just around the corner and was very neat.

Going home we had a poison ivy scare - but I think the guys was wrong (maybe..there was a fair amount of poison ivy along the edge of the road). Only time will tell:)

We saw a lot of wild life. A grown frog the size of my finger nail, a large injured orange moth, a baby bat, a baby bunny, a baby deer, and several friendly butterflies that fluttered throughout our entire visit.

It was a rough march home, and by the time we got back into town the buses to the parking lot weren't running any longer -luckily some friendly visitors drove us those three miles. We finally got home around 9pm - making it an eleven hour adventure. I felt lucky to have someone with me who thought it was fun too.

So... I figure I'll start with this one since it has a racy title. As we travelled on our three day tour we were bathing impaired. Imagine a full day of biking with no major bathroom access followed by a night being one of two people in a cozy two person tent. All of the camping places along the way were RV camping places that cost $30 a night and required a three day stay because of the holiday. So- we decided that our strategy would be to roll into town and talk to the local police. Rumor has it this has been sucessful for other bikers. In Ephrata, however - we had no such luck. Fortunately we ran into some other bikers who let us stay in their backyard. Point is- by the end of the second day we were all pretty disgusting. We washed our clothes as we went but our laundry was still pretty rank when we returned on Monday. Genorous applications od sunscreen added to our general feeling of stickiness.

In addition to the stickiness was a pain that is difficult to ignore- and that is the literal pain in the ass! Ouch. The first day my poor bum was in sad shape. Every time we stopped I immediately massaged my rear end. Yikes. By the second and third day I was a bit more used to the sensation and also found some good strategies for alleviating the pain while coasting downhill.