I had the pleasure of heading out to Assateague Island with Kevin and JoJo over the weekend. It’s a place that’s far enough away that we don’t go a lot, but close enough that when we do go it’s not a horrible drive.
JoJo LOVES going to the beach so I thought I’d put together a list of the top 5 things that help make the day go smoothly:
Here’s episode 4 of my bikepacking trip to DC – this is the start of day 2. I take the ferry back across to the C&O trail and see some pretty cool wildlife along the way – including a giant pesty bee and a deer that jumps right in front of my bike!
I was supposed to bikepack the GAP and C&O trails from Pittsburgh to DC on my week of vacation, but a hurricane decided to crash my trip so after going through MANY backup plans I decided to still go, but cut my trip short. I was having trouble finding a train ticket for my bike, finding a ride, finding hotels…etc. After MUCH research I decided to start at Harpers Ferry where my dad dropped me off, bike to White’s Ferry and take the ferry across. From there a shuttle would pick me up and take me to my hotel in Leesburg, VA. The next day I’d take the shuttle back over to the C&O trail and continue into DC where I would spend the rest of the week cycling around the city. I haven’t been to DC in….I can’t even tell you when the last time was.
Here’s vlog post #3 of my bikepacking adventure – I ride my bike through great dane size dog poo, some really nice cyclists help me out when my phone dies and I needed to call the hotel shuttle, and I got to take the ferry across the river!
Don’t forget to subscribe to see a new video every sunday!
ENJOY!
I am trying something a little different for this trip – I started a vlog – every sunday I will post a new video of my time from my bikepacking trip from Harpers Ferry – DC.
ENJOY!!
The MS City to Shore 2016 ride is now complete – for me anyway – as I write this there are quite a few cyclists crazy enough to bike all the way BACK to the start. Who knows maybe I will be one of them someday, but for now the 80 miles from the PATCO station in Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ is a perfect ride for me.
Kevin was kind enough to wake up early and drive me to the beginning – it was of course organized chaos with so many cyclists eager to get on the road. There was plenty of parking when we arrived and I loaded up my bike with everything I needed for the day and headed over to the start. I was there at about 6:15, skipped walking around the tent area and was lucky enough to get into the last chute before they closed it off and then the rest of the cyclists had to wait in line until they started releasing the (maybe) 7 or 8 chutes they had set up. Then those waiting would fill the chute just released and wait until all the other chutes went, then it was their turn. So I was lucky to get in the last chute of the first batch. The first wave started off at about 6:30 or so and then we would wait until the all clear for the next chute to be released – this was approximately every 5-10 minutes. They have been doing this ride for a VERY long time and it is a major event so they have this down to a science. 7,000 people sign up every year and it is so well organized it’s remarkable!
So the MS City to Shore bike ride is right around the corner – just 3 days away! I just wanted to thank everyone who donated to the cause – I actually raised enough money to ride in the MS City to Shore AND the MS NYC in October! SO THANK YOU!!!
What am I doing with my trekking poles in this picture? Ohh just weighing them to see how much it would be to FedEx them back to home….
I absolutely love petroglyphs (pictures carved into rock – most are so old no one knows what they mean anymore). There are some amazing petroglyphs in Red Rock Canyon and Vally of Fire which I have seen on other trips to the Arizona/Nevada area so when I was planning a trip to Flagstaff I decided to see if there were any close by.
I found the V bar V heritage site which was about 45 minutes away. The area used to be a ranch and in 1994 became part of the Coconino National Forest to preserve the petroglyphs. The site was easy to find – we parked in the lot and headed down to the visitors center to get a parking pass ($5).
blisters and bug bites 