Americans have a euphemism for the activities we’d like to accomplish before we die. It’s called a bucket list. The term is derived from that other American euphemism: “kick the bucket.” Kicking the bucket means a person died. As in “Hey! Did you hear? Sam kicked the bucket today.” I’m sure there’s a very good reason this phrase came about. But I don’t care.
The important thing is that I got to scratch off item #1 on my bucket list. I put in 50 miles today riding the length of the York County Rail Trail from the City of York to the Maryland line and back again.
Boo!
Yah!
I’ve made known my desire to make this happen for several years. Last year I even took the substantial step (love that lawyer speak?) of actually planning time off from work to do it.
And it rained.
Then it rained some more.
Finally, I broke my wrist on the terrible streets of Towson. (Which was immediately paved after my fall. Mostly to cover up any evidence of culpability in my skidding out of control on the chopped up roadway I’m sure. Remember, it’s not paranoia if they’re really after ya.)
Anyway …. this year I did!
I’m quite full of myself at the moment. I know for many seasoned bikers 50 miles / 80 km is no big deal. But this is a first for me.
I learned a few things on this trip. Some were great. Some stank. Literally. But that’s a post for another time.
Right now I’m reveling in my grand accomplishment.
Every year the county parks department offers moonlight bike rides along the Rail Trail. Tonight’s was the first one of the season. After planning to go, then calling it off due to someone’s homework responsibilities, we decided 90 minutes before the start to go. That meant a harried hour of putting together the full bike rack and checking over the bikes, so Mrs. Biker could join Henergy-on-Wheels™ and I on the trip.
While doing this I kept an eye on the sky. Clouds that were 50 shades of grey and looking like a cow just before milking (the things we learn living in dairy country) started passing overhead. The radar showed all clear. So I continued prepping for the ride.
It was still dry as we left JolliBee Acres, but we were heading right into the Christian and Anastasia clouds.
By the time we made it to Hanover Junction it was dark. Very dark. Fifty shades darker. We were expecting moonlight after all. But at least it was dry.
These rides are typically well attended by families and slow moving. Not so much tonight. Most likely because of Passover and Easter. The goal was to get to Howard Tunnel and turn around. We made it. But it had been all downhill.
Henergy and I were concerned, because Mrs. Biker hadn’t been on a ride in maybe a year and it was all uphill on the way back. Well, it was about a 0.75% grade. Technically that’s uphill. But there’s nothing like a cold rain to move those pedals.
We weren’t soaked, just wet by the time we got back. And oh so proud of Mrs. Biker for completing the trek with neither a huff nor a puff. After a bit of socializing we headed home. That was when the full moon broke through the clouds. But by that point we were in the car and “Freed” from worry of rain anyway.
Wish the atmosphere had been clearer, because it is quite a view. On a clear day, we would have seen Three Mile Island. But what really matters is just spending time on bikes with Henergy-on-Wheels™.
It’s amazing how much he’s advanced in one very incomplete year of mountain biking. Today’s trip was about 13 miles and an elevation gain of 1,361 feet. Climbing 100 feet per mile is just an amazing feat.
Well, not quite. Not the land of Fred Flintstone and family. It was actually an unexpected trip to New York City that had us up from 3 in the morning to 1 the following morning. It started with a one hour ride to get to the bus that would take us on a 4 hour ride to NYC. After a brief 20 block walk on an incredibly gorgeous morn, we arrived where we needed to be, did our business (ahem), and proceeded to spend the rest of the day soaking up mid-town Manhattan before we had to return to complete our business.
We made a quick dash for fuel at a Barnes & Noble Starbucks, then another 20 block walk to Central Park. I’ve been to NY two or three times before. But now that I’ve walked in Central Park I feel I can honestly say that I’ve been to NYC.
We went everywhere on foot, because there was just so much to see and absorb. However, bicycles were a big part of the day as they were everywhere. Our introduction to biking in NY was almost watching a delivery truck take out a bicyclist just past the Lincoln Tunnel.
Turns out our bus driver was an amazing driver. He managed to fit that huge bus between said delivery truck (which was parked along side cars parked along the curb) and a parked car parked along the curb on the other side. Basically, it was a three lane road that the delivery truck turned into a four lane road by necessity. Cars got through without much problem. But a big hulking bus? Not so much. How our driver got our bus that far without a scratch is beyond me. I think his other vehicle must be a TARDIS.
The looks on the delivery truck driver’s face and the face of the traffic cop were priceless. They were obvious “how the hell did he get that thing that far without touching anything” looks.
Anyway, with a little prodding the delivery truck driver reluctantly pulled ahead and parked next to the curb on the other side of the street, almost running over a bicyclist in the process. I used that as a teaching moment for Henergy-On-Wheels™ to always be alert when on a bike.
And while it was heartening seeing all the bicycling going on in the Big Apple (especially while it’s totally optional and not the only legal form of personal transportation available), it was soooo much cooler seeing, walking, and being part of Central Park.
What wowed me and really appealed to the science geek in me was the prevalence of bedrock throughout the park. Not just stones and boulders, but actual, honest-to-gosh, primordial bedrock with all the air and moisture long squeezed out of it and sags from molten slags back in the day.
It was just SO. UNBELIEVABLY. COOL! It felt like I was walking on baby Earth.
Did I mention how cool it was?
And it was all over the park. We know, because we walked over half the park. We didn’t go to the zoo, but we saw a few ponds, the nature area, the skating rink, baseball fields, food vendors, paths and paths and paths and bicyclists. The amphitheater too. I even got in a game of chess with Henergy-On-Wheels™ at the Chess & Checkers House.
Finally, after about 6 to 7 hours of walking around Central Park we decided to end the day at the Bethesda Fountain. This landmark figured prominently into the opening number of the 1973 movie Godspell and was one of the many places your Buang Biker™ had long wanted to visit.
We had just enough time before our afternoon business appointment to rest a little while. Henergy™ and Mrs. Biker were so wiped out they literally fell asleep on bedrock.
Asleep on the bedrock
Bedrock. So coooooool.
Until next time (when I talk about the bolts on the drains in Central Park):
Wish the atmosphere had been clearer, because it is quite a view. On a clear day, we would have seen Three Mile Island. But what really matters is just spending time on bikes with Henergy-on-Wheels™.