And Who the Heck Puts a Highway Sign in Their Backyard?????

Continuing my Stories from the Bucket List Ride……

A Maryland highway sign in a Pennsylvania backyard.

The first time I saw this I was was a year or two ago, and I was so tired that I didn’t even notice where I was. I was just thinking “I’m soooo cool. I made it to the Baltimore Beltway!”

It didn’t register at first. Nor right after I got home. Nor the next morning. It took a few days. Then I was like, “There is no way I could have ridden all the way to 695. The trail ends well before that highway.”

And the sign definitely read I-695 A.K.A. the Baltimore Beltway:

I was even more perplexed when I saw the “dailies” and realized the sign mentioned Annapolis, which is 180 degrees around the highway from the rail trail. What the fudge????

So I did a little more sleuthing.

Truly, the Maryland highway sign is basically in someone’s backyard. In Pennsylvania.

I don’t know what else to say. You just never know what you’re going to find on a bike ride. Wait till you hear my Gnome Hill, Maryland story…..

Until then, Pedal on!™

Buang Biker™ Long Trip Lesson #1

Water is heavy!

I’d been researching food and hydration to prepare for Bucket List Item #1. The general advice was: stay hydrated. I drank plenty of water the evening before and with breakfast. But I also had to make sure I took enough for the trip.

Some very unpleasant past experiences on long rail trail rides probably led me to overcompensate with the amount of water. Two 24 ounce bicycle water bottles was not enough to take me from Glen Rock to the state line and back a few years ago. It was warmer then.

I suspected I might need water by the time I was empty in New Freedom. And it was really annoying that there’s very little public water fountains available these days. I may be carbon dating myself, but I remember a time when public water fountains were readily available.

Anyway, on that brief jaunt from Glen Rock to the line and back I ended up getting overly warm and not having enough water available. By the time I got back to the parking lot, I didn’t even have enough strength to attach the bikes to the rack (this lead me to changing bike racks, but that’s another story).

I couldn’t even talk I was so dehydrated. This didn’t seem to bother Mrs. Biker too much. However, I was trying to get her to buy me something to drink at the restaurant nearby (the late, lamented Mignano Brothers). She didn’t understand what I was trying to say. So, realizing that I needed liquids immediately, I walked off to get some myself.

And I collapsed.

Well, more like I was 3 feet from the front door, walked into shade, sat down for a second and couldn’t get back up. I tried. It wasn’t happening. Plus, I was out of sight of Mrs. Biker, so I couldn’t get her attention for help.

Finally, after what felt like 20 minutes she sent Henergy-on-Wheels™ over to check on me. He made many trips inside for bottled water and Cokes to help me get to the point I could stand again. I think this was the scariest incident ever for me involving bikes. Even scarier than getting run over (but, you guessed it, that’s another story).

Anyway, lesson learned. Carry lots of water.

So for Bucket List Item #1 I had both my frame mounted water cages carrying bottles, a 100 ounce / 3 liter Camelbak M.U.L.E. hydration system, and 2 or 3 more water bottles in the trunk pack, and a frozen Gatorade bottle for electrolytes at the end. Plus a few energy, breakfast, and protein bars for nourishment along the way. Didn’t think I’d need much more given that I’d had a decent breakfast and carbed up a bit the night before.

Doing the math (or maths, if you prefer), I carried approximately 220 ounces of water or nearly 1.75 gallons of fluid. At a rule of thumb 1 gallon of water weighs about 8.345 pounds. I added 14 pounds of weight to carry!

For my metric friends that was about 6.5 liters of water. Generally, 1 liter of water weighs about 1kg, Therefore, I was carrying around an extra 6.5kg of weight!

I was so sluggish getting to the trail that I felt like it was my first day back on the bike after winter hiatus all over again. Cornering felt precarious. Even downhill was a slog. But once I was on the trail and rolling along, it was barely noticeable.

Recommended intake is about 1 liter per hour. I didn’t even quite empty my Camelbak.

The ride down was just shy of 2.5 hours. I drank frequently on the way down. I paid for it on the way back.

The trip back took longer. Mainly because I was taking pictures of every mural and historical marker along the trail. However, all that water began catching up to me.

I learned that in addition to no public water fountains, there also aren’t enough portable toilets along the trail. They were few and far between. And I wasn’t about to pop off into the bushes on the side of the trail either. Besides the “No Trespassing” signs, the trail, even on a Monday morning, is well used. There wouldn’t have been enough cover even had there been no “No Trespassing” signs.

To make matters worse, the bladder was more than willing, but the urethra was crushed. ‘Twern’t much coming out even when I did find a spot. But after a few hours, life was flowing freely again. Whew! But it is a cause for consideration for the next big trip. I’ll have to do a little more research. I don’t want to end up like Tycho Brahe.

Also, this experience led me to explore what is possible with Google Maps. I ended up creating a map showing drinking fountains along the rail trail from John Rudy Park north of the City of York to the 7 mile marker south of the Maryland line. Hopefully, it will help others in need.

Until next time: Pedal on!

The Buang Biker’s™ Bucket List Item #1

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.

And pain.

Time to plan for item #2…..

Oh, and there was Moonlight!

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.

Pedal on!