The Final Stretch (November 24th - December 22nd)

It's been an interesting December to say the least. On December 4th, my wife and I welcomed our son into the world. Fatherhood has been amazing, but it has also meant that The Imaginary Bike Ride has not exactly been my #1 priority. When December started, I was in Ritzville, WA and a few miles ahead of my target pace. That all changed with Tate's birth.

The first 22 days of December have now included 11 days when I did not ride at all. Previously, I had a similar stretch in September when there were 13 days that I did not ride. At that time, I saw my mileage surplus, that I had worked so hard to build during the summer, drop from about 150 miles to only 40. Since I was already treading so dangerously close to target pace when December started, this drought has been much more costly. On December 20th, I dropped down to 70 miles behind my target pace (my lowest point since March 8th).

So, what does this all mean? It means that I need to put in some serious effort over these last nine days of the year, or I will fall short of my goal. In a worst case scenario, The Imaginary Bike Ride will carry over a few days into 2016, but that's not the way that I want it to go. When I originally mapped out my ride, I somewhat arbitrarily chose the end point of a shop called Surf Ballard, which I went to one time when I was in Seattle. As of December 22nd, I am 140 miles from Surf Ballard. However, I am only 127 miles from the Seattle city line. Ideally, I would like to make it to my original target, but since it was somewhat arbitrary to begin with, I'd be happy just to arrive in Seattle by the end of the year. Still, I'll need over 14 miles per day to make it to Seattle, and over 15 miles per day to make it to Surf Ballard.

Stay tuned! Hopefully I will have one more exciting update to this blog!

Next Stop: Seattle (October 25th - November 23rd)

Well, not exactly the next stop. I still have 358 miles to go over the next 38 days, so there will be many stops before I reach Seattle, but I am now through Spokane, WA. That was the last location that I listed as a stop on my route before my final destination. Just a few days ago I crossed the border from Montana into Washington, which will likely be the last state that I ride through on my trip. I think that makes for a grand total of 13 states, which is actually fewer than I would have guessed I would pass through on a cross country trip.

The home stretch

Real Life: My pace has been touch and go, but I've tried to pretty much stick to a 10 mile per day average. I've lost a few miles from cushion, so I feel like I'm definitely in danger territory with a baby on the way any day now. It's also getting harder to motivate myself to just go for a ride on the weekend if I don't have an actual destination as it starts to get colder, but I'm not giving up! Mileage update: 3,276.9 miles down, 358.5 to go. 20 miles ahead of target pace.

100 More Miles (October 18th - October 24th)

When I last posted, I had started to see my mileage surplus dwindle a bit. I was down to 9.5 miles ahead of pace. This was the first time it had gone down to the single digits since June 4th. Anytime that I get down to single digits, I come into danger of falling behind pace with just one day that I don't ride. However, this past week was a week of redemption. Over the last seven days, I've ridden 99.6 miles. This allowed me to add another 30 miles or so to my cushion. As a reminder, my wife is due with our first child on December 2nd, so the surplus is becoming more and more important, because December might be a tough month to get out on my bike in real life.

In the imaginary world, I am now in Stevensville, MT. Stevensville was founded in the early 1800s by Jesuit missionaries. It was originally known as St. Mary's before the names was changed in the 1860s (the name change was authorized by President Abraham Lincoln himself). Huey Lewis may or may not own a home there. The imaginary ride has been mostly downhill for the last week or so, with a couple of big inclines as well. It's nice to be on the west side of the Rockies.

Real life: The highlight of this week's actual riding was Saturday, October 24th. After riding downto Cleo's Bar to meet friends to watch the Arsenal match, we then participated in the Half Acre Beer Co. Anniversary Hunt. Basically, this means that we rode around Chicago solving riddles in order to win a mystery prize. Our team did win The Hunt and a free case of beer as the prize, but the real prize went to all those who participated. We got to go to a secret party at their unfinished and unopened new brewery with free beer, food, and shuffleboard. It was a really great time and just a really cool event in general. Mileage update: 2,997.5 total miles, 39.4 miles ahead of target pace. 637.9 miles to go!

Big Sky Country (September 9th - October 17th)

In the 38 days, I've ridden about 260 miles. I haven't quite been keeping the pace that I'll need in order to get all the way across the country by the end of the year. My ride now places me in Wisdom, MT.

My ride has taken me from Yellowstone to Wisdom, MT in the last 38 days

Wisdom is named after the Wisdom River, which is much less exciting than I hoped that name origin would be. It is home to 98 whole people. With my visit, it almost broke 100!

Real life: 2,897.9 miles ridden. 9.5 miles ahead of target pace. 737.5 miles to go!

Yellowstone, A Haiku (August 31st - September 8th)

Another nine days
The middle of Yellowstone
Imaginary

I'm where that little gray dot is in the middle of Yellowstone

Real life: 2,634.3 miles ridden. 134.3 miles ahead of target pace. 1,001.1 miles to go!

Everything is Bigger in Wyoming (July 24th - August 30th)

It's been over a month since my last post, so I guess I've hit a bit of a slump. I spent the rest of July making my way through the western end of South Dakota. I spent three nights in Fairburn (population 85), and one night in Hermosa (population 398). Then I rode into Keystone (population 337), which was the longtime home of Carrie Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Keystone was also a location from the movie North, starring Elijah Wood. I've never seen North, but it is the topic of one of my favorite Roger Ebert reviews:

I then spent three nights in Custer, which is supposedly home to the widest Main Street in the country. Apparently, its width was to allow a team of oxen pulling a wagon to turn completely around. Efficiency!

So wide!

I spent one night in Edgemont before crossing into Wyoming. I quickly learned that Wyoming was a lot different than any other state that I had passed through. Despite the fact that I consistently rode about 10 miles per day, I typically spent at least four straight nights in most of the towns or cities of Wyoming. I even had seven sleeps in a town called Ten Sleeps! As of August 30th, I am now in Basin, WY. I should be in Yellowstone National Park in about a week!

Making progress!

Real life: Since I last checked in, I've basically stayed exactly on my 10 mile per day pace. I have now ridden 2,530.5 miles, which is 120.2 miles ahead of my target pace. I took a three day break from riding in August, which is my longest rideless streak since early March.

South Dakota Nights (July 5th - July 23rd)

I spent nine more nights in Nebraska before crossing into South Dakota, home of the Geographic Center of the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii). I spent six nights in Martin, SD, despite the fact that I rode over 27 miles during that time. You would think that this means that Martin is a happening town with a lot to do. You would be wrong, but I did enjoy the HorseShoe Bar.

Real life: The good news is that despite taking a couple of days off from riding (mostly due to illness), I've still continued to build my mileage surplus. There were a couple of highlights during this stretch that had very little to do with riding a bike. Last week my wife and I found out that we are having a boy, which is super exciting. Then last weekend we celebrated my wife's 32nd birthday, which was a lot of fun despite a thunderstorm attempting to thwart our plans. I also got to witness this great Chicago sunset with thunderstorms across Lake Michigan.

https://instagram.com/p/5Qk7DmghcI/

Total annual mileage: 2151.2 miles (119.4 miles ahead of target pace).

Home of Frank Leahy (June 27th - July 4th)

There's not a lot to write about in the middle of Nebraska. I've mostly been passing through towns with a few hundred residents (some less than one hundred), so please forgive me if I don't walk you through the details of each day. However, on July 1st, as I moved into the second half of the calendar, I spent the night in O'Neill, NE.

O'Neill has almost 4,000 residents, so it's a big city for this part of Nebraska. It's also the hometown of Frank Leahy, who was a famous football coach for Boston College and Notre Dame in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. He ended up spending most of his years at Notre Dame, which was also his alma mater. However, the two years at BC are of most interest to me. In 1940, he led Boston College to an 11-0 record, a Sugar Bowl victory, and a "National Championship". This is the only "National Championship" in BC football history. I use quotation marks because BC is one of four teams to claim that they won the National Championship that year. The others were Minnesota, Tennessee, and Stanford (BC ended up 5th in the AP Poll). After that season, Leahy left to coach Notre Dame. He had a contract with BC and they didn't make it easy for him to get put of it, but eventually he did. He went on to coach Notre Dame for 11 seasons, leading them to four less disputed National Championships.

After a 20.2 mile ride on our nation's birthday, I spent the night in Newport, NE. For a town on 97 people, the fireworks display was pretty impressive. I think every resident was lighting some off on their property.

Newport, NE

Real life: Now that I've built up a bit of a surplus of miles, I've started to become a bit more lax on some days. I've taken a day off from riding here and there, or only rode a few miles on some others. However, I've made up the miles on some days with longer rides. I also just won a GoPro in a contest at work, so readers can expect some GoPro videos on here in the near future. One highlight of the last week was 4th of July fireworks on a rooftop in Chicago while watching my buddy's band, Sheep Numbers playing live. Total annual mileage: 1933.2 miles (90.6 miles ahead of target pace)

Past the Halfway Point (June 16th - June 26th)

The ride through Nebraska continues, and on June 24th I passed the halfway point of my ride and ended up in the city of Norfolk, NE. Norfolk is a decent-sized city for Nebraska, so it was a nice place to celebrate. Based on the name alone, I had to have dinner at the Black Cow Fat Pig Pub and Steak. Here's what halfway looks like:

Norfolk, NE - the middle

I got some good riding in over those next couple of days and ended up in Neligh, NE on the 26th. Neligh is not a big town, but it does have some interesting history. In particular, there is the story of the grave of White Buffalo Girl. You can check that out in this video:

Real Life: This stretch of real life riding included Bike to Work Week (or more formally the Bike Commuter Challenge). It is a week-long challenge that is organized by Active Transportation Alliance, which encourages people to ride their bikes to work. Every year it helps more and more people discover that cycling is a great way to get around. During this challenge in 2012, I got on a bike for the very first time in Chicago. Total annual mileage: 1857.1 miles (94.2 miles ahead of target pace)

Into That Great Void (June 8th - June 15th)

After spending 6 more days in Iowa (26 days total), I crossed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge into Nebraska, where I was welcomed by the fine city of Omaha. The city was mostly of interest to me because of its music scene. After all, Omaha is the birthplace of Elliott Smith and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes). While Elliott Smith moved elsewhere before becoming a musician, Conor and Bright Eyes got their start in Omaha. In order to take in the current music scene a bit, I caught a local band at The Waiting Room, and then went to the Crescent Moon Ale House and tried a DL's Cafe Leche Stout from local Upstream Brewing.

My interesting fact of the day for Omaha is that it is nicknamed the "Gateway to the West", which makes it one of at least six US cities that use that nickname. What are the other five? I'm saving that for a trivia question one day. After Omaha, it was on to Bennington, which was originally called Bunz Town. I have no idea why they changed such a great name. I'm now shacking up for the night in Valley, NE, which does not have any cool former names.

Nebraska (according to Bruce Springsteen)

Real life: As of now, I'm at 12 straight days of riding at least 10 miles, including a 36.6 mile day, during which I rode from the north side of Chicago to the south end of the Lake Shore Path and back. As I rode home from work this evening, Chicago's tornado sirens started blaring. For those who are unfamiliar with what that sounds like, you can get a feel for it here. I got home safely, if completely soaked.

My view from Lake Shore Path at 39th street

Total annual mileage: 1734 miles (80.6 miles ahead of target pace).

Picking up the Pace (April 26th - June 7th)

It's been 43 days since my last update, and thankfully I've spent a lot of that time on a bike despite the lack of blogging. In the last 43 days I've traveled 485.6 miles with stops in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Since I was able to average 11.3 miles per day during that time, I've been able to erase my mileage deficit and actually build up a bit of a surplus. I am now in Guthrie Center, IA and 31.1 miles ahead of my target pace. Here is a very non-scientific map of my ride so far:

From Montauk to Guthrie Center in 158 days

As you can see, I've now crossed the Mississippi and am almost halfway across the country. The obvious highlight of the most recent stretch was my stop in my home city of Chicago, IL for two nights at the end of April. There I was able to spend some time with my beautiful, pregnant wife. Having a baby could throw a bit of a wrench into the last month or so of my ride, so it's all the more important to build up a surplus this summer.

While in Chicago, Mo and I made the most of it. We grabbed brunch at Uncommon Ground, a perfect pint from Jimmy at O'Shaughnessy's, played 9 holes of golf at the Sydney Marovitz city course on Lake Michigan, and had a picnic in Winnemac Park. Two days is certainly not enough time to spend in the beautiful city of Chicago, but it was a treat nonetheless.

Just before reaching Chicago, I also played some golf at Lost Marsh in Hammond, IN. It's a course that I've played many times and am very familiar with, so I'm glad that my route took me past it.

So far I've spent 20 days in the fine state of Iowa. Iowa is probably best known as the home of The Bachelor's Chris Soules. While I was in Iowa, I was shocked and saddened to find out that Chris and Whitney had broken up after an abbreviated engagement. Hopefully Kaitlyn will have better luck finding true love on this season's Bachelorette!

I'm going to do my best to post a little bit more frequently moving forward. I certainly won't make any promises, but my goal is to get into more of a rhythm of posting about once a week. That way I'll be able to dive into a little bit more detail on the places that I pass through on my route.

Real life: The highlight with regard to cycling for the last 43 days has actually been this past weekend. Yesterday was the opening of The 606. I encourage you to follow the link and read more, but The 606 is a new walking/hiking/biking trail that runs for 2.7 miles over what used to be an abandoned railroad route. It still needs to grow in a bit and develop some more character, but it's still exciting to have a new route in the city. It was a madhouse this weekend, so it was a little difficult to navigate, but I did ride about eight or so miles on it over the last couple of days. I look forward to seeing it develop over the coming years. Here's a montage of photos from yesterday (please click the link on the right side of this page or below if you want to follow me on Instagram):

Follow me on Instagram

Total Annual Mileage: 1604.8 miles (31.1 miles ahead of target pace)

33 Days Later (March 24th - April 25th)

It's been over a month since I've written. There are a few reasons for that, but I don't want to bore you with excuses. I also don't want to bore you with a detailed entry on the last 33 days. Despite the lack of updates, the ride has continued. When I last left you, I was about 39 miles behind my target pace. Now, a little over a month later, I am just over 26 miles behind my pace. There's still some work to be done, but I've made up some ground. The last 33 days have taken me 341.7 miles. I've passed through Cleveland and Toledo, into Indiana and past Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is an important place for me, despite the fact that I am a Boston College alum (making Notre Dame a sworn enemy). My wife is a Notre Dame grad, and on November 19th, 2011, I proposed to her in front of the Golden Dome.

She said yes

My next major stop on the ride is now Chicago, which has been my home since 2009. I still have some miles to go, but I look forward to spending some time in familiar places with familiar faces (especially my wife!). Hopefully, by the time that I'm in Chicago I will be back on pace to make it across the country.

I started this leg near Cleveland, OH and am now in Porter, IN ('I' on the map)

Total Annual Mileage: 1119.2 miles (26.2 miles behind target pace)

A Strange Find (March 22nd - March 23rd)

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that as I was riding from Liberty to Homestead, I passed through a town called McKeesport. As I headed through that town, I noticed a BP. At first I passed it and went to Subway for lunch, but I later walked back to use the restroom because the one at Subway was out of order. I also wanted to grab a frappuccino and some snacks, as I am wont to do. On the ground, I found a Microsoft Surface, and when I turned it on to try to figure out a way to reach the owner, I found these strange ramblings:

05:30 the sun rises on McKeesport in one hour.  shortly after, i shall strike.  my juice squeezer is almost out, i could use a refill, but to risk being spotted at the BP by the target is too high to risk it.   plus, i have to mud up.

05:45 sufficiently mudded.  laying prone in the brush approx. 2000m from the BP.   completely indiscernible from the nature around me.   the target will never know what hit him.

06:30 i have finished my prayer nap cardio circuit.  soon i will finish my juice squeezer.  it looks like it may rain after all.  i was a fool to balk at a 15% forecast.  my contingency for this is shoddy, at best.  i will pray again that it will not rain.

06:42 it is pouring.  i have crawled under the cover of a hollowed out Japanese Zelkova trunk and am writing this from there.  Fortunately, i have upgraded my tablet to a Microsoft Surface and can withstand the elements.  I do not regret it.  Unfortunately, it seems the rain has shattered my primary directive, and I must approach the target head on in plain daylight.  except, not really daylight because it will still be raining.  so.  so the mud has washed off and i won't get to surprise him like i thought i would but I'll still be somewhat shrouded by weather.  i must defecate.

06:49 another curveball.  it seems my juice squeezer must have taken on contaminates.  i know it wasn't the wheel bug i ate for breakfast because i have hunted those before and i would not make a mistake there.   just experienced a menacing case of diarrhea.  praying it will not come back.

06:57 i can't stop shitting and crying in the rain i have never cried from this before but i feel like i am being split open from the inside and the target should be rounding the bend any moment.  the target.  refocus on the mission.  i must not fail.  i pray with all my strength that he is late, like always.  always fucking late.  god this fucking saoijdijdajioiasd

07:13 okay........it is with great remorse and exhaustion that i report the mission a failure.  like the old Nixon / Kennedy debates of '47, I had hoped this would have been another legendary McKeesport battle, but unfortunately, i was incapacitated at the time of the targets' arrival.  granted, target Stephen Garvey was late, even later than usual, but he DID NOT stop at the BP for a bottle frappucinno, some skittles, and a handful of Slim Jims, AS I WAS INFORMED HE IS WONT TO DO, but no, NO -- even though he was LATE, he did not EVEN STOP AT THE BP.  HE JUST CRUISED BY ON THAT STUPID VILANO WHILE I WAS, AGAIN, LOSING ALL BOWEL CONTROL IN THE BRUSH BY THE HIGHWAY.  ALSO SOMEBODY DROVE UP AND HONKED AT ME AND DISTRACTED ME RIGHT AS HE WAS COMING, AND I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO RESPOND SO I JUST FROZE AND HOPED SOME OF THE MUD STILL CONCEALED ME ENOUGH TO CONVINCE THE DRIVER THEY WERE HALLUCINATING.  ANYWAY FUCK THE MISSION, FUCK THIS WEATHER, AND FUCK THIS STUPID FUCKING MICROSOFT SURFACE SONOFAJD OSDOASDIJASDIOJDOAIJDIOADJSADIOJDIOSJ

<ERROR 1302 end of stream.  Auto-Posting. . .>

I guess I'm starting to gain some new fans on the road.

Wheel Bug

Real life: March 22nd - 0 miles, March 23rd - 10.5 miles. Total annual mileage: 777.5 miles (39.2 miles behind target pace).

Notes: Thank you to Ben Kirberger for a borderline insane guest entry on the blog. Again, if you are interested in writing a guest entry, please feel free to email me at stephen.c.garvey.82@gmail.com.

Through Pittsburgh (March 11th - March 21st)

March 11th - Rode 12.4 miles to Liberty, PA.

March 12th - Rode 10.4 miles to Homestead, PA (location of the Homestead Strike of 1892).

Homestead Strike

March 13th - Rode 12 miles to McKees Rocks, PA (former home of Mann's Hotel, where George Washington possibly stayed a night and former home of Billy Mays). I passed through the south side of Pittsburgh, PA, so I checked out East Carson St.

Mann's Hotel before demolition

March 14th - Rode 17.8 miles to Aliquippa, PA (where Mike Ditka went to high school).

March 15th - Rode 9.3 miles to Beaver Falls, PA (setting of TV show 'Mr. Belvedere').

Mr. Belvedere

March 16th - Rode 12.9 miles to East Palestine, OH (making Ohio the 5th state of my trip).

March 17th - Rode 7.5 miles to Columbiana, OH (home of the Shaker Woods Crafter Festival).

Shaker Woods Festival

March 18th - Rode 10.4 miles to Canfield, OH (82nd best place to live in the US, according to Money Magazine).

Canfield Green in Canfield, OH

March 19th - Rode 11.1 miles to Berlin Center, OH.

March 20th - Rode 6.4 miles to Diamond, OH.

March 21st - Rode 33 miles to Peninsula, OH.

E - Liberty, PA
F - Diamond, OH
G - Peninsula, OH

Real Life: The highlight of this last week and a half was the 33 miles of riding on March 21st. It was a nice little Saturday in Chicago, so Mo and I rode up to Evanston with some friends for lunch and then rode around the city a bit as well.  Total annual mileage: 767 miles (29.8 miles behind target pace).

A Great Deal of Rich Meadow (February 27th - March 10th)

I spent the night of the 27th in Black, PA. When I first googled the name of the town, nothing came up. This struck me as odd since Google's own Google Maps was the thing that was telling me I was in Black. In any case, I eventually found some information on the town. Did you know that Black, PA is 0.02% water? You do now.

E- Black, PA
F - Fort Hill, PA

The next two nights were spent just 1.3 miles away in Fort Hill, PA. Fort Hill is home to the Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp at base of Mount Davis. Mount Davis is actually the highest point in the entire state of Pennsylvania at 3,213 feet.

I then spent the next six nights in Confluence, PA. I haven't mentioned it up to this point, but since I passed through Cumberland, MD (63.4 miles ago), I've been riding on the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail. This trail is part of a 335-mile continuous non-motorized corridor from near Washington, DC to near Pittsburgh. It's not always the most direct route, but it is a godsend for someone attempting to (imaginarily) ride a bike across the country. Aside from being a stop on the trail, Confluence is also home to some of the best whitewater in the country. I have a cousin who is a avid whitewater kayaker, so he should definitely check it out. Most of the nights that I spent in Confluence included a stop at Sherman's Ice Cream Parlor & Kitchen. I didn't just eat ice cream. They also have delicious burgers as well.

My arteries were happy that I moved on to Connellsville, PA. When I arrived, I was intrigued to find that Connellsville was once known as the "Coke Capital of the World". I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had no idea what this meant. I knew that Coca-Cola was headquartered in Atlanta, and I figured that Connellsville was not some sort of drug capital, but I couldn't for the life of me think of any other sort of coke. Apparently, coke is a type of fuel that is made from coal. You knew that? I did not. I also had the chance to check out a Keystone Ice Miners during their historic final season in the NAHL, so that was exciting.

I spent the next night in a place that George Washington once called "as fine a land as I have ever seen, a great deal of rich meadow; it is well watered and has a valuable mill seat." He then drew up plans for the streets of that town to be laid out in the shape of a wagon-wheel. That town was Perryopolis, PA. In 2011, it was even named one of the top 50 cleanest towns in Pennsylvania!

Perryopolis, PA (see Washington's wagon-wheel?)

Finally, on March 10th I spent the night in West Newton, PA. West Newton is the hometown of Ray Luzier, who has been the drummer for Korn and David Lee Roth (possibly the strangest combination of artists to be the drummer for, ever).

E - Confluence, PA
F - Connellsville, PA
G - Perryopolis, PA
H - West Newton, PA

Real life: Admittedly, this post was a bit of a mail-in, but I had a lot of days to cover, and didn't have very much to work with in the boonies of Pennsylvania. I've also been pretty busy, which has caused me to fall behind in my riding as well as my writing. The main culprit was a work trip to Kansas City, MO. If your travels take you there, be sure to check out Novel for dinner and The Ship for drinks. You will not be disappointed. Other factors included a colonoscopy (TMI?) and coming in third place in the Chiditarod. However, I've made up some miles over the last few days as Chicago's weather has started to turn, allowing me to leisurely pile on some extra miles. Mileage: February 27th - 13.2 miles, February 28th - 1.3 miles, March 1st - 0 miles, March 2nd - 13.2 miles, March 3rd - 1.8 miles, March 4th-7th - 0 miles, March 8th - 24.1 miles (best of the year), March 9th - 14.2 miles, March 10th - 14.6 miles. Total annual mileage: 623.8 miles (63.4 miles behind target pace).

Running into Rosie (February 25th - February 26th)

On February 25th, I reached the town limits of Meyersdale, PA and then on February 26th I continued through town toward Garrett, PA. On my way, I ran into a friend. Here is her account of our meeting:

I was driving down Deal Road early Thursday morning when all of a sudden, an opossum jumped out in front of my car! Instead of doing what my dad taught me and just running the damn thing over, I swerved my car to avoid killing the sweet animal. Right as I swerved, I caught a glimpse of a biker in my rearview mirror and just missed slamming into that poor man! Luckily, he fell into the grass beside the road, but I felt terrible! I instantly pulled over and stopped my car so I could go help this scruffy looking stranger. He lay moaning on the grass, still attached to his bike because he had those shoes that locked into the pedals of the bike. I rushed over and said “Are you ok??” He quietly inspected himself to see if anything was broken and slowly peeled off his helmet. Once he slipped his feet out of the pedals and swung his leg over the bike, he laid flat on his back and stared up at the Meyersdale sky. “Should I call an ambulance?” I begged.

“No,” he replied. “Ill be fine. I just need a minute.” It was at that moment, I realized I knew this person! This was my old KanJam partner, Stephen Garvey! I hadn’t seen this fellow in years!

“Garvey?! Is that you?!” I yelled.

“Huh? Holy Moly….Rosie? I didn’t know you lived here!” He replied.

“Yea! I moved here after getting my dream job at the Second National Bank of Meyersdale. It’s a really sweet town. What are you doing here?”

Rosie, standing in front of Second National Bank

“I am biking across America.” He said, still laying flat on his back.

“That’s crazy man. I’m really sorry I made you crash. Can I help you up?”

“Sure.” He said, wincing a little as he got up.

“Should we take you to a hospital?”

“No, I’m ok, just needed a minute,” He responded. I couldn’t believe I was seeing my old buddy, and that I almost killed him! It was just like old times. Reminded me of all the shenanigans we used to get into while we were playing the professional KanJam circuit. He was a beast with a Frisbee and a can. No one ever beat us and we had the trophies to prove it.

“Well hey, if you’re feeling alright, how about I show you around a little? We could go to the Meyersdale Wind Farm. It’s really something.”

He told me that as fun as that sounded, he had a schedule to stick to and had to keep on biking. I said ok, and we hugged goodbye. I watched as my old friend rode off into the distance. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my cats all about it.

It truly was a pleasure to run into an old friend, but I had some riding left to do if I was to make it to Garrett that day.  

Real life: February 25th - 10.4 miles, February 26th - 10.4 miles. Total Annual Mileage: 541.4 miles (26.3 miles behind target pace).

Notes: Thank you to Rosie Moan for being the first guest writer on the blog. If you are interested in writing a guest entry, please feel free to email me at stephen.c.garvey.82@gmail.com. Also, if you're interested in getting an email whenever a new blog is posted, you can enter your address in the Follow By Email bar on the right side of the page.

Falling Behind in February (February 13th - February 24th)

I knew that at some point during this imaginary ride, the winter would be a factor. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised to still be ahead of pace at this point. However, February started to take a toll after a couple of weeks.

I rode on February 13th, but not again until the 16th, and spent all four of those nights in Hancock, MD. Hancock represents most of the narrowest point of Maryland:

Hancock is the yellow dot in the orange area

You may remember a few posts ago, when I mentioned that I visited a place that Washington slept. In Hancock, I got to visit a home where Washington dined with a gentleman named Mr. Flint. You can read more about that and see a photo of the home as it looks today here. During the Civil War, Stonewall Jackson's troops laid siege to Hancock and the Confederacy held the town for ransom. The Union never paid the ransom. The Hancock website refers to the town as "a welcome stop for the traveler," and I must say that I agree with that assessment.

On the 17th, I rode into Little Orleans, MD. The most interesting thing I could find out about Little Orleans was that it hosts an annual motorcycle rally which is called the Sturgis of the East. The festival boasts a website that magically captures the aesthetic of 1998, while also being completely up to date.

The next two nights were spent in Oldtown, MD. How old is Oldtown you ask? Well, it boasts the Michael Cresap House which dates back to 1764. Cresap was the first European male born in Allegany County.

On February 20th, I rode into Cumberland, MD and it was so nice to get into an actual city (even a small one), that I decided to stay there for four nights (AKA the weather made me do it). The city's motto is "Come for a Visit, Stay for Life!" It kind of sounds like a threat to me, or like Cumberland might be home to a state penitentiary. When researching Cumberland, I found out that the city tends to vote for Blue Dog Democrats. That may be a familiar term to some, but it was completely new to me. Read more about these conservative Democrats here.

Four nights in Cumberland meant that I was starting to fall behind the pace, so I rode 15 miles today and ended up in Frostburg, MD. I'd like to think that I was the second most important visitor to this small city. In 1953, Harry Truman and his wife went for a road trip in a Chrysler that they had received as a gift upon leaving the White House. During their visit, they ate at the Princess Restaurant. I decided to eat there as well, and I sat in the Truman Booth.

E is Hancock, F is Frostburg. Little Orleans, Oldtown, and Cumberland are along the way.

Real life: Cold weather, snow, and visitors on weekends meant that I did not ride on four separate days during this twelve day stretch. I fell as much as 32.7 miles behind my target pace before starting to claw back at the miles. February 13th - 10.6 miles, February 14th-15th - 0 miles, February 16th - 10.4 miles, February 17th - 10.6 miles, February 18th - 11.7 miles, February 19th - 11.6 miles, February 20th - 10.4 miles, February 21st-22nd - 0 miles, February 23rd - 10.4 miles, February 24th - 15 miles. Total annual mileage: 520.6 miles (27.2 miles behind target pace).

Gettysburg (February 5th - February 12th)

This stretch of the trip was the first time that I looked at the upcoming map and made an adjustment. When I planned out my original route, I wasn't zoomed in too far on Google maps, so I tried to make the trip go through some interesting cities, but there will probably be a few times where I'll see an interesting place that I'm going to miss by just a bit, so I'll make adjustments when necessary.

In this case, on February 5th I noticed that the next day of my ride would take me just a few miles north of Gettysburg, PA. I spent the night of the 5th in New Oxford, PA, but on the morning of the 6th, I adjusted my route and headed toward Gettysburg.

As I'm sure everyone knows, Gettysburg has enormous historical importance in the United States. For three days in July of 1863, the Union and Confederate armies fought a battle that most people consider one of the most significant turning points of the Civil War. If the Confederates had won the battle, there is certainly a possibility that they could have won the entire war. Gettysburg is perhaps equally known as the site of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, just four months after the battle. My favorite fact about the Gettysburg Address is that most people were there to see the speech of Edward Everett, who spoke for two hours. Lincoln spoke for just a few minutes. For those with an interest in American history and language, I highly suggest reading Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America.

Lincoln at Gettysburg

While Gettysburg's historical importance is reason enough to visit, I changed my route mostly because of the personal significance that the place has for me. For those that don't know, I used to teach 8th grade social studies in Queens, NY. The subject matter of 8th grade social studies in New York is United States history from just after the Civil War to the present. Gettysburg probably played as much of a part in inspiring me to become a history teacher as anything else. My interest in the Battle of Gettysburg was first piqued by the movie Gettysburg. I then proceeded to visit the town twice with my dad (one of those with our friends the Daleys as well). To me, Gettysburg is a place that just overwhelms you with the significance and soberness of what happened there. I imagine that one would have a similar feeling in Normandy. While the two previous Gettysburg trips blend together a bit at this point, I think my favorite activity was taking a horseback tour of the the battlefields, which allowed us to see a lot in a fairly short amount of time, but in a way that made it feel like it could actually be 1863. Since I spent February 6th and 7th in town, I made sure to relive the horseback experience thanks to Hickory Hollow Farm.

The next two days found me in Rouzerville and Waynesboro, PA (following the route of Robert E. Lee's retreat from Gettysburg), before crossing the Mason-Dixon line into Maryland. My first three nights in Maryland were spent in Hagerstown, Williamsport, and Clear Spring.

D - Gettysburg, PA
E - Williamsport, MD
F - Clear Spring, MD

Real Life: A layer of ice kept me from riding to work on the 9th, but otherwise it was typical work commutes and some solid weekend rides. February 5th - 12.7 miles, February 6th - 5.2 miles, February 7th - 11.6 miles, February 8th - 19.1 miles, February 9th - 0.2 miles, February 10th - 10.4 miles, February 11th - 10.5 miles, February 12th - 10.4 miles. Total annual mileage: 429.9 miles (1.6 miles ahead of target pace).

The Factory Tour Capital of the World! (February 1st - February 4th)

February got off to a very slow start. I rode a couple of miles on the 1st, but that only brought me to a different part of Columbia, PA. On February 2nd, I didn't ride at all, which made it three straight nights in this small town on the Susquehanna. I was 193 miles southeast of Punxsutawney, but things we're starting to feel a bit like my own personal Groundhog Day. Here is a photo from my time in Columbia:

After learning to play the piano, sculpt ice, speak French, and finally getting Andie MacDowell to fall in love with me, I decided it was time to hit the road again. As an aside, for an interesting analysis of how many days Phil Connors spends in Punxsutawney click here. On February 3rd, I was back to my old trick of riding 10.4 miles per day, this time ending up in the greater York, PA area (East York, PA).

York is a nice little college town with a ton of history. One of the most interesting facts about York is that it was once the capital of the United States. In fact, Yorkians like to claim that they were the first capital of the United States. This is erroneous, since Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Lancaster preceded it. York was also the origin of a political faction that tried to replace George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and the largest Northern town to be occupied by the Confederate army during the Civil War. After that, not much happened in York until local band, Live, released the album Throwing Copper in 1994. Oh, and for some reason there is also a house shaped like a shoe, so I checked that out while I was in town.

Another 10.4 miles on the 4th took me to Thomasville, PA. Please take my word for it when I tell you that there is not much to do in Thomasville. BUT! Thomasville is home to the Martin's Potato Chip factory, so I had to go check out a tour. Sure, I had never heard of this specific brand of potato chip, but it was definitely the most exciting thing to do in town. And, while I was now a bit outside of York, it was on the Martin's tour where I learned that York is also known as the "Factory Tour Capital of the World". So, if you love factory tours, this area of Pennsylvania is where you should go on your next vacation!

D - East York, PA
E - Thomasville, PA

Real life: As I teased in my last blog post, February started off a bit differently than January in Chicago. It snowed from the evening of January 31st until the morning of February 2nd without stopping much at all. I got a couple of miles in through the snow on the morning of the 1st, but I worked from home on the 2nd and did not ride at all. By the 3rd, the streets were fairly well plowed and I had my normal commute the next two days. My pace was now just barely staying in the black. February 1st - 2.2 miles, February 2nd - 0 miles, February 3rd - 10.4 miles, February 4th - 10.4 miles. Total annual mileage - 349.8 miles (1.2 miles ahead of target pace).

One Month Down (January 30th - January 31st)

I finally made it out of the Pennsylvania wilderness and into civilization on January 30th. After riding just over 10 miles, I stopped in Lancaster, PA. Apparently, Lancaster has dealt with some crime issues in the downtown area over the years, but I felt safe because the city now has a network of 165 closed-circuit security cameras throughout the city. In fact, Lancaster has been in the news quite a bit because of this. Many have weighed in on whether this represents a violation of privacy, or whether it is a necessary safety measure. I find it interesting because Chicago has over 1,200 police cameras in areas of high crime, and I never really hear anyone mention it. Another interesting fact about Lancaster is that it was home to the Hamilton Watch Company, which created the first battery-powered watch. I ducked into Annie Bailey's pub to get away from the cameras for a bit.

D - Lancaster, PA
E - Columbia, PA

On the 31st, I only rode 6.4 miles, taking me as far as Columbia, PA, which sits on the Susquehanna River. I headed into Susquehanna Fishing Tackle to pick up some gear and then did a bit of ice fishing for muskies. I didn't catch any. I spent the night at The Inn at Bully's, which has been around in some form since 1903 and has a great beer list. My imaginary January had come to an end, and my ride had taken me 326.8 miles and through three states.

January took me from A to D. Still a long way to go.

Real Life: It was a good month. I had serious doubts when I started this blog about whether I would be able to keep up the pace during January and February. I knew that I'd have the opportunity to play catch-up once the weather turned, but I figured that a polar vortex, or some lake effect snow would keep me off the bike for a few days. When all was said and done, there were only three days in January when I did not ride a bike at all. Two of those were because I was out of town, and one was because I felt lazy on a Sunday after getting my weekend's worth of miles on Friday and Saturday. Chicago might have different plans for me in February. January 30th - 10.8 miles, January 31st - 6.4 miles. Total annual mileage: 326.8 miles (18 miles ahead of target pace).

Pat's, Piazza's, and not much else (January 22nd - January 29th)

I jumped the gun a bit in the last post, because although January 22nd brought me within the Philadelphia limits, it did not quite bring me to Pat's Steaks. I actually made it to Pat's on the 23rd. Since I now live in Chicago, Pat's was a very special treat indeed. I've become very accustomed to the cheesesteaks from Philly's Best (which are excellent by the way), but those don't compare to the original. I had two whiz withouts with mushrooms, with fries and a diet coke. It took a while before I hopped back on the bike, but eventually I continued riding and made it to Conshohocken, PA for the night. On my way there, I crossed the Wissahickon Creek. Hat tip to my buddy Phil, who used to live in the Philadelphia area and told me about Wissahickon. There is a work by Edgar Allan Poe called "Morning on the Wissahiccon." Poe spent the most prolific years of his writing career in Philadelphia, and apparently loved the natural beauty of the creek. I can't claim to have read the story, but apparently it is all about how most people take the main road and miss the beauty of a place like the Wissahickon. Hopefully, my ride will take me off of the main road quite a bit to discover similar hidden gems.

C - (Not quite Pat's) Philadelphia, PA
D - Pat's Steaks
E - Conshohocken, PA

On the 24th, I rode into Phoenixville, PA. There are a couple of interesting things about Phoenixville. First off, they have something called the Firebird Festival every year where they burn a large wooden phoenix to celebrate the "rebirth" of the town. Apparently, it used to be a big steel town, but the local steel plant closed down in 1987, and the last decade or so have seen the town come back strong.  The second thing that really interested me about Phoenixville is that it is where Mike Piazza grew up. As a Mets fan, that makes it a very special place. Mets fan or not, you gotta love this Piazza moment #murica. Phoenixville was so darn nice that I stayed for an extra night.

D - Phoenixville, PA
E - Spring City, PA

The 26th through the 29th took me through Spring City, Elverson, Narvon, and Leola, PA. Each one was a little more remote than the last. This is something that I considered as I started my trip. Sometimes I might go days, or even weeks without coming across anything too interesting to write about. In those cases, I'll do my best to find some hidden gem, or I'll just keep things brief. This is a case of keeping things brief. There will be more to do and talk about on the 30th.

The road from Philadelphia to (almost) Lancaster, PA

Real Life: January 22nd - 10.7 miles, January 23rd - 17.8 miles (highest mileage of the year!), January 24th - 12.8 miles, January 25th - 0 miles (lazy Sunday...breaking a 20 day riding streak), January 26th - 10.5 miles, January 27th - 10.4 miles, January 28th - 10.6 miles, January 29th - 11.6 miles (Happy Birthday, Mom!). Total annual mileage: 309.6 miles (20.8 miles ahead of target pace).

Crossing the Delaware (January 18th - January 21st)

On January 18th, I rode into Rocky Hill, NJ, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Princeton University. Rocky Hill was once known as Devil's Featherbed due to the rocky terrain, so I was happy to be riding in the times of riverside bike paths. When I started this ride back in Montauk, one of the things that crossed my mind was that I would probably end up in a good number of towns with "George Washington slept here" houses. As far as I can tell, Rocky Hill was my first. Not only did GW sleep at Rockingham (the name of the house), but it was actually his last headquarters during the Revolutionary War.

I rode out of Rocky Hill on the 19th and stopped after a few miles to check out the Princeton University campus. Princeton is the alma mater of two deceased US Presidents, our current First Lady, and three current Supreme Court Justices. I asked around campus for a good place to eat and get a drink, which led me to Triumph Brewing Company. I had to try the Brown Tiger India Brown Ale, simply because I had never tried an India Brown Ale. It was worth the trip.

C - Rocky Hill, NJ
D - Lawrence Township, NJ

After tallying 11.6 miles for the day, I stopped in Lawrence Township, NJ. Nearby, in Lawrenceville, I checked out the Lawrenceville School. Lawrenceville is known as one of the most elite prep schools in the country, which makes sense since it is so close to Princeton. My brother-in-law attended the school during the 90s, and if anyone has time for some additional reading, I'd suggest reading this Deadspin article about the schools recent intramural football controversy. It's fascinating.

11.4 miles of riding on January 20th took me to Levittown, PA. While I had never been to the Pennsylvania version, I was already very familiar with the name Levittown. This is because there is also a Levittown, NY. One can also find a Levittown, Puerto Rico and a town that was formerly known as Levittown in New Jersey. All of these Levittowns were the brainchild of William Levitt. Levitt applied the assembly line ideas of Henry Ford to housing, which allowed him to produce a large number of homes quickly and inexpensively. A large number of these homes were purchased by recently returned World War II vets, who were able to buy the homes at a significant discount. One of these homes in Levittown, NY was purchased by my grandparents, Cyril and Pat Hebrank. You can see some great photos and read more about Levittown here. I recommend reading the piece on race in Levittown.

After another 10.4 miles on the 21st, I was now on the outskirts of Philadelphia, in an area called Bensalam, PA. I spent the evening watching horses run in an oval and playing some slots at Parx Casino and Racing. I lost some money, but it's not really losing if you're having fun. Plus, I knew that the next day had a delicious cheesesteak (or two) in store for me.

C - Levittown, PA
D - Bensalem, PA

Real Life: It was mostly just regular work commutes with a little detour on Tuesday to buy some flowers and meet my beautiful wife at Five Guys for a celebration of the five year anniversary of our first date. We also celebrated our three year wedding anniversary the next night. Daily mileage: January 18th - 16 miles, January 19th - 11.6 miles, January 20th - 11.4 miles, January 21st - 10.4 miles. Total annual mileage: 225.2 miles (16 miles ahead of target pace).