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).