New Cycling Trip (Day 1-2)

Well, I stupidly have decided to go on another long-distance cycling trip. Ever since completing my walk across the country, I seem to be unable to adjust to normal life and I continue to find another reason/excuse not to look for a job. My newest venture is retracing my 2001 walk from New Jersey to South Dakota. The purpose of this trip is to try and film some additional footage for my "Walking Fool" documentary. Why did I decide to bike it instead of simply renting a car? I don't know. I guess, like I said, I need to make everything an "adventure." And so far, my adventure has consisted of lots of rain.



I left Sandy Hook, NJ around noon on Wednesday. At that point, the precipitation was not happening, thank god. From there, I managed to make it all the way to Princeton in a little over 6 hours. I stopped off at Jay's Cycling Shop to have my pedals looked at, which were squeeaking and annoying the hell out of me. The laid-back, bearded Mitch graciously took a look at the pedals, tightened them up and oiled my chain -- all for free. When I told him of my biking embarkment, he seemed rather impressed, revealing a tight grin. Also impressed was Mitch's coworker, Cody, who told me that I was a "free soul," as he sucked on his Camel unfiltered cigarette.

From there, I headed north. That's when the clouds began rumbling and shedding water droplets onto my head. The rain was fairly light, but since the winding Cherry Valley Road had its fair share of steep hills I had to climb, my mood was quickly souring. The rain finally died down just as I reached the small town of Hopeville, where I went to a Hungarian restarant for dinner. I had the Chicken Paprika and an iced tea. Eva, my bleach-blonde waitress, was outright amazed that I cycled all the way from Sandy Hook... and in just one day. As I departed, she told me to "be safe" three times.

As I left Hopeville around 8pm on county highway 518, I knew I only had about 30 minutes of daylight left. And with the rain beginning to fall again, I knew I had to find a bridge to camp under... and find it before it got dark. My map indicated that there were a few creeks along highway 518, but as I reached each one, I discovered that the underpass was extremely narrow with water flowing from edge to edge. I needed to find a bridge that had some sort of landing undernether where i could stow my bike and trailer,a nd hopefully set up my tent.

Finally, after much searching, I found a bridge on highway 31 that had a small landing underneath. But when I woke up this morning, I discovered the water rose onto the land and was streaming right under my tent. Whee! I tried to stay positive as I packed my sopping tent and gear, and as I hopped over the raging stream from rock to rock, carrying over my heafty bike and trailer.

Once out from under the bridge, I loaded my trailer, attached it to my bike and then cycled about 12 miles to New Hope, PA. I'm now at the local library, trying to see if I can find a hotel that's close and not outrageously expensive.

I don't know if this biking trip was such a wise move. It looks like it's supposed to rain for at least the next 10 days. If that's the case, not only will biking be incredibly unfun, but I won't be able to do what I was intending to do, i.e., film.