By The Numbers

There's nothing very earth shattering in this post, but if you're interested, the final numbers are posted below.  Don't even bother to cross check them, I'll tell you right now, that they didn't all add up exactly, but after 50 days and over 18,000 miles, all my totals came up to be within 150 miles of each other.  Considering the lackadaisical method of record keeping I did, I can accept that.  The picture will probably be difficult to see, but it shows a good approximation of the five loops I rode to accomplish my quest.  So I don't have any idea of what the next decade birthday will bring, but I have ten years to figure it out.  My goal might just be to be able to walk up to the mailbox and back all in one day.

Days gone:  53
Travel days:  50
Total mileage:  18,389
Avg. Miles/day:  368
Most mileage in one day:  686
Least mileage in one day:  170
Total gallons of gas used:  503.591
Avg. Cost/gal:  3.792
Avg. Miles/gal:  36.53
Top 3 most traveled states:  Tennessee. 997/Arkansas   910/Georgia. 841
Bottom 3 most traveled states:  Minnesota. 103/Rhode Island. 103/Massachusetts  103

Now What

Today's mileage:  304
Loop mileage:  3528
Quest total:  18,925
Present location:  Home

I finished up today by riding another couple hundred miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then jumped onto some familiar back roads and headed on home.  Again some great scenery on the Parkway, but the best sight today was Manfred sitting in front of our house.  I will probably do some looking at my notes and numbers and make one more post with some totals.  If you are interested, you might check back in about a week to see the final tallies.  So that's it from here, so now what.

Doing It Right

Today's mileage:   378
Loop mileage:  3224
Quest total:  18,621
State total:  48
Present location:  Fancy Gap, Va.

I know that from Leesburg,  Virginia I can go west, catch the interstate south all the way into South Carolina and be home in ten hours.  And once you are headed that way, the pull of home can be awfully strong.  But I've had such great riding days by staying off the interstate, that I just couldn't let this quest end that way.  Especially since I had such a great alternative route so close.  So I decided to go ahead and take two days to get home.  About 40 miles southwest of Leesburg, you enter the Shenandoah National Park, and get on the Skyline Drive which carries you along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  As you exit the park, you immediately join the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The combined length of these roads is over 550 miles.  Right now there is very little traffic( too early for all the leaf lookers, and the summer vacation rush is over), and semis and all commercial traffic is banned, as are billboards.  The roads climb and descend, with sweeping turns, some tight spirals, and fantastic scenery the entire way.  Without a doubt, this is the way to end this journey right.  So I'm on the road for another day, but I'll be home tomorrow.

Are we there yet

Today's mileage:  339
Loop mileage:  2846
Quest mileage:  18,243
State total:  48
Present location:  Leesburg, Va.

Today I met my basic goal of riding 100 miles in each of the lower 48 states within one year.  The picture of the bike is where this actually occurred.  I'm sure it's not the exact point, but it should be at least within 5 miles.  It is somewhere in Pennsylvania.  I shot off some streamers, but  I guess they didn't show up in the picture.  So basically I started off from Hancock, NY this morning and headed into Pennsylvania.  Like yesterday, the morning started off cool and foggy, but cleared quickly as I rode thru the mountains.  After a couple of hundred miles on the back roads with some great scenery, I hit the interstate so that I could get to Leesburg to see our friends Jim and Jean.  Years ago Jim and I had a wager where the loser had to buy the beer whenever we got together, and I'm not talking a six pack here, this was beer for life.  I never tire of collecting on this bet.  Additionally, I wanted to see Jim's new toy.  We became friends when we were in the Air Force over 30 years ago,  I think he bought this plane just to make me jealous.
Anyway, even though the basic goal is complete I still have to get home before I can consider it successful.  If things go as planned, I should be home in two days.  I'll keep blogging until I get there.

A Change Of Direction

Today's mileage:  398
Loop mileage:  2507
Quest total:  17,904
State total:  47
Present location:  Hancock, NY

Coming up here, I always figured that as long as I was on a highway that said North or East I couldn't go to wrong.  I'm heading home now, so the directions have changed to west and south.  Of course I suppose I could have a lapse and get to far west, but I'm pretty sure I could figure it out before I got to the Pacific.  So I started out west and entered Vermont.  It was chilly this morning, and initially there was some fog in the higher elevations.  But the fog cleared, the temperature warmed up, and I had one of the best mornings I've had.  I was in the Green Mountains, on a good road on a spectacular fall day.  I'm not sure it gets any better.  Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do it justice.  I hated to leave the Green Mountains, but it was time to leave Vermont and enter New York.  After a bit, I jumped onto the interstate to get thru the Albany area.  South of Albany I exited west and went thru the Catskills.  Another great riding area.  As you can see from the picture, the water levels in the lakes up here are down too.  All in all, it was a great riding day.  A couple of comments on the pictures.  I realize a picture of a cemetery is a little strange, but I'm impressed with the cemeteries in the northeast.  I like the simplicity of the old headstones, and every cemetery I've seen has been mowed, trimmed and very neat.  As I came up on this cemetery, with the sun to my back, I thought the view was very striking, so I took a picture.  The other picture was in Killington where they are having some sort of scavenger hunt that includes hay sculptures.  I saw about five of them, but this was the one I liked best.  There was another town in New York that had Hobbit statues all over town painted differently, but I thought they were just plain creepy.  I should have taken a picture but I don't think it would have been that precious.

Wicked Good

Today's mileage:  334
Loop mileage:  1782
Quest total:  17179
State total:  44
Present location:  Bar Harbor, Maine

Today was a pretty decent day for riding.  The weather was cool, there was no moisture and I found some pretty good roads. One goal that I have had for this loop, was that I wanted to get to Acadia National Park.  I started off in NH and then entered into the land where things aren't just good, they're Wicked Good.  The towns in Maine are a little farther apart and not real large for the most part.  This allowed me to move at a pretty good pace, but it was still a haul to get to the coast.  I had about two hours to ride around and stop at various places in the park.  It is indeed beautiful.  I realize that when I travel in a park like this, that I am only getting a taste of what it has to offer,  but I'll take what I can get.  Just a few pictures included to give you a taste too.  I also included another house picture just for the heck of it.  Maybe the house owner is a John Mellencamp fan (kudos to those of you who understand that reference).  Only other thing to report, is that since I am on the Maine coast, I deed indeed have the lobster special for supper.  It was Wicked Good.

I Remember That One

Today's mileage:  170
Loop mileage:  1448
Quest total:  16,845
State total:  43
Present location:  Nashua, New Hampshire

When I walked out of my door this morning it started to sprinkle.  I turned around and walked back into my room.  45 minutes later, the rain stopped and that was it for the day.  Day started off cool and cloudy but ended up being sunny and warm by the afternoon.  I headed up north thru Rhode Island.  Saw a few yard sculptures I thought I would share.  Heading on into Massachusetts, I took a side trip to go to Rice-O-Rami.   This is a big swap meet held every year for old Japanese manufactured bikes.  I spent over two hours looking at things and know I didn't see it all.  There were bikes held together with baling wire with all the left over parts piled in a box, and bikes that had been totally rebuilt that looked brand new.  They were all for sale, it just depended on how much you wanted to spend.  The really fun part for me was seeing all the old bikes I remembered growing up with.  It was "I remember that bike, that's the one I learned to ride on, that one's just like the one I had in high school, that one's just like the one I wrecked".  That's also where I saw the toy jet trike(I don't have any idea what it has to do with a bike show).  There was certainly no way to get it home, but I did think that in a couple of years, my granddaughter would look really cool on it.  When I finally headed out, it was a really nice day, and I ended up having a great ride thru the rest of Massachusetts. I stopped a little earlier than usual today, and didn't cover much ground.  But this isn't a race, and besides, I had to do some laundry.

Duty Honor Country

When I looked at the map last night, I saw that I was very close to West Point.  Since I had never been to the USMA, I knew I had to take a trip there.  The only problem, is that I arrived at eight, and you are not allowed on the post until nine.  So I killed an hour, and then spent about an hour riding around the academy.  I'm sure I could have spent more time, but I was also pretty sure there was some weather moving in that I wanted to try to get ahead of.  Good plan, but it didn't work.  I got drenched this morning.  In case you didn't know, waterproof gear is only good up to a certain point, and this rain exceeded that point.  So I was a bit damp for the rest of the day, but it was much cooler than yesterday which was good.  Moving on, I got past Danbury Ct  and got on to the secondary roads.  These were pleasant riding roads, but except for the interstate, I never saw a road with a speed limit greater than 45.  It's really hard to travel at 25 MPH.  I found out that I'm not very good at it.  I crossed the Connecticut river on a ferry.  The structure you see across the river in the upper left is the Gillette Castle.  Interestingly, it has nothing to do with the Gillette razors.  After most of the day, I entered Rhode Island down in the southwest corner.  Since RI is the "Ocean State". I decided I should at least go out to one beach and find out what makes their ocean better.  It pretty much looked the same to me.  Guess I picked the wrong beach.

It Can't Be Done

Today's mileage:  243
Loop total:  1037
Quest total:  16,434
State total:  39
Present location:  Harriman, NY

I try really hard to stay off the interstates and miss the big cities.  That's really hard to do up here in the northeast.  I thought I had a really good plan (one that took me from NJ into PA and then back into NJ), in order to miss the cities, traffic and interstates.  Maybe two out of three isn't bad, but there is just noway to miss traffic just by skirting the cities.  Even though I stayed mostly on county roads, there were still plenty of four lane roads, traffic lights, and of course traffic.  Add to that the fact that it was quite hot today, and it made for a rather trying day at times. It wasn't all bad.  I did find some really great county roads away from the cities that gave me some great riding and some good scenery.  I have to admit, there were times when I didn't really think I was in NJ, because it didn't fit the mental picture I had.  But even with that, I think I may have to try some different tactics for the next few days.  I think I'll probably just ride the interstates through the cities and try to get thru them as quickly as possible in order to get to some better riding.  We'll have to see how that works out.  They are no real stories behind today's pictures.  I just found them to be interesting.  If you are interested, the car is for sale.
 

The Rinse Cycle

Today's mileage:  258
Loop mileage:  794
Loop total:  16,191
States total:  39
Present location:  Odessa, Delaware

When I checked the weather radar before I took off this morning, I knew there was a chance I could get wet.  I took off anyway, hoping for the best.  It wasn't long before I did indeed run into rain showers.  Luckily it didn't last long, so it really wasn't an issue.  I was in MD at this point, so I got onto secondary roads and headed for a ferry crossing.  Unfortunately, when I arrived, there was no ferry (closed for maintenance).  I knew there was another ferry crossing further upriver, I just wasn't sure where, so I took to the back roads to see if I could find it.  I'm sure it took me much longer than it should have to find it, but it was the type of riding that I really like.  They were good roads that were lightly traveled, and I was never really sure where I was at.  After the crossing, I continued north for a while longer on the back roads.  Every small town I entered had a sign stating it was a historical town.  I'm no expert, but I didn't think this house color was historically correct (and this was without any sunshine to brighten it up).  Maybe he just doesn't like his neighbors.  I reached 100 miles in MD. So I turned east to enter into Delaware.  That's when it really started to rain, I felt like I was definitely in the rinse cycle.  I don't consider rain to be a deal breaker on a trip, but it is a game changer.  It's one thing when you are heading for a destination, it's another thing when you are just meandering. It takes a bit of the fun out of it.  After about two hours of riding in a steady rain I was considering calling it a day when I came upon the Airlift Museum at Dover Air Force Base.  While visiting the museum's inside exhibits, it stopped raining, so after my visit, I decided to head east towards the coast.  This is when I learned that when the area has a lot of rain, and the tide is coming in, some of the roads in the low lying wetlands areas  close due to tidal flooding.  After crossing a marginal area of road that had rising water on both sides,  I decided to call it a day.  Hoping for a dryer day tomorrow.

Moving On

Today's Mileage:  536
Loop Mileage:  536
Quest Total:  15,397
Present Location:  Franktown , Va.

Today was a moving day.  I was moving thru states I have already checked off, in order to get to the areas I haven't visited yet.  This meant that I spent over 300 miles on the interstate.  Still not my favorite, but it did get me to where I want to be, which is in the eastern shore area of Va.  From here, I should be able to cover MD. And Delaware tomorrow.  Nothing special on the interstate, but I did go thru the Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel.  For those of you who don't know, this is a 17 mile long system of both bridges and two tunnels across the bay.  The tunnels allow sea going ships to pass thru the bay.  The picture is from one man made island to the next in the distance that a tunnel connects.  It's considered an engineering marvel, but they did charge me 12 bucks just for the privilege to marvel at it.  Only other highlight of the day was that it was open mike night at the local clam shack where I had supper.  The second guy up was playing a 12 string guitar, which was about 11 more strings than he could handle, which was more than I could handle so I bailed out.  I'm sure that there is probably some fine talent playing tonight, but it's been a long day, so I'm calling it quits for tonight.

The Road Home

Today's Mileage: 342 Loop Mileage: 9371 Quest Total: 14861 State Total:36 Current Location: Home

I left out of Princeton and headed into Virginia.  Got off the interstate pretty quickly and got onto some back roads.  It was a pleasant ride initially, and great weather.  I was surprised at all the Christmas tree farms that were in the area.  At times it looked like any plot of ground that wasn't covered by rocks, was covered by a tree.  Generally, another pretty area.  When I turned west, I got on a really twisty road that took me over the highest peak in Virginia.  There's never much traffic on these roads,  and I always wonder what the locals do when it snows or freezes.  I know I wouldn't be driving them under adverse conditions.  There must be great bicycle trail riding in the area, because when I was coming back down the other side, I saw a lot of vans trailering bikes, taking people up the mountain.  When I entered the nearest town, there were at least 8  locations for renting bikes and shuttling up the mountain.  Got on the interstate near the state border and headed for home.  I'm obviously not a fan of riding the interstates in general, but I must admit, when you are coming down I-26, there are some  very  pretty views.; Pulled into the garage around 2:30 pm and that was the end of Loop Four.&; That leaves me with the Northeast part of the country in order to finish up.&; The plan right now, is to wait until early September to do that, but as always the plan is subject to change.&; Right now, it feels really good to be home.&; One of the things about writing a blog, is that I really don't know who is reading it.&; I'll send out another notice, when I start up again, and you can either follow along&; or ignore the notice as you please.&; Until then, enjoy your summer.

I still don't know what causes all the miscellaneous items to show up.

A Good Day

Today's  Mileage:  469
Loop Mileage:  9029
Quest Total:  14519
State Total:  35
Current Location:  Princeton, West Virginia

The initial plan for this loop was to head straight home after completing Ohio.  But after thinking about it, and looking at the map, I decided to cover WV and Virginia.  I could have made it home today, but it would have been 12 hours of interstate riding, and I really didn't want to do that.  So instead, I jumped on the interstates for a couple of hours in order to get to some roads in Ohio that looked interesting on the map.  They turned out to be as good as they looked.  Additionally, when i got to the Ohio river, I had to take a ferry to get to West Virginia.  I hadn't realized that there would be a ferry, so that was a bonus.  Traveling thru WV was a treat.  The temps were in the 70's, puffy skies, and lot's of sunshine.  The scenery was beautiful, and I'm sure it would be spectacular in the fall.  The road was a little rough in places, but it really didn't matter to me.  After about four hours of this, I realized that i was having a good time, but wasn't making much headway in getting home.  So i headed back on the interstate, went to Charleston(which probably has the prettiest capitol dome in the country), and then headed south on I-77.  I was making good time, but it was just too good of a day to stay on the interstate, besides, this part of I-77 is a toll road, and I was getting tired of paying two bucks every twenty miles just to fight with the semis.  So I got off at beckly and rode the Heritage Coal Trail Byway.  This was an outstanding ride with some really pretty country.  The towns reminded me very much of the Mill Towns in the South.  At one time, these were definitely "Company Towns".   I doubt that it made up for the rough life, but it was really pretty.  There were no motels along the byway, so I had to cut back to the interstate to find a room.  I took hwy 10 to get back to Princeton, and it turned out to be a really fun road to ride.  Again, not a road I want to drive in a car, but it sure was fun on the bike.  So in the end, I got some great riding in, with beautiful views, and I made some pretty decent distance from my start point.  Plan for tomorrow is to ride some back roads in Virginia, and then head for home.  I plan on being there in time for cocktail hour.

Kinda Strange

Today's Mileage:  511
Loop Mileage:  8560
Quest Total:  14050
State Total:  34
Current Location:  Medina, Ohio

The plan for michigan was always to do the UP, on the two lane highways, and then to just ride the interstate down thru the rest of the state.  I did think about changing, and sticking with secondary roads, but once you make that turn towards home, you seem to just naturally pick up your pace.  When I was working, we called it GHP, which meant Go Home Power.   Additionally, I knew that if i pushed it a bit today, I could see and stay with our friends  Bob and Mona.  So that is why I did about 400 miles of interstate today.  The very first portion was riding the Makinac Bridge over the straits.  It was a little bit weird doing this on a bike.  It's not so bad when you look at the oncoming traffic lanes, but when you look out over the bridge supports, and all you see is sky and water, you can feel a liitle disoriented, as if you are just suspended there.  Anyway, after the bridge and interstate, I turned left and headed for Medina, Ohio.  Tomorrow I'll head southeast and try to cover West Virginia.

Pines, Ponds, and a Big One

Today's Mileage:  437
Loop Mileage:  8049
Quest Total:  13539
State Total:  33
Current Location:  St. Ignace, Michigan

I know that MN is the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but Wisconsin has it's fair share of bodies of water also.  I started out east on hwy 8.  It must be somewhat of an east/west artery, because it had way more traffic than I had expected.  After about 45 minutes, I headed north and got on another eastbound hwy.  This hwy was much more to my liking, and eventually ended up at about the same area to enter MI.  As mentioned, there were quite a few lakes, ponds, and rivers along the way.  I entered Michigan at Iron City and rode along the shore of Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.  I made a couple of stops along the shoreline.  I kept telling myself that it really is a lake, but it sure seems like an ocean when you can't see the other side.  In Wisconsin, I saw a couple of park areas with numerous wood carvings.  Not really sure of the significance, other than it tells you they are pretty good with a chainsaw.  The big miner was at a coal mine attraction.  I passed on the attraction, but thought the miner was unique, until I saw the big concrete bear across the street.  Not sure what it had to do with the Mexican Restaurant it was by, but I liked the bear.