Believe it or not, writing up my journey takes more time and energy than riding this beast of a bicycle. I can easily spend four hours writing, editing and organizing photos for a post, which is the equivalent of about 30 miles on the bike.
I write after dinner and exhausted from the day's ride, or first thing in the morning when I feel a little fresher. Or not. This past week CSX Corporation proved to be a wonderful alarm clock. Their freight trains blast through the river valley early and often - and all night. At one campsite in Cumberland, MD I slept 50 feet from the tracks. I wonder what needs to be hauled at 3:47 AM to way western Maryland.
In real life I will reach Pittsburgh today whereas on the blog I haven't even gotten to Harpers Ferry where I was 10 days ago. I'm jumping ahead to yesterday because after a relaxing morning touring the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Fallingwater home in Ohiopyle, PA, I got a call from the NY Post en route to my next destination.
Stop, drop and talk
What does one do when contacted by a major media outlet in NY? Stop riding and set up a satellite office on the Great Allegheny Passage. The article is typical tabloid treatment, but overall not negative. I never said I was "bored" and don't consider myself a "Manhattan" man, but at least they didn't call me a thief and mercifully disabled the comments. Internet trolls would have had a field day on this.
[Update 11:15 AM: upon seeing the print version I'm actually really happy with the spread.]
The Post also reported this more shocking story. 476 Citi Bikes have been stolen this year? That's a lot if none have been recovered. Sometimes nogoodniks will take improperly docked bikes on a joy ride and then abandon them. But the bikes sure aren't leaving the city or crossing state lines. Except for one. Nevertheless, I'll keep an eye out for them while on the road.
For a more complete read of my story, check out Velojoy.com, a wonderful site for bike commuters and casual cyclists like myself. The Velojoy article is probably the source that got the Post's attention had has led to subsequent requests by CBS2, WCBS Newsradio 880 and 1010WINS.
In the meantime, it's 34 miles to Pittsburgh and I don't know where I'm staying!