Shifting Gears

Season 2 Episode 3 (9/10): Stockton Springs to South Thomaston – 43 miles. 2,345’ climbing.  Ok I may be an idiot and may have been wrong! Just maybe. And maybe not. 95 miles and 6,500’ of climbing on the first day yesterday was bound to cause issues. While bending to get dressed last night, I suffered sharp cramps in my hamstring causing me to cry out Heather’s name for help. The cramps turned out to be the least of my worries and were fine this morning.  After last year, Heather and a few of my friends warned me to change my bike seat for this year. Four days before leaving, we bumped into my amazingly kind dermatologist with the most congenial bedside manner (featured in season 1), and even she gave me a disproving look when learning I’m using the same seat.  Maybe I’m stubborn. But what I don’t understand is how I had zero problems (zero!!) during the last five months of riding. And now one mere day and voila - a saddle sore has appeared. It wasn’t excessively hot, so...

Season 2 Episode 2 (9/9): Acadia NP & Bar Harbor to Stockton Springs – Optional Acadia National Park (ANP) sunrise ride: Mark departed 5:04 a.m. for 15.6 miles and 1,014’ climb.  Ride through ANP and from Bar Harbor to Stockton Springs: we both rode 80 miles with 5,518’ of climb.   My alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. For the last 3 weeks I’ve been looking forward to riding up Cadillac Mountain. It wasn’t in my original plan, but on a ride with my friend Ted, he said you have to do it. I’d read up on it and it’s supposed to be the most incredible sunrise from the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard. For half the year, it’s America’s first sun coming over the Atlantic. It is so special that cars need reservations to drive up Summit Road to the peak.  I do not like waking up early. By nature, I’m nocturnal and can stay up very late. Heather is a rooster, I’m an owl. So I figured it would be easy to convince her to come see this magnificent sunrise. She wasn’t biting. Dar...

Season 2 Episode 1 (9/8): Drive 459 miles to Trenton, Maine; Bike 11.6 miles to  Bar Harbor hotel – Getting only 4.5 hours sleep last night, before today’s 459 mile drive from NY to Bar Harbor was a poor way to start. Especially since we were driving a rented pickup truck that Heather didn’t seem comfortable with sharing the driving so I’d likely have most of the responsibility. Our rental truck We picked up the truck the day before from Enterprise at JFK from the most outstanding customer service rep (Zhanice) who let us try fitting in our bike before we took the vehicle. We planned a one way rental to return it to Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton, Maine. We fit both bikes (with front tires removed) in the back seat with our panniers. The beauty of traveling light. It’s actually very liberating to pack so little. Makes the daily pack up and load out much easier. Loaded and ready to roll Part of the problem sleeping last night was my mind was racing with thoughts of wha...

Welcome back to loyal readers of the Shifting Gears blog and welcome to new readers! Mark and Heather, 2021 Last fall, Heather and I cycled, by ourselves with paniers on our bikes, from San Diego, CA to St. Augustine, FL. The close to 3,000 miles journey took 46 days from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. We cycled a daily average of 72 miles on 41 days and rested 5 days. We faced many challenges and hardships including severe heat of 108°, dehydration, steep long climbing over the Continental Divide, painful “chip & seal” roads in Texas, hand numbness, saddle sores, and dog chases, to name some. Yet it was all worth it as there were so many incredible highlights including meeting extraordinary people and experiencing their kindness. It was everything we could have hoped for and even more! [The original motivation for epic rides came from spectacular scenic week-long rides in Nova Scotia (culturally unique Cabot Trail, 2018) and in Newfoundland (Viking Trail, 2019) that inspired u...

FINAL BLOG: Wrap up & Reflections – Wrap Up I wrote my last blog on 11/4 at about 1pm, after we arrived and celebrated on the beach in St. Augustine. Heather and I explored town, and the major highlight for me was the statue of Ponce de Leon & the Grilled Cheese Gallery. As a student, I loved history and was especially fond of the early explorers of North America. About a week before riding into Florida, I recalled that Ponce de Leon was chasing the Fountain of Youth when he discovered Florida and only then made the connection to my own chasing of that fountain. I loved that we both had the same terminal point, and thought that was pretty cool. What I didn’t remember nor see in my trip planning, was that St. Augustine is home to the Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. You can actually buy a souvenir bottle, and fill it with 2 ounces of Fountain of Youth Spring water from the actual Floridan aquifer. Heather, who thinks half of what we have in our house is clutt...

Day 45 11/3 Gainesville, FL 67 miles touring and to Palatka, FL Day 46 11/4 Palatka, FL 33 miles to St. Augustine Beach + 4 miles to St. Augustine, FL – After a breakfast in Gainesville on 11/3, including expertly seasoned eggs cooked up by Bryan, our 21 year old host, we rode off with our student hosts who were proud to show us around their FU campus.  Heading off with Austin (left) and Bryan (right), our campus guides The campus highlight was definitely riding right into The Swamp, their football stadium.  A unique riding end point We stopped in at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park where we hoped to spot alligators in the wild. Heather, thinking this 12’ specimen is sleeping and unaware it can move up to 35 mph on land, poses way too close. Does she think this is Disney fake?  I wondered to myself if she gets attacked, do I finish the ride tomorrow alone? That’s probably 50 husband demerit points for thinking that way. My daughter Sydney, posting this blog, thinks it i...

Day 40 10/29 Milton, FL 86 miles to Bonifay, FL Day 41 10/30 Bonifay, FL 74 miles to Quincy, FL Day 42 10/31 Quincy, FL 69 miles to Greenville, FL Day 43 11/1 Greenville, FL 63 miles to Lake City, FL Day 44 11/2 Lake City, FL 47 miles to Gainesville, FL –  Our ride to Milton had been on Highway 90 which had amazing pavement, a wide shoulder marked as a bike lane, and great signs to motorists to yield to cyclists when merging as well as when making right turns. It was hands down the best road stretch in the past 6 weeks! And this good fortune continued for us as we rode on it the next 4 days into Bonifay, Quincy, Greenville and Lake City.  The weather started to feel more like autumn with cooler morning starts around 55 degrees and days that remained in the low 60’s. It was actually a welcome relief from the relative heat and humidity in the prior days. I was grateful to have brought my full fingered gloves, neck buff, and ear warmer.  Cooler weather attire We shortened ou...