April 14: Philadelphia
April 14: Philadelphia[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on April 14, 2005]
What a beautiful week of weather! I don't know when I've ever experienced seven days of perfect bicycling weather in a row. Unfortunately I wasn't able to appreciate the first five because I was sick, but I was dimly aware that I would otherwise have been appreciative!
I was sick when I last wrote you, on Friday morning. (It bears mentioning because this was my first illness in nine months of traveling.) A cold that had been building in my throat moved into my nose Thursday night and kept me from sleeping, and I was glad to be leaving the hostel before I could infect everyone there. [I may have caught it at the hostel, which did not have great hygienic practices.]
Marisa had just finished her qualifying exams, so both of us slept until noon on Saturday! Then that afternoon we went to a Japanese-inspired street festival on Pennsylvania Avenue in honor of the cherry blossoms. We bought some mochi rolls that turned out to have beans in them, and I ate them anyway (cue ominous music).
On Sunday morning I went to see Rev. Rob Hardies speak at All Souls Church, and I must say he puts on quite a show -- the closest thing to a charismatic Unitarian minister I've ever seen. It helps that his congregation is so remarkably diverse -- if he asked them to speak in tongues, I bet they could converse in at least a dozen -- but his dynamism probably contributes to the diversity as well. His associate minister is popular as well; both of them actually got standing ovations on Sunday, even though she wasn't present -- it was announced that she had just gotten married in Massachusetts [historical note: Massachusetts had just legalized same-sex marriage, which the UUA strongly supported].
Anyhow, his sermon gave me a lot to think about, which is why when I started feeling wretched and despondent as I rode out of town I thought at first I was reacting to the themes of the sermon, rather than the previous evening's legumes. I did finally figure it out, but I had nothing to eat for dinner but lentil soup (which hadn't caused me problems in the past). Between that and the tail end of the cold, I wasn't a happy camper until after lunch on Tuesday!
I passed through Baltimore on Monday and have nothing interesting to say about it except that all the public libraries there are called Enoch Pratt. I could tell the curse of the legume was wearing off Tuesday afternoon because when I found out Susquehanna State Park's campground was closed -- after riding all day to get there -- I just shrugged it off. I stopped for water at an adult day-care center, and the director, who was just leaving for the day, offered to let me camp on the grounds because "no one's here overnight anyway." Alas, I overslept in the morning, so I was still there when folks started arriving!
I had planned to cross Chesapeake Bay on US-40 and ride into Delaware, but when I got to the foot of the bridge in Havre de Grace, Maryland, I learned it was off-limits to bikes -- no exceptions. I was referred to the local florist, a man named Richard who has bicycled "all over" (mostly Utah) and makes it known on both sides of the bridge that he'll drive bicyclists across. He told me that Delaware is a horrific place to bicycle due to hostile motorists, and to make sure I didn't go that way he drove me most of the way to US-1, bound for Pennsylvania. So I didn't go to Delaware after all.
Instead I went on a tour of the Herrs Snack Food factory in Nottingham, PA! I saw lots of cool assembly-line equipment and learned how they put all their byproducts to useful purposes, but I wasn't allowed to take photos. The quality-control robots were especially cool, knocking green potato chips out of mid-air and detecting incorrect seasoning levels inside sealed bags. [2015 note: while eating my complimentary bag of chips after the tour, I bumped my scabbed right knee against the concrete picnic table and tore the scab off, causing a scar that I still have today. I guess I didn't feel like writing about it at the time!]
Even with only 30 miles to ride today, and even with a bicycle map of Philadelphia in hand, I still had a hard day's ride. People who print bicycle maps of hilly places without any topographical information should provide a tow-rope service on all the hills; that's what I think.
Anyhow, the latest in the series of beautiful days saw me as a guest in the home of Jay and Elsa, my new nephew's paternal grandparents, whom I had not previously met. I'll spend most of tomorrow on a bus to Pittsburgh, and by the end of the day I'll meet the new nephew himself! The bike and trailer, meanwhile, will rest in Jay and Elsa's garage.
Happy trails! --Ben
Back to Gallaudet
Back to GallaudetI left the hostel just in time: the cold that had been lingering in my throat for several days moved into my nose. The hostel has no soap or towels in the bathrooms, and it's easy to forget to bring one's own, which is probably why I got sick, but had I stayed an hour longer I would certainly have passed it on to other people.
The all-day rain shower that had been forecast failed to materialize, so I took a scenic route to Gallaudet. It felt good to get out on my bike again, pulling the familiar trailer; I was able to breathe through my nose as long as I was exercising. As soon as I stopped, though, I felt miserable. I checked into my room and took a long, hot shower.
Marisa had taken her "quals" (qualifying exams) that afternoon, and they went well. We had dinner with her circle of friends (though she had had an invitation to go out with her department, she wasn't recovered in time), and everyone wanted to know how she had done on the tests.
5.74 mi
Sakura Matsuri festival
Sakura Matsuri festivalMarisa and I both felt lousy this morning, so we slept in our separate rooms until after noon. After lunch we rode the metro to the "Sakura Matsuri," a street festival inspired by the cherry blossoms. It was a cross between the street festivals I saw in Japan and those you can see anywhere in the US. We bought some Japanese trinkets and ate too much mochi.
To Greenbelt Park
To Greenbelt ParkI went to church at All Souls again this morning to see Rev. Rob Hardies speak, as my friend Elisa had assured me he was not to be missed. I was impressed -- All Souls is not only the most diverse UU congregation I've seen, it's also the most charismatic. The congregation gave both its ministers standing ovations... Hardies when he finished his sermon and the associate minister when it was announced that she had just gotten married in Massachusetts.
The ride out of town was uneventful except that I was in a wretched mood due to eating beans yesterday, and it took me several hours to figure out that was the cause. I camped at Greenbelt Park, which is even closer to the city than the park where I stayed 10 days ago, but less secluded because of it.
12.5 mi
To Rosedale, MD
To Rosedale, MDToday was a beautiful day; it just wasn't my day. The bike map misled me about a dozen times on the way to Baltimore. Still, I got to the library around 3:00 and found that the libraries in Baltimore are not the Baltimore County Libraries I found online, the ones that had the maps I needed. The libraries in Baltimore are all called Enoch Pratt, and they didn't have the maps. So I rode on to a Baltimore County library and got a motel in Rosedale.
38.3 mi
To Aberdeen, MD
To Aberdeen, MDI slept in this morning but still felt lousy until after lunch. I started out on a road parallel to US-40 but found that the highway felt safer because it had a shoulder.
I was looking forward to camping at Susquehanna State Park, but when I got close enough to see signs for the park, the signs said the campground was closed! I stopped at an adult day-care center to refill my water containers in preparation for camping unofficially. The manager of the place was just leaving for the day, and she said I could sleep on its lawn, since no one was there overnight anyway.
23.6 mi
To Philly/West Chester KOA
To Philly/West Chester KOAI slept in longer than I really should have, since people arrived for work before 8:00, but no one said anything.
A man in the motel parking lot yesterday morning had warned me against following US-40 into Wilmington, but it was such a good ride yesterday that I went back to it this morning. When I got to Chesapeake Bay, however, I found that the toll bridge was off-limits to bikes, no exceptions. The lady at the visitor center (of the town, not the bridge) referred me to the local florist, a man named Richard who has bicycled "all over," mainly Utah. He makes it known on both sides of the bridge that he'll give any bicyclist a ride across in his van. He not only drove me across, he took me a few miles north so I could follow US-1 into Pennsylvania rather than continue my ill-advised route. He said Delaware is bicycling hell; the drivers there are extremely hostile. He seemed to know what he was talking about, so I took his advice gladly.
Things started looking up as soon as I entered Pennsylvania: I passed the Herrs Snack Food factory in Nottingham and went on a tour. I saw lots of cool assembly-line equipment, but I wasn't allowed to take photos. The quality-control robots were especially cool, knocking green potato chips out of mid-air and detecting incorrect seasoning levels inside sealed bags.
Richard had assured me there would be lots of campgrounds along the way, but the closest I found was the KOA west of West Chester, PA, which made for a longer day's ride than I'd had in mind, but it's a beautiful place and very close to Philadelphia.
46.6 mi
To Philadelphia
To PhiladelphiaIt's a good thing I didn't have farther to go today... Philadelphia is a lot hillier than I had anticipated, and getting into town was trickier. I stopped at a bike shop in West Chester and got an official bike map of the Philadelphia area. The proprietor gave it to me for free because he knew it to be inaccurate, and he gave me some tips about roads that are better or worse than indicated.
38.2 mi