Only 4,000 Miles to Go - June 20, 2007

Only 4,000 Miles to Go

(June 20, 2007)

 

I’m sitting here in a Virginia library, sweating nicely, on my third day of riding.

So far, my trip is about what I expected. That is: A relatively in-shape person of advanced age will suffer to get into shape.

 

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No chance in the world.

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My brother Ned dropped me off around noon on June 18 on the Jersey shore and I dipped my back tire in the Atlantic as required by tradition. Two months later I hope to dip the front tire in the Pacific. A pretty young lifeguard asked where I was going. I replied, “Oregon,” with a smile. She returned my smile and wished me luck. I suspect she took one look at my physique and thought, secretly, “No chance in the world!”

Too chunky at the start!

Heading south with a good following wind I made 72 miles down the coast. As expected, there were no hills, though heat was a factor. I crossed Delaware Bay on a ferry (another 15 miles) and rode through the Eastern Shore to Salisbury, Maryland.

Everyone I talk to has been nice, especially when I tell them I’m riding to raise money for juvenile diabetes research. At a fruit stand in Delaware the owner brought me her special chair and set it down in the shade where I could rest. At 6:00 p.m. I stopped in Millsboro, Delaware at a restaurant serving breakfast all day. When I told the hostess I hoped to ride to Oregon and was raising money for diabetes she shook my hand. Then she called two waitresses over to explain what I was doing. After polishing off a pile of pancakes I logged twenty-seven more miles and found a hotel before dark in Salisbury.

The second day was uneventful – but roasting hot. I felt like I was riding in a sauna. For those interested in a beach home I can say that reports in Eastern Shore papers indicate this region is booming.

 

You heard it here first.

I also read in USA Today that 12% of all health spending in the country goes to diabetic care: $80 billion dollars out of $645 billion. I hope JDRF can help find a cure soon.

I can also reveal another travel tip to those planning to visit the Eastern Shore. Do not plan to use the ferry which crosses the Chesapeake Bay from Crisfield, Maryland to Reedville, Virginia. AAA maps indicate the connection will work; but the ferry carries passengers only and runs once a day. Unfortunately, I missed the trip on the 19th and ground to a stop after only 49 miles.

Today I finally managed to cross over to Tangier Island at 12:30. There you catch a second boat at 2:00 to finish the passage to Virginia. It was a picturesque island and I talked to several interesting locals, as well as a young man who had just finished boot camp at Parris Island. I had the pleasure of graduating from boot camp in February 1969.

I will say more about that; but I want to get riding. It’s 7:30 in the evening and I have ten miles to go to the nearest campground.

Emily gives herself a shot of insulin in 2007. 

 

*Writing about my first trip later, I said the pretty lifeguard probably thought “‘Fat chance.’ I started my trip 25 pounds overweight and 25 years past my prime.” 

I poked fun at myself in my original posts, partly because I knew my students could be reading, but once I got in shape, I thought riding was a blast. After the first few days, it became much easier. I felt twenty years younger by the time I finished in August. So, I recommend this kind of ride to anyone so inclined. 

Tangier Island may be ruined by rising seas, due to climate change, and by some estimates could be reduced to uninhabitable wetlands as soon as 2051. If I live to be 102, I’ll be able to say, “I was there once. Before we screwed up the planet.”