Washington DC is a great starting or finishing spot for a cross country cycling tour
It is not uncommon for me to meet a mud clad cyclists with a bicycle loaded down with a trailer or panniers headed west on the C&O Canal or coming east down the same path putting the final miles to their cross country journey.
On my daily commutes I tend to growl at the other cyclist, but occassionally there is a pleasant exchange. One winter night I rode up on a man on a road bike, we exchanged pleasantries, pedaled along the same path for a few blocks and split off. Several months later I was stranded on the Capital Crescent Trail with a flat tire, my front and rear tires had gone flat due to the traps left by a Nature Nazi on some of the trails along side of the CCT. I was marching into work late. When this same cyclist offered me a patch. On initial glance we did not recognize each other. It was a warmer season, we were each in significantly less clothing, and were both on different bicycles. But as soon as his Aussie accent peaked out I recalled that we had met before. My mind went through an algorhym and recovered the information of our first meeting. As I patched the holes in my tube we exchanged names, talked gear, and the topic of John's upcoming cross country came to surface.
It is a unique set of cricumstances. John has a job, is married, and has several children who he loves dearly. It seems that they love John well enough to know that this is something that he wants to do. Even his 5 year old son knew that his dad was going to "find an adventure."
and sure enough that is what he is doing
here is his diary
no time for me to highlight it
I have not had time to do much more than view a few of the images from his journey
check it out
John's Cross Country Diary
It is not uncommon for me to meet a mud clad cyclists with a bicycle loaded down with a trailer or panniers headed west on the C&O Canal or coming east down the same path putting the final miles to their cross country journey.
On my daily commutes I tend to growl at the other cyclist, but occassionally there is a pleasant exchange. One winter night I rode up on a man on a road bike, we exchanged pleasantries, pedaled along the same path for a few blocks and split off. Several months later I was stranded on the Capital Crescent Trail with a flat tire, my front and rear tires had gone flat due to the traps left by a Nature Nazi on some of the trails along side of the CCT. I was marching into work late. When this same cyclist offered me a patch. On initial glance we did not recognize each other. It was a warmer season, we were each in significantly less clothing, and were both on different bicycles. But as soon as his Aussie accent peaked out I recalled that we had met before. My mind went through an algorhym and recovered the information of our first meeting. As I patched the holes in my tube we exchanged names, talked gear, and the topic of John's upcoming cross country came to surface.
It is a unique set of cricumstances. John has a job, is married, and has several children who he loves dearly. It seems that they love John well enough to know that this is something that he wants to do. Even his 5 year old son knew that his dad was going to "find an adventure."
and sure enough that is what he is doing
here is his diary
no time for me to highlight it
I have not had time to do much more than view a few of the images from his journey
check it out
John's Cross Country Diary