Trip Log – Day 272 – Front Royal VA to Rixeyville VA

Posted on August 6, 2016 by paulefallon

To RixeyvilleAugust 3, 2016 – Partly Cloudy, 80 degrees

Miles Today: 32

Miles to Date: 13,846

States to Date: 38

I come from an area of our country rich in history. I stroll by Old South Church where the Adams boys, Sam and John, roused the rabble. I cross the intersection where the Boston Massacre occurred. I pedal past the Lexington Green and Concord footbridge; ‘the shot heard round the world’ echoes still. I pass Washington’s Brattle Street Headquarters during the siege of Boston almost every day. These places rest easy in my mind, unambiguously positive landmarks commemorating our independence from England.

IMG_7390Today, as I pedaled over Chester Gap from Front Royal to Flint Hill and along scenic Benvenue Road, I was keen to the altogether different weight of history in Northern Virginia. Huge clouds, occasional sprinkles, and intermittent sun created thermal updrafts and cool undercurrents. The land itself sighed under its ambivalent burden: a land of honor and glory; a land of ignoble defeat. The Civil War is history. But in Virginia, history is ever present.

The Confederate Army marched from Culpepper to Gettysburg along the route I traversed in both directions. First they headed north: 60,000 confident, strong men; four abreast and three miles long, trailed by artillery and support in a bold move to take an offensive stance against the North. A much smaller number returned along the same route, in the direction I spun, in defeat. As one local said, “After Gettysburg, everything fell apart. The rest of the war was defense and retreat. If we could have just stopped then, perhaps the destruction would not have beeIMG_7389n so great. But fighting continued and we were humbled.”

One hundred fifty years later the landscape is gorgeous. The stately plantation houses are grand. The few slave quarters still standing appear quaint. There is no evidence of pillage; that hardly a tree stood in all of Culpepper County. But the natives remember. Caught between romantic affection for a way or life out of step with evolving equality and justice, yet baffled why the remedy came so hard. They recall the Civil War. Not as if it were yesterday. As if it were today.

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Trip Log – Day 271 – Boyce VA to Front Royal VA

Posted on August 5, 2016 by paulefallon

to Front RoyalAugust 2, 2016 – Partly Cloudy, 85 degrees

Miles Today: 34

Miles to Date: 13,814

States to Date: 38

 IMG_7327The moment I wake up I wonder: is my bike tire good? Though I have a very short day, I take a quick appreciation of the Shenandoah River from my host Chuck’s deck and then I’m out. Tom looks fine; my tire is firm. I speed down Chuck’s steep hill. It’s all great, until it isn’t. Two and half miles out, my back tire is flat again; my fifth flat in less than 36 hours.

 

 

 

 

Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 6.18.09 PMI ride Schwabe Marathon Plus tires, expensive, heavy-duty tires renowned for no flats. I did over 6,000 miles flat free on my last set. Today I learned the downside of such sturdy tires. When something does penetrate, it can nestle in the rubber and not puncture the tube until the wheels roll and things heat up. That’s the only reason I can explain why repeated repairs held pressure, even overnight, and I could ride for a few miles before the tubes lost pressure.

While Chuck sagged me again, this time to a bike shop in Winchester, I wondered if perhaps this whole bike thing was played out. From inside a car, the world looks pretty good and the AC feels great. But once I got a new tire/tube assembly from Element Sports and tested a few miles around town, I returned to open road and rediscovered there is nothing like being on a bike.

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I had a perfect scenario, a summery day winding through the Shenandoah Valley, one of the most bucolic places on earth. I rode past plantations and mills, horse country and small villages. There is much conservation land in Clark Country and Virginia has wonderful, well marked, paved, side roads: cousins to Texas’ Farm-to-Market Roads.

IMG_7386Despite so many snags over the past three days, I arrived in Front Royal by mid-afternoon, in part because I set my bicycle tour objectives light, but more because a good friend came to my aid.

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Responses: How will we live tomorrow?

Posted on August 5, 2016 by paulefallon

How will we live tomorrow?

“We go to church. Jesus Christ will come again.”

Noborto, fitness walker, Middlebury, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“Will we live tomorrow? That’s the question. I listen to the news but I let it go. I have to stay positive.”

Constance Quinn, grandmother, Newtown, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“I was taught to be colorblind. But this can be destructive. We have to understand our differences. Ten years ago I would have thought we are further along than we are.”

Katie, Interpretive Guide, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“I am an idealist and positive at heart. I hope that as our environmental destruction and terrorist violence increase, so will our sense of community. The stresses on our next generation are huge. One of the things I am doing with the time I have left is to increase our sense of community.

“Our founders set up a tension between the individual and the community. The recent rise in nationalism in Europe (Brexit) is unusual. It’s a denunciation of the political elite. Which is what Trump is in this country.”

Greg Andrews, historian and civic booster, Hartford, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“Cooking. That’s how I want to live my days. I want to put love in my food. You can taste it.”

Alison Sprang, Culinary Institute of America student, Hyde Park, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“When I was a girl, my mother wanted me to be a seamstress Her sister worked as a seamstress and gave my mother leftover thread, which my mother sewed into panties or a camisole for me, 25,000 colors of thread. I didn’t want to be a seamstress, and told my mother so. She sent me to typing school instead. I didn’t like that either. Do you know how much it costs to get a zipper installed or a skirt hemmed? There’s money in that. Now I am on my feet all day as a waitress because I didn’t listen.

“On Fridays, after finishing our chores, we could either get a quarter or an ice cream cone. One day I am at the ice cream store with my mother. There is a sign that says, “Cash today, Credit tomorrow.’ I ask my mother what it means. She slapped me up the head. ‘What do I send you to school for? Come in tomorrow, look at the sign, and you will still have to pay cash.’

“So that’s my answer to your question. Tomorrow is the day that never comes.”

Rudi, waitress at Noni’s Coffee Shop, The Bronx, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“I believe that a real Biblical life has concern for others. But I believe these are rooted in God, and as a Christian, in Jesus.”

Tom Hollis, FDR Museum Visitor, Hyde Park, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“The sun will come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun.”

Annie, optimistic orphan, New York, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“I hear all this terrible stuff in the news. Then two nights ago people took us in, made us dinner, let us sleep in their camper. It gives you hope.”

Shaggy, Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, Stormville, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“It seems like we’re trying to come together as a nation.”

Buckley, Security, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Museum, Hyde Park, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“No Clue.”

Miguel , Free Hug giver, New York, NY

LightSourceTemple.org: The Secret Keys: Love thy self, Be present and aware, Create positive energy

How will we live tomorrow?

“The way we grew up and left home at age 18 and lived independent of our parents was an aberration of the Baby Boom. No generation before did it, the Millennial are not doing it now. In every other country and every other generation children live with their families until they begin their own families. We will revert to that model in the United States as well.”

John Burke, Hosing Demographer, New York, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“The way we’re going, it’s not very good.”

Nelli Galvarez, Physical Therapist who visits clients on a folding bicycle, New York, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“I hope everyone lives openly and freely and follows their dreams.”

Jeff Gorcyca, actor, New York, NY

How will we live tomorrow?

“I take whatever comes.”

Omar, soccer player, Red Bank, NJ

How will we live tomorrow?

“We will be healthier. People will eat better food. Right now, no one cooks.”

Debra Evans, aspiring cyclist, Toms River, NJ

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Trip Log – Day 270 – Harper’s Ferry, WV to Boyce VA

Posted on August 4, 2016 by paulefallon

to Boyce VAAugust 1, 2016 – Cloudy, 80 degrees

Miles Today: 20

Miles to Date: 13,780

States to Date: 38

Maybe its because I dealt West Virginia a short hand, staying only one night in a state of many contrasts. Maybe its because I spun 20 miles on gravel yesterday, which I dislike as much as my bike Tom must. Maybe its because during our email exchange my host for tonight, Chuck Downs, offered to pick me up along the way and Tom, like a petulant adolescent, decided to slough off. Whatever the reason, I pedaled out of Harpers Ferry on a nice firm back tire but after I stopped at a fruit stand for some excellent local peaches, it came up flat.

IMG_7306Thus begins a comedy of errors worthy of the Marx brothers. I fix the flat, but am down to one tube. So I ride out of my way to Charles Town where Goggle suggests a bike store will be open in an hour. On the way, another slow leak develops. I pump it up every few miles until I arrive to discover the store has gone bust. I push Tom through the historic county seat where ‘John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave.’ Two swell, tattooed bubbas in a pick-up stop and haul us to Wal-Mart. Way more West Virginians in Wal-Mart than in historic downtown, that’s for sure. I snag three more tubes and eat a Subway foot long before changing another flat. Four miles out and I’m flat again. I push Tom to the Panda Garden, order some food, though I am not hungry, so I can sit inside and use their Internet to find a bike shop. I call my friend Chuck, who swoops down from this mountaintop to save me. The closest bike shop is twelve miles back in Maryland. The mechanic checks the tire with the same care I did and finds no abrasion. He has no suitable replacement anyway, so he fixes the flat and I pray that his more experienced hands will yield success.

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In the meantime Chuck has taken my question to heart and arranged two house tours with local folks who’ve built sustainable, geothermal, passive solar houses with extensive gardens. We speed through the Virginia countryside to see these interesting places, then climb up to the top of Hickory Knob where Chuck lives in a cabin with a phenomenal view of the Shenandoah River. Despite spending the entire afternoon bailing me out, he throws a terrific dinner party. Seven of us drink beer while the sun sets over the mountains. We dine on grilled salmon and talk about tomorrow. It’s almost enough to make a guy stop worrying whether his tire is holding its pressure…

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Profile Response: Kirsten Strigel Carter, Supervisory Archivist, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library and Museum, Hyde Park, New York

Posted on August 4, 2016 by paulefallon

HWWLT Logo on yellowThe Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library was the first presidential library, and the only one actually used by a president. Prior to FDR, presidential papers were considered private, and kept (or not) without any particular system. FDR decided to donate his papers to the nation, so he planned the library, built it with private funds and gifted it to the United States toward the end of his second term. When he broke tradition and ran for a third (and fourth) term, the fieldstone building on his estate in Hyde Park became his workplace away from Washington, DC.

imgresSince FDR, all presidents have built libraries dedicated to maintaining their legacy and preserving their documents. To date, I have toured six, and hope to visit five more (sorry, Ford and Hoover). The libraries offer fascinating glimpses of their period and creatively reinterpret (spin?) the man they celebrate. Like all libraries, they are fact full, though that is not always the same as being objective.

images-1All presidential libraries have a museum component, and FDR’s museum seems more balanced than most. In part, because the building constricts the extent of hoopla allowed; the limousines, helicopters and even planes at other libraries simply won’t fit here. In part, because FDR’s presidency is more distantly past, history has sorted out his successes and shortcomings. In part because, the events of his presidency were so momentous that the dramatic displays, updated in 2013, don’t come off as hyperbole. They match the tenor of those tumultuous times.

imagesKirsten Strigel Carter is the supervisory archivist at the library, the custodian of seventeen million documents arranged in 400 collections, available for unrestricted use in the research area by anyone who registers with the National Archive. Over a million documents have been scanned and are available online. Kirsten and her staff supply documents to over 700 in-person researchers every year and field over 2,000 online requests for FDR related information.

Kirsten is from Arkansas, a graduate of Little Rock’s famous Central High School, where she met Bill Clinton when he spoke at the 1997 Commemorative Event of that school’s integration. She came east for college, majored in Cultural Studies and went on to Library School. She settled in the Hudson River Valley because, ‘this place has everything, beauty and culture and history.”

How will we live tomorrow?

IMG_6856“We will live more flexibly than we have in our past. How we access and use the information in our past, the records of the people who came before us, will continue to expand.”

 

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Trip Log – Day 269 – North Bethesda, MD to Harper’s Ferry, WV

Posted on August 3, 2016 by paulefallon

to Harper's Ferry WVJuly 31, 2016 – Overcast, 85 degrees

Miles Today: 47

Miles to Date: 13,760

States to Date: 37

I was happy to head west and leave three weeks of pedaling the Boston-Washington corridor behind me. Maryland has a nice network of bike paths that parallel many major roads, and there was no Sunday traffic, so the riding was easy.

IMG_7281 IMG_7283 IMG_7284

In Gaithersburg I came upon a ‘New Urbanism’ development with tight packed single-family homes giving over to townhouses, giving over to stacked townhouses as I got closer to the commercial center. The place has a Whole Foods / Panera vibe, corporately conscientious. Hard to believe all the little mom and pop storefronts can survive – how many framing galleries can one town support? Still, the picturesque place is far better than the big boxy single-family houses on half-acre lots that littered the rest of the landscape.

IMG_7285And then, with the abrupt end of sewer and water, development ceased and I was in the country. Farms and forests and narrow roads I shared with occasional drivers.

IMG_7291 Monocacy to Dickerson 2016-07-31 004

Just beyond twenty-five miles out I got on the C&O Canal Trail and headed north to Harper’s Ferry. It was cool and breezy, but the gravel path was littered with mud and puddles after last night’s rain. I’m not a fan of dirt paths, but it was scenic and historical. Difficult to imagine how different life was during the canal days of the 1840’s and 50’s, when civil engineering marvels were just beginning to bend nature to our will. Harnessed mules and tug laborers used to trod the towpath and camp out in the lock houses that are now photo opportunities for Sunday hikers and distance cyclists.

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I lugged my bike up the stairs to cross the old railroad bridge in Harper’s Ferry, toured the historic downtown and climbed the steep hill that separates the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. I sat out a thunderstorm at the AT Conservancy, which welcomes long distance cyclists with the same enthusiasm they greet hikers.

IMG_7299I found my son Andy’s photo, May 12, 2010, when he stopped here as an Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker.

When I arrived at my hosts, I noticed my back tire was very low, so I changed out the tube. I also washed down the entire bike, filthy from the gravel path, and cleaned the chain. I was all set to move out in the morning…

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Profile Response: Alex Meyer and Kelsey, Poughkeepsie, NY

Posted on August 3, 2016 by paulefallon

HWWLT Logo on yellow“No one in the United States understands what drives people to leave where they are and come here. We have forgotten that struggle.”

Alex Meyer is 6’-8” tall. His girlfriend Kelsey is 6’-2”. Kelsey admits they hit their heads all the time; every virtue has its price. The couple met in Union College, where Alex played basketball and Kelsey volleyball. They were better at sport than academics; although they didn’t complete their degrees, the couple continue to explore meaningful yet enjoyable work.

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Kelsey explains, “I had the corporate life. Sitting is the new smoking. Sitting kills you. I hated it more than life itself.” Now, she is a nanny for a family with three young children in Albany and studying graphic design. “That’s satisfying work that you can do without being tied down.”

Alex, 26, grew up in Poughkeepsie and appreciates having his family nearby. He didn’t quite finish college; he builds cabinets and works construction. Two years ago he bought a house on five acres in a bank foreclosure. The place had been inhabited by a hoarder without power or heat for two years. He spent more than the purchase price in repairs and added sweat equity to create a very nice home. “All of my friends still live with their families. Here I am a homeowner, with mortgage and stuff.” But Alex is not completely grown up; he’s also built a mountain bike course through his woods.

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In fact, the most interesting dynamic about Alex and Kelsey is the duality of being settled and seeking adventure. They have been together a long time, they love their house, yet they still live apart during the week and each reveled in stories of great excursions they made on their own. Kelsey spent a winter living on a boat in St. Thomas. Alex spent time on a remote beach in Kauai. “I sat on the beach and let the waves roll over me. They came in, bigger and bigger. It was the night of my baptism. I felt the power of everything: the trees; the waterfall, the waves. They were alive with me.”

How will we live tomorrow?

8e824233-c340-4cca-8621-626cff7737f5“In Kauai I learned that I am blessed with relationship. I run into people every day who are amazing. In that experience I met person after person who made something amazing happen. Now I share that experience with everyone I meet. My job in life is to bless as many people as I can.” – Alex Meyer

“When I was in the ninth grade I was in a competition where they asked the question, “If you could have dinner with any person dead or alive, who would it be?” I froze. When I first heard your question, I had the same response. Now I know, I would like to have dinner with my grandfather, who died suddenly. I never had the chance to discuss everything I wanted with him. And to your questions I will say, I envy spontaneity. I have never had a plan in life. Tomorrow will come without a plan.” – Kelsey

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Trip Log – Day 268 – Washington DC to North Bethesda, MD

Posted on August 2, 2016 by paulefallon

to North BethesdaJuly 30, 2016 – Occasional rain, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 19

Miles to Date: 13,713

States to Date: 36

IMG_7261I spent the afternoon at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I thought I was prepared, but when the doors open from the dark cramped elevators they pack you into to rise to the fourth floor and I confronted the first image, my stomach wretched. The information folks suggest it takes ninety minutes to go through the permanent exhibit, but I spent much longer snaking through the consciously confusing spaces. By the tine I completed the labyrinth, I was disoriented and exhausted.

It is a good that this museum exists, that is addresses the shortcomings of the United States and the rest of the world in ignoring what was occurring in Germany, and that is still packed almost twenty years after it opened. It is important we remember.

Back in the daylight, after a storm that didn’t cool off anything, I couldn’t consider any other sightseeing. I let my mind spin as I pedaled to my hosts in Bethesda.

 

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Trip Log – Day 267 – Mount Rainier MD to Washington DC

Posted on August 1, 2016 by paulefallon

to Washington DCJuly 29, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 12

Miles to Date: 13,694

States to Date: 36

It rained hard all night. My dreams came in torrents. I woke fully rested to the first cool breeze in over a week.

IMG_7226July in DC is for tourists, and so I played the tourist on my one day in a place that is not a state. My host rode me into DC. We breakfasted at a combo bike/coffee shop in Brookland, an up and coming neighborhood. Then I pedaled over to Howard University and spent several interesting hours with people from the School of Architecture; a very enthusiastic bunch the day after the Democratic Convention.

IMG_7254Though I have been to DC many times, there are always new places to see. Since I have been spending so much time in libraries on this trip I visited the Library of Congress. The tour of this incredible building (1897 Beaux Arts masterpiece with breathtaking interiors) is worthwhile. The contents of this amazing institution (163,000,000 articles, and 12,000 new ones every day) are beyond imagining. Anyone over 16 with a valid ID can access the materials. Somewhere buried in those stacks is Architecture by Moonlight, but I didn’t ask for a copy. I’ve already read it.

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I stayed in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, which is a happening place on a Friday night.

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Responses: How will we live tomorrow?

Posted on August 1, 2016 by paulefallon

How will we live tomorrow?

“Look at your heart

Tell me how you feel.

Are you happy where you are?

Do you want more?

Dream big.

It can’t be too big to come real.”

Danny, singer songwriter, Austin, TX

How will we live tomorrow?

“I am concerned about the Democratic Party situation. If Bernie gets more votes than Hillary and loses because she has super delegates, we will lose a whole generation of voters, disenfranchised from the system.”

Dann Cahoon, Habitat for Humanity NOLA Board Member, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“I am running a race that starts at seven in the morning.

“I hope I’m wrong, but I think were going to make a mess. There will be sea level rise, but I hope we have not passed the point of no return before it’s too late. Humans are not good at long-term problems. There are things that give me hope. If batteries become economically competitive the market costs work with you even without capturing the cost of carbon. Sustainable energy based on renewables may become viable though we will disrupt our local economy. It will correct easier than we think. The crews that maintain offshore platforms are already transitioning to offshore wind farms.”

Sam Charters, businessman, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Without Jesus we will not have a tomorrow. Unless America revives we will see a further slide into Globalism, Socialism and Idol worship.”

Robert Frauenthal, music lover, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“In a global world where we are all knit together.”

Eric Elfman Attorney, Onset, MA

How will we live tomorrow?

“We will live fabulously.”

Alicia, Lottery player, Middleborough, MA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Another day, another dollar. Make money and spend it.”

Henry Patel, Managing Partner, Capeway Convenience, Middleborough, MA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Hopefully on bicycles.”

Dennis Bisaccio, School of Education, Brown University, Providence, RI

How will we live tomorrow?

“In this world, beyond the colleges, things aren’t good. We don’t have a lot of money.”

Austin, scriptwriter, Providence, RI

How will we live tomorrow?

“Looking for a housing voucher.”

Tim, displaced fisherman after 34 years at sea, clean and sober after leaving his wife and children so they could qualify for subsidized housing. “Moving from sober house to sober house is hard. An apartment takes all my income.”

How will we live tomorrow?

“Same as today.”

Jerry, TransAm cyclist and software engineer, Providence, RI

How will we live tomorrow?

“Respect people. Accept them for who they are. Communicate. It’s the same as everything. It’s the way I am with my siblings, my children, my husband. We have to be that way with everyone.”

Sharon Pickering, former school teacher, North Kingstown, RI

How will we live tomorrow?

“I will live happily with my wife and my children.”

Choung, Security Guard, Hartford, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“Hopefully, wiser than today.”

Jeremy, jewelry entrepreneur, Mansfield, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“With a full stomach.”

Donovan, Librarian, Mansfield, CT

How will we live tomorrow?

“’Idiocracy’ is how we’ll live tomorrow.”

Tony Malloy, vegan body builder, Mansfield, CT

“I was going to say something about food and society, but didn’t want to get all preachy.”

How will we live tomorrow?

“Less technology.”

Shannon, mother of teenagers, Madison, CT

 

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