Trip Log – Day 266 – Severn MD to Mount Rainier MD

Posted on July 31, 2016 by paulefallon

to Hyattsville MDJuly 28, 2016 – Sun, 95 degrees

Miles Today: 35

Miles to Date: 13,682

States to Date: 36 

Can a person get too much sleep? Despite yesterday being a light day, I slept ten hours, and then felt draggy all day. I stopped at the NASA Goddard Visitor Center; the only adult not accompanied by an eight-year-old boy. The kids loved all the models of various rocket and space capsules. I was enchanted by the incredible images of our galaxy that line the walls.

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My favorite exhibit was the Solarium, a black space where they run actual footage of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Each wavelength is assigned a unique color. It takes a team of videographers about ten hours to create one minute of these high-resolution images.

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IMG_7218Back on earth, I had a pair of meetings with folks from Greenbelt, MD, a New Deal era new town that has proven to be a fascinating social experiment. Then I pedaled toward Mount Rainier. The saturating heat continues day after day. As long as I’m moving, all is good. But if I stop, even for a traffic light, the heat penetrates me and the sweat pours through the question mark on my back. The swelter created ominous clouds, so I took a late afternoon McDonald’s break to sit out some thunderstorms. Then continued on along beautiful bike paths that sparkled in the dusk to reach my evening host.

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Trip Log – Day 265 – Baltimore MD to Severn MD

Posted on July 30, 2016 by paulefallon

to SevernJuly 27, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 19

Miles to Date: 13,647

States to Date: 36

IMG_7160Today may be the first day when I didn’t start riding until after 4 p.m.! I spent my day in Charm City, having a reunion lunch with fellow architect Tonia Burnett, and then visiting the NICU at University of Maryland Medical Center that we designed together back in 2011. Due to delays, the NICU did not open until last year. Fortunately Nurse Manager Joan Treacy and her staff agree it was worth the wait – the finished product is spectacular.

IMG_7176I pedaled out of Baltimore to the southwest, through Pigtown and Lansdowne, along the bike path that circumnavigates BWI Airport and on to Harmon. Along the way, I witnessed how the traditional Baltimore row houses get bigger and bigger until, when I arrived in Severn, row houses give over to single-family suburbia.

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Trip Log – Day 264 – Newark DE to Baltimore MD

Posted on July 29, 2016 by paulefallon

to BaltimoreJuly 26, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 67

Miles to Date: 13,628

States to Date: 36

My last ten miles in Delaware took me past two of the state’s best-known brands: University of Delaware and DuPont. Then I rolled into Maryland.

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The big event of the day was crossing the Hatem Bridge in Havre de Grace on US 40. The bridge has only been open to cyclists since July 1, and there are signs and notices about it everywhere. The bridge has two lanes in each direction but no shoulder. They’ve installed a flashing light sign that cyclists activate before entering the bridge to warn oncoming motorists.

IMG_7146A police officer spoke with me before I got on the bridge. All of this worked well. The only snag was that they’ve closed one lane of the bridge for repairs; workers were hanging off the sides. For ninety percent of the distance I travelled in my own lane. Then I had to signal and shift onto the traffic lane to pass the repair trucks. It all worked fine. At the far end the police officer waved me ‘good to go’. He had crossed the bridge behind me to ensure safe passage.

The remaining thirty miles into Baltimore were uneventful but traffic-filled. I entered into the Northeast quadrant, a historically poor area. I passed blocks of Baltimore-style row houses. I went by Greenmount Cemetery, which sits high above the city with the skyline beyond. By the time I got closer in, the row houses were tight to the street, not a bit of shade or green on a hot afternoon to help the folks on their stoops get cool. Several blocks were boarded up completely.

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IMG_7151Downtown Baltimore is another matter – flush with tourists and Orioles fans. I stayed with a friend of a friend on the 28th floor with a terrific view of the city. After dinner, Hannah and I strolled through the Inner Harbor and delighted in the city activity on a hot summer night.

 

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Trip Log – Day 263 – Dover DE to Newark DE

Posted on July 28, 2016 by paulefallon

To Newark DEJuly 25, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 51

Miles to Date: 13,561

States to Date: 35

IMG_7125Seattle may be the best city I’ve cycled; Ohio is tops for the network of rail trails; but no state (so far) tops Delaware for overall cycle consciousness. I love cycling here! There are marked lanes everywhere, clear signage, even designated detours. Drivers are super-courteous. Even in construction zones, no sense of hurry, absolutely no heckling. I only wish the state were bigger; I could cycle in this environment a long, long time.

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Unfortunately I pretty much reached the limits of this tiny state today. After entering the southeast corner in Lewes. I climbed the hills of Northwest Delaware to visit my VISTA-volunteer friend Adela and her husband Scott who literally live only a few blocks from the Pennsylvania line.

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Trip Log – Day 262 – Milford, DE to Dover DE

Posted on July 27, 2016 by paulefallon

To Dover DEJuly 24, 2016 – Sun, 90 degrees

Miles Today: 24

Miles to Date: 13,510

States to Date: 35

IMG_7101IMG_7137 After spending the morning with my high school friend Gary Ralph and his husband Bill Robbins and attending a joyous service at their church, Epworth UMC in Rehoboth, I didn’t get on the road until after two; a short ride on a hot day through Delaware countryside. The First State is in the midst of a development boom. Subdivisions are popping up everywhere. Ryan Homes may be the state’s second largest employer (DuPont is the still king here). Delaware is a very low tax state, and apparently there is a big market in retirees who like the benign climate and easy access to the beach. Every development, from trailer park to McMansion enclave, has an official ‘Welcome’ sign that gives suburban sprawl authenticity.

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imgresMy host in Dover, Sara, is one of the most inquisitive and wide-thinkers I’ve met. We talked for a full two hours before I even got out of my cycling gear. We hauled ourselves over to the Flavor of India buffet, a most inauspicious looking place in front of a Super 8. Inside, the walls are covered with ‘Best of Delaware’ posters and the buffet included some of the best Indian food of my life. It was a feast!

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Trip Log – Day 261 – Cape May, NJ to Milford, DE

Posted on July 26, 2016 by paulefallon

To Milford DEJuly 23, 2016 – Sun, 100 degrees

Miles Today: 38

Miles to Date: 13,486

States to Date: 35 

Yoga on the beach! My Cape May host is a yoga teacher who runs a beach class every morning for the posh Congress Hotel. He invited me to participate. I had not taken a full yoga class since my accident. I am so far from the flexibility of my salad days, but managed pretty well. As far as doing yoga on the beach – the romanticism is much greater than the reality of sand, sand everywhere.

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I pedaled through Cape May, a bucolic historic seaside town. The place was packed on this sweltering hot July Saturday. Shopkeepers smiled; waitresses stuffed their pockets with tips.

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IMG_7099I caught a midafternoon ferry to Lewes, DE, and a welcome hour and half in the shade, then pedaled to Milford to spend the night with a friend from Oklahoma I hadn’t seen since high school. At times, this journey seems like a string of remarkable reunions.

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Trip Log – Day 260 – Toms River NJ to Cape May, NJ

Posted on July 25, 2016 by paulefallon

To Cape MayJuly 22, 2016 – Sun, 95 degrees

Miles Today: 104

Miles to Date: 13,448

States to Date: 34

Some days you just have to pedal. After so much nostalgia and lots to ruminate upon, I looked forward to the fifth century of my adventure, pedaling through the Jersey Pines to historic Cape May. Five miles outside of Toms River, I entered the Pinelands, a land of scrub pine and package stores. I was never far from either the rest of the day.

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Mishaps are an essential part of a long cycling day. When I missed a turn and wound up on a dirt road, GPS showed the highway I wanted was only two or three miles beyond. I thought I could handle that. Unfortunately, dirt roads in South Jersey aren’t dirt. They’re sand. In a few spots I had to push Tom through the soft white stuff.

imagesWith the thermometer flirting with 100 and a steady wind in my face, I drank over 300 ounces of water, Powerade and lemonade along the way. Twice, I stopped at Wawa, New Jersey’s preeminent convenience store, to camel up. They are the nicest quick road stops anywhere. The fresh made subs, ordered via computer, are better than anyone could expect at a convenience chain.

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Along the way I had several stretches of excellent cycling. Ocean County 537 south to Tuckerton has smooth pavement and wide shoulders. Cape May County 661 is short but memorable; the trees create a full canopy over the road. My last twenty miles, along Highway 47 on the west side of Cape May, is a real treat. Besides being a good surface, the unspoiled area has many beautiful historic buildings, small farms and produce stands that offer the goodness of The Garden State to anyone willing to stop.

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Profile Response: Rick Demers, School Chef, Danbury CT

Posted on July 25, 2016 by paulefallon

HWWLT Logo on yellowWhat’s a guy supposed to do when he’s been cooking since age 15, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, runs the kitchen at a swank Greenwich CT country club where he meets and marries a knockout Rumanian who proclaims: “I want to be am American,” once they have two young boys and a townhouse in Danbury CT and the late night cooking, drinking party life no longer suits? If you’re Rick Demers, you chuck it all to become a lunch chef in a private school. “I make half the money I did, but I love it.”

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Rick works for Flick Hospitality Group, who contracts the food service for The Wooster School in Danbury. Flick provides a wide range of services to many different clients. Wooster invests in Platinum service: organic or locally sourced food served on china plates with flatware. “Whole food comes in the back door and real food gets put on the table.”

Rick’s son, who attends the Danbury Public Schools, gets a carton of mile, pre-packaged fruit and a reheated entree in his Styrofoam lunch carton. Next year, Rick hopes both his sons will attend Wooster School. Not just for the lunches, for the phenomenal community he witnesses there.

imagesOver a superb dinner of fresh asparagus and corn, braised chicken, grilled steak and local beer, we discuss Michael Pollen, the value of organics, and how more people can access quality food. “Ever since The Food Network, everything changed. The resources for truly good food did not used to be here. Fast-forward thirty years and New York is a food mecca. The chef used to be a guy in the back; the manager was the star. Now that’s flipped.

imgres-1“People ask me my specialty. Realistically, I can cook anything. Right now I am doing lots of curing and smoking, which are technically challenging. I also do home brewing. We have a brew club at school with staff and parents who are making good beer.”

 

How will we live tomorrow?

Screen Shot 2016-07-25 at 1.43.20 PM“Smarter and smaller.”

 

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Trip Log – Day 259 – Toms River NJ

Posted on July 24, 2016 by paulefallon

To Toms RiverJuly 21, 2016 – Sun, 85 degrees

Miles Today: 19

Miles to Date: 13,344

States to Date: 34

Thomas Wolfe wrote, You Can’t Go Home Again. He was wrong. You can return. Just be prepared for home to be so much smaller than memory insists. It took me half and hour, max, to roll through the precinct of my youth, the house, neighborhood, school, and church that stretched so wide to a young boy on his first bicycle. My family moved to Toms River when I was a year old. We lived on a street of cookie cutter houses within cycling distance of everything a child might want. By the time we moved to Oklahoma, when I was sixteen in 1971, the town had tripled in size. Today, houses on quarter acre lots crawl out in every direction. The streets I inhabited are now quaintly referred to as ‘The Village’. It is remarkably the same.

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The subsequent owners of our house have followed in my father’s ‘tinkering’ tradition. It is the most distinct on our indistinct block.

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Bishop Memorial Library, the first building I ever sketched, is still the most gracious structure downtown. I used to crouch in the stacks and savor Dr. Seuss, who was banned from my Catholic home.

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I puffed my one and only cigarette in the ally behind the movie theater, which has been turned into a mini-mall.

IMG_7060I have only one friend still living in Toms River, though Gus is much more than a friend. I spent the afternoon and evening with Gus and his wife, Robin, his children and grandchildren. His daughter Maggie is my only godchild. Seeing her after too many years gone was a reunion of the spirit.

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Responses: How will we live tomorrow?

Posted on July 24, 2016 by paulefallon

How will we live tomorrow?

“I have been influenced by Valerie. I was 36 when we got married. I was the kid in the wonder years. Valerie is my best friend. I have a lot of optimism about the future. People are good. I like the Native American concept of working and providing. You can be happy with the bear essentials. We have to have a reconciliation of the wealth disparity. If we have to be coerced to giving to the poor – to be a socialist state–that will be to our downfall.”

Dave Hudson, faculty spouse, College Station, TX

How will we live tomorrow?

“Honestly, I want beer and hot wings.”

Ben, panhandler with dog & bike, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“For the next four years I will live as I do now. Then I will change.”

Daisy, counting down to retirement, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Am I allowed to rephrase the question?”

Sally Shushan, US Magistrate Judge, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Based on my experience, I hope we’ll be more tolerant of differences. We are going to move toward love and peace.”

Ari Ramos, cross-country runner, Pearlington, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Share love.”

Nate, cycling west, Ocean Springs, MS

How will we live tomorrow?

“You have to do whatever makes you happy.”

Adam Colorado native, Ocean Springs, MS

How will we live tomorrow?

“Things will get better when we replace this Congress. They think they’re hurting Obama with their actions, but they’re hurting this country.”

Gene Broussard, homeowner, Jeanerette, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“As a journalist, I stay open to whatever comes next.”

Max Anderson, filmmaker, Austin, TX

How will we live tomorrow?

“My children give me hope because they’ve grown up so well, and my grandchildren give me hope. My son is in the Marine Corps; he defends our country. My son-in-law is a police officer. I am very blessed.”

Randy, songwriter, Austin, TX

How will we live tomorrow?

“My son, my work here is done.

All we have left is love.”

Danny, singer songwriter, Austin, TX

How will we live tomorrow?

“I hope it will be less car centric.”

Helen, member of Woodlands bike coalition, The Woodlands, TX

How will we live tomorrow? 

“We, not just me? Hopefully, in peace as one.”

Ashley, Homeowner via Habitat for Humanity, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“I am more long-term. I am thankful and come here every day to a place I helped to build.”

Kim, Habitat for Humanity future homeowner, New Orleans, LA

How will we live tomorrow?

“Given that we are in Louisiana, with our petroleum-based economy, we are chained to oil. We ought to get into alternatives, but that won’t happen with gas at a $1.50 a gallon.”

Dann Cahoon, Iron Man Competitor, New Orleans, LA

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