Sunday, May 21, 2006

Rockville to Towson, MD (Part 2)

The library at Ellicott City has disabled their USB ports, but the librarian there helped out by putting me in touch with the Enoch Pratt Free Library in downtown Baltimore. They did have USB access, and since the would close at 5pm, we decided to head there and try to upload pix.

It was only about a dozen miles, but the hill-factor combined with the sketchy downtown map conspired to eat up more time than we would have liked. One particularly long downhill took us to (and through) historic Ellicott City. The shopping district that we cycled through was awash with hippie-ness. Somebody was creeating huge soap bubbles and releasing them on the street for us to ride through. And I swear I could smell patchouli wafting through the entire area. Then we crossed the Patapsco River, and headed up another loong, slooow hill.

For the last few blocks of the day's trip, we were going the wrong way on a one-way street. (To compound the error, we rode on the sidewalk) But we were finally in Baltimore, at the library--all we had to do was find an available computer.

I was able to upload the pix I'd been hording, and by about 4:30pm we were set to ride the remaining 10 miles to Towson.

The hills were waiting for us, and so it took another hour before we ended our ride for the day. While I wouldn't have complained if the last 10 miles had been downhill--or even level--I still feel pretty good. I haven't yet had "shaky-leg syndrome", which I'm taking as a good sign. Both of us are feeling pretty good--and we're in good spirits and still enjoy each other's company. I'm taking this as a good sign, too. Tomorrow marks Day 30 on the road. We're hoping to end up in York Furnace tomorrow. A distance of about 50 miles--and a crossing into Pennsylvania!

Quote for day: "Adversity becomes adventure after a shower and a couple of beers".

1 comment:

2-Wheeler said...

Wow, 30 days in the saddle, that's a significant milestone. Congratulations.

Now, anything you've brought, but haven't used, should be either discarded or shipped ahead to your destination. If you haven't used it yet, you don't need it!