On the eve of the transit-aided bicycle touring trip for the ages (or should it be the bicycle-aided transit tour?) here’s an overview of the trip, the segments, the schedule and the very unforgiving weather forecast. All that, some gear talk on how to rig up a tarp and stay dry!
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The tour
- Only forms of transportations allowed are bicycle and transit
- No Amtrak, no Bolt Bus
- Regional commuter transit (rail and bus) is allowed
- One night of self-supported wild camping is required
- DC
- Perryville, MD
- Newark, DE
- Philadelphia
- Trenton, NJ
- NYC
- Waterbury, CT
- Hartford
- Enfield, CT
- Springfield, MA
- Boston
- 11 segments
- 2 by bike (Perryville to Newark; NYC – about 22 miles total)
- 5 by rail (front loaded)
- 4 by bus (back loaded)
- Last train from DC north
- Camping between Perryville and Newark
- Have a few spots in mind using Google Maps
- Limiting the night riding as much as possible but will be lit up well
- Stealth camping… likely in the rain
- The key to making this work is maximizing the inbound commuter routes, timing them with the first NYC outbound commuting routes
- Like catching a wave while surfing
- The bike is necessary to connect the northern terminus of Baltimore/DC with the southern terminus of the Philadelphia system… also helpful in making the transfer in NYC between Penn and Grand Central Stations.
- Tightest transfer point is 13 minutes in Enfield, CT – missing that could really suck, but the transfer is designed by the two systems to meet.
- Arrive in Boston with plenty of time for the 9:30pm Amtrak that will bring me back to DC overnight
- Because it’s there
- Making the challenge mode limitations rather than distance
- Wild camping element
- Folding bike element
- Lessons from this will likely help with some tour planning for 2016
- #notcheating
Gear Talk
- Paracord
- Tarp
- Create a ridgeline and tighten with a taut-line hitch
- I’ve pre-tied one end of a 50’ line of paracord on the middle ring and will loop and tie around two trees to create a quick shelter that can cover my hammock and bike for the night.
- The trick is to keep your gear in its dry sack and get the shelter up first, then setup underneath.
- Drying off with a pack towel before hopping in the hammock
Music
The Pedalshift Project theme is America courtesy of Jason Kent off his self-titled solo album. Check out his band Sunfields‘ new release, Habitat, wherever cool music resides. And hey, a video for Ghost!