I was very pleased with my campsite at Jones Lake state park. It was clean, had hot showers, the mosquitoes were almost non-existent, and I didn't have any problems with the dreaded raccoon.
Here's a timeline of events:
10:00- went to bed from boredom
1:30- woke up from the cold. After a few minutes of rearranging and trying to ignore it, and realizing that the night was still young, I got up and filled my huge 96 oz water bladder full of hot water from the bathroom to cuddle with, and fell back to sleep.
4:30- cold again. Refilled the bladder with hot water. Thought what a good thing it was to have bathrooms with unlimited hot water nearby.
5:30- the bladder leaked on me. At least it's warm water. Go back to sleep.
7:30- finally decided it was time to get up.
I was not prepared for the cold temperatures of that night. I don't know exactly what it got down to, but I would be willing to guess it got into the high 40s. With one more night to spend in the woods, I knew I needed a better sleeping bag. Elizabethtown was only a few miles away and has a Walmart, so that's where I decided to go. I took my time packing up (making sure to make room for the new bag), and wandered around a little admiring the lake, chatted with one of the security guys, and got directions from the nice lady in the office, and finally set out around 10:30.
I was funneled onto a 4 lane divided highway, the first time I'd ridden on such a road. It was nerve racking, not because of the traffic, but because I felt like I didn't belong on such a road. I really appreciated all the "share the road" bicycle signs for the encouragement they provided, especially as I approached the big hill to get into town.
Finding the Walmart was easy enough, but there were no bike racks to lock up to. I found a cart corral that worked just fine. This was also the first time I would have to leave my bike and all my stuff out in the open for a few minutes and trust that it would be OK. Another nerve racking first. There was a Subway in the same strip mall, so that's where I decided to go for lunch. Very tasty, especially since my favorite sandwich was one of the $5 footlong specials for this month! While I was eating, I was trying to pull up the map on my phone (it wasn't working). My bike was a notable feature outside, and one nice gentleman asked me about my trip. We chatted for a few minutes and he suggested I go down 87 as it was a straight shot to Wilmington, and that I might find the locks on the river interesting as well as maybe finding somewhere to stay nearby. I also thought the locks would be interesting, but I had no intention of taking 87 all the way to Wilmington because of the huge bridge at the end that I wasn't sure bikes were even allowed on, as well as the heavy traffic on the approach. The other, smaller bridge was the one the bike route took me across, and I felt like that was the one I should be aiming for. I asked him if there was a library nearby so that I could have better internet and look at the maps better, thanked him again, and went on my way. At the library, all the computers were taken (figures...) so I sat down and did my best with what I had. Suddenly, I remembered how to save maps to my phone for offline use! Why had I not done this before I left? Oh well, it's getting taken care of now.
Going back down the same hill I came in on was much more fun, however, I soon found myself battling a nice headwind (going North again...) and was constantly checking how many more miles I still had before I was able to turn off this annoying road and head East. As soon as I turned however, like a cruel joke, a big gust blew right in my face from direction I was now traveling in. I cursed the wind silently and just kept peddling, trying to ignore the insanely slow speed I was traveling at.
I found White Lake, and admired their wide, clean shoulders/bike lanes. I was about out of water and needed a break anyway, so I found a nice spot to rest for a few minutes. Everything seemed closed. There was a spigot near the spot I stopped at, so I figured that would work and filled up my bottle. The water was brown! I thought about one of the few really fancy things I bought for this trip- a UV light water sanitizer (so that I could drink lake/river water if I had to), but there was a sinking feeling, as well as a little chat with myself when I realized I had only put two of the four batteries needed in it (I had put the others in the camera I was going to bring, but decided to leave at home due to space constraints). I dumped out the water so I wouldn't be tempted to drink it, and kept going. (I still had a .5 liter store bought bottle as my emergency back up). A little while later, I saw a sign for Singletary Lake. I turned in knowing that they would let me fill up, and hoping that they would have a table I could take another rest at, as the wind, poor nights rest, back to back days of riding, and any number of other factors was starting to wear me down. I still had about 15 miles to go before I got to my intended sleeping place for the night (not at a campsite-in the woods).
This is where I met Steve. He showed me where the water fountain was and asked me about my trip. When I told him that I planned to sleep in the woods somewhere off the road, he offered me a cabin. At first I resisted: if I didn't make my mileage, there would be no way I would get to Wilmington by Thursday night so I could explore it Friday. But he offered to show me around and it was a welcome break from riding. Getting in and out of his truck, though, forced me to realize just how much I was hurting... So I accepted. Especially after seeing the lake. You should see the awesome sunset pics I took on that lake...
jhHere's a timeline of events:
10:00- went to bed from boredom
1:30- woke up from the cold. After a few minutes of rearranging and trying to ignore it, and realizing that the night was still young, I got up and filled my huge 96 oz water bladder full of hot water from the bathroom to cuddle with, and fell back to sleep.
4:30- cold again. Refilled the bladder with hot water. Thought what a good thing it was to have bathrooms with unlimited hot water nearby.
5:30- the bladder leaked on me. At least it's warm water. Go back to sleep.
7:30- finally decided it was time to get up.
I was not prepared for the cold temperatures of that night. I don't know exactly what it got down to, but I would be willing to guess it got into the high 40s. With one more night to spend in the woods, I knew I needed a better sleeping bag. Elizabethtown was only a few miles away and has a Walmart, so that's where I decided to go. I took my time packing up (making sure to make room for the new bag), and wandered around a little admiring the lake, chatted with one of the security guys, and got directions from the nice lady in the office, and finally set out around 10:30.
I was funneled onto a 4 lane divided highway, the first time I'd ridden on such a road. It was nerve racking, not because of the traffic, but because I felt like I didn't belong on such a road. I really appreciated all the "share the road" bicycle signs for the encouragement they provided, especially as I approached the big hill to get into town.
Finding the Walmart was easy enough, but there were no bike racks to lock up to. I found a cart corral that worked just fine. This was also the first time I would have to leave my bike and all my stuff out in the open for a few minutes and trust that it would be OK. Another nerve racking first. There was a Subway in the same strip mall, so that's where I decided to go for lunch. Very tasty, especially since my favorite sandwich was one of the $5 footlong specials for this month! While I was eating, I was trying to pull up the map on my phone (it wasn't working). My bike was a notable feature outside, and one nice gentleman asked me about my trip. We chatted for a few minutes and he suggested I go down 87 as it was a straight shot to Wilmington, and that I might find the locks on the river interesting as well as maybe finding somewhere to stay nearby. I also thought the locks would be interesting, but I had no intention of taking 87 all the way to Wilmington because of the huge bridge at the end that I wasn't sure bikes were even allowed on, as well as the heavy traffic on the approach. The other, smaller bridge was the one the bike route took me across, and I felt like that was the one I should be aiming for. I asked him if there was a library nearby so that I could have better internet and look at the maps better, thanked him again, and went on my way. At the library, all the computers were taken (figures...) so I sat down and did my best with what I had. Suddenly, I remembered how to save maps to my phone for offline use! Why had I not done this before I left? Oh well, it's getting taken care of now.
Going back down the same hill I came in on was much more fun, however, I soon found myself battling a nice headwind (going North again...) and was constantly checking how many more miles I still had before I was able to turn off this annoying road and head East. As soon as I turned however, like a cruel joke, a big gust blew right in my face from direction I was now traveling in. I cursed the wind silently and just kept peddling, trying to ignore the insanely slow speed I was traveling at.
I found White Lake, and admired their wide, clean shoulders/bike lanes. I was about out of water and needed a break anyway, so I found a nice spot to rest for a few minutes. Everything seemed closed. There was a spigot near the spot I stopped at, so I figured that would work and filled up my bottle. The water was brown! I thought about one of the few really fancy things I bought for this trip- a UV light water sanitizer (so that I could drink lake/river water if I had to), but there was a sinking feeling, as well as a little chat with myself when I realized I had only put two of the four batteries needed in it (I had put the others in the camera I was going to bring, but decided to leave at home due to space constraints). I dumped out the water so I wouldn't be tempted to drink it, and kept going. (I still had a .5 liter store bought bottle as my emergency back up). A little while later, I saw a sign for Singletary Lake. I turned in knowing that they would let me fill up, and hoping that they would have a table I could take another rest at, as the wind, poor nights rest, back to back days of riding, and any number of other factors was starting to wear me down. I still had about 15 miles to go before I got to my intended sleeping place for the night (not at a campsite-in the woods).
This is where I met Steve. He showed me where the water fountain was and asked me about my trip. When I told him that I planned to sleep in the woods somewhere off the road, he offered me a cabin. At first I resisted: if I didn't make my mileage, there would be no way I would get to Wilmington by Thursday night so I could explore it Friday. But he offered to show me around and it was a welcome break from riding. Getting in and out of his truck, though, forced me to realize just how much I was hurting... So I accepted. Especially after seeing the lake. You should see the awesome sunset pics I took on that lake...
Distance traveled: 21.336 miles
Max speed: 15.5 mph
Average speed:8.7
Time spent riding: 2 hours, 23 minutes
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