On to the Lonely Mountain - update
Period - 7/31 to 8/12
distance traveled - 105 miles
total distance traveled - 105 miles
465 miles and 144 days remaining
date mi. total rem. days notes
7/31 11 11 559 153 Railtrail to downtown - went PO, library & SallyAnn - picked up Clue game for cards ($3, seemed appropriate). Back to Trail into Marlboro (Lincoln St). Thought about returning to Hudson trail head but decided my legs were sore & cut out at Fairbanks.
Bilbo & co are managing 4 mi a day (because of the mountains), which puts me where they were on the 3rd day from Rivendell (1 July). I’m a month behind them at this point.
8/01 15 26 544 152 Rail-Trail Hudson to Marlboro & all the way back - with a small side-trip to Hudson Town Hall for passport applications (M’s boss is making noises about sending him to Israel come Sept. - M wants me to be ... prepared to go with if possible).
Bilbo & co are climbing and making about 4 mi a day. By that rubric, I am now where they were halfway through July 4th. (I doubt that they had fireworks though. Though - Gandalf WAS with them, so it’s possible.)
8/02 10 36 534 151 Family Day today at M’s work. Also - experienced a lot of trouble cycling this morning. Two things combined to make me decide to take the Fairbanks turn-off rather than going any further. It is getting easier to take the slope up from the causeway, the past two times, I didn’t stop when I passed Lakeside to catch my breath.Cool, damp, heavy day. Clap of thunder woke me @ 4:30. Heavy fall of rain, tapering off. Left the house between 7:45 and 8. Returned home @ 8:30.
I’m now where Bilbo and co. were on the 7th of July.
8/03 8 44 526 150 Went to the hs to water the plants, but the doors to the building were locked. Went to Hf to get some stuff, but they didn’t have any Arnold’s wheat rolls. Went into CVS for some travel-sized toiletries - nothing. Finally went to SS. Again no Arnold sandwich rolls, so I got something else. Picked up the travel toiletries and a couple of bags of potato chips to tide B over until we get back. Made it over Digital Hill w/o stopping again (!YAY!)
home -> trail at Mackin St. = 1.6 mi
trail (Mackin St -> Broad) = 1.1 mi
trail at Broad -> school = 1.6 mi
school -> trail @ Broad = 1.6 mi
trail (Broad -> Washington) = .6 mi
trail @ Washington -> home = 1.6 mi
Got home, took a short nap then started making bread, pizzas & cookies. Dinner tonight fried chicken and buffalo tenders. I’m afraid the cooking of dinner negatively impacted on the bread. Sometime during all this baking & cooking, I brought in the clothes off the line. Feeling rather sore & tired now.
8/04 14.5 58.5 511.5 149 There and back again on the Rail-Trail, with a short diversion to Hf for yogurt.
Yesterday I was scolded for not warning someone (a runner) that I was passing. It was near the Grove St. Station (a narrow point of the trail) and she had earbuds on, which was why she didn’t hear me approaching. I was properly abashed but today, I realised why I am not in the habit of announcing my approach - Cul na Gaoth Tuath announces our approach for me. The basket rattles and the stuff in it jingles and then theres the constant click-click-click of the pedals. Except that today I also noticed that the pedals do not click as much any more. Either something about the way I’m pedalling now or else something has shifted in the mechanism. Nonetheless, simply because my bicycle makes a lot of noise is no reason for me to discourteous. I am making an effort to call out as I approach others on the trail.
And another observation today - I’m apparently averaging 10 mph. That surprises me since I was heading back when I noticed that.
8/05 10+6.5 mi 75 495 148 Use the Rail-trail from Hudson trailhead to go to the school and back the same way this morning. Ran downtown to the PO via Forest Ave & back via the Rail-trail (64E) to home. M & I went to apply for passports except my birth certificate isn’t. I had to send off for a certified copy of it from the registrar’s office in Kittery ME. Which was why I went downtown this afternoon.
8/06 -0- 75 495 147 Travelled down to VA by air.
8/07 7 82 488 146 Candlewood Suites in Colonial Hgts has an exercise room with a stationary bicycle. Not as enjoyable as cycling outside in the open air with people passing but beggars choosing and all that. Talked by phone with Lisa Mills who is driving down from DC to meet. Bilbo & co have been captured by goblins and rescued by Gandalf. They are fleeing (with Bilbo at this point).
8/08 6 88 482 145 Candlewood Suites, Co. Hgts. Movie was playing in the exercise room - EdTV. Tripe glorifying reality tv. Couldn’t hack it.
8/09 3 91 479 144 Hampton - rode Linda’s bike to Anissa’s flat & back. It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity - felt like a wet winter blanket.
8/11 -0- 91 479 142 Travelled home to MA by air.
8/12 14 105 465 141 Back home again - rode the rail-trail there and back.
It's mid-way through July 17th in the Hobbit. The dwarves have successfully fought off the goblin attack and escaped, Bilbo was left behind in the confusion. While trying to find his way out from under the mountains, he found a ring on the ground and put it in his pocket.
distance traveled - 105 miles
total distance traveled - 105 miles
465 miles and 144 days remaining
date mi. total rem. days notes
7/31 11 11 559 153 Railtrail to downtown - went PO, library & SallyAnn - picked up Clue game for cards ($3, seemed appropriate). Back to Trail into Marlboro (Lincoln St). Thought about returning to Hudson trail head but decided my legs were sore & cut out at Fairbanks.
Bilbo & co are managing 4 mi a day (because of the mountains), which puts me where they were on the 3rd day from Rivendell (1 July). I’m a month behind them at this point.
8/01 15 26 544 152 Rail-Trail Hudson to Marlboro & all the way back - with a small side-trip to Hudson Town Hall for passport applications (M’s boss is making noises about sending him to Israel come Sept. - M wants me to be ... prepared to go with if possible).
Bilbo & co are climbing and making about 4 mi a day. By that rubric, I am now where they were halfway through July 4th. (I doubt that they had fireworks though. Though - Gandalf WAS with them, so it’s possible.)
8/02 10 36 534 151 Family Day today at M’s work. Also - experienced a lot of trouble cycling this morning. Two things combined to make me decide to take the Fairbanks turn-off rather than going any further. It is getting easier to take the slope up from the causeway, the past two times, I didn’t stop when I passed Lakeside to catch my breath.Cool, damp, heavy day. Clap of thunder woke me @ 4:30. Heavy fall of rain, tapering off. Left the house between 7:45 and 8. Returned home @ 8:30.
I’m now where Bilbo and co. were on the 7th of July.
8/03 8 44 526 150 Went to the hs to water the plants, but the doors to the building were locked. Went to Hf to get some stuff, but they didn’t have any Arnold’s wheat rolls. Went into CVS for some travel-sized toiletries - nothing. Finally went to SS. Again no Arnold sandwich rolls, so I got something else. Picked up the travel toiletries and a couple of bags of potato chips to tide B over until we get back. Made it over Digital Hill w/o stopping again (!YAY!)
home -> trail at Mackin St. = 1.6 mi
trail (Mackin St -> Broad) = 1.1 mi
trail at Broad -> school = 1.6 mi
school -> trail @ Broad = 1.6 mi
trail (Broad -> Washington) = .6 mi
trail @ Washington -> home = 1.6 mi
Got home, took a short nap then started making bread, pizzas & cookies. Dinner tonight fried chicken and buffalo tenders. I’m afraid the cooking of dinner negatively impacted on the bread. Sometime during all this baking & cooking, I brought in the clothes off the line. Feeling rather sore & tired now.
8/04 14.5 58.5 511.5 149 There and back again on the Rail-Trail, with a short diversion to Hf for yogurt.
Yesterday I was scolded for not warning someone (a runner) that I was passing. It was near the Grove St. Station (a narrow point of the trail) and she had earbuds on, which was why she didn’t hear me approaching. I was properly abashed but today, I realised why I am not in the habit of announcing my approach - Cul na Gaoth Tuath announces our approach for me. The basket rattles and the stuff in it jingles and then theres the constant click-click-click of the pedals. Except that today I also noticed that the pedals do not click as much any more. Either something about the way I’m pedalling now or else something has shifted in the mechanism. Nonetheless, simply because my bicycle makes a lot of noise is no reason for me to discourteous. I am making an effort to call out as I approach others on the trail.
And another observation today - I’m apparently averaging 10 mph. That surprises me since I was heading back when I noticed that.
8/05 10+6.5 mi 75 495 148 Use the Rail-trail from Hudson trailhead to go to the school and back the same way this morning. Ran downtown to the PO via Forest Ave & back via the Rail-trail (64E) to home. M & I went to apply for passports except my birth certificate isn’t. I had to send off for a certified copy of it from the registrar’s office in Kittery ME. Which was why I went downtown this afternoon.
8/06 -0- 75 495 147 Travelled down to VA by air.
8/07 7 82 488 146 Candlewood Suites in Colonial Hgts has an exercise room with a stationary bicycle. Not as enjoyable as cycling outside in the open air with people passing but beggars choosing and all that. Talked by phone with Lisa Mills who is driving down from DC to meet. Bilbo & co have been captured by goblins and rescued by Gandalf. They are fleeing (with Bilbo at this point).
8/08 6 88 482 145 Candlewood Suites, Co. Hgts. Movie was playing in the exercise room - EdTV. Tripe glorifying reality tv. Couldn’t hack it.
8/09 3 91 479 144 Hampton - rode Linda’s bike to Anissa’s flat & back. It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity - felt like a wet winter blanket.
8/11 -0- 91 479 142 Travelled home to MA by air.
8/12 14 105 465 141 Back home again - rode the rail-trail there and back.
It's mid-way through July 17th in the Hobbit. The dwarves have successfully fought off the goblin attack and escaped, Bilbo was left behind in the confusion. While trying to find his way out from under the mountains, he found a ring on the ground and put it in his pocket.