2019 - TEXAS TO CONNECTICUT AND BACK

TEXAS TO CONNECTICUT

Preamble

The process of downsizing my house in the UK required several trips over there in the early part of the year - a somewhat redundant January visit, my buyers dragging their feet; a March visit to move into the new house; an April visit to pick up where I left off in March, extended unexpectedly by a couple of weeks by the death of my ex-father-in-law and staying for his funeral.

In between these UK visits there was insufficient time to embark on any RV meandering without facing the complications of finding somewhere safe to store the RV convenient to an airport for trips back to the UK.

So I imposed further on Les's generous hospitality and the Airstream stayed parked in its spot in Black Jack Springs in Navasota until late May.

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Sunday, May 26, 2019 - Navasota, TX, to Ruston, LA

My wheels are rolling once more, after an unexpectedly long and very comfortable sojourn at Black Jack Springs – enormous gratitude for which is due the ever-hospitable Les and Melanie.

Having only arrived back from the UK at the end of the afternoon yesterday, this immediate departure (over Memorial Day weekend) is necessary if I’m to cross paths with Les and Melanie on my way back to Connecticut, as they are off on an RV trip of their own around the Great Smoky Mountains.

Up at 5:30am, having been awake for an hour already due to the effects of the time difference to the UK – six hours ahead of US Central Time.

After attending to a few e-mails and getting cleaned up, final preparations were made for departure and I finally drove out of the gates at BJS at 7:00am.

Stopped in Huntsville after an hour’s driving in the rapidly warming day to stock up on groceries, find a self-serve car wash that could accommodate the RV (to rinse off the accumulated dust from leaving the Airstream and truck tucked up at BJS) and grab a coffee to set me up for the next few hours of driving.

Detoured through Nacogdoches to stretch my legs before continuing on largely empty Texas roads, finally crossing over into Louisiana with its very poor road surfaces and characteristic casinos at every roadside gas station.

Filled up with gas in Shreveport before the final hour’s drive to Ruston, rather unexpectedly having my choice of a few sites in the Lincoln Parish campground and nabbing one recently upgraded with a wide and level concrete pad and overlooking the lake.

A/C turned on as a priority to start driving down the 90-degree heat inside the Airstream and then, once settled in, took a gentle meander along the path beside the lake, getting back to the camp site right at beer o’clock.

Monday, May 27, 2019 – Memorial Day – Ruston, LA, to Brookhaven, MS

Awake early once again, mainly due to continued adjustment to the 6-hour time difference between the UK and Texas, so plenty of time for breakfast to be digested before setting out on a mountain bike ride at 7:15am, the first time back in the saddle for 5 months.

Decidedly rusty, so the gentle re-introduction offered by the trail around the lake was welcome, a few technical sections that I would have blasted through previously not handled quite so well.

And the 10-mile ride seemed long, and the very moderate climbing hard, partly due to time away from riding and partly due to the heat and humidity.

A twig jammed firmly between the cage and idler pulley required a little derailleur adjustment to restore shifting accuracy once back at the campsite.

Got cleaned up, enjoyed my return to mid-morning coffee and bagel routine, put a couple of pounds of air into each of the tires on the truck and Airstream, filled the fresh water tank, dumped the grey water tank and finally pulled out of the campground at noon for the drive to Brookhaven.

After crossing the Mighty Mississippi River (which appeared to be in flood), detoured to downtown Vicksburg, which I rapidly realized on arrival I had visited before...

...when coming from visiting the famous Civil War battlefield monument in Vicksburg, this time only strolling around the waterfront and downtown streets, but learning that Vicksburg was also famous as the first location where Coke was put into bottles and not just served as a fountain drink.

Then on for the final driving stint to the Mt Zion mountain bike trails just outside Brookhaven, which I had ridden on my way to Texas last November, pulling in to one of the two courtesy RV spots there for the night.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019 – Brookhaven, MS, to Tuscaloosa, AL

Another early start, getting out on the bike for a ride around the Mt Zion mountain bike race course before the heat of the day builds.

And another very enjoyable ride, my third time around these trails, having ridden here twice when I stopped on the way to Texas in November last year. A remarkable amount packed into a small area with a few fun jumps and drops and a pretty good flow. Feeling a lot more at home on the bike on this second day back riding.

Got cleaned up, dealt with a couple of e-mails, had an early coffee and crept slowly down the steep exit ramp from the parking area for a slow drive back along rough and narrow rural roads (passing a cute little church) to the junction with I-55, heading north towards Jackson.

Made a detour off the interstate for fuel after about 30 miles, then settled in for a long day’s driving - stopping briefly only once more, for lunch in a picnic area on I-20.

The final 10-12 miles driving were on a series of small roads to the north of Tuscaloosa to get to Deerlick Creek Park campground, a Core of Engineers facility on Holt Lake, just above the Holt Lock & Dam on the Black Warrior River, with the usual high COE standard in campground sites.

Got the air conditioning on as a matter of priority once in the allocated site in order to start pulling the temperature inside the Airstream down from the low 90s.

Explored a couple of the campground trails down to the shoreline on the lake, which were in surprisingly poor repair, so I guess not a priority for users of this particular campground.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 – Tuscaloosa, AL, to Chattanooga, TN

Up and out for a run before the day really warmed up, though still in the low 70s when I ran. And some uphill stretches on the 2-mile out leg before being able to turn and enjoy the easier run back.

Fairly early coffee after my run, but somehow it was still 10:30am before I was ready to roll, dumping tanks on the way out of the campground.

Made an early stop at a Publix grocery store for a top-up, mostly liquids, and a second stop an hour later at a Target store on the outskirts of Birmingham to buy a replacement for my faltering beard trimmer.

Then a straight shot up I-59 to Chattanooga, with the loss of an hour due to crossing into the Eastern Time Zone, so finally pulling into the campground at Raccoon Mountain at 4:30pm local time.

Thursday, May 30, 2019 – Chattanooga, TN, to Gatlinburg, TN

Woken by the early alarm set to give me time to digest some sustaining breakfast before taking on the challenge of riding Raccoon Mountain.

Wheels rolling on the bike just after 7:00am, with a long, strenuous and challenging climb to the top of the Raccoon Mountain loop, which pretty much meant my legs were shot before the more enjoyable run back down. Second highest climbing day in my mountain biking history (3,000ft) and a good distance covered of 14 miles.

Stopped for gas before getting back onto I-24, pulling off for coffee and breakfast sandwich after 30 minutes and once onto I-75. A short stint on I-40 before turning south to Sevierville, the horrors of touristy Pigeon Forge and finally through Gatlinburg and out along route 321 to the campground.

Got set up promptly in a site plagued with squishy berries from the shading tree overhead, then moved the bike from the back seat of the truck into the Airstream, changed into clean shorts and shirt and headed 15 minutes down the road to the campground Les and Melanie were staying in.

A very warm welcome from all, including Spot the dog, a catch-up chat over a Texas Mule beverage and then off to a “home cooking” restaurant a few miles down the road, set in an orchard and featuring multiple varieties of apple preparations scattered throughout the menu.

Dropped Les and Melanie back at their rig, back at the Airstream by 7:30pm, returning the bike to the back of the truck and settling in for a little route planning.

Friday, May 31, 2019 – Gatlinburg, TN, to Cherokee, NC

Woken intermittently overnight by berries dropping from the tree onto the roof of the Airstream as well as a couple of showers coming through.

A quick load of laundry done first thing – my bike riding gear in dire need of freshening up after 3 days of sweaty riding – then used the campground WiFi to research some additional riding for the weekend and book a campground for tomorrow, the one near-term “gap” in my overnight reservations.

Mid-morning coffee before decamping, topping up on groceries and then joining the traffic crawl through touristy Gatlinburg before breaking free and heading up into the Great Smoky Mountains.

Stopped at Newfound Gap for lunch before heading down to the Smokemont campground, dropping off the Airstream and then heading down to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center via Mingus Mill, my third time there but the first with afternoon sun lighting up the hollow.

Switched gears (mentally) for a long phone call to a boat business prospect, courtesy of the Visitor Center WiFI.

Briefly in vacation mode once again, I headed into Cherokee to scout out the Fire Mountain bike trail-head location in preparation for a ride tomorrow - stopping on the way back for a sustaining ice-cream - and returning to the Visitor Center to use their WiFi for an e-mail follow-up to my phone call.

Back at the campground at beer o’clock for a quiet evening off-grid.

Saturday, June 1, 2019 – Cherokee, NC, to Whittier, NC

Alarm at 5:00am to allow me time for a quick bite of breakfast before the 30-minute drive to Clingman’s Dome and then the vigorous 15-minute walk up from the parking lot to the viewing platform... all for the chance of a sunrise photo... which didn't quite materialize, due to the breeze blowing warm air up from the valleys which condensed into fog at the top of the mountain.

I might have been better advised to stop before reaching the top of the winding drive to try to get a picture from underneath the cloud base. But I didn’t.

From the parking lot few hundred feet below the viewing tower of Clingman's Dome, the liquid streaming of the clouds over the mountain was clear to see.

Back down to base camp after this disappointment, a second mouthful of breakfast and then the 20-minute drive to Fire Mountain for the morning’s mountain bike riding...

...which was a lot of fun. Less strenuous and less technical climbing than my ride a couple of days ago and with a couple of well-groomed and flowing downhill runs. 11 miles ridden over an hour and 45 minutes, with 2,800ft of climbing according to my phone app.

My combined early morning’s activities running later than anticipated, I drove back to the campground promptly after my ride to take a shower, hook up the Airstream and head out before the 12 noon deadline.

Stopped at Mingus Mill once again, the light more helpful for photos than it had been in the late afternoon yesterday, though the number of visitors stumbling around meant a great deal of patience and waiting was required to get any decent shots of the mill without people.

Brewed a late coffee while still in the Mingus Mill parking lot before driving on the couple of miles to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to borrow their WiFi once again for a couple of business e-mails and a call back to the UK.

Finally, on through the town of Cherokee and just a few miles beyond into the Fort Wilderness Campground & RV Park which presented me with rather difficult maneuvering to back into my designated grassy patch in this small, out of the way and rather rustic campground which seems to have quite a number of permanent residents.

But I finally got in, hooked up to shorepower and the A/C cranking to cool down the silver bullet.

Sunday, June 2, 2019 – Whittier, NC, to Pisgah Forest, NC

Slowly awake from dreams around 7:00am, got breakfast and headed out for the 30-minute drive to Tsali Recreation Area for a morning ride. Pleasantly cool early and on this side of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Rode the “Right Loop” with a detour towards the end to include “Windy Gap Overlook Loop” before returning down the access road. Mostly fairly benign trails, running alongside the lake early on, a couple of harder climbing spots and a couple of nice downhill flowing runs.

A pleasant ride through the woods in the early morning with good views down over the lake from the top of the trail. 13 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes with 2,775ft of climbing, according to my phone app.

Used the convenient bike wash at the trailhead to clean off mud and dust accumulated from recent riding, lubed the chain, and drove back to the campground.

Filled the Airstream water tank, decided not to dump tanks there but later at the Davidson River campground, took a quick shower, managed to hook up the truck without as much trouble as expected, given the tightness of the campsite, and headed into Cherokee towards the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Stopped in a convenient shady roadside pullout to brew coffee and then turned onto the Parkway to start the long, steady climb of these early miles of the Parkway.

Humidity and atmospheric smog meant the views of the mountains rolling off into the distance were rather hazy.

Lots of bright pink and fuchsia rhododendron flowers at the cooler elevations above 5,000ft, with occasional dark orange flowers along the roadside that never seemed to be near an overlook for me to stop and photograph.

The highest point of the Parkway is on this section of the route, reached not long before I turned southeast off the Parkway to descend winding Route 276 towards Brevard, arriving at the campground just before 4:00pm.

No hookups in the campground, so the under-used portable generator will get to see some action during my three days here.

Monday, June 3, 2019 – Pisgah Forest, NC

The Airstream interior cooled down considerably overnight, with outside temperatures only in the low 50s at dawn.

After some dithering, decided to ride Mills River, so set off after breakfast to drive the 30 minutes up to the parking spot I was introduced to last time here by some guys I met up with on a ride, saving the first 2 miles of riding up an access fire road.

Half a mile of fast downhill to get the legs working, and half a mile back along mostly flat trail before a couple of miles and about 500ft of gentle uphill fire road to the junction with Spencer Gap Upper and another couple of miles with some harder climbing before reaching the high point of the ride, where I stopped for breath, water and this picture...

...before turning onto the downhill, fast and rocky Spencer Branch Upper for half a mile before getting a flat rear tire.

Unable to resuscitate the tire at the trail-side and not wanting to delve into the messy (and possibly unsuccessful) business of trying to fit the spare tube I carry, I decided to “walk out of the woods”, though in this case it involved walking the half mile back up the trail and then 2.7 miles down a black run to the parking lot – in preference to carrying on downhill and the 7 miles of trail that would have involved.

My first flat since starting riding, so can’t really complain, and I had vaguely felt I was running a risk of getting a flat as the liquid sealant inside the tires would likely have mostly dried out over the winter. And it could have been worse if it had happened a mile further on or some days ago since today, coincidentally, was when I had booked the bike in for a service with a local bike shop, The Hub.

So, rather later than planned, I walked unceremoniously into the parking lot, changed out of my sweaty riding gear and drove down the mountain to a nearby Starbucks for a late consolation coffee and breakfast sandwich, some WiFi work, a grocery top-up, a gas fill up and then stopped by The Hub to drop off the bike.

A late lunch back at the campground, followed by an excursion to get a propane fill and some more WiFi time at another Starbucks.

A quiet evening lies ahead, just fine after the unexpected challenges of the day...

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 – Pisgah Forest, NC

No ride this morning, as the bike is in the shop, but my hands were itching to be busy so I did a little spring cleaning of the interior of the Airstream and the truck.

Headed out around 9:30am to a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts – not for their coffee, particularly, but for their WiFi, so that I could catch up on e-mails, pay some bills on-line and then call back to the UK to organize furniture delivery of new armchairs.

Then on to The Hub to check on progress on my bike service, to be met with a slightly surly and impatient response of “come back at the end of the day, we’re busy at this time of year”.

Mooched around the store rather unimpressed with that reception, bought a couple of things, then drove across to the other side of the highway to another bike shop to find a much more friendly reception and a black and red pair of MTB shoes (The Hub only had them in olive, not a good match for my red bike frame).

Gave the bike store's coffee shop some custom, then drove back to the campground to check on availability of sites to extend my stay one more night, having lost a full day of riding today, but it seems I will have to circle back first thing tomorrow to secure a walk-up spot.

A little desk work, a little more spring cleaning, a little reading, then off for the third coffee of the day and, more importantly, WiFi at Starbucks.

Collected the bike from The Hub at 5:30pm, $380 poorer but reassured that the bike is in good shape mechanically, the last service having been 9 months (though only 4 riding months) ago. Not entirely sure the gear shifting has been properly adjusted but will ride before passing final judgement.

An hour’s genset running back at the campground, having been on house battery alone for 48 hours.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019 – Pisgah Forest, NC

Having done a little on-line research yesterday on site availability in the campground, I was able to guide the reluctant newbie campground hosts in the entrance station to get me into an available electric site for this evening – for the princely sum of $17 with my Senior Access Pass.

After which I moved the Airstream to the conveniently empty new campsite so that I wouldn’t have to rush back by noon to switch sites, brewed a coffee to take with me and eventually headed out to ride at 9:00am, driving over to Dupont State Forest for a series of trails ridden on my way through here last October and which were particularly enjoyable – a fairly modest amount of relatively easy climbing rewarded with some great flowing trails back down.

The new rear tire on the bike does seem to be offering more traction as – after an initial failed attempt - I managed to “clean” the rock garden entrance onto Jim Branch trail, which I had previously only managed to complete in sections. The upgraded (130mm to 140mm) front forks feel good, too, though who can tell how much of this is in my mind rather than in reality.

A delayed descent on the first loop as I stood by while a guy was taping up a badly bleeding left calf, punctured by his chain ring on a big spill, and a brief pause for coffee and half a muffin between the second and third loops.

Stopped at The Hub on the way back to the campground to have them put Stans sealant in the front tire, which I was certain they had failed to do during the service yesterday.

Back at the campground I spent a leisurely afternoon in the Airstream sheltering from several showers that came through. Made good use of the shorepower connection by power-defrosting the freezer (using my space heater).

Thursday, June 6, 2019 – Pisgah Forest, NC, to Linville Falls, NC

Rather a lot of dithering – and research – as to where I might ride this morning, and my preferred spot seems doubtful due to recent negative trail reports.

So I settled for riding nearby at Sycamore Cove as I thought this might be a relatively easy ride – wrong about that, as the climb up Sycamore was rooty and steep in places, slippery after yesterday’s rain, and so some walking up the worst sections and generally quite a tiring climb. Maybe due to work done yesterday.

The ride down not super special, either, with plenty of rattling roots trying to slide the bike off the mountain.

But one loop clearly not enough of a workout, tired as I was feeling, so decided to head around a loop I had ridden when last here, up Thrift – a green trail but much more climbing than I recalled - and down the final section of Black Mountain, which is challenging but a blast. All over too quickly, though, making me question the value ratio given the effort to get up there.

Short ride back on the road to the campground, washed off the bike, showered, made coffee and hooked up the Airstream to head out.

Stopped for a grocery top-up, a second coffee and got onto the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Asheville – not the quickest route, and of limited scenic value with cloudy and damp weather, but unhurried and with limited traffic.

Pulled into the Linville Falls commercial campground, just off the Parkway, at 4:45pm, beating the start of light rain by only a couple of minutes. Overdue washing of sweaty biking gear courtesy of the campground laundry while watching news coverage of the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

Friday, June 7, 2019 – Linville Falls, NC, to Rocky Knob Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway, VA

Rain overnight and continuing into daylight hours.

Drove 45 minutes into Boone to Starbucks for a warming coffee and WiFi, working on-line to deal with e-mails and try to figure out an itinerary as I continue north that would include some mountain biking. But the weather forecast rather puts this out of the question, with continuing rain forecast for anywhere close to me, and I don’t want to hammer northwards to try to snatch a narrow window of dry weather forecast around Harrisonburg.

So back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, driving along wet roads that at least had no 18-wheeler road spray being thrown up at me. Nothing to be seen of the views from the Parkway, however, as rain continued along with mist, the road often climbing up to into the low cloud base.

Stopped briefly at Mabry Mill – a location I've more usually visited with my camera in the fall – which looked a little desolate in the greyness of the late afternoon.

10 miles further on, turned off the Parkway into Rocky Knob campground, pulling into the same spot I chose when heading south last October.

Slight consolation for the continuing rain is that I’ve got a weak cell signal in the campground, and quite a range of TV stations so should be able to get headline news and weather forecast.

Saturday, June 8, 2019 – Rocky Knob Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway, VA, to KOA Broadway, VA

Drumming of rain on the roof of the Airstream throughout the night, and another wet departure – though nothing much required other than removing the leveling chock from under one wheel.

With the forecast for Harrisonburg continuing to show a dry day, I decided to make an early start and drive to Massanutten to ride the Western Slope trails previously ridden on my way south. And as staying in the rain and fog and damp on the Blue Ridge Parkway seemed rather pointless, I pulled off the Parkway within 2 miles of the campground and headed down onto I-81 – now suffering the road spray from the 18-wheelers that I had avoided by staying on the Parkway.

Not until Staunton – where I stopped for gas and a coffee - did the weather begin to dry up. By the time I pulled off I-81 south of Harrisonburg - meandering through small towns such as Keezletown - the roads were bone dry.

Pulled into the rough parking area at the Massanutten biking trailhead at 11:45am and by noon I was geared up and headed out for an initial 8-mile loop, followed by a snack break and a further short 2-mile loop.

Got showered in the Airstream (an advantage of dragging it along to riding venues) had lunch and then drove to a KOA campground I realized I had stayed in previously, my memory jogged by the final 2 miles of approach up steep hills that I had run along when here before.

Rather short pull-through site in the campground, and not very level – I guess what you get for booking late. WiFi initially OK but slowing to a crawl as everyone in the campground got online at the end of the afternoon.

Sunday, June 9, 2019 – KOA Broadway, VA, to Susquehannock COE Campground, Heston, PA

Awake early, so took advantage of faster WiFi to get e-mails out and a little admin done, including rather late research into mountain bike riding potential in PA.

And, having decided last night I would go to the PA State Capitol in Harrisburg today, I then debated whether I might not (as a result of the research I could have done last night) go Allegrippis Trails instead, a little under 200 miles north, just keeping ahead of the wet weather spreading up from the south and west.

Pulled out of the campground around 9:00, drove the first stint up I-81 to a convenient coffee stop in Martinsburg, got a few more e-mails out, finalized the mountain biking plan in preference to the PA State Capitol, and headed back onto the highway.

Arrived at the Suqsuehannock COE Campground at Heston, PA, right around 3:00pm in reasonable time for a bike ride - but then progress slowed to the speed of molasses with a new volunteer in the ranger station who couldn’t recommend a camp site, or determine on the system exactly what was available, requiring a drive down to the campground 2 miles further on to find a suitable spot (and many of the sites would not have been), drop off the Airstream, book the site on-line (as the volunteer really thought that would be better than him trying to work his system), drive back to the ranger station to get my paperwork, drive back to the campsite and then suit up and drive to a spot where the bike trails intersected with the entrance road so that I could start riding...

All of which meant I didn’t hit the trails until 4:50pm.

Rode some fun and flowing but not overly challenging trails (fine by my weary legs), down to lake level and then back up the surrounding hills, and didn’t get back to the campsite until 6:45pm – well after beer o’clock!

And by the time I had cleaned and oiled the bike chain, and cleaned myself up, I didn’t actually get a can of beer in my hand until 7:30pm...!

Monday, June 10, 2019 – Susquehannock COE Campground, Heston, PA, to State College, PA

Woken up by the gradually brightening day, just after 6:00am, to lay in bed pondering the plan.

No rush to get back to Westbrook, the early morning rain hadn’t materialized, the immediate forecast seemed essentially dry and my legs not feeling too weak from riding the last couple of days... so I decided to stay and ride some trails here that I had missed out yesterday afternoon.

Just as I was putting on my riding gear, a shower came through... particularly noticeable in the Airstream with the rain pattering on the roof and skylight. So I hit the pause button on the ride and tried to figure out from multiple weather sources just what the next couple of hours might bring.

Eventually decided to just get out and ride, drove to the convenient trail intersection with the campground road that I had found yesterday and set off.

I might have finished the run mostly in the dry if I hadn’t been put off by the first brief shower, but the delay in getting out meant I got a pretty good soaking over the last 30 minutes of the ride. Not that this was in itself such a big deal, but it did make the trails a little muddy and slippery. An enjoyable ride nonetheless, and a good decision to head out.

While making a welcome late morning coffee, I nagged at the day’s plan some more and decided that I could make a shorter run than planned, stay overnight at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel and then ride tomorrow on another set of trails that seem popular in this part of Pennsylvania.

Finally left the campground around 2:00pm for the 90-minute drive to State College, but my decision to take the scenic route nearly proved fatal when I turned onto Route 45, a very narrow and rough creekside road through Spruce Creek with an 8’ 3” warning sign, which I misread as a width restriction but which turned out to be a height restriction under an old bridge. And the Airstream is 9’ 3”...

But with an arch in the center of the bridge structure above the 8’ 3” height limit, I figured I might squeeze through and did so, but with my heart in my mouth and just waiting for a crunch. One of the Airstream’s nine lives used up there... Then a more relaxing and scenic drive on to State College, home of Penn State University’s main campus and a larger place than it appeared on the map.

Stopped at Barnes & Noble in town for mid-afternoon coffee, an hour’s WiFi time and a couple of books, then drove into the adjacent Walmart parking lot where I’ll be spending the night – mountain biking tomorrow a convenient 10 minute drive away.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 – State College, PA, to New Columbia, PA

A reasonably quiet night, for a Walmart parking lot, late evening rain dying out overnight but some stiff breezes following in the early hours of the morning.

Partly sunny morning, helping to slowly raise the temperature inside the Airstream.

Finally pulled out of the Walmart parking lot around 10:00am for the short drive out to the mountain biking trails where I had to shuffle the rig a little to get parked, but slung my leg over the bike at 10:40am.

An initially promising ride, with easy early climbing on access roads, before crossing a shallow creek onto the trails.

One particular trail I rode was called Beer Tap Loop, for obvious reasons once at the start point of the trail.

But here my smile began to fade - the 4 miles of the "black" Tussey Mountain Trail an extended grunt over relentless rock gardens. Not my idea of fun, even with mountain views as partial reward.

Tired legs from the last week of riding didn’t help as I didn’t have the energy to power through when I needed to, and even the final downhill couple of miles were either rocky or simply plain trails without much grade and no trail features.

After getting back to the Airstream – 2 hours riding due to the enforced slow pace – and getting cleaned up it was late and time for lunch, so I missed my coffee, too.

A fairly enjoyable drive through rural Pennsylvania, mostly along Route 45, which seems to exhibit fewer signs of the ubiquitous rural poverty of these United States, most of the relatively small farms along the valleys roads looking to be well kept - perhaps the Amish influence?

And the small towns scattered along the route seem to be fairly alive and not the dusty shells of their former selves, as I've seen so often.

Checked in at the campground I had booked for the night at 3:30pm, my site tucked way back the woods giving a long walk down to the laundry for a full and final wash before getting to Westbrook.

Indulged in an ice-cream as a reward and consolation for the morning’s ride, passing the time at the campground office and petting zoo (!) while the laundry was done.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – New Columbia, PA, to Mount Arlington, NJ

A little chilly by morning so the space heater pulled out of storage to warm things up while I took advantage of the campground WiFi for a little desk work.

Had a spruce up inside the Airstream before departure, filling the fresh water tank and dumping the gray and black tanks, with multiple flushes of the black tank as this will be out of commission for the weeks ahead since I’ll be using the heads and showers at Pilots Point Marina while in Westbrook over the summer.

Finally pulled out around 10:30am, stopping in Lexington on the way for a morning coffee and breakfast sandwich to fortify me for the riding at Danville, just a little further on down the road.

Got out on the bike at 12:30pm for a fairly short ride, in distance terms, but which I didn’t seem to have the legs for at all – though looking back on the ride data there was more climbing involved than I had thought there was going to be. The combination of the climbing and the fairly continuous riding for the past 10 days really does seem to have fully depleted my reserves.

Had lunch while waiting for the hot water heater, got showered and on the road – pretty much solidly I-80 – to Mount Arlington in New Jersey for an overnight stop courtesy of Cracker Barrel.

Thursday, June 13, 2019 – Mount Arlington, NJ, to Westbrook, CT

Rain started early morning, as predicted, along with a significant drop in temperatures.

Rewarded my Cracker Barrel hosts with another of their an “Old Timer’s” breakfasts, setting me up for the drive through the congestion of the Tri-state area.

And the congestion hit early, with a long, slow tailback only minutes after getting back onto I-80, and another couple of hold-ups at regular intervals on the way into Connecticut, though nothing to match the 10-mile tailback I drove by on the southbound side of I-95 in Fairfield County.

One benefit of the slow traffic was that I was rarely driving at full speed over the very poor roads, particularly in New Jersey and New York, where 6” deep holes in the concrete surface were distressingly prevalent.

Rain continued throughout the drive back, heavy at times (as seen here crossing the new Tappan Zee Bridge) and only easing to a light drizzle once closer to Westbrook, my final arrival there delayed a little by a detour for a late coffee and a grocery stop in Old Saybrook.

And then the familiar drive back down Route 1 into Pilots Point North marina.

Stopped in the office to say Hi to Ted, and moved the Airstream down to its regular spot tucked away down at the end of the marina near Dock 10.

“Home” again... or, at least, at my US mailing address.

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