Rain, Rain and more rain

Today was the first day of my trip cycling down the Eastern Seaboard. In my mind, it didn't exactly play out the way I thought that it would. I dreamed that it would be sunny and warm with a nice trail wind.... and then I woke up.

We began in pour raining and relatively warm weather. Thank goodness for the warm temperatures! As you can see I dressed for wet weather with my leggings and bright yellow jacket so I could keep my legs warm as well as be seen. Even Jan put on her jacket before leaving!

I know we were cycling along the coastline today because I could smell the sea. I just wished I could have stopped to take pictures, but with the rain and the fog we encountered we were lucky to have been able to see the beaches as we rode through Kennebunkport, Ogunquit and York Maine.

The rain finally began to slow down as we crossed over the bridge into New Hampshire. So I was able to take my second picture of the day as we rode into Portsmouth. The bright side of cycling in the rain today was that my snake count was a big fat zero. Unless they were wearing water wings, there weren't any to be seen, it may have been a wet day, but it was a good day!

The ride today should have been 70 but was actually about 75 miles. Doug and I just couldn't get enough of seeing the sights of York, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Following my ride I spent 45 minutes cleaning my bike and I'll bet when I get back to Richmond and have it tuned after my trip, they will still find sand from my ride today.

T- Minus 23 Hours and Counting.....

This morning was a great morning, blue skies sunny and warm. After breakfast Jan and I took our bikes out to do a short test ride and then back to the hotel to get our orange flags on the back of our bikes. It was so nice to finally get back on my bike.

Once our flags were installed we were off to explore Portland and several lighthouses. Here's a picture of me at our first stop. I have on my custom made Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund cycling jersey. I also met a "old Corp" Marine and his dog, a Bull Dog to be specific. The official Mascot of the Marine Corp.

The weather was great today for our 30 mile "test"ride, no winds lots of sunny skies and smooth roads. What more could you ask for.... I can't think of anything. We stopped at a local sandwich shop for lobster rolls and for me a chicken wrap.

On our way back to the hotel, I saw the thing I feared the most.... yeah, they have migrated to the North East to haunt me, I saw two smooched snakes! My ride hasn't even officially begun and I'm already seeing dead snakes, the count continues.

Have a great day an let's hope for smooth roads, sunny warm weather and lots of "photo ops" as I begin my trip south.

From York to Portland, Maine

I had the best time visiting with Char and Jay in York! Thanks for all your hospitality and for keeping the "tradition" alive with breakfast at the Goldenrod for waffles, my favorite!

I'm now sitting in the hotel watching it sprinkle rain. I do have my bike with me after dealing with several issues to get it up here and then a snapped rear derailleur hanger. It's all good now, as Kevin use to say, because I have a new rear derailleur hanger and I'm rearing to go on my test ride...now if the weather would only cooperate!! I've done my "sun" dance already this morning, where's the sun?

Last night I enjoyed a great dinner at a local Brew Pub along with Jan Lewis and Doug Squires from the XC2010 ride. Now we're waiting on the rest of the "crew from XC to join us and to meet the other riders, should be 25 in all for this years ride down the Coast.

Weather reports are calling for rain on Thursday, not the best way to begin, but it's not like I haven't ridden in wet weather before, besides I have my water wings with me! Wish us luck!

Well best run and get ready for my test ride. It will be great to get back on my bike, stretch my legs and see some of the sights Portland has to offer!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

T minus......

I've finished my "practice" packing of my two gym size bags and am happy to report this year I will be at the 15 pound weight limit on both. No boxes needed for me to ship stuff home! That was so embarrassing last year! I have learned to be an efficient packer.

I have also be busy recording the Injured Marine Semper Fi Funds that are still coming in by check and through my donation site: http://www.active.com/donate/SFFCOMMATHL2011/challbikerchick

To date, I have raised over $17,000 for my 2011 Eastern Seaboard trip. Combine that with the funds I raised on my 2010 cross country trip; which were over $28,000, I have been blessed and fortunate to have raised over $45,000 for The Fund. Thank you so much to my family and all my friends who have supported me through their kind words and donations.

So as I dream of reuniting with my bike, which I hope gets fixed before I pick it up...yes can you say Murphy's Law, when my bike was unpacked they found a broken derailleur hanger. Shades of last year and I didn't even fall on wet railroad tracks!! I'm so ready to get out there and begin my next adventure cycling along the Eastern Seaboard, I've heard it's all down hill from Portland to Daytona Beach!

I hope everyone has an outstanding day and remember to be safe out there.

Tick, Tick, Tick...

The clock is ticking down and I find myself in a calm state of mind.  I don't have the same butterflies in my stomach as I did before last years cross country ride.  My bike has been shipped and should have arrived at it's destintation today, as I practice my packing skills and get a few more miles in on my windtrainer.

I've actually enjoyed riding inside because I can listen to my IPod, which is a definite "NO, NO" when cycling outside. But for something different, listening to the late 70's and early 80's disco music helps me keep a fast pace!

I've attached a map showing the route that we'll be taking.  Hope this gives you some perspective of where we'll be cycling. Before I know it I'll be peddling my way from point A to point B and have the pictures to prove it!

Hope you have an excellent week, I know I will!

What a difference a week makes!

The week of September 22, 2011 will be one of the most interesting training weeks I have ever had!

Tuesday September 23 and just as I finished my 40 mile training ride the ground began rolling under my feet and I hear a loud rumbling noise. When I turned to look at my friends house, their roof was shaking.... OMG it's a 5.8 Earthquake and I was about 20 miles from the center of the quake.

I tryed to get in a training ride on Thursday but the wind was just to strong so after 20 miles I headed home. Friday was a rest day and then came Saturday and the heavy rains and extremely strong winds, it was Irene making her presence known. We lost power at 1:55 and finally it came back on at 11:00 on Sunday. I've attached a picture of a tree that fell on Saturday during the storm.

No cycling outside until today, Tuesday September 30th. Some of my training routes are still closed because of downed power lines and trees. My 30 miles today was better then nothing and hope to get more miles in this week as more debris gets cleaned up and roads opened.

I have a couple of weeks before I need to ship my bike to Portland and then I'll be winging my way up the coast to Portland.

Remember if you would like to support me in my ride, please visit my web page for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to make a donation:
http://www.active.com/donate/sffcommathl2011/challbikerchick . Thank you for your support and donation!

Training in the Heat and Humidity of Virginia

It's summer time in Virginia which means lots of high temperatures and lots of humidity! I'm actually 7 weeks into my training schedule for my trip this fall and I'm learning to deal with both of these weather items.

Today was a 53 mile training ride on tree lined country roads. If you get out early enough and pick the right roads, the high temperatures and humidity don't seem to be an issue. The three deer I saw eating lunch on the side of the road are a bigger issue then 85 degree temperatures!!! Just keep on eating deer and I'll slide on by!

So all in all I'm doing very well in preparing for my up coming ride from Portland to Dayton Beach. So once my ride begins I'll be writing daily of my adventures and sharing what I hope will be fantastic pictures! I hope you'll be there to take this fantastic journey with me through my Blog.

See you then!