So… here goes… again (again)…

Today’s objective was to arrive in Jacksonville and meet the first three members of our loose bike touring cooperative — the Spinners. 

As you may know I rode half of the East Coast Greenway / Atlantic Coast Route last year, and unbeknownst to me a group of 5 other riders (the Spinners) started about a week or two after I did and were on the trail at the same time. Oddly enough after a member experienced bike trouble they decided to call it a section tour at Washington, NC. I ended the southern portion of my tour last year about 200 miles south in Georgetown, SC. I then rode from Calais, Maine to Stafford Spring, CT, and ended riding just over half the mileage of the entire trail.

Sometime last fall I came across a Facebook group organized by Scott and Richard, two of the member Spinners, and learned they were planning on finishing the second half of the route this year. I was keen to join them, and six months later here we are in Jacksonville, NC, about to finish what we started (separately) last year.

So, today some of us will start the ride up to Lubec, Maine — approximately 1,300 miles — and some will ride for a week or longer with the core group. At the end of this ride in Maine, 8 riders will have participated, and 5 of those will have ridden 1,300 miles in addition to approximately 1,500 miles last year, thereby completing the Atlantic Coast Route / East Coast Greenway Trail. It should take a bit over a month to complete provided all goes well.

 Tomorrow Scott, Richard, Ashley and I will start from Jacksonville, and will be joined by Lois and Jeff in about a week’s time, and Ashley will head home at Norfolk, VA. In Norfolk, Bobby will join us for a week (or some unspecified longer period); and then in Poughkeepsie, NY, Mark will join the ride for a period of time.

It’s a long ride and a short month with many variables mixed in — that’s what makes it interesting — that’s what makes it a challenge worthy of undertaking through injuries, bad weather, technical problems, equipment failure, et al.

And again, any day spent on a bike is better than most others, no matter the weather, the vibes, or the physical challenge encountered. It’s what makes going cross country on a bike to see America, as it truly is, at a human pace and scale, so worthy of the effort. Here’s to all that try it no matter the outcome. 

So Day 6, for me, drops me at the precipice of a new beginning — another Day 1 (but I’ll call it 7, why not?). So… here goes… again (again)…

Day 6
Start: Sneads Ferry, NC
Finish: Jacksonville, NC
Miles: 23.22

There should be a group picture of the Spinners here, but we forgot to take one (instead you get gratuitous bike tubes!) … the group picture will have to wait until tomorrow (probably in our rain gear, as it’s going to be a soaker!)

What I’m Reading:

My springtime, a sobbing hunger, 
   my summer, a hot struggle— 
                      what 
          will my autumn be?

— Arno Holz / “[My springtime, a sobbing hunger,]”