The Plan

Yesterday I did what I’ve wanted to do most — I got on my bike and rode it a few miles.

My knee responded to treatment and time off. I tested it with a short 10.4 mile ride around my neighborhood, and it, again, responded well to treatment afterward.

Today I’ll go out on the commuter train and bike in to Boston from Newburyport, MA — about 48 miles — without panniers or extraneous gear. This allows me the opportunity to cover the mileage and treat the knee at home overnight — and the option to easily seek medical attention if necessary — and to spend the night at home.

If this turns out well, I’ll repeat something like this for a few days using Amtrak’s Downeaster service that runs from Boston to Brunswick, ME — I’ll then end up at home each night.

I’ve plotted out an itinerary in the event all goes well today. At a certain point, probably Freeport, ME, I’ll return to the route with my gear and no longer return home in the evenings. I’m also taking a zero day on Sunday for the sake of the knee. Breaking the remainder of the bike tour into two 4 day blocks.

If this works it’ll be four days of using train service, covering the mileage, and coming back home — followed by an off-day — then four days of biking with a lighter load of gear up to Lubec, ME.

That’s the plan.

What I’m Reading:

Of all of the greenway projects underway in America, the East Coast Greenway is by far the most ambitious. Back in 1991, city planners from Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., came together with the idea of connecting their independent greenways. That vision grew to become the East Coast Greenway, a multi-purpose trail that would connect Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida. The goal: Encourage non-motorized travel for work and recreation. More than three decades in the making, 65 percent of the Greenway is completed or in advanced stages of development. It’s already become one of America’s most visited parks, with an estimated 50 million cyclists and pedestrians using the greenway annually.

— Jen Murphy / “A Bike Trail that Connects Moose to Manatees” / Substack