stress fracture thoughts 

Posted on May 27, 2025 by istsfor manity

Why Aren’t You Bike Trekking on the ECG?

Why aren’t I?

I have stress fracture thoughts…

I have surgically-reconstructed knee swelling galore…

I had a surfeit of Bike MISERY…

I was not enjoying myself…

Mostly, I was following a tour of the East Coast Greenway (ECG) that was not riding on the East Coast Greenway…

I was not enjoying the 8am to 4pm regularity of “working” within the structure of the tour — I knew this would be my greatest challenge going in to this group endeavor. And it proved to be my Achilles…

I knew that as an early riser — I’m usually up at 4:30 am and ready to go at 6 am (especially during these nearly 14-hour long spring/summer days) — I was very impatient and unhappy not being able to leave until 8-8:30 am when everyone was done with breakfast and washing the group gear.

I knew as someone who likes to ride late into the day (6-7 pm) — in order to take longer breaks during the day and do longer mileage if necessary — that having to be in camp by 4-5 pm, so all the shared gear might be put to use in cooking dinner, would make my day feel rushed and confining.

I knew these were my challenges going in, and I tried my hardest to live within these parameters… but I just don’t believe that bike touring should be (or at least feel like) a forced march. 

Then, add the inability to reschedule a riding day due to schedule inflexibility that required us to bike during one of the worst recent nor’easters in the region — a few of us were in the verge of hypothermia, nearly hit by careless, half-blinded by rain, drivers on bike-unfriendly roads, and on difficult terrain — and you have the recipe for a mass exodus. 

A near mutiny, according to one of the co-leaders of the tour.

Four riders out of the original twelve have left the tour for various reasons. Most, I would say, due to the inflexibility to reschedule around severe weather (this wasn’t a mere passing thunderstorm—it was a historic storm), deviation from the declared route, and difficulty of terrain.

That’s a high attrition rate (33%) for such a small group. No one thought it would be easy — but no one thought there would be so much thoughtlessness about it.

As you will note above, my right knee (left of frame) is chronically swollen, but I’ve dealt with that for years after reconstructive surgery. Not major though, but quite uncomfortable especially when first starting to pedal. One just swallows the pain, and copious amounts of ibuprofen daily.

What became more problematic was an ostensible stress fracture in my left foot. Over the course of a few nights I had shooting / stabbing pain, keeping me sleepless, radiating out of one of the metatarsals. 

Then after the 82-mile day (the 9 bonus miles where my fault) into Providence I was certain something was wrong when I woke up to this:

I was just swallowing the pain (and the ibuprofen) but when I saw this I was taken aback. And then we proceeded to bike 56 and 33 successive mile days in deteriorating weather and terrain — away from the ECG — and I hit my limit.

Especially when I found out that we were deviating hundreds of miles away from the ECG.

My intention was to ride the ECG from Key West, Florida to the Canadian border at Calais, Maine. We were not going to do that. 

I was bummed. I was pissed. I was dazed, pained and confused. In short I was out.

I was thrown for a loop and loopy!

So were Jim, Glenn, and Dave. 

Best of luck to the 8 remaining riders and their trek to Washington, DC.

I will: reasses, recover, recoup, and finish the ECG this year!

I have yet to pedal the 1,328 miles from Georgetown, South Carolina to Putnam, Connecticut; as well as the 32 miles from Ellsworth, Maine to Searsport, Maine that I’ve never pedaled.

If I subtract the roughly 50 non-ECG miles I pedaled from Putnam to Stafford, Connecticut, I have covered 1,364 miles of the ECG this year. So I’m just a hair over half-way done. 

I intend to cover those remaining 1,328 miles this riding season. I’d like to be one of the hundred or so that have finished the trail in a calendar year.

I will do it. I’m halfway done. I’m better off as a lone trekking cyclist.

1,364 Miles on East Coast Greenway
February 28, 2025 — May 22, 2025

1,360 Remaining Miles To Pedal on the ECG
Coming sometime this Summer / Fall of 2025

What I’m Reading:

In April and May of 2024, hundreds and hundreds of students gathered on campuses across the country to demand their schools divest from companies that manufacture weapons used by Israel in its decades-long apartheid regime over Palestine. In response, university officials and state governments turned their weapons—fitted in riot gear and armed with batons, mace, and assault rifles—against the students. This is but a microcosmic example of how an empire such the U.S. weaponizes its military and utilizes propaganda against its own citizens, just as it does to those abroad . . . The purpose of an empire’s propaganda is to affirm and then re-affirm the empire’s continued existence.

— Aaron Boehmer / “Defying Empire: On the Perennially Relevant Political Message of Wicked” / Lithub.com

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life’s gone by

Posted on May 24, 2025 by istsfor manity

Memorable Stuff I Read This Week

Dream old pay phone ringing in hospital I pick up
receiver        voice says “The answer is awe.”
Still don’t know what to do with it last September right
before I was diagnosed        and the dream is still irritating

— Alice Notley / “The Answer Is Awe”

No relief… This morning the floor of the shower appeared somehow both lower than it felt to be in standing on it, and higher than it appeared in my perception, as if I were trapped in two phases of myself standing in the same place, some crux of touching eras. I found myself thinking again about suicide.

— Blake Butler / Molly

Salam to Gaza
The refugee camp lacks bread now
But it is enriched with blood
The camp lacks land and bread
But now it ascends to the skies

— Hussein Barghouthi / “Salaam to Gaza”

Chomsky has been relentless in reminding society that power takes many forms and that the production of ignorance is not merely about the crisis of test scores or a natural state of affairs, but about how ignorance is often produced in the service of power. According to Chomsky, ignorance is a pedagogical formation that is used to stifle thinking and promotes a form of anti-politics, which undermines matters of judgment and thoughtfulness central to politics. At the same time, it is a crucial factor not just in producing consent but also in squelching dissent. For Chomsky, ignorance is a political weapon that benefits the powerful, not a general condition rooted in some inexplicable human condition.

— Henry A. Giroux / “Introduction” / Because We Say So

The world found nothing sacred in the abstract nakedness of being human.

— Hannah Arendt / The Origins of Totalitarianism

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are more persuasive in online debates than people are — especially when they’re able to personalize their arguments using information about their opponent. Researchers pitted 900 people in the United States against either another person or OpenAI’s GPT-4 for 10-minute online debates on a sociopolitical issue. When neither the human nor AI had access to their opponent’s background information, GPT-4 was about as persuasive as a human. But if the basic demographic information from an initial survey was given to opponents before the debate, GPT-4 out-argued humans 64% of the time.

— Chris Simms  / “AI uses people’s info to persuade them” / Nature

… life’s gone by … like I never lived…

— Anton Chekhov (Stephen Karam adaptation) / The Cherry Orchard

What I’m Listening To: 

If you go down to Hammond
You’ll never come back
In my opinion you’re
On the wrong track

— The Roches / “Hammond Song”

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absolute misery biking

Posted on May 23, 2025 by istsfor manity

Nor’easter 

Biked the entire day through a nor’easter — mid 40’s for a high, feeling like it was 30 degrees all day in the high winds and absolutely soaked through early on and all day.

Absolute MISERY.

Shades of hypothermia on a couple of occasions when stopped. And did over 3,000 feet of climbing. Too cold to eat. Too cold to drink. Just wanted it to stop.

Absolute MISERY.

Almost hit — within inches by a boat trailer on a shoulderless stretch of steep road. The shocking  moment when I dove shoulder first into a rock outcropping continues to loop in my head. Insanely dangerous.

Absolute MISERY.

We’re not even biking on the East Coast Greenway. For some mysterious reason — probably to swing wide of New York City — we’re on the very steep rolling section of the Atlantic Coast Route that parallels the perfectly sane and well constructed rail trails of the East Coast Greenway in Connecticut. Those trails are a mere 20-30 miles to our south.

Piss-poor routing choice by the Adventure Cycling Association.

Why call this an East Coast Greenway tour if we depart the trail for this dangerous traverse made orders of magnitude worse by cycling in a nor’easter.

Absolute MISERY!

On the positive side… at least I wasn’t killed on the side of the road. 

Day 84
Start: Putnam, CT
End: Stafford, CT
Miles: 33.26 / 1,414

At least we have a fire… we made it to the endpoint with our lives.

Absolute MISERY biking.

What I’m Reading:

BEING OLD IS SOMETHING YOU ONLY UNDERSTAND ONCE YOU GET THERE

— Laura Peréz / Ocultos

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my view on tour

Posted on May 22, 2025 by istsfor manity

Day 83

Start: Providence, RI
End: Putnam, CT
Miles: 57.17 / 1,381

From Providence, Rhode Island to Putnam, Connecticut. Too tired for more than a few pictures. We expect wall to wall rain from a Nor’easter all day and night tomorrow. Taking a shelter tonight to stay out of the rain.

What I’m Reading:

you’re home. eating lentils. talking to your
loved one. you’re abroad. eating lentils. talking to
your loved one. you’re not yourself. you’ve been stolen.
you’re talking to your lentils. you’re not a knife, not cotton.

— Kęstutis Navakas / “Archaeopteryx”

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in this (my) neighborhood pt. 94

Posted on May 21, 2025 by istsfor manity

An auspicious start turned quickly as 5.7 miles into the ride our tour leader, Joyce, called me to ask if I was missing anything. Upon check of pockets for keys, wallet and phone I said: No.

Then she said don’t you feel lighter? And I immediately realized I left my backpack in camp. Not only was Joyce thorough in checking the campsite and finding the backpack on a far bench in camp, she was also willing toneide with it out to me about a mile and a half. 

Which for me resulted in bonus miles and pushed my riding miles above 80.

Too tired to say more—or even think straight—enjoy the pictures of crossing from Massachusetts in to Rhode Island…

I rode with Steven most of the day.

The group is staying at the Providence Guest House and Hostel tonight.

Day 82
Start: Rochester, MA
End: Providence, RI
Miles: 81.12 / 1,324

Today was only a 72 mile day on the mapped route, but my back and forth to retrieve my back pack added 9 miles to my day.

No one in their right mind plans an 81 mile day, they happen as a result of desperation or stupidity.

What I’m Reading:

Political and religious polarisation, which appeared to be on the wane for parts of the 20th century, has increased alarmingly in the past decade . . . The world feels to me more like the 1930s and 40s at present than it has in the intervening 80 years.

— Margaret Atwood / from a speech at the British Book Awards

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there and back

Posted on May 20, 2025 by istsfor manity

Down the Cape

We biked bonus miles today due to a detour and resupplying a mile off the trail — a sort of there and back and off to the campsite in Rochester, MA.

But the day started chilly, windy, and sunny with a litany of favorite sites on the Cape Cod Rail Trail — like Seymour Pond.

Not much pedestrian or bike traffic on the rail trail early Monday morning.

Some of the touring group here getting started again after a 10-mile break stop, and heading toward the end of our time on the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

We bikes through some scenic communities like Yarmouth with its series of historic homes.

And nearby Yarmouth Port.

We had to detour around power line installation in Hyannis.

But found easy succor at Mary Lou’s Coffee down the road.

I actually ate my lunchtime sandwich in Sandwich, MA.

Here we’re getting ready to head on the second bike trail of the day the Cape Cod Canal Trail.

The trail  covers both eastern and western sides of the Cape Cod Canal. Here Peter, Dan and Paula are headed toward the Sagamore Bridge—one of only two ways to get on and off Cape Cod on the road.

This is a memorable bridge crossing — not for its length or height …

… but because there is no guard rail between bicyclists and pedestrians from traffic roaring by two feet to the left.

This is the Saganore Bridge after crossing it and heading on the Canal Trail in the opposite direction.

And finally the railroad bridge at the end of the Cape Cod Canal Trail at Buzzards Bay.

Wickets Island in Buzzards Bay.

Christopher after an ice cream break at Guido’s Ice Cream in Onset Village.

Our resupply stop in West Wareham.

Day 81
Start: Brewster, MA
End: Rochester, MA
Miles: 60.22 / 1,243

Tomorrow 72 miles to Providence, Rhode Island.

What I’m Reading:

… An estimated 80% of banana exports which supply supermarkets around the world come from Latin America and the Caribbean — one of the most vulnerable regions to extreme weather and slow-onset climate disasters.

And yet the crop is under threat from the human-made climate crisis, and threatens a vital food source and the livelihoods of communities that have contributed virtually nothing to the greenhouse gases driving global heating.

— Nina Lakhani / “Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world’s most popular fruit, research shows” / The Guardian

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perfect weather day

Posted on May 19, 2025 by istsfor manity

Some S’mores

Setting out from Dunes Edge Campground on a gloriously warm and sunny day on a relatively short 30 mile-ish day was a great welcome back to the group. 

We headed out of Provincetown toward the center of Cape Cod at Nickerson State Park in Brewster. A bit windy, but take it over rain everyday.

Most of the day was a combination of riding on Route 6A …

… and the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

Plenty of stops: Truro, S. Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, and Brewster.

The second half of the day was mostly flat—a rail trail rarely pitches above a 2% grade.

The weather changed toward the end of the day, but the rain stayed away.

Treats galore at Hot Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans. Great biking day.

Day 80
Start: Provincetown, MA
End: Brewster, MA
Miles: 33.60 day / 1,183 total on ECG

Getcha’ self some s’mores!

What I’m Reading:

nothing is true but the reflection of the dream I’m trying to shatter
and which I don’t even dare to dream
constant plagiarism of myself

— Gloria Gervitz / “Migrations”

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short day back

Posted on May 18, 2025 by istsfor manity

Pleased to Be Back

The first day back was inevitably going to be short as the touring group was coming into my hometown and I was going to rejoin them at the Provincetown ferry terminal at the Boston Seaport. 

My biking day didn’t start until 3pm—and other than 5.5 miles to the ferry terminal, and 3 miles in Provincetown—the lion’s share set of miles came from the 40 miles on the ferry.

All the bikes were lashed together—into a veritable horizontal layer cake of bikes.

We were all very pleased that the bikes made it across dry and sea water free.

We arrived in Provincetown just before dusk which gave us enough time to shop for groceries and set up our tents before it was dark.

Day 79
Start: Boston, MA
End: Provincetown, MA
Miles: 1,152

What I’m Reading:

We are You—Us is America,
XY YX XXXY YXY, limitless
Yes! Proclaim: P for peace, E for earth, A for all.
Zero in on C for climate, E for equality. Our unity.

— Varsha Saraiya-Shah / “Anthem for America”

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urgently transition away

Posted on May 17, 2025 by istsfor manity

Memorable Stuff I Read This Week

The climate crisis is threatening the future of the world’s most popular fruit, as almost two-thirds of banana-growing areas in Latin America and the Caribbean may no longer be suitable for growing the fruit by 2080, new research has found.

Rising temperatures, extreme weather and climate-related pests are pummeling banana-growing countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia, reducing yields and devastating rural communities across the region, according to Christian Aid’s new report, Going Bananas: How Climate Change Threatens the World’s Favourite Fruit.

— Nina Lakhani / “Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world’s most popular fruit, research shows” / The Guardian

The war left me only those who died to call friends. I bless
night and light a votive candle so they pass through me in
a dream, like a scalpel or a cough, it left me no heart as a
window to hang on the wall of memories…

— Nasser Rabah / “To Whom Should We Recite the Time”

We will no longer be active on Twitter. We’d rather not contribute content and engagement, for free, to a platform owned by a paranoid billionaire who peddles in delusional misinformation, self-interested disinformation, and outright white supremacist conspiracy. (Not to mention all the DOGE stuff.) 

If you are a literary organization of any kind, please consider joining us, along with Electric Literature, over at Bluesky. 

@literaryhub.bsky.social

@electricliterature.com

— Johnny Diamond, Editor in Chief / “We’ve Logged Off” / Lit Hub

Know that when zebra finches felt the first pinch
of climate change, they chirped to their offspring, still shelled,
to warn, to insist, they hatch

smaller and fiercer.

— Amie Whittemore / “Future History of Earth’s Birds”

Acute food insecurity continues to rise at an alarming rate, with almost 300 million people at risk of death through starvation, new analysis reveals.

Escalating conflict and cuts to humanitarian aid along with climate and economic shocks forced an additional 13.7 million people into chronic food insecurity last year.

— Mark Townsend / “Almost 300m people at risk of death through starvation – report” / The Guardian

What we are attempting is dangerous:
Building a bridge.
Forging a bond.
Helping one another.
Let no one sway us otherwise.
We must keep on loving each other
through the killings.

— Essex Hemphill / “Meditations in a War Zone”

Christian Aid is calling on wealthy polluting nations most responsible for the climate crisis to urgently transition away from fossil fuels and fulfil their obligations to provide financing to help communities adapt to the changing climate.

“Bananas are not just the world’s favourite fruit, they are also an essential food for millions of people. We need to wake up to the danger posed by climate change to this vital crop,” said Osai Ojigho, Christian Aid’s director of policy and campaigns. “The lives and livelihoods of people who have done nothing to cause the climate crisis are already under threat.”

— Nina Lakhani / “Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world’s most popular fruit, research shows” / The Guardian

What I’m Listening To:

Though this world’s essentially an absurd place to be living in
It doesn’t call for bubble withdrawal
It’s said human existence is pointless
As acts of rebellious solidarity can bring sense in this world
La resistance!
La resistance!

— Stereolab / “French Disko”

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has to change

Posted on May 16, 2025 by istsfor manity

A Streak of “The Luck of Job”

I’ve been back at home in Boston the last four days. I’ve had a streak of “the luck of Job.”

In case you’ve forgotten, over the course of 1,146 miles from Key West, FL to Georgetown, SC — and then from Calais, ME to Bar Harbor, ME — the only mechanical issues I had were 3 flat tires. 

Fairly common.

But in the course of a week, last week, I blew out a derailleur (it got bent to hell) — and last Sunday my rear brake failed and warped into the brake rotor. I was left with only the front brake functioning in very steep terrain. And the rear brake was partially locked because the metal spring in the caliper / brake pad mechanism was bent into itself. See detailed images below:

Since I joined the group… if I didn’t have bad luck, I had no luck at all. Oy!

Seriously, I’ve just lived through two “freak” mechanical failures in a week.

My life partner-wife, Pattie, was kind enough to drive the three hours to pick me up in Thomaston, ME. I really didn’t want to rent a car and hotel again.

Again, luckily I biked these miles (from Boston to Searsport, ME) last summer, so I’m lucky to have the flexibility to wait for the group to bike into Boston to rejoin them. Which I will do this Saturday for the ferry ride to Provincetown, MA, for our ride through Cape Cod as we head south to Washington, DC.

I’m surprised at this last mechanical failure as I had the bike checked out and tuned up last month in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

As you see in the picture above, and in the penultimate post, Saturday’s ride to Camden Hills State Park, in Camden, ME, was a complete wash out. Rain with temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s — a fairly miserable weather day.

It cleared overnight and Sunday dawned a sunny day. A truly perfect riding day. A high of 60 degrees and light wind.

This (above) was as good as it got for me on Sunday. Coming down a short 12% to 15% grade (truly steep) — I lost my rear brake. I was advised that with the pitched grades we were riding it might be best to hitchhike ahead to Bath where an excellent bike shop is located. But I decided to get this sorted out at home instead.

As Thursday was a day off in Hampton, NH, and I’ve already ridden the 245 miles between Boston and Searport, ME, I chose to wait for the group here in Boston while I got the bike worked on.

I ran some water up to the Saugus, MA campground yesterday — where there is no potable water — so the group has drinking and cooking water today.

Day 76:
Location: Boston, MA
Miles: 1,146

In the meantime I’ve logged 2,042 miles on my bike this year. I’ve also prepared my old bike for the remainder of the East Coast Greenway tour in case my current bike acts up again.

My luck has got to change.

What I’m Reading:

How we move through our cities plays a big role in sustainability — but not every place makes it easy to go car-free. Today, Realtor.com® and Local Logic unveiled a new ranking of America’s Top Eco-Friendly Cities for Car-Free Transit, highlighting the places where walking, biking, and public transit are not only viable, but widely used. Leading the list are Hoboken, NJ, Cambridge, MA, and Brookline, MA, with the most top-ranked cities found in the Northeast and California’s Bay Area.

— Thao Tram Ngo / “America’s Top Eco-Friendly Cities for Car-Free Transit” / Local Logic

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