Editor's Note:
Back on June 4, in Seaside, Ore., Fredric Scire began his cross-country journey. On Friday, Aug. 4, he completed the trip, which encompassed 3,912 miles in 64 days. Fred's final journal entries are below.
Into Cumberland; planning the final stretch
Wednesday, Aug. 2 (Day 62)
I reach Cumberland, the end point of the C&O canal and the final leg of this cross-country trip. From here, I have 137 miles with another 13 miles to the city of Frederick.
Tomorrow I will ride 60 miles to Hancock and then another 10 to Fort Frederick, giving me 70 miles on the day. Then I'll ride back to Hancock to meet my wife, Mary Ann. I will spend the night in Hancock and the following morning I will be dropped off at Fort Frederick to finish the ride on Friday.
------------• Forget Floyd, I'll take Fred.
Click here to read why Fred's journey is far better than Floyd Landis' testosterone-fueled Tour de France journey.
I will try to leave before 7 a.m., any earlier and I have fog to contend with. I will unload everything when Mary Ann drops me off at Fort Frederick. Nothing needed for the last day except food/drink, meds, tools/spares, raincoat, camera, and bug spray.
Not Frederick, yet, but Fort Frederick is close
Thursday, Aug. 3 (Day 63)
I left Cumberland at 6:30 a.m. and encountered a humid, sticky ride for the most part, but the scenery is great and it's great to be away from traffic, too.
I was virtually alone on the towpath until about 9 a.m., except for deer and birds. I startled a beaver working on a tree, who then dashed across the towpath to the canal and forced me to a sliding stop; it startled me too!
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I ran into a Boy Scout troop on the way into Little Orleans and chatted with the leaders. They were all interested in doing a similar trip and quizzed me about the bike.
I got to Hancock early, about 1:30 p.m., had lunch and then rode on to Fort Frederick. I returned to Hancock by 4 p.m. and waited for Mary Ann. The day's total was over 80 miles. Only one more to day to go ... and maybe the heat/humidity is lowering.
Home, sweet home
Friday, Aug. 4 (Day 64)
Another 80-mile day. Mary Ann dropped me off at Fort Frederick at 8 a.m. and takes the bulk of my gear. It will be 67 miles to Point of Rocks on the C&O Canal and then 13 more on up to Frederick.
The day is markedly cooler, although the humidity is still high. After reaching Williamsport, a detour off the canal at McMahons Mill puts you on the road again until Dam No. 4. Back on the towpath, I meet Herb Cohen and his grandson, both of Allentown, Pa. Herb, 71, rides regularly in his retirement. He is fit and hearty and says he might consider a recumbent bike when his joints get a bit more sensitive. Ouch!
I stopped for lunch in Brunswick at 2:30 p.m. The day is getting long, but no stopping now— straight on to Point of Rocks, north on Ballenger Creek pike, east on Crestwood Drive, north on New Design Road and on into Frederick. Done!
I arrive in front of The News-Post offices at 4:45 p.m. Mary Ann and my granddaughters, Sarah and Anna, are there to greet me. Sarah and Anna are Alaskans and are intrigued by acorns. Each gives me a handful for my arrival, along with a hug.
Final mileage: 3,912. Total time, portal to portal, was 64 days.
Looking back
Sunday, Aug. 6
Today marked my second day home and I'm still tired from back-to-back 80-plus mile days, each on a gravel towpath. We're enjoying the visit of daughter and granddaughters from Alaska; enjoying being home with family.
Leona Dalton (my niece who rode two-thirds of the way with me before taking a different finishing route) will be in Christianburg, Va., this evening and is expecting to arrive in Assateague between Aug. 11-14. I am sure that she will be glad to finish and will be quite proud of her accomplishment, as well she should.
After doing well on the TransAmerica trail, she will go off trail to angle northward, cross by ferry to Maryland's Eastern Shore and ride on to the ocean. Bravo! And congratulations!
— — —
This was a tough ride under very trying circumstances. The weather this summer was a plague for the most part. Rain and cold were problems through the northwest and once we were over the Continental Divide, it was increasing heat and humidity, record-breaking heat and humidity, I might add. And, of course, the seemingly, ever present wind out of the south.
As I said at the beginning, it was a challenge, and the serendipity was there.
The chance meeting of Bob and Sally at Ainsworth State Park, the Rose Garden in Portland, Renee in Kooskie, Idaho, who brought us chicken soup, Gene and Judith who rode through eastern Montana with us. Jim Burgh of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, playing music with Rene at a campsite in Avon, S.D., the roadside artwork in Vevay, Ind., and elsewhere. Malcolm in Athens, Ohio, Bob’s Bicycle shop in Parkersburg, W.Va. The list goes on.
There are just a few of the folks and places that make a trip like this memorable.
