8/7/05 Gaithersburg to Grasonville 78 miles so far
"To everything there is reason." Today, I'm thinking the reason for my crash was to keep me out of suburban MD on a weekday. My path from Gaithersburg to the Baltimore-Annapolis Bikeway was tedious & humid. On a weekday with normal commuter traffic, it could have been suicidal. 30 miles as the crow flies, the route snaked through the northern DC suburbs for 50 miles, avoiding the 'no bicycles' routes & shying awayfrom the 'not recommended' roads when I could.
I was surprised by how many working farms there are & how empty some of the roads were – even for a Sunday morning. The tediousness came from the need to double & sometimes triple check turns & street names. Add to that that the maps I had made were hard to read & I was navigating from an e-mail of the directions and the maps in my little Dell Axim handheld.
I made it to the b-a bikeway & from there it was an easy ride to Rt 50 to the Bay Bridge. Getting over the bnidge was more problematic as cycles aren't allowed. I made a siqn & put it on my bike & left it out while I dined at Wendy's & McD's, & 2 people said they'd take me, but
their cars were full. In the end I called a cab. It took well more than an hour for them to come, so by the time I got across the bridge, it was almost dark. I couldn't make it to the state park as it was still 20 miles away, so I 'settled' for the Sleep Inn in Grasonville.
My next missive should be from the coast! I can taste the crabs. Mmmmm.