Adventure in Awesome

Cold Brewed Coffee I've been fooling around with a lot of different brewing methods - Pour over, Drip, French Press - and I've never really found anything I particularly loved.  I enjoyed some of the lighter blends, but I've generally found coffee too bitter to really enjoy.  Piling cream and sugar on helps, but only makes it tolerable. On a recent camping trip, though, one of the campers brought a mason jar of cold filtered coffee extract, and when time came to brew, she added 3 jars of hot water, and that little mason jar became a gallon of smooth hot coffee. I decided to try it myself - with winter coming, no better time to get into coffee brewing - and so picked up some hardware to experiment. After some trial and error, the result was several bottles of coffee extract, convenient and delicious, and mellow enough that I can drink it without cream or sweetener.

I'll wear a burlap robe, with sandals, and either carry or wear a big sign, like one of those 'the end is near' guys? And what it will say, is 'One Day the Poor Will Have Nothing Left to Eat but the Rich'. That'll be my Halloween costume. Hopefully I can get a horde of not-quite zombies (barefoot, dusty, dressed in shambles, covered in sores and blood.. and perhaps a few trappings from their most recent meal... A monocle, top hat).  And maybe a Daddy Warbucks, Mad Man, Bank Executive... in their finest running shoes.

It's been forever, right?  We should catch up. I finished my big end of year ride, up and over the Allegheny mountains. It was awesome. I got back home, and enjoyed the respite of the cold and frozen months.  No major weekend plans for like months! It was nice, relaxing.  I started sleeping IN on the weekends, getting housework done that I had put off for nine months.. Dishes, laundry, yard work.  I planned and executed renovations and painted the last of the beige walls.  I kept riding, though at 18 degrees, cold and icy, 2-3 mile rides were more than adequate. In 2013, I set a minimum mileage goal of 30 miles in January, and an additional 30 miles each month up to 180 miles in June.  January was easy, February was cold and icy, but I hit 70 miles, march is looking good!  In mid-January I made a presentation of my GAP trip at REI.  There were a few 60 degree plus days. February was cold.  I bought a new bike! March has ...

The final leg of the trip was the easiest. 30 miles, all of it downhill. It was freezing in the morning. Literally, it was 27 degrees. I lollygagged, waiting for the sun to warm things up. Wrote postcards, bought more postcards, wrote those postcards. Had breakfast. Had second breakfast. Finally packed up around noon, and, after a quick stop at the bike shop for a spare chain, headed on. It was barely above 40 by noon, dressing warmly was challenging, but I managed quite well.  Balaclava pulled up just under my nose, just enough space to keep my breath from fogging up my glasses.  This worked quite well, as my breath kept my nose warm. I stopped for lunch at the Lucky Dog in confluence, and then headed on. Soon enough I reached the final section of my ride, a stretch alongside the Y oughiogheny, and soon after that, I made it back to camp.  I set up the tent, lit a campfire, took a shower, cooked dinner, and settled in by the campfire to catch up on the world.

I packed up early the next morning, and headed to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad train station. I loaded my bike in, along with perhaps a dozen other people taking their bikes up the hill, and we set off for frostburg. The group of cyclists were pretty varied, from forty something's in spandex to couples in their sixties taking an afternoon cruise down the mountainside. For the first 5 miles, I had to keep talking myself out of finding a shuttle back to Ohiopyle. It was cold and overcast and uphill.  Knowing the top of the mountain was only about 12 miles away kept me going.  That and not wanting to spend $200 for a shuttle. Eventually, I caught a glimpse of the continental divide tunnel, and raced up the hill.  Just before reaching the tunnel, I passed a rather large group of cyclists, 8-10, who encouraged me 'almost there!' As they flew past. The ride downhill on the western side isn't nearly as steep as the eastern side, so you do have to pedal, but there are s...

I got up early Wednesday, and headed to the opera house for breakfast. Donut, coffee, breakfast sandwich.  Not the big hearty mountain climbing breakfast I'd prefer, but food, at least. The folks at the opera house fell into two groups - the folks running the trains, and cyclists. The train group was talking about the recent postal employee who left his train on the tracks - explaining the long loud and frequent horns I'd been hearing all night.  The cyclist were mostly talking about past or upcoming rides.   They were mostly groups, talking amongst themselves, but I did chat with a couple of solo riders. There was an older gentleman who lived at the bottom of he mountain, hadn't ridden for a good number of years due to an injury and work constraints. He found himself with a few days off, and decided to head up and over the mountain with little more than a sleeping bag and good spirits. There was also a younger fellow on a mountain bike covered with handmade bags and stor...

30 miles today and I'm beat. I asked a few folks who had been touring before why it was so much harder doing this than cycling on the roads.  Cycling 60 miles on steep hills seemed easier. The answer they had was a few things. First, the weight, 40 lbs on the rear wheels, was a huge difference. Rolling resistance, whatnot. The grade is also deceptive. 1.5% is almost nothing, but its almost all 1.5% uphill - you stop pedaling, you quickly stop, especially with the added weight. Very few places you can coast. It's one big uphill.     I have 25 miles to the great continental divide, the highest point on the trail, and then its a 15 mile coast downhill to Cumberland. The town I stopped in is Rockwood, PA.  There's a 'simple luxury' campsite called Husky Haven.  For $10 dollars, you get a nice piece of land under the trees overlooking the river and town, with a picnic table and firering at each site.  Firewood is included and stocked at...