Total miles: 1,272

Total funds raised: $21,651!! ($11,350 for CBF, $ 5,195 for ADA and $ 5,131 for Johns Hopkins).

THANK YOU!!

So, I wholeheartedly agree with John’s summary of the emotions we experienced during the ride, the difficulty in picking one favorite place or event, and also echo his sincere thanks to all of you that contributed to the success of the Chesapeake Watershed ride.  What an adventure!  And, I have to re-iterate, once again, how very touched I was by the incredible support - whether it was meeting us with homemade sandwiches at a park in VA,  putting us up for the nite, or telling us you enjoyed the blog - it all has had a profound effect on me, for which I am extremely grateful.

Much of the credit for our success goes to John. As most people know, it was his idea - of course, he is quick to note it took very little arm-twisting to get me to “sign up”- and he did pretty much all the pre-ride planning and preparation. He spent hours before the ride mapping and re-mapping the course, made the connection with Bike Doctor, sold the idea to Bambeco and, as expected, miraculously maintained his “infectious enthusiasm” throughout the entire trip!  Most mornings, I was greeted with: “Good morning, Sunshine. Wanna go on a bike ride today?” 

During the ride, he was the “Pathfinder” - navigating us successfully through all 1,272 miles and 6 states.  I, quite literally, was along for the ride.  I only remember one time when we lost our bearings (that was the first day and the infamous turn into the Industrial Park), but then again, if there were others, John probably wouldn’t have told me!  So, my sincerest thanks to John, for letting me be a part of the adventure and being such an incredible riding partner. And yes, I will confirm, we are still talking! 

And of course, I must thank my partner Ann. When she broke her leg, she wouldn’t even let me consider the notion of not going on the ride - though it would mean that she would need to do what must of us loathe doing - rely heavily on friends and family to help her complete even the most basic tasks.  And through it all, she maintained her sense of humor, her strength, her patience - and did not complain once, that I was not there to help her.  If the shoe was on the other foot, I’m not sure that I could have been as gracious and understanding as she was.  After the ride, much of the accolades went to me for what was accomplished, in my view Ann is the real hero. Thanks honey. I love you.

Beth  

Wow…what a long, strange, crazy, awesome, filling, tiring, painful, incredible adventure this has been.

Both of us have been asked about what was the best part of the trip.  My answer was, with the exception of being away from my family for so long, everything.  From Cooperstown to Shenandoah, Richmond to Lancaster and everywhere in between, I have been inspired and humbled every step of the way.  It is hard to choose one favorite when you consider the placid waters of Lake Otsego, the grandeur of the Pine Creek trail, the breathtaking down hills and vistas of Skyline Drive or the magic of meeting a kind and generous stranger.   It’s impossible to choose among those or the heaping milkshakes in Williamsport, dinner in Monrovia or the hugs from my kids after the first 2 weeks.

When we first left Annapolis 3 weeks ago I had little idea of what to expect but I knew it was the right thing to do.  We rode nearly 1300 miles on our bicycle, spoke to anyone who would listen and have raised approximately $20,000 for the causes that we care about most.  It was all worth it and would do it all over again.  Don’t worry Beth, not literally!

And to answer a commonly asked question….yes, Beth and I are still talking to each other.  In fact, completing this sojourn with our friendship fully intact was never the slightest of my concerns.  She is a wonderful riding partner who is strong, considerate, self-reliant, swift and highly competent. A true low maintenance travelling companion who took everything this trip threw at her. And she did it with a smile.  Through 20% inclines on muddy backcountry roads, rain, narrow shoulders and my corny jokes…she never complained once.  This was a unique experience for us both and I feel beyond lucky to have had such a great partner in crime.  Thank you Beth!

Of course none of this would have been possible without the support of our friends and the love (and patient tolerance!) of our families.  Fran and I have been overwhelmed by the support of our community. Honestly, without them this could have been a disaster.  As many of you know, both our families encountered significant challenges only weeks before we departed on July.  With our 3 week absence it forced our significant others to lean more heavily on community than ever before.  Meals were cooked, lawns were mowed, kids were cared for, rides were given to doctor appointments…the list goes on and on.  For that support I am eternally grateful.

There are too many thank you’s to list here but hopefully this is a good start: to all the friends and family who gave their time, money and words of encouragement to make this dream a reality.  To Steve Ruck  at the Arnold Bike Doctor for giving us the right bikes for this journey.  To bambeco for their continued financial and moral support from their home page to facebook.  To Kim Coble and Pam Wilson for helping me nurture this idea as it evolved from infancy to completion. To all our new and old friends who opened the doors to their homes, cooked us magnificent meals and gave a warm and comfortable place to rest our heads.  To my brother-in-law Dave and sister Kari who balance the heavy weight of caring for a young child with cancer and trying to lead an active and inspiring life, yet still had time to join us and support us on the toughest leg of the trip.  To Jon Mueller who spent an entire week changing tires, lubing chains and singing his heart out. To Paul Willey and John Page Williams’ skiff armada for our boat ride across the bay and to Kate Wilson for driving us over the CBBT. And countless others who played a role in making this Ride a great success.  Thank you all!

And mostly to Frances. You are one in a billion and this never could have been a success without you.  Over the last 6 months I have been busy organizing logistics, gathering gear and thanking sponsors while you were behind the scenes keeping me afloat. Caring for the house, kids and the rest of our world in my absence was a tall order and you made it all work.  You rock, I love you and I am so happy to be home with you.

A few more random observations:

-Cow poop is the most pleasant, or rather the least offensive when compared to chicken or pig

-People are kind and generous to strangers on bikes

-Leave later in the morning so you don’t get stuck behind a trash truck

-Eating is one of the greatest joys in life

-PA has more skunk road-kill than the other watershed states

-Not all roads going over mountains are paved

-We all benefit from clean water

 -No 5 year old should have to suffer from cancer.

  -The best part of leaving is coming home.

Sincerely and with much love,

John

p.s. We will be leaving our websites live for any of those last minute gifts.  If you held out until now please don’t delay!  Thanks for your support!  Final tally to come….

Environmental education and advocacy programs of Chesapeake Bay Foundation-(John’s)  www.cbf.org/watershedride or (Beth’s) www.cbf.org/bmcgeewatershedride

Children’s cancer treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital www.active.com/donate/johnwatershedride

Programs of the American Diabetes Association  http://main.diabetes.org/goto/watershedridebmcgee

More to come…

Day 20

August 19  Seaford, DE to CBF Headquarters in Annapolis, MD

Miles: 76/1257

Hours in the saddle: 5:59

Elevation change: 842

We had a great breakfast at the Gontangs in Seaford and were sent on our way with some homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (believe it or not, the first of this delicacy in 3 weeks!).  Made great time through the eastern shore countryside to Easton where we enjoyed our traditional second breakfast.  Then we headed north, passing the site of the former Wye Oak, past the outlet stores (where I got my third flat tire of the trip), onto the cross island trail on Kent Island to a marina where we met John Page Williams and Paul Willey - our boat escorts across the Chesapeake Bay.  We were thrilled that the foul weather we expected to mar the last day of our journey somehow miraculously dissipated over the mountains in Virginia and we had a lovely trip across the Bay.  Our sincere thanks to JP and Paul!

When we arrived at the Sandy Point State Park boat ramp we were met by George Maurer (former CBFer) and another friend, Tom, who then joined us on the last part of our ride to CBF’s Merrill Center. Thanks guys! 

Obviously, we were getting pretty excited by then - especially knowing that the Tiki Team had moved their August party to coincide with our arrival.  We were welcomed back to CBF by many friends, family, and colleagues. As we came up the driveway, we were joined on bikes by John’s kids, Aaron and Sophia and his nephew Ryan (brother of Caden).  Then, as we pedaled up to the front door of  CBF’s Merrill Center, folks cheered and threw confetti.  Over the entranceway was a big banner done by the young artist, Maya Willey - Karl and Andrea’s daughter. We felt like celebrities!  What an incredible homecoming. Made even more special for me by the presence of many of my family members who were there to welcome us home, but also to join in a McGee family reunion planned for the weekend in Annapolis.  

Then it was onto the back deck for the Tiki party - complete with Goldy’s margaritas, Terry’s DJ/sound system and an incredible view of the Chesapeake. Our most sincere thanks to the Tiki Team for their role in our welcome home - you all are the best!  Later, our friend Cindy presented us with the first ever “Golden Saddle Award” for our efforts and Susan Aplin (friend and CEO of Bambeco) gave us some really cool Bambeco items - including a “briefcase” made out of old bicycle innertubes that I have been coveting on their web page for months.  (www.bambeco.com) As if their contributions, both moral and financial, to us during the ride weren’t enough!!!  Thanks - we can’t tell you how much we appreciated your support.

And finally, what John and I had talked about doing since way before we left for the ride…a plunge into the Chesapeake Bay.  Seemed like an appropriate way to end our journey.

We’ll be back with some final thoughts…so please continue to stay tuned.

- Beth

Yes, we made it!  Please standby while we get some much needed rest and time with family.  Final numbers and final thoughts to come.  thanks!

I was given strict orders to have us home by no later than Friday Aug 19 and it is starting to look as if that will actually happen.  So we will depart Seaford, DE by 7:30 a.m. with hopes of meeting our skiff armada at Kent Island’s Bay Bridge Marina between 3 and 4:00.  We are not permitted to ride across the Bay Bridge on our bikes so we will be travelling to Sandy Point State Park by boat.  From there we will climb on our bikes for the final leg to CBF’s headquarters in Bay Bridge arriving no later than 5:00.  Rumor has it that a Tiki party will be happening on the beach shortly thereafter.  So grab your grass skirts and flowered shirts and meet us on the beach!

Hope to see you there!

Day 19

August 18  Pocomoke City to Seaford, DE

Miles: 49/1181

Time in the saddle: 4:06

Elevation change:  156 - we’re on the eastern shore!

So, we had a leisurely morning - knowing we’d have a relatively short-ride with the wind predicted to be at our backs. Again, we stayed on back roads (and off of Rt 13) that took us through frequently forested, but again, very flat, countryside.  Stopped for lunch in Delmar - as the name might imply, the town sits on the border between Delaware and Maryland.

We then passed through Laurel and were dismayed to find what looked to be a large algae bloom on Broad Creek, a tributary to the Nanticoke River.   I’m almost positive it was a blue-green algae known as Microcystis that produces a toxin that can affect humans and wildlife.  The vision was a stark reminder that water quality issues are not just problems of the Chesapeake Bay, but upstream as well.  We then made the final push to Seaford, Delaware (the final state in our 6 state tour!)to the home of the Gontangs (parents of our colleague/friend Ally) who very generously agreed to host us for the night.  They have a lovely home on the Nanticoke River – which, by the way, looked quite healthy compared to Broad Creek! 

Fran, Aaron, Sophia, Ally and her kids Seneca and Zeke, arrived there at the same time we did – having spent the day in nearby Rehoboth.  We spent the afternoon eating (thanks to a large spread of food provided by Ally that included the famous Smith Island layer cake), playing, and relaxing. Our sincere thanks to the Gontangs for making us feel so much at home.

The “gang” headed  back to Annapolis early this evening, leaving John and I to ponder our last night on the Chesapeake Watershed Ride….

Okay, so probably every frequent biker thinks/says the above…and it is so true.  John and I estimate that, other than the 100 miles or so we spent on rail to trails, less than 10 miles of our ride included actual bike lanes. And in fact, many roads didn’t even have a shoulder to ride on  - frustrating and dangerous to both cyclists and drivers.   So, here’s our plug for more bike friendly roads and trails.

 Case in point: our ride from Richmond to Jamestown. There are plans to complete the Capital Trail – a paved trail from one destination to the other – but currently the trail is in bits and pieces, taking you on and off of Route 5, one of those roads without a shoulder.  The project is being held up by lack of funding and some local opposition. 

I’m probably preaching to the choir here about the need to advocate for and support more bike-friendly and safe roads, but I’d also like to highlight the environmental  benefits of biking more and driving less.  To date, John and I have ridden more than 1000 miles around the watershed.  If we had used our cars to make this trip, John would have contributed roughly a quarter pound of nitrogen pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and 1000 pounds of CO2 – a major contributor to climate change.  That may not sound like much, but when you consider that 17 million people live in the watershed – it is the cumulative impacts of our collective activities that affects our environment. My  footprint would be about 1/3 that because he drives a Toyota truck and I drive a Prius with better fuel efficiency.

More bike friendly roads would encourage greater participation in biking with benefits to our health, our environment and the quality of our lives.   

If you want to learn more about how driving less can benefit the Bay – go to CBF’s nitrogen calculator – this userfriendly tool allows you to estimate the effect that your day to day activities, like driving, add pollution to the Bay and has suggestions for ways to reduce that impact.  From the main web page (www.cbf.org) search for “bay footprint calculator.”

What’s your nitrogen footprint?? 

Aug 17 Day 18-Carrolton to Pocomoke

Miles: 80/1132

Hours in the saddle: 6:21

Elevation gain:1520

Today marked another milestone as we turned out bikes north for the first time in a couple weeks. After a nice breakfast and a proper sendoff from the McEneaney clan we were greeted by colleague Kate Wilson from our Hampton Roads office.  She was our guardian angel who carried us through the crazy, bike-unfriendly, danger zone known as Suffolk/ Norfolk.  With so many highways/tunnels and no bike lanes it was best to travel by car and Kate was a huge help.  She even obliged our requests to stop on the middle of the 17 mile long Bay Bridge Tunnel for our photo op.  As soon as it was safe and legal she dropped us on the eastern shore and headed back to work.  Thanks Kate!

We spent the next 8 and a half hours grinding along on the back roads of the “shore”.  Long winding roads with high speeds (at least for us anyway) and a lot of time in the big rings.  Of course our second breakfast had to be at Stingrays!  But then somewhere along the way Beth got a second wind (or delerium set in after the 100th soy field) and she unleashed a very entertaining series of jokes.  Guess she’d been holding on to these for just such a monotonous day.  Good stuff and certainly made the time go by a lot faster.

Now we’re back in MD for the first time in nearly 3 weeks and it feels good to have our 6th watershed state in our sites.  Tomorrow will be a good ride up to Seaford for some time on the Nanticoke with our friends the Gontangs and a much needed visit from Frances, Princess Sophia and Pirate Aaron. I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!

In the meantime we wanted to say another big thanks to the folks at Bambeco (www.bambeco.com) continuing to boost our fundraising with their marketing of the Ride.  Remember, every time you “like” them on their website another dollar goes to support the ride.  Free and easy for you…good for water quality!  Plus, while at their website if you see anything you like on their bike related items  20% of the proceeds goes to support our Ride.

Of course, it is important to remember that Beth and I are doing this ride to raise funds and awareness for each of the following causes. We are getting closer to reaching our $20,000 goal and with your help I am confident we will make it. To learn more about our story and the causes, in our words, please click on any of these links:

Environmental education and advocacy programs of Chesapeake Bay Foundation-(John’s)  www.cbf.org/watershedride or (Beth’s) www.cbf.org/bmcgeewatershedride

Children’s cancer treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital www.active.com/donate/johnwatershedride

Programs of the American Diabetes Association  http://main.diabetes.org/goto/watershedridebmcgee

-John

Day 17

August 16 - Richmond to Carrollton, VA

Miles: 83/1052

Hours in the saddle:

Elevation change: ??? GPS was cranky again

What a great day!  Started off with breakfast at the Lamplighter (best coffee in Richmond!) where we met Roy Hoagland (former VP at CBF and my ex-boss who lives in Richmond), Champe Burnley, President of the Virginia Bicycling Federation, and Phil Riggan, a biking enthusiast who works for a local TV station.  Roy bought us breakfast, but that was only a ploy to enlist us in his efforts to become a member of the highly competitive Richmond Symphony Chorus (RSC).   Good luck Roy - hope the audition went well!  

Jess then led us through downtown Richmond and then part of the way to our next destination - the Chicamicomico Waterfront Park.  There we were met by Ann and Libby, 2 staff from our VA office, who had a great spread of sandwiches, cookies, cherries, etc.  Ann, along with 2 members of the James River biking club, then accompanied us to the ferry near Jamestown where we ferried across the James River to Surrey. From there we headed south to Carrollton and about 1.5 miles from our destination, we were greeted by the McEneaney clan - Flo and Matt and their adorable boys: Matthew, Patrick, Liam, and Joshua - all on bikes - who then escorted us to their home.  We were treated to a delicious meal and serenaded by Matthew’s fiddle and Liam and Patrick in a piano duet.

How’s that for southern hospitality??

Aug 15-Day 16 Charlottesville to Richmond

Miles: 81/969

Hours in the Saddle: 6:49

Elevation gain: 2589

It is safe to say that we have had pretty good luck so far with weather and our equipment.  But for some reason we lost a little bit of that.

Everything started off great.  We had a great night at the Hurst’s and even had dessert by candle light because the storm knocked out the power (more on this later).  After some of Shirley’s excellent home made granola and a visit with a reporter from the Staunton Times Leader Bob showed us the way to Charlottesville on his bike.  The plan was cut short to have breakfast in town because my favorite place the Bluegrass grill and bakery was closed!  Buzzkill.  So under blue skies and perfect temperatures  we moved on  as we had many miles to go. 

As we were chugging along Beth’s bike started making some pretty funky noises in the bottom bracket.  Assuming we needed to get a wrench on it when we got to Richmond we pressed on.  But it kept getting louder and was very annoying to Beth.  The next noise we didn’t like came from the sky.  As we peered over our shoulders some pretty dark skies were following us.  As the rain began to fall we passed a for sale sign in front of a fence that led to a vacant farm house with a really nice porch.  So rather than take a beating in the storm we went up the dirt road and sat on a nice covered porch with rocking chairs watching the storm pass us by.  All’s well.

After the rain stopped and we got about 10 more miles down the road Beth’s bike got louder and crankier.  Then the gps decided it was tired and didn’t want play anymore.  Through no fault of its own, the power had gone out in the storm and it did not get a full charge.  So now we were without our trusted navigator,  Beth’s bike was limping along and then my cell phone died too.  Apparently a victim of the same fate as the gps.  No worries, we had several redundant systems built in so we continued to press on.

The last 10 miles seemed to last forever but we finally made it to Carytown Cycles just a few blocks from our colleague Jess Barton.  They took us right in and replaced the bottom bracket in no time at all.  We got on our way with minimal damage to the wallet and met up with Mike, Jess and David from our Richmond office.  We walked just around the corner for a massive dinner at Sticky Rice that featured everything from tater tots to sushi! Good stuff but it was a bowl full of food that even I could not conquer.  In this epic battle between man vs food, it was the food that was the victor.

All’s well that ends well and our next stop tomorrow is Carrolton…