End of Phase 0

Noting that I still need to complete my blog entries for October 29, 30, and 31… and that I still want to complete a Guide to Stealth Camping that was requested by Lucas, I’m going to skip ahead to this post. I’m through security at Newark airport now, looking out at the distant city lights of the World Trade Center. I’m fully checked-in, and my bike box and equipment box have been accepted without issue. I’m sitting here, not fully relaxed, but knowing that I’ve made it this far. This is the culmination of months of planning, and something could still go wrong upon boarding or when I pass through customs in Ireland. But I think I’ll be alright. There’s really nothing I can change now.

I’m calling this the end of Phase Zero, because my 800-ish mile trip across the eastern US is just the preamble for my much larger journey across Europe – and possibly beyond. This was my test phase, in which I was able to evaluate and troubleshoot my equipment. It would have been a lot easier to turn around on the way to New York if I found I wasn’t capable of riding the distance than if I had immediately flown off to Europe. It also allowed me to visit a whole lot of friends who now live in other parts of the country. Another reason I cycled this eastern section is for ambition: it’s a lot easier to cycle around the world if you start from your house. And perhaps the most important reason for this trial phase was to incrementally introduce Mama and Dada to the idea of the trip. I’m hoping they’re a bit less worried about me now. They can see how well I’ve planned the trip, they can see I’m serious about it, and they can see first-hand just how far I have come so far. It’s hardly anything compared to the full distance, but it’s something I’m proud of.

As far as equipment is concerned, I’m surprised by how little I need to change. Most cyclist tourists reach this stage of their journey and end up mailing a lot of stuff home. Not me. In this case, I think the biggest thing is that I haven’t used my burner and cookware as much as I had originally expected, instead relying more on deli sandwiches and gas stations along the way to refuel. However, the camp stove is still valuable for me to bring, since it was a life saver on a few occasions when I was able to boil water to make hot chocolate for myself. Hot, tasty food for dinner will be more important as winter sets in. In terms of clothing, I think I may need to beef up my jackets for winter as well, but haven’t needed it yet. I chalk up the coldest days I felt in New York to fatigue and sickness. I finally figured out a good system for keeping track of my cycling gloves. The reflective orange jacket Mama gave me before I left has been a life saver – literally.

The journey so far has taken me across all of Ohio, through a small section of West Virginia, across all of Pennsylvania, through New Jersey, to New York. My favorite parts by far have been all the kind people I have met along the way, from the cyclists who gave me advice on the side of the trail, to the Warmshowers hosts who took me in, to the kind farmers and landowners who let me camp on their land. If there was ever a way to boost one’s faith in humanity, this trip has been it. Heck – I didn’t even know Warmshowers existed when I left on this trip, and it’s since become an integral way for me to recharge and meet interesting new people. I enjoyed seeing Joan, Kyle, Alexi, and Bob – good friends that made an impact, rejuvenating me for the next sections of my trip. I’ve completed many rail trails, seen many towns and cities, and now know which ones I may someday return to. The Ghost Town Trail was especially beautiful. And I particularly enjoyed Granville, OH (what a surprise!), Princeton, NJ, and New York.

My thoughts on New York are actually a bit mixed. It’s an immense, bustling city… chaotic, and filled with noise, scents, and scenery… it’s truly a sensory overload if ever there was. One could spend decades in the city and not run out of new places to see, restaurants to try, or new experiences to explore. Trying to see New York in five days is simply an impossible task, even when aided by past memories of places I’ve been here. Mama and Dada have each given me suggestions of places to see, filtering off their favorite experiences they had together in this metropolis, in an effort to give me the best experience possible here. I’m sure I could have seen more with the time I had, but the list of items I was given was simply too long, my priorities too distracted by logistics for my trip, and my interest in New York a bit different… It’s difficult to explain, but I’m not solely interested in just seeing the cream at the top of New York. I’m very much also interested in getting a holistic experience of the city – one that takes me to unsavory neighborhoods and dimly lit alleyways. Now, granted, I didn’t want to get mugged, but I did want to see the extent of wealth inequality in the city, to see the struggle of everyday people trying to scrape by a living. Their hustle and drive made the city feel alive, a beating heart that never quits. I think overall, the biggest problems I have with New York are the long subway rides, the lack of public restrooms, and the crippling expense of hotels in the city. You can get anything in the city, but I hate that it’s often a forty-five minute subway ride away (I don’t understand Palmer’s obsession with the Tube). The overwhelming wall of noise also grinds at you. It’s headache-inducing, and the sensory overload would leave me exhausted at the end of each day. There’s so much opportunity in New York, so much to explore. I’ll have to come back. But I’ll also have to be careful not to get stuck here. I very much prefer rural pastures to the world’s largest cities.

I’ll board my flight to Oslo in a few minutes now. After a three-hour layover, I’ll catch a connecting flight to Dublin, Ireland. I’ll stay in the city for a few days to get my bicycle assembled, sort out logistics (like booking my ferry ticket from Northern Ireland to Scotland), catching up on sleep (since I can rarely sleep on planes), and actually getting a chance to see some of the city. I’ve already booked a hostel in Dublin where I’ll stay in the couple days after I arrive. I’ll also see if there are any Warmshowers hosts there with whom I might be able to extend my stay in the city. From there, I’ll ride west to Galway – importantly visiting Moate on the way – before heading north as planned in my Eve of Departure blog entry. Pfew. So exciting!