Day 47 (6/18/22): The Last “Regular” Day

Start:                  Cockeysville, MD

End:                    Lancaster, PA

 Mileage:             72 miles

Elevation:           2,203 feet

First things first, we’re in Lancaster, PA.  I’ve butchered so many town names along the way, but this one I know for sure.  Phonetically, it’s Lan-kiss-ter with the accent on the “Lan” (not “cast”).

I just realized this is the last day we’ll go through our “normal” on-the-road-routine of get up in the morning, pack the car/take down the campsite, check out of the motel, ride (me) or find things to do (Tish), check into a new motel/set up a new campsite, unload the car, stage for tomorrow, find something to eat, and sleep.  I believe the nomad life is over.  Good.  (Tish would say Great.)

It was a tale of two rides today.  The first 45 miles were on a compressed asphalt cycling/running/walking trail built along an old railroad which meant many good things:  no cars, shaded most of the way, and very few hills.  It was really a delight.  The easiest long-distance ride since New Mexico.  The remainder was on a fairly busy section of a state road in Pennsylvania.  There was an ample shoulder, so I felt much safer than what I went through in northern Virginia this past Monday. 

It was kind of wild to look at the hills once I got into Pennsylvania.  I’ve compared a lot of hills in other places to the PA hills that I grew to appreciate while in school.  Today, they were actually the PA hills.

I went through the town of Columbia, PA towards the end of the day where they were having a vintage muscle car show.  Don’t get me wrong.  I get that a lot of people like to restore old cars.  My Dad had two vintage vehicles.  What I just can’t get my head around is why when they pull up to a stop sign in the middle of a city, they have to rev their engines so loudly.  I’ve been to a grand prix and love the Indy 500 in part because of how load the cars are, but we’re talking a stop sign in a 25 mph zone.  Why?

What I’m Grateful for Today

I have a long ride tomorrow that winds up at my brother’s house in Furlong, PA so I might not get to blog on Father’s Day, so here are my thoughts on this day.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about my Dad.  Check out my posts from May 2 and June 11 for the highlights.  He was aces.

As it relates to being a father myself, I have a slightly different take on Father’s Day than many people.  I’m humbled by the day primarily because my two wonderful kids are adopted.  I’ve always used Father’s Day to reflect on the incredibly unselfish decision made by Tracy (Lexie’s birthmom) and Christina (Bailey’s birthmom) to make me a father (and Tish a mother).  This has nothing to do with larger issues here; it’s just that if these two special women didn’t entrust us with our two treasures, I’d have nothing to celebrate tomorrow.  Simple as that.    

I celebrate that, and I also celebrate the kind of people my kids have become.  Lexie has a huge heart, an open mind, is incredibly creative, and one of the most unique people you’ll ever meet.  She’s taught me tolerance, but also has a tremendous work ethic that’s equipped her to pursue any opportunity that might interest her.  The day she graduated from college was one of the happiest and most emotional days of my life.  So proud.  Bailey just has a way about him that I so appreciate.  He’s shrugged off a lot of conventional paths to become not just his own person, but also quite successful.  Through his own self-learning (and that work ethic that I’ve somehow managed to pass on to him as well), he’s gained enough knowledge to be working as manufacturing engineer.  We never thought he could do it without a college degree, but he proved us wrong.  He’s funny, quirky (do you know anyone else who restores vintage sewing machines?), and just very good company.  Again, this humbles me.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the Dads out there. I’m grateful I know so many grate fathers (see what I did there?).