Tour Day 66 Heat Stroke Sucks Aug 30 2010

I woke up this morning not looking forward to the ride ahead. I still had no map. And I still had at least a little bit more of the terrifying highway to ride. Luckily it was 6:30 in the morning and the roads were fairly quiet. Even better the first gas station I stopped at had maps. Thinking ahead I got a map for both of the states I was going to be in today.

The day was looking up I know had the knowledge to confidently go off the main road and find my way into philli. Even with my map I was still tempted to take route 1 because it is so much more direct. Those thoughts were quickly nixed once traffic started to pick up.

From that point I decided to take a few back roads, and boy was it a good idea. I had a nice wide shoulder and smooth roads. I even got to get my groceries at a large supermarket. Which is a rare thing in the area around a large city.

After getting off of route 27 (a small highway) I got onto my next route which happened to have a bike path that took me pretty much right into philli, only after having to cross over the wrong way on route 1 because no bikes were allowed in that part. I was not risking another ticket.

Speaking of police that was one thing I was close to today. I spoke to over 5 officers because I was curious about the best routes, and wondering what was ok for me to ride one. Surprisingly the police here were a little more welcoming then those in Boston. That ticket is becoming a pain in my butt because it is not letting me pay online, and they will not pick up their phone line to pay. I am not mailing it in because then I have to buy a money order, and postage.

By the time I got into philli it was nearing 100 degrees outside with humidity in the air. Needless to say I was hot. Thankfully the route I picked took me right under the sky train that they have for about 15km. This part of philli was not beautiful. It was like a run down version of the Bronx. To be a resident in this area you had to have a sideways baseball cap or jean shorts.

For fear of getting shanked I only stopped once I saw a group of about 15 people in high visibility jackets. They told me I was going the right way (which is a rare thing) and asked about the trip.

When I was rolling down the road to Walnut Street I saw a man and a petit woman trying to lift a dresser. I rolled up and put my bike against the wall and took over from where the petit woman was. She was very surprised by this act at first… until I said I was Canadian.

Walnut Street took me into University City, which is a very cool place to be. It is filled with young people just hanging out and having a good time. The houses and building are all beautiful for a change. It left me with a good feeling about philli when I was leaving the town limit.

By this time I was feeling tired. So I was going to try my luck in the residential district for a campsite. The reason I was stopping was because I felt heat stroke setting on. I could not breath deeply without coughing to the point of almost throwing up. And my black shorts where pure white with salt. It just was not a good situation to be in.

Well luck was not with me. After 3 negatives I had to find a motel because gorilla style was not happening when I was in such need of hydration, and rest. 3 litres of water for me, dinner, and breakfast was not good enough.

Again I had to turn my bike around because the road had a no bikes sign. Why not put the sign before the road that would make sense, instead it is put usually about 50 metres down the road, which makes me more frustrated. Adding to the frustration and exhaustion I had to continue 4 miles down some route that was not on my map to get to the only motel in Springfield.

After downing close to 2 litres of water when I came in I immediately felt better. Now the only thing I can think about is my route for tomorrow because I don’t know exactly where I am and I only have a good map for about half a days riding.
Trip Distance: 165km
Ride Time: 8:16hr
Avg. Speed: 19.98km/h
Total Distance: 9582km
Total Ride Time: 447hr
Destination: Springfield, Pennsylvania



Sorry Tami that I spelt Nolas name worng. Knolly is a bike company based in vancouver so I reverted to that.