Left house 8:54 AM - Rain covers on gear. Light drizzle. Skies brightened with each mile. Great biking through city on a Sunday morning. Very light traffic. Sunshine as I crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge. Carrying the bike down the stairs on the far side was not fun. (3 flights) Headed South on Rte. 30. Stopped at 10:15 for first break. 17.61 miles so far.
12:15 Lunch in Hammonton 41.64 miles. Nice ride down 561 from Berlin to here. Passed an unusual house with a yard full of Roman statues - 20 or 30 of them dotting the yard. Had to dodge a number of sand patches alongside the road. Thought a lot about when the trip really begins. Is it when you decide to do it? When you quit your job? As I head THE WRONG WAY! to Atlantic City to “dip a toe”, haven’t I already begun the trip? And the hundreds of miles of training; wasn’t that really part of the trip? In a matter of hours I will do a 180° turn and head WEST for a long, long time. The next time East will be to return home...
2 PM 58 - 72 mi. Stopped 15 minutes in Pamona.
3:54 PM 72.29 miles 5 hrs 12 minutes ARRIVED at A.C. BOARDWALK. Locked up bike and jumped in ocean to cool off. Then the day quickly turned from sunny to ominous clouds followed by a thunderstorm. Holed up in an emergency exit alcove for SHOWBOAT Casino. Let the drip from the overhang wash the sand off my feet. Just passed the time listening to the casino P.A. music and snacking. ODOMETER RESET TO 0000.
Some low-life wayward teen approached me telling me tales of woe and asking for some food. Told him to beat it and he said, “Well you know what I have, (and he lifted his shirt to show me a pint of vodka) I have this, so fuck you!” Atlantic City, what a sickening place! Why did I choose to start my trip here? I guess because things can only improve.
So Peg shows up at 5:30, camera in hand. I grab a piece of paper and write 4 zeroes to represent a reset odometer and the OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF THE TRIP. Standing in the Atlantic with my bike helmet on and my makeshift sign. I AM NOW OFFICIALLY BIKING ACROSS THE COUNTRY!!!! YEAHHHAY!
Peg captures the moment with the push of a button...
So the trip actually started a day ahead of schedule. August 17, 2003 5:30 PM. 6:00 PM back on bike heading WEST!! to Absecon motel for the night. As I rode through the outskirts of Atlantic City, I kept yelling out loud, “I’m biking across the country! I’m biking across the country!” Wahoo, I can actually say it!
Final tally for the day - 82 miles!!