Biking to Cape May - Getting Home

Photo by Dr. Haus

The big part of the trip felt done when I arrived in Cape May and I spent four days enjoying Cape May in the off season.  I spent a lot of time enjoying a mostly empty beach, enjoying some delicious seafood, and generally trying to rest and relax after the long ride down south.

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

I can happily report that I, for once in my life, concluded that just because I could do something didn't mean I should do something.  In this case, I decided it would be within my best interests to decrease the number of miles I was riding to get back home as it was supposed to rain the upcoming weekend (and my bike does not tolerate rain riding) and that the place where my leg meets my butt cheek would appreciate a break.  I guess what they say is true, age allows a person to decide when it makes sense to be stubborn and when you just need to let it go.  I figured I wanted a restful and fun vacation prior to returning to work as opposed to the inevitable stress and tiredness I would feel if I decided to bike the entire way back home.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

The plan came together quickly, I would ride the ~50 miles back to Atlantic City and take the NJ Transit train to Philadelphia for the weekend.  From Philadelphia, I would be able to take the train back to my town which would decrease the amount I would need to ride to get home from ~200 miles to ~60 miles in total.  That sounded great to me and I left Cape May with a renewed energy and excitement in getting to enjoy some train time versus destroying my rear end.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

The ride back to Atlantic City was my favorite day of riding.  Maybe it was because of the quiet roads, perfect weather, and beautiful views, or it was knowing that I only had 50 miles to ride until I was done with the major riding on this trip.  I stopped many more times to enjoy the views and take in the sea air as I retraced my route from earlier in the week.  The shore towns were still deserted and I wanted to cherish the quiet and solitude before I entered city mode and the noise of life in the modern world.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Very quickly I was back in Atlantic City (after dealing with two bridges from hell) and I had some time to eat at a local establishment recommended by a friend:  Whitehouse Subs.  I got a Philly Cheese sub which I DESTROYED - I did not realize how hungry I was until I inhaled this sandwich.  Maybe it was the riding or maybe it was how good the sandwich was but I devoured that thing in seconds.  I worked my way to the Atlantic City NJ Transit train station (and got lost, because...me...) and made my train with about 4 minutes to spare.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Unsurprising I am sure, I have a lot of opinions about public transit and trains in the United States - it is about time we start funding better public transit and create a society that is for everyone.  But alas, I am sure I will find another time to discuss my thoughts on urban planning and public transit.  It was with a heavy heart I entered the city that many consider the birthplace of America.  Considering what the next four years have in store, I was surprised to find both sadness and hope when visiting the liberty bell (the expectation was only sadness).  The photo above states:  

 

"The Liberty Bell is a symbol of the American Revolution.  It is a symbol of the liberties gained and a reminder of liberties denied.  It is a relic of a nation's beginning.  It has inspired and challenged visitors, especially in times of crisis.  Its outline, familiar throughout the world, conveys the idea of the continuing expansion of liberty to new peoples and into new aspects of life."

Photo by Dr. Haus

I had spent the days in Cape May pondering my options to try to protect the liberties that are now in jeopardy due to recent political changes occurring in the United States.  It felt particularly timely to be visiting the birthplace of the country to reflect upon its history, its future, and to brainstorm how I want to be an activist combating the loss of rights.  I do not want this country to move backwards, I want it to move forward to a better future for everyone, regardless of who they are.  Above is another impactful quote in the Liberty Bell Center:

"Why do people from around the world choose to visit the Liberty Bell?  Why does this now silenced bell resonate so directly with visitors from so many varied cultures?  Perhaps the greatest strength of the Liberty Bell is the way it symbolizes the never-ending quest for freedom and the need to remain forever vigilant, for liberties gained can also be lost.  This is the enduring message that the Liberty Bell embodies for all American and for our fellow citizens of the world."

Photo by Dr. Haus

The Liberty Bell may be silenced but I am not.

Biking to Cape May Day 3 - Made It

 

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

The last leg of my ride to Cape May was the shortest miles-wise though still tough as my body was sore and there were two particularly awful bridges to ride over.  The first of these offensive bridges was the bridge connecting the Atlantic City area to Ocean City.  There was a nice shoulder over this bridge (mostly unheard of during my trip) but the steepness of the bridge outshined the much needed shoulder.

Photo by Dr. Haus

Day 3 of the ride was especially quiet since I was riding through the abandoned shore towns and marshes to the tip of New Jersey.  The emptiness of the ride made for fast riding and scenic views.  Along the way, I was able to see views of the ocean, marsh land, and lot of birds.  I realized what great luck I had with the perfect riding weather because I had to cross a few small bridges to get to Cape May.  These narrow bridges could easily become flooded and inaccessible in the rain.  This was a reminder of why more planning may have been good for the trip but honestly, would it be a "me" trip if it was over-planned?

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Given the perfect riding weather, I quickly entered the city of Wildwood.  The boardwalk in this town made for some nice riding in the off season as there were very few people around and all the shops were boarded up until next summer.  The amusement park was closed as well which added to the ghost town aesthetic of the ride.  At this point in the ride, I realized I was only a short 5 or so miles from Cape May proper and my final goal - the Cape May lighthouse.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Before I knew it I was finally at my goal, the Cape May lighthouse.  I could not have asked for a better first bike packing trip.  This trip consisted of mostly flat riding, a lot of quiet, and the most perfect weather.  I rode into Cape May sore but pleased with my ride and reaching my goal.  The way back would come later, now was the time to enjoy and explore Cape May over the next few days.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Biking to Cape May Day 2 - Day of Closures

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Day 2 of the trip began with the realization that I would have to crank out a large number of miles due to a large hotel desert in the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey.  I knew I would have to make it to Atlantic City before dark in order to ensure I had somewhere to stay for the night.  The start of they day was spent riding down Route 9 which was quite pleasant as the road had a large shoulder and there were essentially no hills.  I was flying during the start of this trip and was happy with my quick progress.

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

This second day of riding was less enjoyable as I knew I had to move quickly and ride over 65 miles to make it to Atlantic City and a hotel.  Forested areas are my favorite and I do wish I had a more leisurely ride to truly enjoy this part of the state.  My general rushed feeling only intensified when I hit my first roadblock which was a bridge being out that I needed according to the route that was kindly created for me to follow.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Now, this was unideal given my tight timeline for the day coupled with me not knowing the area well.  Loved the GPS and detour signs which led me the long way around the bridge.  This added more miles to my trip and made my ride focused more on speed rather than enjoying the landscape of this region of New Jersey.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Shortly after bypassing the closed bridge I hit another detour where a road was closed - this really was the day of closures and detours.  Once again, I was not happy as I already had to add more miles to my ride and did not want to deal with another lengthy detour to get to Atlantic City.  Thankfully, this detour was not too bad and I got myself back on track.  I also had the pleasure of seeing other road cyclists during this part of my ride which is always a pleasant experience.

Photo by Dr. Haus

I continued riding quickly as I came closer and closer to Atlantic City.  Finally, I rode around a bend and was able to see Atlantic City in the distance.  The last stretch of my ride to Atlantic City was down Route 30 and included a dreaded bridge from hell (did I already mention I hate steep bridges?).  This part of the ride was not fun but I made it over the stupid bridge and the rest of the ride into Atlantic City was relatively flat through the marshes of the outskirts of the city.

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

One of the big surprises I found in Atlantic City was a relatively bike-friendly city.  The roads had bike lanes (well bike gutters, but in America you take what you can get regarding reasonable transportation without a car).  Atlantic City is also a beautiful place which I did not expect as it is known as a gambling town.  This is quite a shame because the ocean and general area is beautiful - I am not sure why it was decided to turn this area into a casino town.  The boardwalk area is lovely and this could easily be a tourist shore town, which it was prior to the late 70's.

Photo by Dr. Haus

The day ended with more soreness than the previous day, but extreme happiness that I was able to meet my goal (and eat a huge pasta-based dinner).

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

 

Biking To Cape May Day 1 - Correlation Does Sometimes Imply Causation

 

 Photo by Dr. Haus

 

Well, I decided to do something crazy and take a week off work to bike around 200 miles to Cape May.  As with most of my ingenious plans, I decided to do this on a whim and thought to myself, I am sure I can make it.

Photo by Dr. Haus

Day 1 consisted of getting myself out of the "city" area and to the coast.  For this trip, I wanted to follow the ocean as much as possible for the views and honestly mostly for the flatness/emptiness I would find there.  That experience would come more the second and third days as I worked my way down the Jersey coast.

Photo by Dr. Haus

For this first leg of the journey, I used my GPS until I caught up with my coastal route.  A friend of mine's friend created a route for me that started in Sandy Hook and went all the way down to Cape May.  I didn't want to ride my bike to Sandy Hook to start the ride there out of sheer laziness.  I wanted to decrease the amount of miles so decided to cut diagonally to the coast to pick up the route further south.  It was about 42 miles of some nice trails and road riding to get to the coast.

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

I was able to take the Henry Hudson Trail for part of the journey which is a trail I absolutely want to get back to on a day that I am not grinding out a huge amount of miles.  I would have enjoyed taking more time on this trail and enjoying all the sights and sounds.  Thankfully my road bike did okay on the trail given that it had minimum gravel.  I did have to cut through an orchard prior to the Henry Hudson trail which was tough because my road bike wasn't made for that.  At one point I had to walk my bike a few yards due to sandy conditions and my bike sliding around like my Corolla on ice.

 

 Photo by Dr. Haus

The other highlight of this first day was riding on the Capital to Coast Trail which was a beautiful ride where I got to see an old fashioned train slowly moving down the train tracks.  This part of the journey was one of my favorites and I want to do this trail again when I am not on a crazy mission.

Photo by Dr. Haus

I stopped for lunch in Manasquan (lovely diner with lovely staff) and then hopped on my bike to get another 20-30 miles completed before the end of the day.  This is where I realized that correlation does sometimes imply causation as my mood on the ride was directly correlated to whether I was climbing or riding on a flat road.  I can now say with absolute certainty I made the correct choice in taking a slightly longer route to Cape May by taking the shore due to the general flat nature of the ride (minus the bridges from hell but don't worry, I will be complaining about them in every subsequent post as well).  Let's just say the bridge into Tom's River from Seaside Heights is offensive and it can fall into the ocean and I wouldn't even care (of course with no one on the bridge, obviously).

 

🌉

The most interest aspect of the final part of this first leg was that once I got to the coast I entered the Jersey Shore ghost towns of the Fall/Winter season.  It was a combination of amazing (for my introvert soul coupled with not wanting to get hit by a car) and eerie (for the part of me that watches too many crime-based shows).  Being in a tourist town is not new to me, I lived in one for 1.5 years straight out of school and I was reminded of how much I love these towns in the off-season (and some of the annoyances that come with being in a tourist town off-season).  This made for an excellently solitary ride to end my day that started in the bustle of the city and city drivers (aka, gross).  I completed the night in Tom's River, quite a bit sore but very proud as I made it significantly further than I thought I would on Day 1 of the Biking to Cape May adventure.  Catch you in the next one!

Photo by Dr. Haus

 

 

Portugal

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Lisbon - First Impression

First impression?  I LOVE Portugal!  The focus of this trip was to fulfill my goal of visiting Spain and I did not imagine how much I would LOVE Portugal.  A huge thanks to my two friends who made me aware that you can easily book a 3-day layover - that was such amazing advice that I will forever be thankful for and forever use in my future travels.

Photo by Dr. Haus

I arrived in Lisbon on a rainy afternoon/evening.  I am VERY lucky that this is the main rainy weather I had on this trip so far - the other rainy days happened at night when I was on the farm so they didn't affect me much.  I had a little trouble finding my hostel as I didn't realize the hostel was in the train station (the signage wasn't good either but I figured it out relatively quickly).  The train station connects Lisbon to Sintra which is a day-trip I couldn't fit into my short Lisbon stay but I do plan on going in the future!

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

I was extremely tired by the time I arrived in Lisbon and I quickly got a seafood dinner (I LOVE seafood and European seafood is perfection) and tried the famous Portugal "green" wine (vihno verde).  It was a good wine though I do still prefer a red wine (I did read there are red "green" wines but I didn't find any during my stay).  Before sitting down for dinner I got a pastel de nata at a bakery close to the restaurant because I can't miss the chance for a famous sweet treat!  After dinner I got back to the hostel and got to bed to prepare for the full day I would spent in Lisbon.

Photo by Dr. Haus

Of course my first stop in the morning was a famous yarn shop in Lisbon that sells yarn from Portuguese sheep.  Naturally I found an orange yarn and decided to get 4 skeins as it seemed like I could make something from four skeins and I thought I could fit it in my backpack with relative ease.  I would have loved to get 6 skeins but I didn't want to deal with having luggage issues upon returning home.  I am hoping it is enough yarn to knit myself a tank top - fingers crossed (and yes, I will grow up and gauge before I start knitting this project).

Photo by Dr. Haus

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the Lisbon public transport system gets a HUGE A+ from me!  The subway easily got me from the airport to my hostel and the refillable city transit card can be used on buses, trains, trams, buses, etc. all within Lisbon.  This is a great feature that makes it very easy to travel around the city and to the surrounding cities.  I will be walking everywhere as I want to see the city but the ease of this system is great (and the subway cars are nice)!

Photo by Dr. Haus

Lisbon is quickly becoming one of my favorite cities.  The people, the city itself, the food, and the ocean makes this such a wonderful city to visit.  I find that speaking in Spanish is working well for communication in Portugal - I am shocked how much Portuguese I understand and how my Spanish skills are enough to communicate with most people.  In lots of cases, people are switching to English when talking with me but the knowledge of Spanish is extremely helpful. 

Photo by Dr. Haus

The best part of this day was when I was walking towards a park that had a view above the city of Lisbon.  While I was walking up to the park I felt something fall on my head and heard some birds chirping above me.  I was like, no way, a bird pooped on my head!  This was in fact the case when I put my hand on my head to find it full of bird poop.  This is my second bird poop incident after the incident in the Plaza de España in Seville.  I started laughing so hard - it is about time I got pooped on by a bird on the head - honestly, how has it taken this long?  I have of course been pooped on by birds before (hazard of being a vet) but never the head and never a wild bird.  I was debating that day about how I should wash my hair one more time before I come back to the states but I didn't really want to.  Well, that bird made the decision for me.  Thanks for the laugh bird and I am sure the people sitting around me on the flight home will appreciate my clean hair.

Photo by Dr. Haus

The bird poop incident didn't stop me!  I got to the top of the looking point, had dinner, and then headed back to the hostel where I then took care of the bird poop hair.  Talk about an perfecty funny moment that still makes me smile!

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Cascais - Day 2

For my last day in Lisbon (and Europe 😭😭😭😭) I decided to visit the coastal city about a one hour train ride from Lisbon called Cascais.  This was a strategic decision on my part because I have always wanted to look at the Atlantic Ocean from the opposite direction.  I am always looking at the Atlantic from West to East and wanted to finally look at it from East to West.  Cascais was the perfect solution as it has a train from Lisbon and the train uses the same pass that I was raving about earlier making it an extremely easy trip.

Photo by Dr. Haus

Cascais is definitely a coastal city that sees a lot of tourists.  The town itself was extremely cute and had great views of the ocean, lots of boats, lots of seafood, and a place called Boca do Inferno (Hell's Mouth).  My main goals were to see the Atlantic looking East, put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean, and see Boca do Inferno.  I was able to achieve all these goals during the trip while also finding a hole in the wall lunch place where I was able to find a menu of the day for 13 euros (wine, carrot soup, codfish and potato, salad, chocolate mousse, and an espresso).  Yes, I did drink an espresso (it came with the meal, you think I am not getting my full money's worth?).  As expected, did not enjoy the espresso and I am still firmly in the coffee is gross camp.  

 

 

Photo by Dr. Haus
 

 

 

This was a perfect last day in Europe spending time at the beach, walking around the beach town, and enjoying the gorgeous cliffs along the Atlantic Ocean.  I don't want this trip to end and honestly the main thing making me go back are Nathan and Melvin (my cats).  I have never left my boys so long and can't wait to give them so many squeezes and kisses tomorrow!

 

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus

End of the Trip

And with that I am sitting in the Lisbon airport waiting for my flight back to the states 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭  For my last day in Lisbon (and Europe) I had a large breakfast and then sat by the water until I took the subway up to the airport.  I obviously got two last Fantas before I leave Europe (I drank one immediately and the other is for after I get back to the states).  All good things must come to an end and we will see what (and where) the future holds!  Now back to education content 😉

Photo by Dr. Haus

Photo by Dr. Haus