Thirty Days of Biking: And that's a wrap

Day 29: Home Sweet Home

After driving 8 hours from Ann Arbor, Chip and I got off the road in Rome, New York for food and a driving plan assessment. I was tired, (he slept for three hours), and I wasn't keen on driving through the night. We decided to book a hotel in Utica and hit the road in the morning.

From Utica, we had less than a five hour drive home. After checking out of our hotel, we stopped at a local bagel shop, filled the tank with gas ($4.30/gallon. Yikes.) and then hit the road -- arriving home at 12:30 pm. (Welcome home, Chip!) An hour later, I changed into something I could ride in, and headed out for Day 29.

I kept my ride local and stopped to check out a new café/bar on Humphrey Street oddly named Zestfriendz. It was very quiet inside -- only one couple having lunch -- but maybe I was there at the wrong time. I hope they're doing a good business. I had an iced latte and oatmeal cookie and then headed down to the pier. Such a gorgeous sunny day -- it was good to be home.

Swampscott dory at Fisherman's Beach

Latte and cookie at Zestfriendz

Day 30: Happy Trails

And here we are... Day 30, 30 Days of Biking, Year 9, and I'm glad to be done. Gosh, I'm exhausted! The roadtrip to Ann Arbor (and back) really knocked me out this year. I've been so sore and tired I've been walking into walls.

On Saturday, another gorgeous day, I decided to check out Salem Woods (also called Highland Park) behind the golf course on Wilson Street. Apparently there is a new trail in Swampscott that hooks up with the woods, but I didn't come across it. The trial wasn't difficult for riding but there were several areas I had to walk -- just too tired to deal.

It was a perfect ending to this year's challenge. (Despite the tree pollen... ah-choo!) I was very fortunate to have had such good weather on my rides this year. We've had very little rain (and no snow) this Spring, which likely doesn't bode well for the environment. (Based on April's weather, we could see drought conditions this summer). Still, we had decent riding weather. No complaints.

And that's a wrap on this year's annual challenge -- now some sleep.

Highland Park, Salem Woods

Year Nine, Done