@Scott - thanks for following along. Weather is weather, whether or not I like it :-) It might be unpleasant in the moment but a week or two later looking over the pictures I'm sure I'll remember all the good aspects of the tour (like riding along a bike path with no-one else around listening to the wind in the leaves and traveling through the fall leaves.

Congrats on finishing the ride, and sorry you didn’t have better luck with the weather. Thanks for taking us along!

Congratulations on finishing the ride, despite all the obstacles along the way. I enjoyed following along. I always enjoy following a ride happening in the northeast, close to home for me!
Bob

@Jeremy - I know, right? It just kind of turned out this way. Not he tour I planned but the one I rode (or experienced). I’m still alive and will return to Atlanta on Friday so you can’t stop me from living life. Cheers!

Dude.....ONLY you, that this would happen to! Glad you're OK buddy! Safe travels and keep the rubber side down brother!

Thanks, Paul - I'll look at the Specialized Harness and the Blackburn fork cages.

Every few years we vacation at Cape Cod - biking there is just plain fun, great system of trails and decent biking roads connecting them. But, not when a nor'easter is hitting!

I did *not* spring for a sleeping car on Amtrak, I will probably regret that. When I get to Union Station, will either just bike home or if the January weather is particularly biking unfriendly will put bike onto Metro and shorten the ride a good bit.

@john - that’s for checking in. Yeah, I hope I can dodge rain for the reminder of this trip. I mean, really, the nor’easter had 365 days this year to park itself off Cape Cod and it chose the ONE day out of that on my trip? Just means I’ll have to return another day. Next years tour probably Seattle to Missoula I think.

I use a specialized harness on the handlebars which holds the tent, rainfly, and voile straps to hold the tent poles under the handlebars. Easy fork has a Blackburn adventure cage on it with a 5-liter sea to summit drybag. These contain electronics, food, personal affects, etc. the main framebag is custom made by Rockgeist in Asheville (pretty neat - you send them a picture of your bike with a tape measure and they make the custom bag based on that). It holds iPad, 2-liter water bladder, jet oil, and foul weather gear. The seatbag is a Blackburn seat bag. It’s 11- liters and holds my 30-degree down quilt and off-the-bike clothes.

Have a great tour - Amtrak is definitely the way to go. Roll the bike on and don’t even have to box it up. I’m taking the sleeper car Friday from DC to Atlanta.

Hi, Paul - great journal, I hope you manage to dodge most of the rain the rest of the way! Your most recent segment took took you through my alma mater, the University of Connecticut at Storrs. We used to have to drive the 7 miles to Willimantic to go to the closest McDonalds - of course, that was 41 years ago...

Whenever you get time, could you list the bags you are using? I'm planning a 5 day tour from Venice FL to Jacksonville FL (then back to Washington DC on Amtrak) on my Jamison Renegade with 1 x 11 drivetrain and am planning using a similar bike-packing set up, credit card style touring. I have a Revelate expandable saddle bag that works great, looking at bar bags and maybe frame bags - would like to know what you are using and if you like them.

I've had a top tube bag for a while, doesn't fit much - and the geometry of the Jamis makes the cockpit space pretty crowded. Would also like to know which top tube bag your using.

Save travels, have fun!

I hope you don’t mind
That I think your comment most kind
I’d like to compose one for you
But as I sit here and stew
I can’t think of anything that springs to mind

Yeah, in retrospect I should have gotten the lady’s information. She was willing to give it I was just too annoyed at the whole thing to take it. I’m not a litigious soul to be frank. The wound wasn’t all that bad - I’ve had worse from my self-inflicted crashes. I just couldn’t believe it happened. My arm is just getting over the soreness from the shot. Now when I see the bill from the whole ordeal I may just wish I had taken the information...

Happy trails, Gregory!

Hi Paul,
While on my tour in Arizona last year, I also suffered an injury. I don't know about you, but I felt like a real bad-ass riding up to the emergency room doors on a loaded bicycle.

Interesting that they wouldn't treat you without a police report. I didn't think much about it at the time, but while I was waiting to be treated for my shoulder laceration, a policeman came out of nowhere and started asking questions about my incident. At the time I thought he just happened to be there and was simply making conversation.
After reading your story, I'm going to have to assume the hospital called him in to investigate.
One more thing:

I'm definitely enjoying your gimmick
Of starting each day with a limerick
One rarely, if ever
Sees something so clever
Yes, I think it's really slick.

Thanks, Bill. I’m going to check that out. Probably better then a Thermonuclear explosion.

Foot odor:

https://www.smellyfeetcures.com/boric-acid-foot-shoe-odor/

No worries, Bob! Nothing I can do about it. I had the weather channel on the TV in the room and they were doing foul weather reports from Hyannis, MA - that’s where my destination was supposed to be today. The irony! While I would rather have cycled through Cape cod I’m glad I chose to stay put another night here in Boston. There’s no sense in putting myself in harm’s way just to put myself in harm’s way, know what I mean? Looking at the forecast, the nor’easter is going to blow out to sea tomorrow morning so i’ll take commuter rail to Plymouth and then pick up my tour at New Bedford.

Sorry to hear about the weather troubles. It's kind of crazy that Boston is getting hit this hard, and here (only about 80 miles northwest as the crow flies), our forecast is for a semi-beautiful fall weekend...

Yay, @Matt! Thanks for checking in. I’m going to hole up in Boston for another night since the nor’easter is sitting off the cape causing flooding and 50mph gusts. Better to have a hamburger and glass of wine in a warm restaurant than battle rain and winds and flooding on the bike. I mean, I like riding, buuuuttttt....