Ship bike, rain all day. - Atlantic Coast 2017 - CycleBlaze

May 13, 2017

Ship bike, rain all day.

Today it rained all day long. Heavy rain. I got soaked just dashing 100 yards to lunch. It was a very boring day.

The only thing I have to do today is ship the bike. I don't mind resting after pedaling 6 straight days, with the last 2 being cold and rainy. But I'm in an interesting place and wish I could be outside exploring.

The highlight of the day was meeting touring cyclist Ken Dyckman in the motel's breakfast room. He also started his tour in Jacksonville and is pedaling all the way to Portland, Maine. Ken is from the Seattle area. He is thinner and seems fitter than me, but said he hates mountain climbs.

View from the window of my $170 EconoLodge room in Atlantic City.
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The door of my motel room has a view of one of four towers in the Tropicana complex.
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Late afternoon the rain slacked off and I biked 1.7 miles south to AAAA Bike Shop in Ventnor City to pack and ship the bike. I made an "appointment" to ship the bike 3 months earlier. They provided excellent service. They saved a giant e-bike box, did most of the packing, and arranged economy FedEx Ground shipping via BikeFlights.com. It cost $127 to ship the bike coast to coast.

AAAA Bike Shop in Ventnor City is very supportive of touring cyclists.
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The shop mechanic spent an hour packing my bike at no charge. AAAA Bike Shop is the rare bike shop that enthusiastically supports touring cyclists. They are a pro shop that can repair anything-customers come all the way from Philadelphia for the expert service. The owner Mike Wiesen is a true cycling ambassador. AAAA Bike Shop is the place to go if you need bike repairs or want to start or finish a bike tour on the Jersey shore.

Ventnor City is mostly white and has many Jewish residents. Atlantic City is mostly black and much poorer. The two adjacent cities are very different and no doubt have frequent disagreements about how to manage their affairs.

After the bike was packed I walked 1.7 miles back to my motel in light rain. The rain finally stopped before I went to bed.

Today's ride: 2 miles (3 km)
Total: 1,265 miles (2,036 km)

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