The Time Has Come

Remarkable. It would seem it’s been 82 days since my last ride on a fully loaded bicycle. Yes, I have a spreadsheet for that. And, mock me if you will, it’s awesome. Really awesome. Anyway, 82 days.

It’s only fitting that my departure from my extended stay in Philadelphia wouldn’t be exactly on schedule. That said, a 9:40 departure seemed pretty reasonable to me considering the original goal was 9:00. The plan of 120-ish km on Day One seemed slightly less reasonable but that was the plan and I was sticking to it – assuming all went well. Spoiler Alert: All went well.

And so, after 82 days of not pedalling a loaded bike, today was the day. Goodbyes were reluctantly said – to say that there may have been a BIT of pressure being put on me to NOT leave would be a bit of an understatement. That said, all I can say is that wanting to hit the road again is not the same as not wanting to stay. As such, returning to Philadelphia (where it’s always sunny) is inevitable.

When I last found myself pedalling a loaded bike the temperatures (especially in the morning) were significantly more to my liking. That said, despite this morning’s sub-20C temperature I opted to be brave and donned just shorts and a t-shirt and officially hit the road. I have to say that as days go, this was a good one to start my trek.

As noted by Julie-Ann in a comment on a previous post, I failed to mention my Day One destination. That’s what they call a teaser. Apparently it worked. Anyway, my day one destination was Reading, PA … actually, it was Reamstown, PA (which is about 20 km west of Reading) but I’m guessing more people have heard of Reading. Either way, that was today’s goal.

Perhaps it was a result of not pedalling for a while but one thing I failed to do before hitting the road was to purchase the essential provisions (i.e. peanut butter and something on which to spread said peanut butter). I realized this about 30 minutes into the ride. Of course, the fact that I have no room for such provisions is another matter altogether – which is a bit curious because I was sure I was travelling lighter when I came to Philadelphia. But that’s a topic for another time. Suffice it say, CLIF bars and “Wicked Good Beef Jerky” (the latter bought in Maine, courtesy of Jack) would have to do.

The ride out of Philadelphia went very well in spite of the pull of the vortex – perhaps that’s because I had recently done a couple of return rides out to Valley Forge (in an effort to confuse the vortex when the actual departure took place). However, the fact that things went well does not mean there were no adventures along the way. Okay, maybe not plural but there was a mini-adventure.

I was about 15 km south of Reading travelling on Route 724 when I noticed a phone in my path. I glanced down at it as I passed it and, unlike most phones I see on my travels, this one appeared to be in one piece. Then again, it was face down so there was only one way to find out. Upon closer inspection there was a mere single crack near the bottom of the screen – it would seem the iPhone had weathered whatever storm that resulted in said phone being abandoned on the side of the road. Obviously I now felt the need to locate the owner … but later. I still had pedalling to do and I wasn’t about to attack this puzzle while on the side of the road. So I put the iPhone in my handlebar bag and continued on my way.

As I pedalled, I pondered how I would track down the owner of said locked iPhone. I had grand plans. I figured I could use the SIM card number to contact their service provider. Or perhaps the IMEI number would yield similar results. Only time would tell. I’m sure a smarter person could’ve hacked into the phone but I think it’s pretty clear I’m not a smarter person. Plus, I really didn’t want to hack into someone’s phone.

Fast forward about 40 minutes. I had since reached Reading, turned left and continued west … but not for long. As luck would have it, there was a Wendy’s along that course. I figured stopping would serve two purposes. One, a Frosty (obviously). And two, do some iPhone sleuthing.

My grand plan of tracking down the owner ended up being a bit disappointing. Despite the phone being locked I could see various notifications on the screen. I scrolled through them (despite feeling like I was committing an evasion of privacy) and saw a text which read, “btw Corina lost her phone.” A-HA!! The phone belongs to Corina. Of course, that excitement disappeared almost immediately as I realized that knowing the name of the owner would in no way help track down “Corina”. I continued to scroll. My search for the owner became significantly easier when I saw a text from “Mom” which read, “If you find this phone please call or text 484-###-####.” (I paraphrased the message). And that’s how I met Corina.

I actually found it pretty amusing when I first spoke with Corina on the phone. She sounded very excited that I had found her phone and then, in a very serious tone, asked, “Are you going to give it back?” I don’t know why I found that so amusing, but I did. I reassured her that yes, I was going to give her phone back.

As luck would have it, she was only about ten minutes away from the Wendy’s so returning the phone ended up being almost as easy as tracking down Corina. With the reunion complete, we chatted for a bit before she headed off to work and I continued on to Reamstown.

My accommodations in Reamstown tonight are courtesy of Julie and Tom (and their daughter Caroline) … all of whom are very nice. Very welcoming, generous, easy to talk to. It would seem the Warm Showers community hasn’t changed in the past 82 days. Clearly, that’s a good thing.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 115.89 km
Ride time: 5:43:01
Average speed: 20.27 km/h
Maximum speed: 50.73 km/h