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SEA TO SHINING SEA: Training is fun too

The Broadwalk on the Boardwalk.  Rehoboth's Boardwalk is a great place for a parade. BY DENNIS FORNEY
dennis_forney
April 16, 2013
A few months ago I photographed this house under construction at the corner of First and Olive in Rehoboth.  The owners preserved 50 percent of the former structure so they could rebuild on the existing footprint which also included a second smaller dwelling. The next photo shows the finished product.
Here's a picture of the finished project from about the same angle.  There was an open house last Sunday and lots of people were taking advantage of the opportunity to take a look.  It came out real nice.
This T-short hanging in the window of Odysea on Rehoboth Avenue made me laugh. At this point in my life I have enough credits.
On the spur trail of the Junction and Breakwater that connects with the Seaside Outlets, we passed this scene which is unusual for Sussex County.  These are actual hills rolling beneath power lines.  The trail then dives into a section of woods that also shows real terrain.
Early in March, in the Wolfe Neck woods, I came across these early urgings of skunk cabbage.  Skunk cabbage reminds me of hostas.  The leaves stink when they are crushed. Along with mistletoe and the first buds of swamp maples, skunk cabbage is one of the earliest indicators of spring.  These plants actually give off their own heat and as a result are able to beat the spring season by a couple of weeks.
Here is skunk cabbage in full leaf as it looked last Sunday along the Junction and Breakwater Trail.
Finally, many years ago during a ride in the Salt Marsh Spur area of Cape Henlopen State Park, we watched a black snake, shining and fresh with the spring, make a hairpin turn inside a hollowed out and downed pine. Dickie Bryan was along.  "There's lots of life in a dead tree," he said.  That has stayed with me. Again, a few weeks ago in the Wolfe Neck woods, Cliff Diver and I were examining a rotted out tree that was still standing.  I could see animal poo around the tree.  Then I stood on my tiptoes and looked inside, but drew back quickly.  There was something curled up and asleep in there, about six feet off the ground.  A fox?  A raccoon?  One of those rare ring-tail cats? What do you think.  Here it is.

Training for a summer-long bicycle ride should be fun.  Last Sunday we rode the Junction and Breakwater from Lewes to Rehoboth Beach. Boardwalk was bustling.  Lots of visitors in town for the women's weekend sponsored by CAMP Rehoboth.  In front of Star of the Sea, a wave of pink rushed over us.  It was the Broadwalk on the Boardwalk. Lots of smiles and happiness.

Getting outside and seeing what the world is up to is what it's all about.

Cortadito and a breakfast burrito at Cafe A Go Go.  Becky did some shopping.  I stood in the sun. Saw Gainan Vernon in front of Quiet Storm.  He was itching to get into the surf.  "I've been in the ocean every month this year.  Really enjoying it."

"I should get you to teach me to surf."

"You're better off getting someone who knows what they're doing.  I came to it late in life but am really enjoying it."

"That's what it's all about."

Standing in the sun felt good.  The day before I loaded the panniers and rode to Cape Henlopen State Park.  Rode up the highest and steepest hills I could find - both of them.  Heading up to the overlook on the steep rise the skateboarders love, my speed dropped down to about six but I had a couple of more sprockets to go in back and it wasn't too bad.  I bought a Garmin Edge 200 to track miles and other specs.  It also shows ascent and told me the overlook was at 52 feet above sea level.

I wonder if Chief Joseph Pass at the Continental Divide in the Rockies is higher?

Oh yeah, about ascent.  I raised a question in yesterday's blog:  which state that we will be riding through has the greatest amount of uphill pedaling?  The states include, west to east, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.  The answer is Virginia.  All of those Appalachians that go on forever.

At any rate, on all of these rides what we see, who we talk to, is the fun part.  Here are some more pictures from our ride on Sunday.

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