Day 3, June 24, 2011

John offered to drive us back to the trail, and we accepted. John dropped let us out at the trailhead in Williamsport. John, ever the thoughtful host, made us a filling and delicious breakfast. After breakfast sport, we all bid our farewells, and Shelton and I continued our ride.

Today was rough going. We were dogged with mechanical problems (a great annoyance, particularly so early in our trip). Let me explain what happened. Shelton is a big man. I don’t mean obese; I mean big. He’s 6”4 and 250 pounds. Now that’s a lot of weight on a bicycle, especially when it’s towing a bob trailer (a bicycle trailer designed specifically for bike travel).Shelton had a new, hand-built wheel made with DT Swiss spokes (a step way above the typical made in China variety) since we knew from our experience on other trips that he needs a strong wheel that can support his bulk, equipment, and rigors of the road. The bike mechanic did a poor job building the wheel or, Yikes, he used poor quality spokes. In any event, we spent most of the day adjusting and tightening Shelton’s spokes every few miles to avoid a total breakdown. Shelton was having a difficult time. In addition to the mechanical problems, he was feeling ill.

We arrived in Hancock, MD in the early evening. We went to the C&O Bicycle Shop to see what we might do about the wheel. To make matters worse, Shelton was having some gearing issues as well. The mechanic told us that he would not be able to get to the bike until the next morning. He offered to put us up in his “Bunk House” (a hostel-like accommodation with showers and bunk beds) free of charge since we were having work done. Shelton and I cooked some eggs, mac and cheese, and ham on our portable camping burner and then just relaxed the rest of the evening.