Day 4, June 25, 2011

Bad News! Shelton has to leave the trip. He had been taking some antibiotics for a sinus infection and has just not been able to recover. The rigors of cyclo-touring require that one is feeling at 100%. I feel bad about everything. Shelton is a wonderful friend and travel companion. In the summer of 2009, we completed a tour from NY to Richmond. I had taken my eldest son, Alex, to begin his Plebe year at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Shelton and I rode our bikes back to Richmond. The same week that we had taken the trip was the same week that 24 years before we endured the heat and humidity of a Georgia summer as we completed Paratrooper training at Fort Benning. I shall miss our evening conversations we would enjoy after a long day of pedaling. The trip will be lonely, but I must go on my way.

Shelton and I had lunch together and wished each other well. I began pedaling up the trail at around 1:00. I stopped for the night at the Town Creek campsite about 20 miles from Cumberland (the end of the C&O Canal trail). Two families had pedaled 5 miles onto the trail to take their kids camping, so we shared the small site. They were nice folks and invited me to sit by their fire and eat smores with them. I chatted for a bit and retired to my hammock to go to read and go to sleep. Rather than using a tent, Shelton and I had decided to try the Hennessey Hammock on this trip. It’s basically a one man tent that hangs from two anchor points (trees, for the most part). It’s asymmetrical construction allows one to sleep relatively flat. While it’s possible to sleep on one’s side, it is designed for one to sleep on his back. Shelton swears by it. He says it’s the best sleep out-of-doors he has ever experienced. I like the hammock so far, but since I normally sleep on my stomach, it’s taking me a little time to get used to it. I’m going to hold off on my opinion versus the merits of a tent until I have a few weeks of using it.