travel plans
Tomorrow, I will set off for New York.
I have decided to travel by slightly unusual means. The most straightforward route would have been to fly from Halifax to New York. But earlier this summer, I began entertaining the possibility of traveling by bicycle. This urge springs from an aesthetic attraction to a minimalist lifestyle, from a desire for independence, from poverty, and from a very vague urge to live ethically. These factors combine to make cycling the most sensible means of transportation in a small town like Sydney, where I have always previously been dependent on my parents’ car. But if my bicycle can grant me independence from one gas and money-guzzling mode of transportation, why not another?
After some research, I decided that biking the entire way from Sydney to New York was not the right option for me this time around. I am a completely inexperienced bicycle-tourer, and the entire trip would take longer than I want to spend traveling. So I have engineered a compromise. My parents will drop me off at the CAT Ferry in Yarmouth on Friday afternoon. I will arrive in Portland, Maine on Friday evening, and cycle south to Boston over the next two days. Here is the route I have planned:
The biking part of the trip is about 180km, and so I am budgeting for about 20km on Friday night, 100km on Saturday, and 60km into Boston on Sunday. After reaching Boston, I will be traveling by Fung Wah Bus into New York, where I will arrive at some point on Sunday night or Monday morning. For your entertainment, and to distract my mother from worrying about the cycling part of the trip, I recommend this video about Fung Wah:
If I get a chance to blog along the way, I will be sure to do it. Wish me luck!