Mowing to DC

As part of my training regimen for the epic bicycle trip from Cumberland to D.C., I am mowing the grass.

And no, I'm not talking about the easy way with a gas-powered push mower. I'm talking about spinning steel striking against other steel and gears and wheels grinding, blades of grass sliced in two. I'm talking about a reel mower.

I have been using a reel mower for a while now primarily to cut my carbon emissions. And let me tell you, it's a work out. And it does a crappy job of cutting the grass, unless of course you cut it twice. Double the training.

Because it has been raining almost every day, my grass is growing like, well, a weed. So I'm mowing it almost twice a week. Each day of mowing the grass, I have reasoned to myself, must be equivalent to a day on the bike trail.

So in a sense, I'm mowing my way to D.C., which reminds me of another epic journey that didn't pan out.

Many years ago when Firefighter and I were young lads, we hatched a plan to ride riding lawn mowers across the country. Of course these mowers would be modified, with decks removed and trailers added.

It was a genius idea if you ask me but the logistics made it a difficult plan to put in motion. A couple years later, I was watching David Letterman and saw a kid who actually stole the idea and did it. He rode across the country on a lawn tractor and rode it right on to the set of David Letterman. That could have been us.

We cannot fail on THIS epic adventure!