Back-to-back-to-back, plus a bit more

I really could call this one the power of ice cream.

For me, it was three days in a row of 30 miles, plus a fourth of 5 miles to work, and another 5 back. Nothing too crazy.

This was the big weekend camping trip with some neighbors, and I knew I was combining it with some biking.

Three of us set off before 1 p.m. for Allaire State Park, where we were camping. Given that everyone else was coming by car, we were spared having to haul our gear and food. (No shortage of food!) We took it easy — one rider was the 16-year-old daughter of a fellow Week-a-Year rider and had been promised breaks every five miles. I slowed down, the breaks were short — all good.

And the 16-year-old voluntarily joined me and the Brit for a ride to the Shore the next day, though I don’t think she was expecting quite that long a ride. But she was away from her parents. All good. (The route was in part on a rail-trail that was supposed to be part of the Capital-to-Coast route. But unlike the East Coast Greenway, this one seems to have run out of steam. Too bad.)

No, the truly impressive day was the ride back. The 16-year-old was on board again. Her third straight day of 30 miles. Another neighbor joined us. And so did his son. This kid turns 8 in October. Yes, a 7-year-old biked the 30 miles of back roads with us.

Yes, the kid is an energizer bunny and particularly athletic. (No, the 16-year-old is not.) Yes, we stopped more often. And once the kid realized we’d be biking through a town where he knew there was an ice cream shop and dad agreed to take him, there was no way he was going to get sagged home by mom. So yes, that kept him going from mile 20 to mile 25.

And restored by ice cream, he biked the rest of the way home. Two hours later, I looked out the window and saw him on his bike again.

As I said, the power of ice cream.

And some other shots from the weekend:

The yurt, above, and some of our grilling, below: