Dog and man biking Maryland to Maine
Dan McCrady will take off from Annapolis on Saturday for an 850 mile journey on a bike -- with his yellow lab, Sadie.
The two hope the ride will help raise awareness for the East Coast Greenway, the nation's longest urban train for non-motorized uses. The 22-day trip will take McCrady and Sadie from thier home in Annapolis to Portland, Maine.
McCrady said he's looking foward to the ride but Sadie can hardly wait.
"She loves running beside me -- she prances," McCrady says. "When she's in the trailer, she never naps. She keeps her eyes open, checking out the scenery."
McCrady and Sadie plan to average 55 miles a day. The three-year-old yellow lab will trot along beside the bike for about five miles a day and ride in a trailer specially designed for dogs the rest of the time.
McCrady will be charting his and Sadie's progress on his blog. However, Unleashed will link to the blog every once in a while so that everyone can follow along easily.
The two expect to pass through Baltimore at about 4 p.m. Saturday -- give or take who knows how long. McCrady, a 61-year-old retired federal worker, isn't exactly sure how fast his pace will be. He's never taken on this long of a cycling trip. Certainly never one hauling a 75-pound dog AND a 40-pound trailer.
They'll be biking the daily 55 miles rain or shine without a support vehicle to help out if anyone should get tired.
McCrady expects Sadie, who can play dead, offer a high five and hold off on eating food placed on her paw until McCrady signals it's OK, will easily handle the trip. The only issue might be missing her best friend back at home, Rocky the kitty.
"[The cat] doesn't like when Sadie's gone," McCrady says.
Dan McCrady will be riding a Sun EZ Sport CX recumbent bicycle donated by Sun Bicycles and has received technical support from Pedal Pushers Bicycle Shop in Severna Park. Sadie will ride in a Solvit dog trailer when not trotting beside McCrady. Solvit Products is also a sponsor.
People can help McCrady and Sadie raise money for the Greenway by visiting this website.
Photos courtesy of Dan McCrady.
Categories: Dogs, dogs, dogs, Fun stuff, Travel
Comments
Love Portland ME, side bet Dan lose's 15 - 20 pounds before he finishes. Good luck Dan and pup.
Posted by: Joe Wagner | May 19, 2009 9:11 AM
Wow! We usually travel to northern Maine in the summer - about a 14 hour drive. This year we opted for West Virginia instead because we're bringing our dog. We had misgivings about such a long car trip with the dog, but this makes me rethink things! With the proper planning I bet we could head to our favorite spot in Maine (a place that I know our dog would love). Hmmmm.
Best of luck to Dan and Sadie, I'll definitely be checking their progress.
Posted by: Audrey | May 19, 2009 10:45 AM
All I can say about Dan losing weight is "It's about time!". I have managed to keep my stellar appearance - in fact Dan will be increasing my food for the trip so that I DON'T lose weight.
Our last training trip was today. We went 45 miles - our longest trip to-date. We saw one woman biking who almost ran off the trail into a ditch. She saw the sign I was carrying on the trailer. It said "I'm in Training." She actually thought I was training to be a seeing eye dog and that Dan was blind. She was so impressed she pulled over to talk to us. No kidding!
Ha. I can't wait to have Sadie blog like this from the trip. ;-) -- Jill
Posted by: Sadie | May 19, 2009 11:02 PM
The dog is lovely.
http://www.madnike.com
Posted by: julia | May 20, 2009 6:16 AM
Today I met the Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, the mayor of Annapolis. She gave Dan some stuff, which was pretty cool, I guess, but she also gave me a large blue crab chew toy from Paws Pet Boutique! Now that was really cool - I like that woman!
Update your calendars - today is officially East Coast Greenway Day, at least in the city of Annapolis.
Posted by: Sadie | May 21, 2009 9:32 PM
We are now in day three. Day one was hot and humid and I learned that Lutherville, our first stop for lodging, is miles higher than the Inner Harbor! Dan was sweating and I was gasping as we seemed to go uphill for days! But we made it and to our surprise there were screaming people on Seminary Rd with signs saying thins like "For $100 I'll drive you to Maine" and "Free beer!" It was a good ending to day 1.
Day 2 started out well. We rode toward Monkton and saw the NCR Trail, which was our favorite so far.
That's when the bike broke down. It was still moving, but it clanged and bumped and made it distressing for me in my trailer. Dan looked stressed to since I think the problems kept the rear breaks on all the time. We finally have to give up and get a ride to our second stop for lodging, which was a bike shop!
Today is day 3 and the bike has been repaired by Biller's Bikes in Havre de Grace - i recommend them very highly because they fixed the bike and they love animals!
Posted by: Sadie | May 25, 2009 10:40 AM
10:50 AM on June 1st at the Visitor Information Center in Norwalk, CT. Dan got off course, but just a bit, and between the 2 of us, he was directed back to Rt. 136.
Sadie is a beauty and seems to be having a great time on her trip.
Pat
Posted by: Pat Palombi | June 1, 2009 11:16 AM
I am famouss now! I was on Fox TV during the morning show in Hartford, CT. Check it out!!!
Go to www.firstgiving.com/danandsadie and check out the youtube posting there!
Posted by: Sadie | June 4, 2009 9:05 PM
This is a happy post. Why? Seeing a man with a dog doing such fun activity as biking is always something that should be associated with happiness.
Posted by: hauling in baltimore md | November 15, 2009 11:57 PM