Vieras on Vélos

Vieras on Vélos 29yrs of marriage, 4 kids, & the 6th grandchild on the way, we have an empty nest.Back at it!

(2022)

(2026) 33 years of marriage, with TEN grandchildren, two of which very much enjoy riding on some of our adventures with us!

And we’re off. Headed to ride the Carriage Trails in Acadia. Each year we add another grand. Ellie will be pedaling hers...
06/24/2026

And we’re off. Headed to ride the Carriage Trails in Acadia. Each year we add another grand. Ellie will be pedaling herself, while Rohan gets pulled by Chris.

Back on solid ground! (Reflections to come) Right now we are filling the tanks with delicious smoked BBQ at Flying Ace F...
04/25/2026

Back on solid ground! (Reflections to come) Right now we are filling the tanks with delicious smoked BBQ at Flying Ace Farms Brewery, recommended by a local we holed up with during the thunderstorm yesterday. It did NOT disappoint! We actually ate in the (former) barn. 🤭

DAY 4: Swain’s Lock (Lockhouse 21) to Calico Rocks. The day started off uneventful. The weather was great for riding, un...
04/24/2026

DAY 4: Swain’s Lock (Lockhouse 21) to Calico Rocks.

The day started off uneventful. The weather was great for riding, until around 1:00 when we decided to take a nap in the shade since it was 83°! Within 2 miles of resuming our ride, we heard thunder up ahead. We donned the rain gear and pedaled on, finding a little grille/convenient store just off the trail in White’s Ferry. There were about a 1/2 dozen bikes parked there and more came in as we were enjoying a nice hot bite to eat. The storm passed rather quickly and we resumed our ride, ending 13 miles shy of Harper’s Ferry.

We had booked a night in Lockhouse 25, but were unable to reach it yesterday as planned, due to our later than expected start on Tuesday. However, since I had the code to the door, we peeked inside.

It was rather uneventful, with the highlights being a “serving tree” and a port-a-potty living on the edge. (I marveled at how funny it is towards the end of the day that we get excited to see the port-a-potties on the horizon, marking the campgrounds.)

Oh! We did have an owl fly about 10 feet in front of Chris on the trail, and passed by a Black Racer snake, about 3 feet long and 1.5 inch diameter! Both were too fast to grab the camera.

Our first night on the trail, Chris was given a “trail name” by a regular rider: Maine Saw. While Pat was setting up cam...
04/24/2026

Our first night on the trail, Chris was given a “trail name” by a regular rider: Maine Saw. While Pat was setting up camp he had heard Chris sawing deadwood. He was impressed and even gathered some wood before joining us at our fire. 🪚

When you ride into a thunderstorm, you take shelter, eat a hot meal, and mingle with the other bikers in the same boat.
04/24/2026

When you ride into a thunderstorm, you take shelter, eat a hot meal, and mingle with the other bikers in the same boat.

Nap time! 83°? I’ll take it! But I’ll also take a good nap in the peak of the heat! 14 miles to go for the day.
04/24/2026

Nap time! 83°? I’ll take it! But I’ll also take a good nap in the peak of the heat! 14 miles to go for the day.

Day 3:What a great day of riding! Praise God my vertigo was gone when I woke up this morning so we will reverse our ride...
04/23/2026

Day 3:

What a great day of riding! Praise God my vertigo was gone when I woke up this morning so we will reverse our ride back to Harper’s a ferry instead of hopping the train; back to Plan A.

After a hearty breakfast at Marcie’s house, we rode 14.5 miles into Washington DC. That was wild! Since we’ve explored the Capitol in the past, we just went in for photo ops and to eat lunch before heading back towards Harper’s Ferry.

The weather was perfect for riding, a nice change from the past two days. We explored some beautiful gorges/waterfalls along the trail, and scored a beautiful spot along the Potomac River for the night. We put in 35 miles on the day, rather easily.

Looking forward to a good night’s sleep with the sound of the canal water rushing through the lock. At dawn we ride…again.

DAY 2: (late entry)Well, the day started of in a whirl, literally. My vertigo kicked into high gear during the night and...
04/23/2026

DAY 2: (late entry)

Well, the day started of in a whirl, literally. My vertigo kicked into high gear during the night and lingered on until after lunch. I can tell you it is NOT fun riding a bike while nauseous, unable to look anywhere but on a fixed point ahead of you. My neck quickly stiffened; I got a wretched headache; I began making plan B.

My motto while adventuring is “always have a Plan B, or C or D…” Plan B was to make it into DC and hop the train back to Harper’s Ferry. Neither one of us wanted to do that, but it was a relief knowing there was a shorter end in sight if necessary.

We rolled off the trail mid-afternoon and climbed a lovely mile long hill to get to my friend, Marcie’s house. We were blessed with a great hot meal, a birthday sundae treat, great company and conversation, a hot shower, comfy bed and full protein-packed breakfast. THAT was a treat!

My vertigo subsided but lingered into the night.

DAY 1: Well, we almost turned around and headed back to Maine this morning. I woke up in the middle of the night with a ...
04/21/2026

DAY 1:
Well, we almost turned around and headed back to Maine this morning. I woke up in the middle of the night with a wicked vertigo attack. Chris made two trips to the car (across town) to get my Dramamine (two different types-first one didn’t work). By the grace of God, we set out this morning as planned. While I’m not 100%, I’m praying I won’t spin tonight while in the tent. 😵‍💫

When we woke up at 8:00, it was 30°! By the time we hit the trail it had warmed up to 39°. This is by far, the coldest we’ve ever ridden in! We warmed up pretty quickly on the trail and by the time we stopped for the night it was 62°!

We are looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight, ready to hit the trail bright and early (or whenever the Spirit leads us). 🤪 35 miles to go and we will arrive at the end (or the beginning, since it’s mile marker 0) in Georgetown, where we will hook up with a high school friend from 36 years ago! Gulp! Marcie was gracious enough to open her home to us for the night.

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Dover-Foxcroft, ME

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