It has been awhile since I last made a post on my blog. August will be the two year anniversary of our epic ride across the Northern Tier of the United States. It was and still is one of my most memorable accomplishments of my life and now I am looking forward to another long ride. This one will be along the Southern Tier of the country going from San Diego CA to St. Augustine FLA. Right now it looks like we will be staring this ride in 2011 or 2012 and will be done in the late fall so we will miss the heat of the southern part of the country. So here it is the year 2009 and I am keeping in shape by riding as much as I can and doing at least 40 to 45 miles a day. I want to try and do some shorter tours just to keep myself in some kind of shape. The real question is where do I go from here? Whatever course I take I will endeavor to keep all informed and also will see what I can do to place my GPS rides on this blog. Next week I am off to visit in-laws in Ohio and I will be bringing my bike to get in some flat country riding. In August I will be in Delaware and riding with the Cycle Nut and friends, in fact it is the Cycle Nut who will be my companion on this next big adventure. Go figure, he has all the maps and the real fancy GPS unit with most of the bells and whistles that I don't have. For now it is just keep riding and keep blogging.

We ended our adventure on Wednesday with a ride over the Kancamangus and then into Maine. It was a good day for the ride, it rained the night before and Wednesday turned out to be bright and cool, great for cycling. We also had the advantage of a west to northwest breeze that helped to push us along. We made it to Pine Point around 4:30 in the afternoon and the Cycle Nut had the added surprise of seeing his son who showed up from Delaware. My wife was also able to meet us as we came flying in to the end and so we both had a good ending to a great ride. The final tally, at least for me, was a total mileage of 3,760 miles, two broken spokes, one crash, and two flat tires (both front). I hit a high speed of 50 MPH and averaged about 15 MPH over the whole ride. Physically, I am doing good and my knees, which were a bother earlier, were okay at the end with just the minor aches and pains. It will be awhile before I can fully reflect on this ride and the impact it has made on my life. Just the thought of riding from coast to coast in 35 days is enough right now. I want to thank the Cycle Nut for his companionship on this ride. I also want to thank his wife, who drove along making sure we got into our lodging for the night, and also made sure that we had plenty of water and snacks along the way. She is what kept us going and I cannot say enough about all that she did. I also want to thank my own wife who allowed me the time to go on this epic adventure while she stayed home. I am sure that there are not many spouses out there who would have spent over a month of lonely nights just to let their partner go off on a bike ride. I also want to thank all of you who have been following our exploits by reading this blog and getting to see just a few of the photos we have taken along the way. We met some really great folks on our ride and we will not forget all of the kindness shown by them as we stopped along the back roads and small towns of America. Well, it is time for me to go out for a bike ride. Just a short one around my usual route, have to keep in training, you never know when that next great adventure will be coming and I might as well be prepared.

I finally have a chance to update the blog. Either I have had no wi-fi or I have been too tired to do any writing. When we left North East the weather had turned a bit with rain in the forecast. Our destination was Niagara Falls in Canada. We basically stayed pretty dry until we hit the border then the rain began. That, along with the usual mist from the falls made for a wet afternoon as we made our way to the motel. What made the ride better in Canada was the excellent bike trail we were able to follow right into the falls area. We did have a bit of an adventure locating the Days Inn we were staying at, seems that there are six Days Inns in Niagara Falls and we went to two before finally finding the one we were staying at. That evening we enjoyed some of the night life downtown. The place has turned into quite the tourist trap, with all sorts of activities and new venues to spend ones money. There is even a Casino, which was not there the last time I visited many years ago. Anyway, we left the next morning for Fairport New York, just outside of Rochester and again it was raining. Time for the Gore Tex to come out. On the way we were able to use the Erie Canal bike trail and found most of it to be good for road bikes. The surface was crushed chip at first then it was well paved for most of the way to Fairport. On the trail, I ran into Harvey, who is a prolific writer of Bicycle Tour books and has his own website. He was able to give us some great advice on the best way to get to where we were going that evening as well as giving us some information on his books and website. The next day we went from Fairport and headed to Pulaski. What we did not know was that the salmon were running and the place was filled with fishermen. We did find a place to stay but it was tight due to the big weekend of fishing. I never saw so many people in waders wandering around a town. Our next destination was in the Adirondacks at Blue Mountain Lake. On the way out of Pulaski, we were able to take a few pictures of the fishermen in the Salmon Run River, quite a sight. One of the problems with wet roads is that you tend to pick up glass shards easily which then work their way slowly into the tire and finally to the tube, developing a slow leak. I had two flats on those days and the Nut had a couple of flats. Luckily, mine were front tire flats, much easier to get the wheel off and fixed. The Nut had rear tire flats. The Blue Mountain Lake Inn, while not much to look at, was really an okay place to stay. The lady who greeted us was more than helpful, showing me where to shower and then getting up early the next day to make us breakfast. She really went out of her way to make us feel comfortable and welcome. From there we began the trek to Vermont. We crossed into Vermont by ferry across Lake Champlain and soon found ourselves climbing into the Green Mountains. We stayed just outside of Middlebury, the home to the college of the same name. We did have a reservation at a B&B but they were not all that happy to have to bicycles in the rooms and the breakfast was later than when we wanted to start, so we opted for a motel in Middlebury. This added an extra few miles to yesterdays ride into New Hampshire. One thing about climbing the hills in New England versus the ones out west is the grade of the climbs. Out west we experienced 6-7 degree grades that were long. Here we climbed up 14 degree grades that were long also even though the elevation was not as great. By the time I got into Lincoln my legs were burned out. We also ran into a fickle wind that was sometimes at our back and then into our faces. The reward was getting into the Kancamagus Lodge Motel, which has these steam room showers. I turned on the shower with the steam and could have stayed in there for an hour or a day. It was relaxing and just a great way to end a long day on the bike. So that now brings me to today, it is the Cycle Nuts wife's birthday so we are taking the day off. Tomorrow we climb the Kancamangus road on our way to the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. My last blog will be a reflection on the ride and a mention of the people we met along the way. We will have many memories of this trip.

The Falls.


Erie Canal.

Today is a planned day of rest in North East Pennsylvania. I am sitting in a nice coffee shop in downtown called, appropriately, Boston Bean. The last couple of days we have experienced a rather brisk easterly wind that has been gusty at times. Since we are traveling along Lake Erie this wind can be rather strong and cool as it blows across the lake waters. It is a good thing that we had already planned for this to be a rest day because it started raining early this morning and when I got up it was a steady, heavy rain. The good news for me is that my dear wife was able to send me a Gore Tex Jacket and Rain Pants that I received today so that no matter what happens I will be protected. The day before we went through the Cleveland area riding along Lakeshore Ave. and through some really nice, rich, neighborhoods. That day started with buckwheat pancakes, that the Cycle Nut took a picture of, and a really nice conversation with a couple from Akron Ohio. Getting into Cleveland we passed several very large homes on this route as well as some very nice and well groomed gardens. One of the neighborhoods was having a house and garden tour with people lined up to view some of the homes. One interesting note, when we were in these very rich, very exclusive neighborhoods, we experienced some of the worst road conditions. Potholes, gaps in the roadway and lots of bumps. Despite these less than satisfactory conditions the ride was nice. The Adventure Cycling route we took led us through Cleveland past the Browns stadium the science museum and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We also went through some of the least desirable neighborhoods and got a taste of the disparity between the super rich and those who struggle to make a living. Yesterday was another breezy day as we headed for North East. Now for a bit of a rant; when towns and cities have designated bicycle lanes, it would be nice if they would also keep them free of debris. Several towns along the lake shore have these lanes all marked out and even fine any motorized vehicle for using them to drive on or pass another car, but they just do not keep them clean. They are nice to have and since the incident on Iowa 18 something that I appreciate, I also don't like the idea of getting a flat or doing any damage to myself or the bike in case of a crash on loose gravel. That being said, I do like having the designated lane away from the main traffic stream. Up here in North East, the grape is king and the vineyards are ready for the harvest. The air is full with the scent of ripening grapes on the vine. We are planning on visiting several wineries this afternoon and just generally enjoying our time off.


Can't seem to escape this place, even in Ohio.

Well, it has been a couple of days since my last entry on the blog and we have now gone through Illinois and Indiana. At the Super 8 in Pontiac, which has no wi-fi, we meet some folks who were there to participate in the Balloon Fest that was taking place there. In fact, at the continental breakfast, we had a nice conversation with the members of two of the balloon teams, one of the teams was Elijah's Whirlwind. When we finally got ourselves on the road we could see several balloons already in the air but too faraway to get any good photos. As we road east we could see that the balloons were basically traveling along our route since we had a good west to east breeze. Soon we caught up to them and were able to see four of the balloons in flight. A couple of them went down, one in a grove of trees and the other in the lane of one of the farms. It was something to see those balloons in flight in the early morning sun and with a ground mist hanging low. The photos I have do not do any justice to the beauty of seeing them in flight, floating across the sky. The only noise was the occasional "whoosh" sound of the gas fired heat to keep the balloon aloft. Soon the balloons were behind and we were winging our way towards Indiana. Somewhere along the way, I developed another broken spoke, my second on this trip. I didn't even notice till we were at the Indiana border, taking the required, "Welcome to our State" sign photo, with us in it, at least one at a time. When we started off it was the Cycle Nut who noticed some was wrong and sure enough it was another spoke. The Nut, a better mechanic than yours truly, was able to make the wheel a bit more in true even with the broke spoke, and we were able to make it to Logansport Indiana. I was able to find a bike shop nearby in Peru, but since we came in late I had to wait till the next day to get it fixed. Again, I met another great bike shop owner, Zac, at Breakaway Bike and Fitness Shop who was just great in getting the broke spoke replaced as well as truing up both wheels and making sure all was in working order. With the bike fixed I headed off for Paulding Ohio and since it was a long day I just hammered it most of that afternoon to get in before dark. It also wasn't helpful for me to get a little off track that day as I missed one of the crucial turns and ended up doing a few extra miles. We stayed at the Bittersweet Inn, appropriate name after that day, and the next morning started for Huron Ohio. The owner of the Bittersweet made us keep our bikes in her garage rather than take them to our rooms. At least it was a secure place. When we left this morning we stopped at Bubba J's for breakfast and walked into an Ohio State fan center. This was such an Ohio State group that when I went to the Men's room I saw a Michigan decal on the inside of the urinal. I guess that's what they mean by rivalry. Hey, in Boston we have had the "Yankees Suck," plastered everywhere so who are we to talk. I found it amusing with a wife from Ohio and a son who is a Michigan fan. Yes, I took a picture, had to since I found it amusing. After that, our day was pretty good. The wind stayed at our backs and we were able to track some quick miles. The weather began to change in the afternoon and as we headed for Huron. A cold front was pushing down from Michigan and sure enough it touched off some thunderstorms. We ducked into a fruit and vegetable stand for some shelter. Even when we thought it was a good time to get going we still heard some thunder and saw some flashes of lightning, it wasn't all that bad.In fact, we saw a nice Rainbow, over a field and also had a good trip down a bike trail. I also was able to get a picture of a group of Clydesdales on my way to Huron, not bad. Well, it is late, I am tired so this is it for mow. Thanks to all who have tuned in to see where we have been and what we have seen.