Category: Cycling

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Start: Brattleboro, Vermont
End: Manchester, New Hampshire
Mileage today/cumulative: 78 / 3,589
Elevation Ascended: 5,030′
Weather: Sunny, 57° at start; sunny, 76º at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

What a difference a day and a new state makes. The sun was shining bright at luggage load and everyone was in good spirits knowing that today was the penultimate ride of the tour. All of the foul moods caused by yesterday’s ride were gone and all of us were itching to get back on our bikes.

One mile into the ride, we happily left Vermont and entered New Hampshire, where the road immediately improved. It was another day of climbing but the terrain was so similar to East Tennessee (up-down-nothing flat), that we never felt challenged. I suspect that riding nearly non-stop from the Pacific Ocean also helped.

Riding through New Hampshire was pretty spectacular. The locals commented on the unusually mild temperatures and lack of humidity; we were  struck by the thick forests and old New England towns, many of them established in the mid-late 1700s. Because it’s Sunday, church bells were ringing in Antrim, NH. We also noticed that all of the churches have steeples (directing the viewers’ eyes vertically to the heavens) and are painted white. In the early colonial days, metal was extremely hard to obtain and expensive; therefore, most steeples were made of wood and anything made of wood was immediately whitewashed. Today, those churches remain painted white for protection and tradition.

Another first on today’s ride were Moose Crossing signs. We desperately wanted to see a moose but they weren’t cooperative. If we had seen one, Bev would have said hello to it from a safe distance. We’ve also seen Snowmobile Crossing signs since Minnesota and even saw snowmobile trails in Wisconsin, complete with their own smaller scale traffic signs nailed high up on utility poles.

Tonight was the America By Bicycle banquet to celebrate our achievement. It was also our last “rap session” where we got our route sheet for one last 52-mile celebratory ride that will include a police escort for the last few miles. After that, bikes get packed up and goodbyes are said!

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Start: Latham, New York
End: Brattleboro, Vermont
Mileage today/cumulative: 79 / 3,511
Elevation Ascended: 5,132′
Weather: Cloudy, 67° at start; rain, 82º at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

At the start of this tour, we looked at the mileage and elevation profile for today’s ride and expected that the climbing would make this stage difficult, particularly after 47 days on the road and no difficult climbing since leaving South Dakota. As it turns out, the climbing was the easiest thing today. Weather, road conditions, and drivers were a much bigger challenge.

The first 33 miles, all of them in New York,  were beautiful. Cool cloud cover, no rain, smooth roads, and quaint New England-ish towns made this a very pleasant stretch. Everyone was in fine spirits when we came upon the Vermont state line, where we officially added another state to our States We’ve Biked In map. Then all hell broke loose and the ride quickly went into the toilet. As if on cue, rain began falling immediately after we crossed the state line. It started as a light rain that turned into a soaker and, on one long descent, a torrential downpour that lasted for about ten minutes. Upon entering Vermont, the road also immediately deteriorated when sections of what was already a narrow shoulder turned to rubble. The state line was also the start of all of the major climbs and descents for the day. Finally, add people who believe that the best way to drive a vehicle in pouring rain is to close their eyes and press the accelerator through the floorboard. The ride quickly turned into a test of bike handling skills and total mental focus. We’ve each ridden hundreds of thousands of miles and that level of experience was needed today.  Vermont has edged out Michigan for the award for Worst Roads on the Across America North Tour, but we hear that New Hampshire could be a contender. We’ll find out tomorrow morning. At least it’ll be sunny.

There were some interesting things to see along today’s route but the deteriorating conditions made it difficult or, at times, dangerous to stop and look. One of the sights was the poet Robert Frost’s gravesite in Bennington, Vermont. Dave Stabler, one of our friends and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Oregonian, managed to find it and reported that it was quite nice. We also saw signs for anything that you can imagine with maple.

One more challenging ride tomorrow, then an easier celebratory ride to the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. It’s been a wild ride!

Friday, August 4, 2017

Start: Little Falls, New York
End: Latham, New York
Mileage today/cumulative: 75 / 3,432
Elevation Ascended: 2,657′
Weather: Cloudy, 68° at start; partly cloudy, 83º at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

Ninja Mike, a New Hampshire resident and appropriately nicknamed because he always appears out of the distance to ride miles and miles with Team Pea, commented today that the terrain was starting to look like home. What that really meant was that we got a little reacquainted with our climbing legs today. It started with a healthy incline at the start and a few kickers in the middle. Add some double-digit headwinds and an easy day became more challenging. It’s been so long since we had a true tailwind that we’re now convinced that the jet stream actually blows from east to west, and not the reverse. Any other  version is fake news. The staff keep reminding us that anyone can ride across America with nice temperatures and a tailwind. We keep saying “SO WHAT?”

Over the past 47 days, we’ve ridden on interstates, state highways, county roads, farm roads, country roads, residential streets, and bike paths. We’re always happy when we see a bike path on our route sheets and today we got two of them – jackpot! Combined, they were nearly twenty miles and ran alongside the Mohawk River. It was a nice respite from automobiles and city noise. We also rode through some more towns that looked like they belonged in a Norman Rockwell painting, where time has stood still since post-WWII.

Tomorrow we head into Vermont for some serious climbing. The forecast calls for rain all day, so after 47 days we may have to break out some of the wet weather gear we’ve been hauling all of the way from Oregon. Three days to go on this crazy journey and the ocean keeps calling our names.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Start: Syracuse, New York
End: Little Falls, New York
Mileage today/cumulative: 80 / 3,357
Elevation Ascended: 1,499′
Weather: Sunny, 67° at start; sunny, 82º at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

We left Syracuse this morning, headed to Little Falls, NY. Nearly everyone was complaining of tired legs that have no oomph. Bev and I both noticed that we could maintain a steady, moderate pace today but if we had to press on the accelerator to exert more energy, the power just wasn’t there. I think the increased humidity and collective fatigue are taking a slight toll on us. We’re also a little checked out mentally, knowing that we only have four more rides remaining. There’s still some beautiful scenery between here and the beach, so we’ll take it in and press onward to the end.

Once we got out of North Syracuse, the first fifty miles of today’s ride were lovely with smooth, quiet country roads through farms and trees. The last thirty included riding through Utica, which was an enormous challenge due to their terrible roads and awful drivers. Riding through Utica, I came up with several worthy nicknames for their city but none are suitable for publication. We finished in Little Falls, a charming small town on the Erie Canal with beautiful views. It also has a nice Ale House, which proved helpful for ride recovery on a hot afternoon.

Four rides left in four states (we take a bonus detour over the Maine border on Monday). Woo hoo!! Poor internet connection in Little Falls, so not a lot of photos tonight.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Start: Rochester, New York
End: Syracuse, New York
Mileage today/cumulative: 91 / 3,277
Elevation Ascended: 1,243′
Weather: Sunny, 67° at start; sunny, 84º at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

With only six rides remaining on the tour at the start of today, New York gave us a nice one  from Rochester to Syracuse. Bev and I chose to ride by ourselves all day. We love riding with each other and it was a nice break from the pressure of a pace line and keeping a group together. The first 23 miles were on the Erie Canalway Trail, a paved or hard packed bike path that runs alongside the Erie Canal. It was a beautiful, peaceful stretch and we wished that we could have ridden it further. We’ve added it to our list of trails to return to. As we approached Syracuse, we rode on the East Shore Recreation Trail through a beautiful park on Onondaga Lake. It was a gorgeous day and there were lots of people out exercising. It looks like a nice place to live if not for the winters.

The portion of the ride spent on roads took us through some charming towns and villages that looked very “Main Street USA”. Old homes, large trees, picket fences, wide streets, and lots of American flags. We saw some agriculture but not on the scale of what we rode through from Idaho to Ontario, Canada.

In my post yesterday, I mentioned that being in New York meant more cars and more attitude. Some folks who previously lived in Rochester thought that was a bit harsh and didn’t appreciate being compared to the NYC New Yorkers.  So, I should mention that the people of Rochester NY were nice enough and their behavior bore little resemblance to anyone in NYC. They’re still not nearly as nice, though, as people in Rochester, Minnesota.

Finally, I kept my eye out for this guy so that I could give him a big hug from my friend Ruth Ross, but I never saw him. Go Big Orange!

Lots of good photos from today’s ride…