I did it! I rode the last 41 miles in the rain to arrive in Bar Harbor and dip my tires in the Atlantic Ocean.
It hasn't completely sunk in yet, but what an amazing journey. It's a long way from Fargo, ND to Bar Harbor, ME.
A journey to last a lifetime.
I hope you all have safe journey's in all your travels and please share them with me, too!
The three musketeers! We rode every mile, together
We did it. The hardest day, yet. 86 miles, raining, and clmbing, climbing climbing.
Now, let's eat!
We got to the Atlantic today just before Camden. We stopped and put our toes in, just because. Then on to more climbing.
The bays and inlets were beautiful. Great scenery for the next to last day.
Tomorrow we're into Bar Harbor. Then the banquet and champagne. I will have covered over 2200 miles, and the following states: North Dakota, Minnesotta, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine.
Maine is beautiful and scenic. And, very hilly. We climbed a total of 3600 ft and descended a total of 3600 ft. Up and down, all day long. Whew.
We are in Bath, ME on a big bay and tomorrow the Atlantic.
My camera battery died mid-day so the pictures of today;s ride are few.
We passed a field of sunflowers and took pictures.
Tomorrow is our last full day of riding, 86 miles and it is suppose to rain. So, we'll see what happens.
I feel such a sense of accomplishment having made this journey. It's incredible what can be accomplished just by simply keeping pedaling, albeit day after day after day.
All journeys are best with kind like minded companions. Jan and Robin are that for me as are most of the women on this bicycling odyssey.
I'm grateful for having the opportunity, and the physical strength and mental tenacity to do this. It's not over yet, but it is coming very very close.
Greetings from Maine.
I had a bike problem this morning while still in New Hampshire. Somehow my rear deraileur cable became disconnected at my handlebars, and my front deraileur got twisted. I suspect my bike fell over and got put back up, but I'm not really sure. I discovered this a quarter mile up the road first thing in the morning when I went to down shift. I turned around, went back to have Michelle help me diagnose and fix it. We realized we needed a bikeshop full on mechanic, so off I went to the bike store to wait for them to open at 9a. Sure enough 9a the mechanic arrives, great young man, fixes my bike in 20 minutes and only charges me $15 for parts and labor--replaces the cable, adjusts the deraileurs front and rear. Super.
We put my bike on the van and they shuttle me up to my riding partners. Today's ride started with a 12 mile climb up Kangamagus Pass. Guess what, we caught up to Robin and Jan right at the top of the pass. I missed the entire climb! I wound up starting my day with a 20 mile 2600 ft descent. Wheee.
Shortly after the descent we cross the Maine state line. We rode silent back roads of Maine for the remainder of the day. One stretch was gravel and we had to walk for about half a mile. Oh well.
All in all a great day on the bike. And...I get to do it again, tomorrow. Tomorrow we hit Bath, on the coast of Maine. Looking forward to seeing the ocean.
Well, I've been in the mountains and at remote motels and have not had a reliable internet signal to get this blog done.
But, tonight I do and the update continues.
Basically, we have been climbing, have seen a restored revolutionary war fort, crossed into Vermont, had a day off in Middlebury, VT, participated in Jan Bee's induction into the Busy Bee Mail Club and had a surprise visit by Laurey Masterton.
Vermont is beautiful. The weather has cooled down and cycling is fantastic. We are into our last week and are extremely fit. Climbing is lots easier and much more fun when you are fit. It's been a great day couple of days.
I was introduced to the Busy Bee Mail Club by Peggy Kehew. She and her cousin, Barb, started the club when they were in the 4th grade. The philosophy of the club is procrastination, procrastination, procrastination. Membership has been limited to blood relatives and marriage, so Jan's request to become a member required a special meeting. Jan believed she needed to be a member because her last name is "Bee" and she has tons of bee "chotkchies" in her house, car and life. The meeting was held, and Jan was inducted. We had a ceremony. Barb, president for life was on the phone, and Peggy, Vice President for life is one of our riders. We convened in Peggy's hotel room. Jan received a T-shirt, some stationery and a fake-gold bee-hive pin. I don't know when I have laughed so hard. All members have Winnie the Pooh code names. Barb is Pooh and Peggy is Kanga. Jan's name will be forth coming, but not too soon in accordinance with the club philosophy (procrastination).
Laurey Masterton, third from the right, made a surprise visit to us in Middlebury. What is especially touching is that Laurey is battling colon cancer and is right in the middle of her chemo treatments. She looks great and is a fighter. Nothing could keep her from meeting with us. She was planning on doing the cross country
ride before she got side tracked with 'stupid cancer', as she says.
She's a gem, please put her in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy and total recovery!
Our blue sky Vermont day. We are in White River Junction on the Connecticut River. Tomorrow we are in New Hampshire. Day after...Maine!
I'm looking forward to seeing the ocean. It's cooled down and everyone is in great spirits.
Today we covered 64 miles in the Adirondacks, climbing and descending. We went by numerous lakes, crossed the Hudson River, and climbed some more. We were in the moutains. The air was crisp and dry. The pine trees smelled so good.
But, now let me tell you about yesterday. I awoke extremely exhausted, bone tired weary (understandable after 35 days of riding!), and an insect had bit my lower eye lid and it was itchy and swollen. I took a Zyrtec and proceeded to get out on the bike. My legs simply did not want to pedal and I was having a hard time making them go up and down. By mile 8 I was spent. I tried committing to doing the ride, but I really didn't want to. I was spaced out on antihistamines and wasn't thinking clearly. I couldn't get me head into the day of cycling. So, I called the van to come and get me. I kept riding and by mile 12 they had caught up with me and I sagged in for the day. Jan and Robin continued on without me. The van drove on to our hotel for the night in Old Forge, NY. I got into my room and took a nap. After that, I went to lunch and walked through the town, which had a few upscale galleries and tacky tourist shops. It was a great decision and it was so wonderful to spend the day differently than riding. It was a real treat. I slept well last night and awoke really excited to get on the rode with Robin and Jan and climb, climb, climb.
We climbed nearly 4500 ft, today. At mile 40 a big rain storm came through, we put on our jackets and carefully maneuvered down the hillside.
The lakes are beautiful, the trees wonderful and the climbing challenging, but doable. At the end of the day we are so confident to cover the last 7 days of riding which are a few mountain passes in Vermont and hills all the way to Bar Harbor.
We are still in the Adirondacks, and of course we are sitting in Adirondack chairs--or 'dacks as the locals call them.
Have I mentioned how beautiful the trees are in these mountains?
Tomorrow we are into Vermont!!
It is really going quickly, now.
I had no internet last night, as I and some of the group stayed in a very funky rustic fishing lodge, while the others of the group stayed in a quaint victorian bed and breakfast. Luck of the draw. Actually the fishing lodge was right on Lake Ontario and rather fascinating, but more about that in a bit.
Today, we rode for most of the day along the Erie Canal Tow Path. We had a friend from our -09 Southern Tier Crossing come join us and she showed us a way to do the first 50 or so miles on the tow path. Needless to say it was absolutely beautiful. The path goes from Lake Erie all the way to the Hudson River. It is crushed gravel and easily maneuvered on our skinny tire bikes. We saw blue heron and an actual beaver crossing the path and going into the canal. Check out the "more pics" link to see photo's along the canal and the cute towns we went through.
For the last 20 miles we left the path and started covering terrain of rolling hills: steep rolling hills. Hello climbing. Hello leg muscles. We traveled through apple, peach, nectarine and plum orchards. We stopped at a few farm stands to sample the fresh fruit. Delicious. Finally we came to our destination for the evening, Sodus Point on Lake Ontario. The picture at left is the lobby/entry area of the fishing lodge. It is open all year round and is especially popular for ice fishing when the lake freezes. You know, where the guys sit on the frozen lake in a little house with a small fire, beer and a whole cut in the ice to catch fish.
Robin and I stayed in this room. It had two sets of bunk beds, but we could not move around in the room if we both were in there. What a hoot. Can you imagine four burly fisherman staying in this space? We had our dinner up at the fancy Victorian B&B. Our friend, Jan, asked us if we wanted to see her room in the mansion. We both said resoundingly, NO.
And lastly, what every well appointed home needs...a 57 Chevy couch. Seriously.
And, today, we climbed more, which is the outlook for the remaining 9 days, ahead. Climbing all the way to Maine.
We left Niagara (YEAH!) this morning and travelled along the Erie Canal toward Brockport. For those of you who don't know the significance of the canal, here it is:
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of around 565 ft. (169 m). First proposed in 1807, it was under construction from 1817 to 1825 and officially opened on October 26, 1825.
It was the first transportation system between the eastern seaboard (New York City) and the western interior (Great Lakes) of the United States that did not require portage, was faster than carts pulled by draft animals, and cut transport costs by about 95%. The canal fostered a population surge in western New York state, opened regions farther west to settlement, and helped New York City become the chief U.S. port. It was enlarged between 1834 and 1862. In 1918, the enlarged canal was replaced by the larger New York State Barge Canal.
Today, it is part of the New York State Canal System. In 2000, the United States Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to recognize the national significance of the canal system as the most successful and influential human-built waterway and one of the most important works of civil engineering and construction in North America.
It was a beautiful day, low 80's, great cloud cover, rolling terrain (interesting things to see..i.e., not flat!) and 69 miles. Robin, Jan and I took a nice break under a tree this afternoon.
Greetings from a day off in Niagara. A handful of us were up early to catch another tour of the American Side. We went to an observation platform and then did Maid of the Mist. If you ever get a chance to do this at Niagara it is a MUST SEE and DO. We donned blue poncho's and road right up into the falls on a boat. It was mind blowing how close we got and the power of the water. The story of the daredevil's who've gone over the falls in barrels, canoes and even a jet ski are incredible once you see the amazing force and volume to the water. The first to go over was a woman, in a barrel who had her cat, Inky, in the barrel with her. Seriously. She was quoted as saying once out of the barrel, "now that should not be repeated". She survived with a broken arm, a few bruises and numerous scratches!
Our tour guide, this morning, had control issues and wanted us to march around the various sites in formation. Grrr. He had an affected sense of humor which grated on my nerves. I felt like I was in a forced torture chamber with a jerk. He was required to take us to a miserable coffee shop for the requisite snack stop and souvenir buying. Grrr. Why am I here? After being herded onto the bus--post snack stop--I realized we were one block from the hotel. "Stop this tour bus", I yelled. I ran up the aisle, told him "I am no longer having fun, I need to get off, let me out", which he did. Yahoo!
I am through site seeing in Niagara. It's much like Vegas. Great for 36 hours then the tacky tourism, poor service, and obnoxious attitudes of the vendors simply becomes too much. So, I have updated my blog, will shortly go clean my bike. Tonight we have another party/banquet at one of the gal's parents home. We ride out early in the morning, again!
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