Me Myself & I

6-6-10 Day 9: Morrisville, NY to Auburn, NY: 54 miles in 5:20 hrs: Rt 20 west the whole day.

These are the kinds of days that are true character builders. My gosh, it had all the makings for a total washout, the kind of day where you want to just stay in bed.

Well, the weather guys were right on with the Sunday forecast out here because the rain came in about 3 AM and just stayed steady until about 7 AM. Funny how in everyday life you tend to overlook something like rain, maybe even shrugging it off as “just a crappy day!” But faced with the likelihood of riding a bike in it for 5 or 6 hours, you, or I should say I, tend to fixate on it. How hard, how cold, how long, how much? Yup, my world today revolved around rain, and this was to be my first day with the full Magilla – yak and panniers for a total of about 75 lbs of gear – and it was shaping up to be the worst day we’ve had since the trip started. And it was!!

So by about 8 AM the rain had tempered down to a drizzle, and I actually started to feel a bit more optimistic about getting the gig going. So I loaded all my gear into the bags in our room, then we ate breakfast and loaded up the van and drove back the 30 miles to my end point in yesterday’s ride. That gnarly westerly headwind had picked up again to the 20+ mph area – but at least the rain had ceased. And the sun actually broke a few times as we put the “train” (bike and yak) together. Bill shuddered a few times as he was holding the whole train up as I fastened up the front panniers. Yea, lots of bloody weight to drag up and down the USA!

And that was it…8 days of hanging together with Judy and Bill, all the riding, the eating, the sightseeing, the fun and the joking around. Over. Now it was just me. Me humoring me, me talking to me, me riding with me. Just me. Had to get it going. No long goodbyes. Gave Judy the kiss and hug, and gave Bill a big bear hug and off I went down the road. Great thing about this trip as opposed to last year’s Trans Can – I would be back home in about a week to regear and then take off again for the longer half of the trip to the West Coast. But it was refreshing to know that I’d see loved ones and friends in just a short week of riding.

So I got it rolling and it was like déjà vu, with that big unwieldy yak kind of rocking back there, the bike feeling like a total tank, and my legs just working HARD against that westerly headwind right from the start. Rolled down the road about 5 minutes and no van, and then finally there they go, by me to the west heading for Syracuse to the I-90 interstate. A brief wave to them and then silence – the the wind just howling away. And then the first climb, 8 min down the road and there it was, so I shifted into the middle ring. No good, too hard. Ok, looks like little cookie. Ok. But had to keep shifting until – yup, you guessed it, down to the easiest gear – the freaking pie plate in the back. Rocking in and out of the saddle from the get-go. Hell, I hadn’t done little ring in Canada until the Canadian Rockies. But here in the Allegheny’s of NY – BANG!

And that puppy took me 20 minutes to climb. But hey, the clouds had parted a bit and the rain jacket I had borrowed off of Bill came off and I was just riding in my short sleeved jersey. Into downtown Morrisville, and then another climb. And then a descent and another climb, and this went on ad infinitum. The climbing was just totally vicious. Then I went through the town of Nelson, and descended into a place called Pompey Hollow, and up ahead with this straight as an arrow climb. Just straight up with no switchbacks. It pretty much took my breath away seeing something so steep and a summit so not even in view.

I was in the little ring from the get-go, totally geared to the minimum, in and out of the saddle. I mean this thing was totally crazy. Again, another 20 minute plus climb. But it false summated several times before giving me my just deserved descent. Then into Cazenovia, and again, just outside of town, another monster climb. But as I was finishing this climb out I saw what looked like a rain front blowing in, almost like a veil of rain just up the road. Nope, it was fog, and at the top I was suddenly in the midst of a total whiteout. Temps dropped a good 15 degrees, so I had to hurriedly put the rain jacket back on. Add to that the maniacal headwind and it was like a meat locker at the top of that mountain.

So I got to the descent of this thing, completely in a whiteout, and started flying down the mountain, and the wind was hammering me, hammering me so much that I just had to put locked arms into the bars to hold the front end straight. And it was just crazy once I got to about 30+ mph, plowing into me like a bloody freight train. Took all my strength to hold my little train in a straight line. So this continued for about 3 more climbs and descents, the whiteout thing. By Navarino the fog lifted, but was replaced by a very cold drizzle amidst a gusting headwind.

By then I was hungry, but I didn’t dare stop for fear of chilling out too much to start again, so I just bucked up and kept it rolling down the road. Figured that I’d have to keep it going sands food for the entire day, with just the water I had in my bottle cages and the few energy bars in my pack. Forget the coke, the sandwiches, the warm soup. Just keep rolling. So that was the plan. And it was there that I decided that my destination would be Auburn – a mere 54-mile day. But at an average speed of 9.6 mph – a long, gnarly day in the saddle.

Made it to Skaneatetes, billed as the Eastern Gateway to the Finger Lakes. And there was the sign: 5 miles to Auburn. What a freaking relief. On my climb out of town I stopped at a pizza parlor to ask if there was a motel in Auburn, just to save myself the freakout factor of getting there and finding it was just a little hamlet. Nope camping areas at all in the entire stretch, and what with the weather, a motel sounded like a good way to warm up. So anyway, guy in pizza shop said I had a great choice of several places. Back on the bike, into the drizzle and continued to climb out of Skaneatetes.

Got into Auburn in just under 5:30 hrs, chilled, sore, hungry and in much need of getting the hell out of that weather. Found a nice little motel just across from……………Subway!!!!! Yup, last year’s world revisited. Checked in, went to Subway, got 2 footlongs – courtesy of my bud Jim C. from my fitness classes who bought me a $50 card – and came back to the warmth of the room to munch and sleep. Must have napped for 2 hours to shake off the cold and the lethargy from all the climbing and headwind fighting – my last count was a total of 9 climbs over 3 miles in length. Couple of hrs later I went to the mini mart and got a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia……Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Heaven! Just chilling right now and watching the B-Ball game. Tomorrow is a great forecast, so I hope to get on the road well before 10 AM as I did today and get in a good 80+ mile day. Late…….Pete

Day of pain

6-5-10 Day 8: Duanesburg, New York to Morrisville, NY: 80 miles in 6:09 hrs: Rt 20 west the whole day.

OUCH!! This was absolutely the hardest day of the trip thus far. Rain settled in last night about 4 AM and continued thru about 7 AM. With the pitter patter on the van roof I was in no hurry to get out there. Finally, a half hr later the rain stopped and we heard Bill tearing down the tent. So we packed asap and went straight to Altamont for breakfast at a super little WW2 motif café. Got back to the end of yesterday’s ride. I started alone while Bill took some pics at a place where they had this old Penn. Central train engin and memorabilia. And he joined me at about 8 miles in, where I’d already done two pretty stout climbs right from the gun. Judy did support for the day having tweeked her back yesterday. And let me tell you, this was some brutal, never ending climbing, and coupled with a 20-25 mph dead on headwind………God was today tough! We clocked one of these climbs at 14 miles of climbing with 2 miles of descent. I joked with Bill that we ought to see prayer banners at the top of that bloody thing. I mean it just went on forever, undulating with these little tiny downs and then a great big giant UP. I was in the middle cookie just to save energy for the day.

By 2 hrs in Bill and I were both in suffer city for sure. There are the Allegheny’s of New York and it was a good alternative to taking the Allegheny’s of PA – I think? No, PA is harder – I did that ride a couple of decades ago and it really kicked my ass. So this was the lesser of two evils in coming back west. But man, just no flats at all, and when you crested the top of a climb, I mean the REAL top of the climb, the wind was just wicked hard, blowing you backwards. We would have to stand up on the pedals and just lean over the bars to make any headway over the tops of these climbs as the wind had us totally at its mercy. The trees, the weeds, the flags were just bent to the east, ready to blow right off into the void.

Finally, after about 40 miles of these massively long climbs, the terrain mellowed out a bit – just a bit mind you, nothing to feel warm and fuzzy about. Bill peeled off at about the 4.5 hr mark, and Judy didn’t have it in her with her back problem to get on the bike and fight the hills and the terrible headwind. I got off the bike two times to pound a coke and have a sandwich, but tried to keep the downtime to a minimum because my average was at about 12.5 mph, after 5 hours of riding. It’s pretty humbling to ride for 5 hours and only cover about 60 miles. I mean you look at a map and that 60 miles looks like nothing.

But fight the wind and the hills by just grinding away in big gears – and you’re totally gassed in a couple of hrs. Nope, you just have to whittle away at it with gears that are manageable to push. When I would climb, I’d use a slightly easier gear than normal and just take it slow so as to not fatigue the legs too much. It’s kind of like recovery climbing. It’s slow – painfully slow, but hey, what can you do – hammer a Z4-5 rep up one climb…..and then you’re just totally done! So it’s slow goes it, giving up the speed in leu of putting in more time and staying in control. Can’t fight Mother Nature!

I had intended on doing 100 miles today, but by 6:09 hrs in, and just 80 miles at 4 PM, I conceded to Mother Nature and called it a day. I could have ridden another hr but come on……another hr of torture and get just another 12 miles…..Nope! My legs were totally gone by then. So we packed er up just outside of Morrisville and went on a 1:15 hr hotel hunt. We wanted to spend this last eve in a hotel to make it easy for me tomorrow to get my gear packed for my solo mission. I managed to dodge the bullet today with a weather report that had called for rain all day, and there were several instances where it looked like I was going to get shit on in a real big way, what with thunder and dark clouds, but I lucked out. Bill, by the way, did a magnificent job today on those hills, hanging with me the whole way.

Tomorrow’s forecast is even worse than today’s, calling for 80% chance of rain all day. I’ve been so lucky over these 8 days of riding with Bill and Judy, having gotten in 6 hrs each and every day. Will tomorrow break that streak? I don’t mind riding in the rain, but a deluge is a totally different story.

Well, got to get some sleep after hammering all day. Hoping for the best tomorrow……Pete

Cooking in NY

6-4-10 Day 7: Whitehall, New York to Duanesburg, New York: 97.5 miles in 6:20 hrs

We ended up camping up at Lake George, what’s supposed to be a premier Upstate NY destination. Well, in my book – and Bill’s – but not Judy’s, this place is the penultimate tourist trap, complete with Goofy Golf, water slides, bumper cars and more tourist shit than you can fully take in in a week’s worth of “camping.” The town’s streets of Lake George are lined with every crappy little souvenir shop imaginable – and guess where we had dinner…….you guessed it Lake George at the most expensive restaurant there – the Lobster Pot, courtesy of Miss Queen Judy.

Ok, so I talked briefly about that in the last blog. But how about our campground in the fabulous Lake George region….a freaking nightmare. This is like the campground from hell, where everyone is drunk and yelling; where campers drive around the camp circle like it’s the freaking Indy 500; and where pissed off girlfriends lock themselves in a car and their boyfriends beat on the car for 15 minutes yelling “Goddammit open that door” and where the stupid girlfriend eventually opens the door only to have the car alarm go off for several minutes. I swear this was the campground of Dumb & Dumber!

So we made it through the night, woke up and drove back to my end point in Whitehall from the previous day’s ride. Ate a quick breakfast at the Captain’s, a great little mom and pop place that looked like it was dying a slow death with today’s economy – we were the only patrons until an elderly gentleman came in as we were leaving. Matter of fact you can see how the current economic situation has affected the small businesses up in the Lake Champlain/Adirondack region as all sorts of businesses were OOB (out of business). Small motels, cabins, restaurants, outfitters, you name it, many were OOB. Very depressing to see so many independent businessmen and women not being able to weather the current economy.

So Bill and I started out this morning at about 8:30 AM, and rode a nice leisurely pace on Rt 4 through Fort Ann, Hudson Fall and eventually down to Troy. Now this is part of the lock system in NY that forms a 524 mile long stretch of old canal when coupled with the Ohio and Erie. The section we were along was the Champlain canal along the Hudson River, and it was very picturesque and made for some quite easy cycling on the flats. Couple that with the nice northerly tailwind and we were flying. The for an hour or so you could see the Adirondacks on the right side and Vermont’s Green Mts on the left as we were cycling in this massive flat river valley of the Hudson. By the time we got to Troy – goodbye mts.

Once we got to Troy we were in a whole different scene, a world away from the backwoods of Northern Maine. This was inner city with row houses and OOB businesses by the hundreds along the road. Very old and very depressed. Now there were a few nice, old sections of town in Waterford and Troy, but mostly it was pretty crappy. And from Waterford south, it was all inner city riding, dodging bad sections of road, trying to time stoplights without stopping, and dealing with heavy traffic – total culture shock for me who just craves the backroads and little sign of humanity.

Now we saw this chick in Troy, well, not exactly a chick, an old Harley Babe – about 81 years old – sitting out on a porch, and I goofed on Bill telling him “there’s your Cougar.” Now this babe had long grey hair down to her butt, was dressed in like these obscene hot pants and a skimpy tank to, with legs about 5 feet long, and she was taking a long, hard drag off of a cigarette. I mean she was a sight to be seen for sure. And the more I thought about it, the more I decided that she was definitely NOT the definition of a Cougar. Nope she was well beyond a Cougar. She was a Yeti for God’s sake! Yup, and I told Bill and we both started laughing so hard we damned near crashed our bikes.

We weaved out way through Troy, and it seemed like this place would never end, just one 1-way street after another, with a light every block. But eventually we did this long climb out of Troy and we thought we had dodged the bullet by bypassing Albany – which is what I totally wanted to do. So we met Judy at the intersection of Rt 4 and Rt 20, and Judy got on the bike and Bill took over say. And what do you know – the road started heading right into downtown Albany. I mean we got on what looked to be these ON ramps for the interstate, these bridges that towered over the city, and started heading dead into the downtown. I was cursing like a sailor at that point and poor Judy didn’t know what to think, since she had let Bill ride longer so that she’d avoid riding inner city. Now SHE was getting a massive dose of inner city. So after nearly getting taken out by two cars on those ON ramps, we got off in the center of downtown Albany. And the Rt 20 west signs just keep taking us deeper and deeper into the city. And at one point Judy though we had taken a wrong turn, as we were just meandering through dead center with no Rt 20 signs to be seen.

Then Bill passed us, and I flagged him down and he agreed with me that we were on the right road. So we kept riding, and eventually got a couple of miles out of the downtown and finally saw a sign for Rt 20 west. It’s like we were on Western Ave, and we asked a couple of people if we were on Rt 20 and they had no idea, saying “your on Western Ave that’s all I know.” Now I live off of Darrow Rd at home, and it’s also called Rt 91. I bloody well know that it’s called both Darrow and Rt 91. I’m no freaking Einstein, but come on folks?

Anyway, we rode another 5-8 miles and finally got away from the Albany/Schenectady traffic, which was dbl lane and just vicious on Rt. 20. THEN we had 2 pretty big hills to climb, and what with the 82-degrees for the day, and the humidity, it cooked us totally. The final time I saw Bill we agreed to stop at the Rt. 20/I-88 jcn and call it a day. Judy had gotten popped on the second climb, and managed to tough it out to the end. When we stopped we were both pretty done.

I had wanted to go more than 100 today, but we had lost a ton of time in Albany, so by 4:00 it was just time to be over. We loaded up the van and headed back to the east to a little campground at Thompsons Lake. And here we be, well fed from Judy’s amazing dinner cookout and waiting to get a campfire going. My total for a week of riding is about 640 miles. Not bad! Probably will take me another 6-7 days to make it back to Hudson to end stage one of the trip. Having a blast………pete

New York frame of mind

6-3-31 Day 6: Richmond, Vermont to Whitehall, New York: 90 miles in 5:32 hrs

We knew that we could be facing rain today with a forecast that was calling for 60-90% chance, and wouldn’t you know it, round about 3 AM this morning the rain began, and it rained pretty steady most of the night. By 7 AM still raining but not as steady as earlier. So we kind of took it causally in the morning, not really being in any hurry with the rain. Bill in the lento was good to go, and what’s more all of our gear was stored in there so we didn’t have to load soggy gear into the van. Decided to go back into Waterbury for a breakfast and kind of wait out the rain and look at the forecast. Great little place we ate at and I rocked out with the “Lumberjack” breakfast that had 2 eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and corned beef hash – what a way to start a ride! Took me back to the good old days of riding with Barney and Ryan in Quebec.

And wouldn’t you know it, the weather began to clear around 9 AM. the weather began to clear around 9 AM, and my net forecast told of a clearing day. So after jamming on Green Mt coffee and getting totally jazzed, we headed back west to my stop point in Richmond from yesterday. By the time we got there it was drizzling again, so I went solo while Bill and Judy opted to hang in the van and see how the weather evolved. I got a bit wet with the drizzle but nothing to really get a soaking from. Plan was to ride to Burlington to the jcn of Rt 7 south, and then head south to the Chimney Point ferry crossing into NY and the Adirondack Mts. So I rode solo the 12 miles to Burlington. And it’s a pretty cool city what with a major university up there.

The road into town, especially the last several miles was pretty crappy with little berm. But once in the university district and the jcn with Rt 7, things got much better. Bill joined me in town and Judy drove support. We had a very nice ride along the eastern shores of Lake Champlain, squeezed in on the left by the Green Mts and on the right by the lake and the towering Adirondack Mts. Between these is a sea of farmland that varies between dairy farming and AG farming. Very picturesque and unfortunately very socked in by cloud cover on this day. The Adirondacks to the west, tower in the distance – impressive scenery for sure. We rode down Rt 7, then south again on Rt 22A into Addison, and then southwest on Rt 17 to Chimney Point.

No I’ve been pretty lucky so far with respect to the wind directions, and today I was lucky again, with a strong tailwind out of the north, and almost All of our riding today was in a southerly direction so we could hold a great pace. Rolling through the Lake Champlain Valley at a brisk pace Bill and I were able to meet Judy at the ferry crossing within 3 hrs of riding. Now the ferry crossing was free, and just 15 min in time to go from one side to the other, and it left on the 15’s and 45’s of each hr. And as Bill and I were riding along he mentioned that we may be able to make the 1:15 PM crossing – and I was already pulling at about 21-22 mph. I honestly didn’t think we’d make it. But after about 15 min of putting it down, be damned if we got there as they were loading. The crossing was so short it was like an afterthought. And there we were, at the foot of the Adirondack Mts and in NY.

We changed over from Bill riding to Judy riding and off we went again, this time south on Rt 9N/22 to Ticonderoga. I mean there were place where we were right on the edge of the mts, with these steep rock wall right on our right side, and from there – straight up into the mts. Once in Ticonderoga we veered of onto Rt 22 south to Whitehall – and baby let the climbing begin. It was a 27-mile stretch of undulating climbs in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Judy did an awesome job of bridging back up to me on at least four big climbs, but they were definitely taking the juice out of her legs – and mine to!! And these were measly little ascents compared to the gnarly stuff in the heart of the Adirondacks.

So anyway we did 27 miles of these rollers and I was feeling pretty tired by the end of the ride. But did manage to get in 90 miles on what looked to be a total bust of a day. So we stopped in Whitehall, loaded my bike on the van and drove up to Lake George in the Adirondacks to go to a campground, about 25 miles to the southwest. Found a place called Hearthstone State Park, right on Lake George, and that’s home for tonight. Then did a quickie dinner mission to an expensive little restaurant called the Lobster Pot, this for Judy who thought I was going to be riding due south in Maine to the ocean. She finally figured it out that we were NOT going to the ocean when we were on day three in Maine, and heading to the west towards NH!! So the Lobsterpot was my way of treating Judy to a seafood meal for all of the hard work she’s done for us.

As a sidenote, Bill had a glass of water tossed on his torso by the waitress for the beginning of our meal so we all had a great laugh at that – he actually cracked a smile. All in all another good day and getting in the miles on my way back to Ohio for the end of the first leg of the journey. Tomorrow looks like I’m changing my itinerary and going with a route that goes straight across NY state rather than continuing to ride south to the Catskills and then to PA. Bill found what looks to be a pretty straight route through NY that will skirt along nearly all of the finger lakes of NY – Rt 20 west. So it’s on to Albany tomorrow and then west on Rt. 20. Late……..Pete

Hello Vermont

6-2-31 Day 5 Jefferson, NH to Richmond, Vermont: 100.5 miles in 6:38 hrs

Stellar day for sure. With a super forecast and decent legs today I decided to give it a good push to make the most of the a great day. The crap weather from yesterday had passed to the east and it was totally wonderful when we woke up. After a couple of corn muffins at the motel, I got on the bike at 8 AM dressed in a longsleeve jersey and shorts and started pedaling west towards the Vermont border. We went right over the Mt Washington access roads, and it’s a shame that we didn’t have more time to explore the area by bike – but on the trans trips you pretty much have to keep moving. Bill and Judy went to a Mickey D’s 7 miles up the road while I got in some extra miles. Within 30 min I was in Vermont. NH was shortlived on this trip, and too bad my experience this time in NH was that of a total pisser of a storm most of the day yesterday. There was a thick fog hanging over the valleys with a “smoke” hanging over some of the mountaintops. Felt pretty good after yesterday’s rain ride so my first 10 miles solo felt great. Just past the Vermont border Bill and Judy were parked and Bill joined me for a 50-mile section of riding – and it was just spectacular!

If you get the chance you just have to ride in Vermont, the mts coupled with the scenic farming country in the valleys is very beautiful, and every little town you ride through is out of a picturebook, with old storefronts and churches. This is quite the contrast to the stark, hinterlands feel of Northern Maine, where there was nearly zero farming and very little in the way of civilization – just the northern woodlands that stretch all the way to the Canadian border.

We climbed a lot the first 2 hrs, with nothing really off the charts hard, but long and just steep enough to let your legs feel that you’re in the mts. After the second or third climb the long sleeved jersey came off in leu of a sleeveless and we kept craking. Again, the scenery was stunning with these dairy and ag farms everywhere tucked between mountains. I can see why they call these the Green Mts. The city of St. Johnsburry is a pretty cool place, kind of a hip place for outdooring, and that was our first big city in Vermont. The temps eventually got up to around 80, and add to that just a bit of humidity, so we were working on the climbing portions, and I was definitely wiping and my mopping forehead up each and every accent. Bill did a super job of hanging on the climbs today. We made a boo-boo by riding on a restricted section of Rt 2, just outside of St. Johnsburry, on this gnarly middle ring 4-mile climb up the mountain.

We had missed an alternate Rt 2b route, and got on the main route that paralleled I-91, and as we were riding I had thought that I saw a sign that declared no bikes, blah, blah, blah, the signs you see as you enter an interstate. Then I definitely saw a second sign as we were climbing a mile up on this monster climb, and I was like “what the hell are we going to do when we get pulled over? I had told Judy to drive 10 miles up the road and wait for us. How am I going to explain that to officer man? Well, luckily we topped out and then the Rt 2b rejoined with Rt 2, so we were only illegal for about 4 miles. Hung at this vista point for a coke and a few pics and then down we went.

Now that was the biggest climb, but it seemed that each and every town was situated at the top of a small little power climb, so we had a ton more climbing in the first 50 miles. An interesting side note was as Bill and I were going through this one little town, where the houses are literally right on the road, this massive Rotwiler dog lunged out onto the road at me, and I mean all the way to the berm. Thankfully it was on a chain, and when it reached full length, about 2 feet from my leg, the chain went taught and this thing nearly broke its neck. I thought I was a goner for sure until I saw this thing damn near do a summersault when the chain taughted up. I laughed so hard I nearly cried thinking of that thing having enough chain to reach the road for God’s sake!

By 1 PM Bill turned the biking over to Judy and we took off for the second leg of the day, the first stretch to Montpelier, VT. We thought, just looking at the name, that we would do this monster climb – I mean Mont Pilier right – mountain? Nope, fooled us all. It was right on a river. And Judy lucked out by getting a section that was mostly flat to rolling in a beautiful river valley. We had talked about stopping at the Ben & Jerry’s store in Waterbury, VT, and not more than 15 miles later we were indeed in Waterbury. Cool place, cool vibes.

By then I had in about 85 miles, not quite enough for a full day, and at 1:30 PM too early to say done. So we rode the mile up Rt 100 to the Ben & Jerry’s factory and all bought some icecream to eat out on the patio. Everyone opted for NOT doing the tour. After some delicious, and totally overpriced icecream Judy and I headed back to Rt 2 West and continued to put in some more time while Bill did sag. Judy felt like *&^%$ after sitting around eating icecream and then jumping back on the bike, so she fell off the back a bit. Good thing was that we managed to get in another 15+ miles to end the day at 100.5 miles and for Judy to get in 39. Now we’re just 15-20 miles away from a ferry ride across Lake Champlain to the New York border.

We had to backtrack in the van about 15 miles to a state park called Little River where we could camp, a secluded little place just west of Waterburry. Very nice park with a leentu camping spot. No wifi thus far, so I could be posting this in the morning. So at this point I’m 450 miles in in 5 days. Tomorrow is another iffy day, with a 60% chance of rain, so I could be doing a ride very similar to yesterday’s. Legs, shoulders, neck and triceps are pretty sore, but I’m sure that this will go away in another week of riding like this. Then I should be “seasoned” to go a bit further, faster………I hope? I’m out……Pete

One state down

6-1-10 Day 4: Farmington, Maine to Jefferson, New Hampshire; 91 miles in 5:50 hours

Sitting in a little motel right now pecking away at the blog. I just stood in the shower with a beer for a good twenty minutes – because I just got done riiding through the mountains of New Hampshire in a driving rain. I was totally soaked, and when Bill and Judy stopped in Jefferson to pick me up, Bill was totally for a motel, and I’m sure Judy was pretty cool with it to. With me being cold and soaked – I was in like Dean Martin!

Ok, so got up this morning with a rain front having moved in. There was a light drizzle and the sounds of thunder. Forecast was for a total washout today in Maine and New Hampshire and Vermont. We decided to just load the van, head to the nearest mom and pop breakfast joint and eat while we waited for the weather to do something. Luckily, by the time we finished, the drizzle had stopped, so I drove us back to where I stopped yesterday, got my colder weather kit on – knickers, underarmor top and jersey and ear warmers. Was ready to roll. Judy started off with me and we road in and out of these little micro bursts of drizzle for about two hours. Judy did a great job and hung with me the whole time. Then Bill jumped in amidst a very grey sky and continued bursts of drizzle.

We were still on Rt 2 west, and the terrain in western Maine was kind of like foothills to the upcoming White Mountains of New Hampshire. But they were just long and gradual, some about 2-3 miles in length. There was nothing totally taxing so we were in good shape. After about a half hour with me, Bill got a taste of what the day really had in store for us – rain, rain, and lots of rain. Started out nice and steady, and I lost my cyclo computer due to the water skrewing up the leads. After about another 30 minutes we were soaked. As long as we kept moving it wasn’t bad – until we came to this massive road construction stop just shy of the New Hampshire border. We had to wait for about 8—10 minutes and I got just a bit cold standing there getting spit on by the weather.

When we got going again we had to go onto a dirt and gravel sideroad where we just got drenched in mud and sloppy gravel. Had two of those nasty little stops and sidetrips. At the New Hampshire line Bill bailed, and he was the smart one because all hell broke loose once I started riding in NH. Rt 2 narrowed to a 2-3 foot berm from the monstrous 6 foot all through Maine, and then the rain just started pelting down as the heavens opened up. Got through a gnarly stretch in Gorham, NH with a steady hard rain, but once I started climbing the northern vestiges of the White Mts, the rain came down so hard that I had to look down at the road, it literally hurt my face to look up the road. Rained so hard that I thought it might be hail, but nope – just a punishing rain. Topped out on a 3-mile gradual climb and this guy had pulled over, got out and yelled at me “want a ride?” I smiled and said thanks but no, and kept rolling over the top. Gave him a friendly wave as he pulled out and disappeared into the mist covered mts.

Luckilly the temp was about 59-60-degrees, or I’d have been in the hypothermia locker as soaked as I was. Now I had just grabbed a banana and a coke from Judy when Bill stopped riding, so I was running out of gas, and fast with the White Mts climbing sucking the juice out of my legs. But with all the rain I just couldn’t stop or I’d be shivering in a matter on minutes, so I kept rolling without food and rest stops. Just wanted to get in a good day on a really shitty day! Then another construction stop, about 8 minutes worth. Then I had to ride in another mud pit sideroad as it detoured off of the main highway, so I was just coated with more mud and sand. But the rain had subsided, so I continued to push.

I finally passed Judy and Bill parked about 4 miles outside of Jefferson, NH, and I yelled to just get me a sub and a Gatorade and meet me in Jefferson. The rain had stopped by the mountains were just covered in mist and clouds, so it appeared that I could get drenched anytime. Couple that with a sore arse, aching shoulders and a really tired neck, and I was READY to be done. At a little sandwich shop in Jefferson there they were, Bill at the side of the road taking pics of my mud and rain soaking ass, and Judy in the sandwich shop getting me a foot long.

Loaded up the bike and drove down to a little motel about 2 miles west from my day’s finish point. By the time I wolfed down the sub and a coke and we got to the motel, I was shivering from being soaked. Had to go in the motel room and crank up the heat, and then go straight away to the shower, shower off and then just stand in the piping hot stream of shower water and warm up. It reminded me of the end of a winter ride. Feel great now that I’m warm and clean. Another great day and super support by Judy and Bill. Kudos to them both. They make doing something like this so much easier. I have 4 more days of riding with them and then I hook up the yak and do the dirty – pulling 75 lbs of gear up hill and dale. I’m going to savor these next 4 days! Well, time to feed that little gremlin in my belly. Heck, last night after dinner, like a couple hours later, I pulled a sausage sandwich out of the cooler and scarfed that, and then we all ate this big watermelon that Bill had brought. Can you say: 6000+ calories a day and growing? Yup, the eating sessions are back on the high side again.

Hell I’m dreaming of eating while I’m riding – and that’s a sure sign of being on the road again. Late……….pete

One state down

6-1-10 Day 4: Farmington, Maine to Jefferson, New Hampshire; 91 miles in 5:50 hours

Sitting in a little motel right now pecking away at the blog. I just stood in the shower with a beer for a good twenty minutes – because I just got done riiding through the mountains of New Hampshire in a driving rain. I was totally soaked, and when Bill and Judy stopped in Jefferson to pick me up, Bill was totally for a motel, and I’m sure Judy was pretty cool with it to. With me being cold and soaked – I was in like Dean Martin!

Ok, so got up this morning with a rain front having moved in. There was a light drizzle and the sounds of thunder. Forecast was for a total washout today in Maine and New Hampshire and Vermont. We decided to just load the van, head to the nearest mom and pop breakfast joint and eat while we waited for the weather to do something. Luckily, by the time we finished, the drizzle had stopped, so I drove us back to where I stopped yesterday, got my colder weather kit on – knickers, underarmor top and jersey and ear warmers. Was ready to roll. Judy started off with me and we road in and out of these little micro bursts of drizzle for about two hours. Judy did a great job and hung with me the whole time. Then Bill jumped in amidst a very grey sky and continued bursts of drizzle.

We were still on Rt 2 west, and the terrain in western Maine was kind of like foothills to the upcoming White Mountains of New Hampshire. But they were just long and gradual, some about 2-3 miles in length. There was nothing totally taxing so we were in good shape. After about a half hour with me, Bill got a taste of what the day really had in store for us – rain, rain, and lots of rain. Started out nice and steady, and I lost my cyclo computer due to the water skrewing up the leads. After about another 30 minutes we were soaked. As long as we kept moving it wasn’t bad – until we came to this massive road construction stop just shy of the New Hampshire border. We had to wait for about 8—10 minutes and I got just a bit cold standing there getting spit on by the weather.

When we got going again we had to go onto a dirt and gravel sideroad where we just got drenched in mud and sloppy gravel. Had two of those nasty little stops and sidetrips. At the New Hampshire line Bill bailed, and he was the smart one because all hell broke loose once I started riding in NH. Rt 2 narrowed to a 2-3 foot berm from the monstrous 6 foot all through Maine, and then the rain just started pelting down as the heavens opened up. Got through a gnarly stretch in Gorham, NH with a steady hard rain, but once I started climbing the northern vestiges of the White Mts, the rain came down so hard that I had to look down at the road, it literally hurt my face to look up the road. Rained so hard that I thought it might be hail, but nope – just a punishing rain. Topped out on a 3-mile gradual climb and this guy had pulled over, got out and yelled at me “want a ride?” I smiled and said thanks but no, and kept rolling over the top. Gave him a friendly wave as he pulled out and disappeared into the mist covered mts.

Luckilly the temp was about 59-60-degrees, or I’d have been in the hypothermia locker as soaked as I was. Now I had just grabbed a banana and a coke from Judy when Bill stopped riding, so I was running out of gas, and fast with the White Mts climbing sucking the juice out of my legs. But with all the rain I just couldn’t stop or I’d be shivering in a matter on minutes, so I kept rolling without food and rest stops. Just wanted to get in a good day on a really shitty day! Then another construction stop, about 8 minutes worth. Then I had to ride in another mud pit sideroad as it detoured off of the main highway, so I was just coated with more mud and sand. But the rain had subsided, so I continued to push.

I finally passed Judy and Bill parked about 4 miles outside of Jefferson, NH, and I yelled to just get me a sub and a Gatorade and meet me in Jefferson. The rain had stopped by the mountains were just covered in mist and clouds, so it appeared that I could get drenched anytime. Couple that with a sore arse, aching shoulders and a really tired neck, and I was READY to be done. At a little sandwich shop in Jefferson there they were, Bill at the side of the road taking pics of my mud and rain soaking ass, and Judy in the sandwich shop getting me a foot long.

Loaded up the bike and drove down to a little motel about 2 miles west from my day’s finish point. By the time I wolfed down the sub and a coke and we got to the motel, I was shivering from being soaked. Had to go in the motel room and crank up the heat, and then go straight away to the shower, shower off and then just stand in the piping hot stream of shower water and warm up. It reminded me of the end of a winter ride. Feel great now that I’m warm and clean. Another great day and super support by Judy and Bill. Kudos to them both. They make doing something like this so much easier. I have 4 more days of riding with them and then I hook up the yak and do the dirty – pulling 75 lbs of gear up hill and dale. I’m going to savor these next 4 days! Well, time to feed that little gremlin in my belly. Heck, last night after dinner, like a couple hours later, I pulled a sausage sandwich out of the cooler and scarfed that, and then we all ate this big watermelon that Bill had brought. Can you say: 6000+ calories a day and growing? Yup, the eating sessions are back on the high side again.

Hell I’m dreaming of eating while I’m riding – and that’s a sure sign of being on the road again. Late……….pete