Jumpin’ Jacks

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Today was another great day on the bike.  We had absolutely perfect weather with a cool start in Little Falls finished with a moderate afternoon.  Instead of us following the America By Bicycle route of years past we went on a route that took us on the other side of the river and on top of a ridge line that would give us views of the Mohawk River Valley.  The start of the ride had us climbing a moderate hill which allowed us to see the fogged in river valley.  Kelli and I were feeling really strong and decided to push ourselves to the first rest stop.  We kept a steady average of 20 miles per hour for the first 30 miles and pretty much maintained a quick pace for the rest of the day.  We were routed onto a bike path (paved) that took us along the Mohawk River and into a cute drive-in cafe called Jumpin’ Jacks.  We had a fantastic lunch of greasy foods and ice cream and then were treated with some home cooked chicken salad and cookies at our final rest stop by a riders wife.  We were lucky to have such a great bunch of riders and support on this adventure across America.

 

Below is a picture of me after we ate at Jumpin’ Jacks, I’ve gained a little weight.

 

After the final stop we pushed on to Lathem NY where we found our hotel and luggage waiting.  We had another feast at the Old Country Buffet and I made sure to have a couple of desserts to prepare myself for tomorrows climb into Vermont.  I can’t believe we have already made it this far and that in 4 short days we will be dipping our wheels into the Atlantic Ocean and closing the book on this chapter of our life.  It has been absolutely amazing and I can’t thank Kelli enough for finding this trip and ensuring we went on it. 

 

 

Semper Fidelis.

Nathan’s First Flat!

Yesterday Nathan and I biked 76 miles from Liverpool to Little Falls, New York and we had another first on the trip. Nathan got his first flat tire. Not bad considering we’ve traveled about 3,300 miles. He ran over a little rusty tack, but it was just enough to puncture through the kevlar of the tire and the tube. I think he was disappointed that he didn’t make the whole trip without a flat – just four days short, DARN!!

We also got soaked again today. It started drizzling at about mile 15 and Nathan said ‘If this gets any worse we’ll put our rain gear on’. So we kept pedaling and sure enough it got worse. The rain started coming down steadily but I noticed Nathan wasn’t even slowing down. Then he looks back and says ‘let’s try to outrun it’. I knew he didn’t want to stop so I reluctantly said ’ok, let’s go’. I think he sensed my hesitation so he pulled over and started taking his rain gear out and I followed suit. Less than a mile after getting our raingear on it really started to pour. In the middle of getting dumped on I looked at Nathan, smiled, and mockingly said ’let’s try to outrun it!’. We both had a good laugh.

Semper Fidelis.

I Broke The Bed!

 

Let me just say that today was a great day for biking.  Kelli may feel a little differently, but overall I think everyone really enjoyed our ride to Liverpool.  For the first 26 miles we followed the Erie Canal which was just amazing.  There were so many cute communities and spectacular views that before I knew it we were leaving the bike path for the busy roads of New York.  Kelli didn’t appreciate the dirt trail and the sandy points that cause you to lose control of your bike, but she agreed that the views were worth it. 

 

 

While riding into our second stop I noticed an aircraft flying low to the ground and realized that it was a crop duster and he was dusting near the road.  I hoped to get a couple of pictures of the duster in action so I stopped to watch for a little while.  The pilot must have noticed that I stopped on the road because he flew right over my head and returned and gave me a little show.  He even dusted the same position three times so that I could get a good shot of him.  Unfortunately I didn’t get him in focus but you will see that he was close and that if I had a better camera I would have captured quite a shot. 

 

 

Some of the riders were a little worried about the ride since the staff had to add 10 miles to the route because of the location of our hotel.  Once you tell yourself that there are no more rides over 90 miles and then have a 95 mile day it kind of demotivates you.  Even though we had 95 miles to cover before calling it a day, Kelli was feeling strong and pushing me to go faster.  We were climbing rolling hills at 18 miles an hour and cruising on the down hills at about 25.  Kelli’s knee was giving her problems but at higher speeds the pain went away.  Regardless, Kelli and I were in the front of the group for most of the day.  We decided to stop in a small town to have lunch and boy was I happy we did that.  Kelli and I split a hamburger and buffalo chicken and ended our lunch with two desserts!  Now we did share the desserts with Diane (another rider) but I made sure not to let anything go to waste.  Now you know why I haven’t lost any weight. 

 

 

After arriving at our hotel Kelli and I quickly got all of our luggage to the room so that we could relax before attending our nightly meeting.  As I was laying on the bed Kelli asked me to move over.  Well, I guess the two desserts were too much for the bed to handle and it collapsed.  It was broken to the point that the hotel staff just gave us another room instead of trying to fix it.  Nothing says “go on a diet” like breaking a bed.  Good thing I’m not a quitter and will continue my splurge until the end of the trip. 

Semper Fidelis.

The Countdown Begins!

 

We had our first ride in the state of New York and I must say that it looks very similar to Michigan and other states in the Midwest.  We saw lots of corn and soybeans, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

Our ride was 85 miles but I must say that it seemed far less.  We both really enjoyed today and found it easy to keep a fast pace for most of the day.  The rest day in Niagara Falls was much needed and we can tell our bodies were much stronger today because of it.  Tomorrow we have 93 miles (we thought we were done with 90 mile days) with a good chance of getting stuck in thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Below is a picture I took today to show that New York is not that different from the Midwest.  I have about 20 pictures just like this one taken over the last section of our trip through the Midwest.

 

 

Everyone in our group is starting to realize that our trip is nearing the end.  Just tonight we got instructions on how our last day will play out and it was difficult knowing that our last day was just around the corner.  Kelli and I have had such a great time on this trip but we are happy to be heading home and starting our new life in Minnesota.  Until tomorrow.

Semper Fidelis

Niagara Falls!

Yesterday we biked 71 miles from Brantford, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York. The day was great – a nice tailwind, flat terrain, and good company. We biked the whole day with Maio and Kyle since it was Kyle’s last day riding with us. The miles just flew by all day. Here’s a picture of us with Maio and Kyle at Niagara Falls.

 

 

The falls are amazing. Even though they were far away from us we could still feel the mist. Here’s a picture of the horseshoe falls at Niagara.

 

 

 

After looking at the falls for a bit we crossed back into the United States and settled into the hotel. Later on that night we went to the fireworks over the falls which were great. Just after the grand finale we saw another flash of light. For a second we thought the fireworks were continuing, but then we heard the rumbling thunder which told us the fireworks were definitely over and we should be getting back to the hotel. We didn’t even take two steps before a thunderstorm broke out and we were caught in another downpour. We ran the 1/2 mile back to the hotel but after too much food at dinner we weren’t very light on our feet.

Today we have our final rest day of the trip. We’ll probably organize our things and maybe even make a trip out on the Maid of the Mist later. At this point we only have one week to go. It’s weird to think we’ve already biked over 3000 miles and the trip will be ending soon. The last leg of the trip will be tough as we’ll be doing a lot of climbing again. Nothing can stop us now!!

Semper Fidelis