Day 46 - Brattleboro, VT to Burlington, MA - 86 miles

Just the stats: 86 miles, 15.8 MPH average. Cumulative 3,426 miles. No flats today, nine in total. Sunny and warm with hazy blue sky's, 71 to 92 degrees. We climbed 6,068 feet today and descended 6,133 feet through the mountains of Vermont, New Hampshire and into Massachusetts.

Today was an exciting day. Our last ride and the anticipation that has led up to this day - I could hardly control myself. Everyone got on their bikes and flew up the road. There was no holding back today because tomorrow was another ride. This was essentially our last ride of the tour. Yes, we do ride 18 miles to the beach tomorrow to dip our wheels in the Atlantic, but it will be somewhat like the last day of the Tour de France where it's just a slow paced party/parade. Everyone is really looking forward to it!

Today was hot and muggy but I love the heat and it felt great to me. This morning our ride crossed the Connecticut River soon after we left our hotel and entered New Hampshire. We had very hilly riding, with some of the steepest climbs of the ride. We saw 9 % to as much as 16% grades for about 20 +/- miles of this mornings ride in New Hampshire. It was really quite beautiful, though. Around 10:30 am, at mile 42, I crossed into Massachusetts. I rode alone most of the day and enjoyed the time to reflect, be happy and just ride.

There was quite a bit of traffic in some sections of the ride, but then thankfully we were directed to a less traveled road that brought us most of the way to Burlington. There were hugs and congratulations all around when we arrived here. I think we're all ready for a party!

Day 46 - Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT 84 miles

Just the stats: 84 miles, 14.8 MPH average. Cumulative 3,340 miles. No flats today, nine in total. Sunny, really hot and really muggy with hazy blue sky's, 73 to 98 degrees. We climbed 7,143 feet today and descended 7,162 feet through the mountains of Vermont!

Today's ride was difficult but fun. Shortly after beginning our ride we crossed the Hudson River and began a steep climb through Troy, NY. Then we meandered on back roads on rolling country roads. We crossed the border into Vermont and immediately started more hills and longer climbs. We rode through Bennington, VT, a very charming old town that was the site of a famous battle in the Revolutionary War.

After leaving Bennington, next up came the 7.5 mile climb to the summit of the Green Mountain that was a real serious climb. The steepest grade was over 2.5 miles long where I was in my three lowest gears the whole time. After that steep climb, we then continued on a rolling uphill climb, eventually descending into Wilmington. From here we began our second major climb of the day which took us four miles up to Hogback Mountain. The payoff was a nice view that takes in the intersecting corners of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

From here we descended into Brattleboro. This we a fun ride because what goes up, does go down. It was a nine mile descent which at times took me into speeds I haven't gone before. I found my comfort limit was 46.4 mph. Anything over 45 was a little scary so I had to use my brakes.

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Tomorrow we have another 6,000 foot climbing day, 87 miles, through Vermont, into New Hampshire and then onto Massachusetts. This will be our last long ride. Friday is a short 18 mile trip to the beach. Then I go home, I can't wait. It's time to move on.

Day 46 - Little Falls, NY Albany, NY - 70 miles

Just the stats: 70 miles, 18.4 MPH average. Cumulative 3,256 miles. One flat today, nine in total. Sunny with blue sky's again today, 70 to 94 degrees. The scenery was still much the same with rolling hills, green fields and quaint little towns. Lots of strawberry patches and fragrant honeysuckle lined the way too.

Today's ride was relatively short at 72 miles and had only 1500 feet of elevation so we started late. At 8:00 a.m. we were off and riding.





We had another beautiful day. The faster riders jumped out early and hard. I was less than a minute behind them but if you aren't there when the bus leaves, you won't be able to catch them on your own. So I watched them disappear over the next hill.




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We have one tandem bike on this trip. It is a husband and wife team and they are strong riders. They came by me at about mile five and I jumped in behind them catching their draft. They were OK with me on their wheel. So, two strong riders on one bike equals a fast pull. We were averaging 21 mph's for 25+ miles. Man that was a fun ride. Believe you me, I was thanking the Lord that I have grown to be strong enough to keep up and getting a good tail wind was a thrilling added blessing. Needless to say, we caught and passed the "big dogs" around mile 15. A couple of riders tried to jump on but we were moving so fast they couldn't quite match our pace before we pulled away.
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All was going well with this ride when the tandem decided to stop at a gas station for a break. I went on alone - now the lead rider, heading for the first SAG stop at mile 33.6 just half a mile away. Well wouldn't you know it, with visions of me signing in first at the SAG, taking a picture of the sign-in sheet with just my name on it and bam! A flat tire less than a half mile from the SAG stop. The lead riders came by me joyfully seeing the young upstart put in his place.
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It was fun while it lasted. I have grown to love the speed. Will McKinzie, watch out when I get home and we go on our first ride together.
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So, after my little bit of fun, I settled down and rode at a much more relaxed pace. Today was designed as a recovery day before our big climbing day tomorrow. It was prudent of me to settle down, so I did.
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In general, New York state has been a very friendly place to ride, with smooth roads, wide shoulders, and nice scenery. Today ended up being just an easy day to enjoy being outside.

Our ride carried us down the Mohawk River valley which offered many nice views of the river and surrounding farmlands.
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Can you believe there are only two more riding days? Tomorrow should be one of the more difficult rides of the entire trip as we will climb more than 6000 feet. I am looking at this ride as my "final test". It should be very challenging. At one point our Que sheet says we have a 7 mile climb and then a 2.4 mile STEEP climb. After crossing into Vermont it says we should use caution on the descent because of tight curves. We had days like this out west so I know I can do it. I will let you know how it goes!
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Footnote: I have received two care packages in the last few days with really nice notes of encouragement. The first was delicious fresh home grown New York strawberries from Jim and Julie Kikkert. Jim is a good singer, he has sung many times at our church - Julie is Rita Schaffer's sister, Jim and Julie live in NY.
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Then tonight, Mike and Rita Schaffer sent me some nuts. They said they were in Ocean City last weekend and when they passed the "Nut House", they thought of me. Nice.

Day 45 - Syracuse, NY to Little Falls, NY - 78 miles

Just the stats: 78 miles, 17.6 MPH average. Cumulative 3,186 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny with blue sky's again today, 70 to 89 degrees. Rolling hills.

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Another wonderful day of riding in New York. I didn't anticipate that this would be one of the prettiest and nicest areas on the tour. It was a warm (high 80's) day, but clear skies and smooth roads. We rode along the Mohawk River, Erie Canal, and the Barge Canal a number of times.

The picture below is what they call the littlest church.

We are staying in Little Falls (yes, it has falls, and they are VERY little!), it is right on the Erie barge canal in a valley along the Mohawk River making it a very pretty little town. Right here there are a series of active locks that connect it to the Barge Canal.

I arrived in town at 1:00, so I had plenty of time

to clean up and then explore the old downtown, eat lunch with a group of riders and walk along the canal. Our hotel provided a happy hour for us, and free alcohol is always very popular with this group. Instead of happy hour, I enjoyed a nappy hour and a half!!

We have a short day tomorrow (69 miles) so we'll be leaving an hour later than normal, allowing us to sleep in (until 6:30 AM!). Sweet!

Day 44 - Canandaigua, NY to Syracuse, NY - 70 miles

Just the stats: 70 miles, 17.9 MPH average. Cumulative 3,108 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny with blue sky's all day, 58 to 73 degrees. Rolling hills, 3,000 feet of climbing - just an easy Sunday jaunt in the country. Like I said before, New York is a pretty state.

We had another beautiful day for riding with a cool start, and lots of cloud cover that burned off around eleven, then the sky was bright blue. The temperature was perfect for cycling, it seemed like more of a "vacation day" since we left one hour later today (8 am) because it was a shorter mileage day. The late start just suits me just fine.

For the first 20 miles or so I rode in a 10 person pace line through gently rolling countryside. We seem to be forming up as a group more to ride together than for speed. We pedaled past several of the Finger Lakes, specifically Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake. Seneca Lake had several miles of attractive city parks surrounding its northern end.

The next 40 miles had some moderate climbing, with some short grades over 8%, but nothing to make it unpleasant. Most of the climbs were long and steady. The next 2 days we have less climbing and shorter rides (78 and 68 miles) which will be nice.

I was the first rider in the hotel at 12:45 pm. Since it was a shorter ride and it was such a great day, I just kept riding. So, I guess it's time for a Sunday afternoon nap.

Day 43 - Hamburg, NY to Canandaigua, NY - 97 miles

Just the stats: 97 miles, 18.2 MPH average. Cumulative 3,038 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny with blue sky's all day, 53 to 71 degrees. More hills today, lots of climbing - 4,000 feet of climbing today.





Today was a good riding day. My favorite conditions, smooth roads, lots of hills to climb (and fly down too!), no headwinds and even some tailwinds. I jumped on my big gear early and just kept riding. New York has the best roads in the nation - big wide shoulders and smooth pavement. No other state is even close, at least with the roads we've been on so far.

So, we had another beautiful day today, complete with blue skies, cool temperatures, smooth roads, and gorgeous scenery. This part of New York is really beautiful, it has rolling hills, small farms, and small towns. We saw fields of grapes - lots of grapes, corn, wheat, soybeans and other crops.

The milestone for today was that we passed the 3,000 mile mark of our trip!



















We are now in the Finger Lakes area. We are staying at Canandaigua Lake tonight. As I said, this is a real pretty part of the country and I plan to bring Yvonne back here for a visit.

We have only five riding days left. The next three days are relatively short 78, 69, and 76 miles. I don't want to jinx myself but they should be good riding days. The last two days are huge climbing days and have been told that they could be the toughest days of the whole trip, we'll see about that.

We are getting near the end and I can smell the barn.

Day 42 - Erie PA to Hamburg, NY - 78 miles

Just the stats: 80 miles, 15.2 MPH average. Cumulative 2,945 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny with blue sky's all day, 51 to 68 degrees. Rolling terrain.

The ride to Hamburg, NY wasn't as easy as I expected. We had strong and consistent 10 to 20 mph headwinds all day. I got another late start so I had no one to ride with all day. Headwinds and no help from a pace line made it a long boring day. The ride was nice, it was along Lake Erie, which was about 1/4 mile away, we followed the coastline pretty much the entire day. There were many good views of it's white-caps.

At mile 19 of today's ride, we entered New York state. We did also have good smooth roads with shoulders all day today.

We passed a historic lighthouse and miles of vineyards on the right and beach houses on the left for large portions of the day.

Day 40 - Niles, OH to Erie PA - 92 miles

Just the stats: 92 miles, 16.2 MPH average, rolling hills. Cumulative 2,863 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny, 57 to 72 degrees, cooler day today. Rolling terrain.

Yesterday evening we were hit with a bad thunderstorm in Niles, Ohio. This morning we awoke to a beautiful day. The sky was bright blue and the temperature was a cool 57 degrees. It was a nice ride today, complete with smooth roads, sunny skies, cool weather, and beautiful scenery. What could be better? We did have a headwind for the first 60 miles, but four of us riders pulled together in a pace line for 60 + miles so all went well.

Yesterday and today we saw Amish families at their homes and in buggies. The children were very friendly and waved to us. Today we rode through more small farms and rural areas, crossed our 10th state line (we are now in PA), cycled by vineyards, and had our first view of Lake Erie.

We stopped for lunch at an old-fashioned root beer stand - the "White Turkey Drive Inn" in

Conneaut, Ohio SR 20E - the highlight of the day. I enjoyed their speciality, a pulled turkey sandwich and naturally I washed it down with a large root beer float which was served in a huge frozen mug with about 5" of soft ice cream on top. The bill $6.28. What a deal! This place was first opened in 1952 and hasn't changed since it first opened.

We're staying at a downtown hotel right in the heart of Erie. My first order of business on arriving at 2:30 PM (after a recovery sandwich at Subway and showering) was to go to a laundromat. It was about six blocks from the hotel. We had dinner at 6 PM and I was in bed by 9:30.

I am really happy to have a rest day tomorrow as the last five days have been high mileage and my butt needs a break!

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I am writing this on my rest day in Erie. The most strenuous thing I did today on this rest day was clean my bike. The second most strenuous was getting out of bed from my second nap! I made phone calls and wrote the last two days blogs up.

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Tomorrow we ride an easy 78 miles to Hamburg, NY riding close to Niagara Falls. I can't believe it that we are in our last seven days of riding. Goose bumps again. Hope you enjoyed this ride half as much as I did riding it. Pedal, pedal, pedal - miss you Yvonne, Anne and Bob - looking forward to the cruise.

Day 39 - Wooster, OH to Niles, OH - 98 miles

I didn't take many pictures today. I was more focused on the ride.

Just the stats: 98 miles, 15.2 MPH average, rolling hills. Cumulative 2,771 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny, 68 to 89 degrees, cooler day today. Rolling terrain, easier hills.

Today we continued on our journey through Ohio's back roads seeing small farms and lots of rural areas with small towns. We skirted the suburbs outside of Canton. More hills, lots of curves, and a route sheet that kept us on our toes all day to make all of the many twists and turns. As the ride went on the road flattened out and I was in my drops for long stretches. The wind was our friend today so I was cruising down the road going 20, 21 and 22 mph at times.

This is our third 100 mile day in a row so I was glad to get into it and stay focused.

In the morning we stopped at fudge shop in Canal Fulton (a small town). I had an apple fritter and coffee, which lifted my spirits and helped power me over a couple of hills.

It was cloudy for most of the day, so that helped to moderate the heat . We were sprinkled on a few times in the morning, that felt kind of refreshing! At the second SAG we learned it was raining 10 miles back. I decided to head out and try to beat the weather. It started sprinkling but nothing heavy. I went pedal to the medal for 22 miles to the hotel. It was fun AND I beat the weather.

No more Garmin info for the rest of the trip. The rough roads, especially from the past few days, beat my Garmin to death. I have to send it back get a replacement.

Day 38 - Marysville, OH to Wooster, OH - 103 miles

Just the stats: 103 miles, 14.9 MPH average, rolling hills. Cumulative 2,673 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny, 71 to 96 degrees, 88% humidity - hot weather is here. Rolling terrain, lots of very steep hills - a beautiful ride through farmland and small picturesque towns.

We climbed 5,347 feet and descended 5,267 feet. That's a lot of climbing.

This was one a very challenging riding day. The roads were terrible, the roughest roads we have had this whole trip, the highest humidity, and the steepest hills all in the same 100 mile day. The hills in the last 22 miles were so steep, they were almost un-rideable.

On the other hand, I will remember the fun I had swimming on this day. You see, about 70 miles into the ride as I was riding alone along side of a river, I found the perfect spot - a swimming hole complete with a rope swing!

I didn't hesitate. I stopped, went down to the rivers edge, took off all my clothes but my riding shorts, dove in and had a ball. Along came my buddy Terry and in a flash, he was in the water too.

We came all the way across America to find this spot right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The water was great. Terry and I splashed around and swung on the rope for 30-40 minutes.

As you can see it is the perfect swimming hole. The tree with the steps nailed to it, the rope swing. Check it out! Is this Tom Sawyer stuff or what? Don't you wish you were here?

Refreshed, we cruised into the last rest stop - fueled up and rode the un-rideable hills - brutally steep and the road was so rough that it jarred you right to pieces. You would start up one of these hills under the blazing sun and by the time you got to the top your heart rate was just pounding in your ears, and the sweat was just running off. It didn't matter, we had our fun for the day.

Here is my Garmin data: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3059481

Day 37 - Richmond, IN to Marysville, OH - 116 miles

Just the stats: 116 miles, 16.2 MPH average, flat to rolling hills. Cumulative 2,570 miles. No flats today, eight in total. Sunny, 68 to 87 degrees, 89 % humidity - beautiful day . Similar scenery to yesterday...farmland, corn, and woodland. More rolling terrain.








We crossed our ninth state border into Ohio early this morning. We saw low rolling hills with lots of small farms and acreages. The lay of the land is quite curvy and so are the roads, so this makes the riding interesting. We are in Amish country now (actually we have been for several days). I haven't spotted any of the black horse drawn buggies yet, some of the other riders have though.





The day started out cloudy and humid, later in the day the sun came out for a few hours then it got cloudy again. It was humid all day long. It was a nice riding day. The 104 mile ride took me 116 miles because I took a wrong turn! Not a good thing to do on a long riding day.





I made the wrong turn around 9:30 am. After discovering my mistake, regrouping and backtracking, I wasted an hour. I was the last rider to get to the first SAG (rest stop) at mile 42 - 54 miles on my bike!! They were looking for me, the other riders were long gone.










I had to finish the ride alone. Luck would have it, a local raider - Ron came upon me. He was riding with his daughter and son-in-law on an early morning fathers day ride. Ron and I struck up a conversation and rode together for about ten miles. He even invited me to his fathers day dinner, I was tempted but I had to press on. I took this picture of Ron right after I asked him if he was really my guardian angel. It sure picked up my spirits because I was frustrated with that mis-direction I took. Thanks Ron and happy fathers day.



















Further down the road - still alone but doing fine, I came by this little Methodist church. It was one o'clock and outside the church bells (really a PA system) were playing hymns. I stopped and listened to How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace and In the Garden. I had my own little church service right there, my singing was a joyful noise, out of tune but no one there to hear me.




After that, I had no problem finishing the last 30 miles.