Day 50 - To the Ocean!

The day started out well.  Blue skies, cool temps, and Dunkin Donuts.  Did you know their "regular" coffee includes cream & sugar?  We do now!  And they're not just for donuts any more.  Breakfast sandwiches, muffins, and all kinds of wonderful things were found within these walls. Thus empowered by our mid-morning snack, our expanded group of Gardner, Phillippe, myself, Drew and Larry rolled through the gorgeous hills of New Hampshire on the last leg of our journey.  Of course, Don is behind the camera (thank you again for your many shots!).

We had about 50 miles to cover until we ended at a junior high school about 3 miles from the beach.  There we waited for our police escort while sharing hugs, taking photos, and telling stories one last time.

One fun shot was of all the riders from foreign lands who made the entire journey.  Here they are:

Phillippe from Israel, Josine from the Netherlands, Brian from Australia (he's the one who is riding his bicycle around the world--with over 32,000 miles under his wheels on this journey), Terry from Ontario, Canada, Ya-Ki from Taiwan, Fred from Ontario, Canada, and Yuval from Israel.  They did not know each other before the trip, and their bike riding experience ranged from expert to novice.  And they all made it to the end!

Photos finished for now, accompanied by the police car with its lights spinning, we hopped on our bikes for one last spin for a few miles down to the beach.

Down the road....

And then the ocean was within sight!

We celebrated with a dip of our wheels into the Atlantic.  Here's myself, Greg and Don at our initial dip.

We celebrated with a champagne toast, courtesy of Terry's family.  Here's a shot with Gardner, myself and one half of our Iowa tandem bicycle-riding friends, Ann.

Don and I were lucky enough to have our daughter-in-law Lilac and son Brian meet us at the beach.  Drew and Greg were also met by family & friends.  Sorry the camera wasn't at the ready to include photos of them in this blog.

We had to include one last shot of our meeting with the ocean.  Myself, Don and Drew did one last bit of heavy lifting for the trip. 

We've come a long way since the beginning of this journey in Astoria.  A lot of miles, yes.  But we have gained new friends, experienced new points of view from our diverse group, and visited new states and cities in both the US and in Canada.  We have met many in small towns along the way who told us their stories, were supportive and gracious, and offered their hospitality as we stopped in tiny mom & pop places.   We have faced challenges along and have found our way over, under, around and through them to get here.  It's been a life-changing journey.  Thanks for following it with us.

Day 49 - Last Full Day's Ride

Today we sadly ended our brief stay in Vermont to journey through the lovely hills of New Hampshire.   From Brattleboro, VT to Manchester, NH we biked, 77 miles of mostly winding, beautiful roads lined with Mother Nature's loveliest shades of green.

After only one mile, we found ourselves, with all the other bikers, at the "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign, the last state to be entered on our bicycle journey.  Because the sign was so soon into the journey, most of us were not spread out over several miles, as usual, but all together, awaiting a turn for this last state photo op.  Here's a picture of the waiting line, followed by one that was the reward for the wait.

 

Around the town of Antrim, we came across a very quiet lake and the dam/waterfall which formed the lake.  It was so gorgeous, we had to share the quiet solitude with you.

We stopped for ice cream (again) in the small town of Greenfield, and followed that with a regular SAG stop at our support vehicles in Francestown.  Our new friend Gardner was met here by friends who ride on Honda GoldWing motorcycles.  They were kind enough to let me sit on the back seat of one.  I found it to be much more comfortable than a bicycle seat!

The small town of  Francestown was established in 1772, and there are still buildings reminiscent of yesteryear in the town's center.   On one side was the former church, which stood next to a long row of stalls which were used to house carriages in days gone by.

Across the street was the Olde Meeting Hall, which was the grandest piece of architecture in the entire town.

Lastly, here are shots of the Oregon 4 from today.  Myself, Greg and Don at a SAG stop, and Drew on the road.  A perfect day!  The rain even waited 'till we were safely inside the motel!

 

Tomorrow - Last Day and Tire Dip in the Atlantic Ocean.  We will be met outside the coastal town of Portsmouth, NH by a police escort, taken to the beach, dip our tires and say our goodbyes.  One more entry to this blog, hopefully tomorrow after that last ride and event.

Day 48 - A VERY Up and Down Kind of Day (In a Good Way)

Today we left New York, of which we had become very fond, only to find ourselves in Vermont, which we found ourselves becoming enamored with very quickly......but before we go there.....a last goodbye to New York state.

Our day started out of Latham, NY, with our group moving between two bands of thundershowers to both the north and to the south.  They were headed due east, as were we.  The storms and our group never ran into each other, and the temperatures continued to be moderate. We crossed a very narrow section of the Hudson River and bid goodbye the NY by eating Dunkin Donuts at our first SAG stop and coming upon the Big Moose Deli on Route 7 out of Latham.  Both were memorable.  The first for feeling the East Coast state of being by eating the Dunkins.  The second for the display of various animals and the Blues Brothers at the Big Moose Deli.  Pictures say it all.

 
Elwood and Jake looked like they were ready to jump into their black Caddy and roll out of town for a gig!

After only 32 miles, we entered Vermont.  Here is a picture of Don, Drew and Gardner at the state border.  Greg was traveling so quickly, we missed this photo op with him!

From here, the ups and downs that we were traveling changed from constant, mostly subtle rolling hills, or "rollers", to two substantial climbs.   All in all, we climbed over 5,000 feet in the 79 miles traveled.  The great part about the two climbs, one out of  Bennington, VT, and one over Hogback Mountain, was that what goes up must come down.  We really had a lot of fun traveling down the other side of those climbs in our single file, cautious but speedy descents.

Here's the view looking down the hill as we traveled up the first climb.  It was taken by Don while climbing up himself .

Here's the view at the top of the mountain.
 

Here's two people very happy to be done with major climbs for the day!

Finally, entering Brattleboro, VT, located on the border with New Hampshire along the Connecticut River, we leave you with a picture of the green mountains along the river side.  Quite a beautiful day.

Tomorrow - Day 49 - Brattleboro VT to  Manchester, NH

Day 47 - Paradise Found!

Today was everything yesterday was not.  Beautiful blue skies, trees waving in gentle breezes, some climbs and the views that were the reward of those climbs, a tailwind........I could go on and on.  Today everyone was pretty dang happy for any variety of reasons after yesterday's long period of rain and the problems associated with biking out in it.

We left Little Falls, NY in the early morning, saying goodbye to views of its river, town and beautiful church.

We climbed out of town and up to the top of the surrounding ridge to have views of the valley we had just left.  Out toward the one side of the ridge was rich farmland.

The other side was just as beautiful.

While passing through the town of Ft. Plains, we were admiring the architecture of the buildings of this small town, when one of our riders noticed a new business with an interesting name.  It seemed a proper name for an electric business.

The next stop, though it was still before 11 am, was at Karen's Ice Cream and Produce shop.  Though there was a lot of lovely produce to be found, we gravitated to the wonderful shakes and (trying to be healthier) frozen yogurt cones that were ordered.  Here are the four Oregonians with purchases or just after purchases were consumed.  Very yummy indeed.

We wound our way along a beautiful bike trail that was one of the Rails to Trails projects.  It took us along beautiful corridors of trees and followed a river for miles. 

Along the way, we found a recommended place to stop for lunch, Jumping Jack's.  It was a fast food place that was part New England, part New York, and part Happy Days.  Folks went through a Disneyland-type queue as workers shouted out over several lanes, asking what our orders would be.  The orders popped out at the end of the counter by the time we had made our way there.  You could order anything from burgers to shrimp to clams and more.   If a tip was placed in the tip jar, the cashier would call out a word, such as "Subway" (don't ask - we don't know) and all the other workers would join in a loud chorus of "Thank You"'s.  It was a fun way to realize that yes, we are now in New York!  This picture was taken after the queue had gone down quite a bit and doesn't do justice to the organized chaos that we experienced, but it gives you at least the setting.  Seating was all outdoors.

The rest of the day is pretty well summarized in the pictures below.  A beautiful ride mostly along bike paths and into our motel by about 1:30 after our 74-mile ride.  Wow - what a day!

 Tomorrow - Day 48 out of 50!

Day 46 - After Over 3,000 miles, A Blowout of A Day!

We started the day on an exuberant note!  Fellow rider from Ohio, another "Don", was back on the road with us again today after being taken to the hospital for exhaustion and some annoying other problems.  After consultation and his wife flying in to be at his side, Don was given clearance and rode with the group from Liverpool to Little Falls, NY.  Here is Don's biking friend, Yuval with Don.

We passed through many beautiful small towns this morning.  One had a former church that was turned into a local attraction, the Greystone Castle.  Though it was closed when we ventured upon it, it looked like quite the gathering place for all former Knights of the Round Table while traveling in upstate NY.

We have passed through many areas where the Amish people live on our travels, and when we have passed a horse-drawn carriage, we were cautioned not to photograph them as it would not be appreciated.  In light of that, I had an opportunity today to have my photo taken with a Share the Road sign that we often see in Portland and other cities, only the picture on the sign is usually of a bicycle instead of this vehicle.

Now as for the rest of the day, the blue skies gave way to gray ones, and then to darker gray ones filled with rain.  And it rained for many miles.  The trouble with rain and bicycle travel on busy roads is that the road debris on the shoulders is impossible to see and is often picked up by the wet bike tires causing flats in the most unfavorable of weather conditions.  And that's just what happened.  After 3,300 miles without one flat tire, I had two within 5 miles of each other.  Both during rainy conditions.  

My wonderful team of guardian angels, Don (special Kudos to you!), Drew and Gardner all took over and while Don changed the flat, the others located the reason for the flat, patched the tire and made sure I could safely go out on the road again.  I was simply an observer with a camera, and I was very grateful for that designation.  It also got us all back on the road much, much faster and more efficiently than if I was trying to do the same job by myself (as my biking Beanie friends can testify to).   

First flat:

Second flat.  This one was changed in the loading dock of an ambulance service.  They were ever so kind as to let us use their cover to make the change.

So we are now counting down with just 4 riding days left.  Lots of hills are coming up in the next several days, so off to rest we must go.  Until tomorrow, signing off!

Day 45 - Singing "15 Miles, on the Erie Canal" We Make our Way to Liverpool NY (aka Syracuse)

We began the day's ride on a bicycle path that followed the Erie Canal.  There was a song that Don and I learned in elementary school, "15 Miles, on the Erie Canal" that was all about the drudgery of driving a mule pulling the barge carrying cargo along the Erie Canal.  There was no drudgery found there today, although the series of locks along the canal are very similar today to what may have been there yesteryear.

We came upon Lock 32 early in the morning.  It was marked with a boat made of pipes on the edge of the canal, and more official signs at the canal itself.

Don climbed an overlook to show a shot of the lock gates closing and water pouring in.

Here's a shot of Don taking a shot!

Lastly, we were fortunate to see a tug pushing a god sized boat along the canal.

Our course took us out along the highway that criss-crossed the canal many times throughout most of the day, but these early morning shots were by far the best.    On the road again, we passed through the town of Palmyra, which is where Joseph Smith supposedly had his vision that lead to the formation of the Mormon Church.  While the only evidence we saw of this was a storefront claiming that it contained the history of the Mormons, we did see evidence of many other churches.  On one main street corner, we found four beautiful churches, one on each corner.  Keep in mind this is not a very large town.  The churches:

Baptist -

Methodist -

Presbyterian - 

And Episcopal.  The Episcopal church appeared to be the oldest and made of beautiful stone.  While we were there, its bell tower chimed the hour and followed that with playing a hymn.  The church foundation said the original building was built in 1872.

We finished the day's ride with another bike path that traveled along the edge of Lake Onondaga and stop at the local Hot Doggery, Heid's.  Here's the lake, which we believe to be one of the New York Finger Lakes that are a travel destination for many.

We thought twice about including pictures of the things we had for lunch at Heid's, although we did follow that stop with one at the local produce market across the street from our motel.  As we are getting toward the end of the trip, the appetite is still quite ravenous, but we are attempting to taper on the amounts of ice cream, burgers, and other not-so-healthy things........starting tomorrow!