day 40 (80 mi.)--up and down to george and champlain: i left joe's timber frame shop and headed for the border lakes between ny and vt.--but first i had to climb out of the hudson river valley. after muffins and tea at a gas station, i got to brandt lake and had to stop to take some pictures. here was a perfect example of what new englanders call 'peak color'! the sun out, the fog burned off, and the still water a mirror, i got an eyeful. this is what iconic means.
a 6 mile climb up about a 1000 feet brought me to a strange site at the beaver pond head waters--a stop sign. i envisioned dare devil kayakers being stymied... (i want to crop this pic and remember being able to do it in st paul but not now...? any help out there??)
a 6 mile down of 1300 feet left me at the shore of lake george in hague. this was exciting, vermont was across that lake, well the lake, some more ny, and then the outlet to champlain. i was getting close to home!
i took off toward crown point and the bridge across into vermont. at a maple products gift shop i looked at a map and changed my route after the women working told me it was supposed to start raining wednesday into friday. i turned around back into the wind and for a few miles had second thoughts as it was really whipping coming off the lake. but i hoped it would be somewhat behind me when i turned east toward middlebury. when i got to the bluffs--imagine the glacial runoff that carved these out--the wind was at my shoulder and less of an issue.
after middlebury and sampling a shot glass of porter at the drop-in brewery, i headed for east middlebury and the gap. vermont has six gaps--they even have a 130+ mile six gap ride that some people call fun (i don't suggest using a loaded touring bike). i only had two to go over to get home and started pedaling up, and up, and...you get the picture. it was a beautiful evening and the light was behind me shining on the river to my right and the woods all around. it must have been directly in the eyes of the loaded bike tourer that was headed downhill as he did not see me wildly waving him in for a chat. interesting enough, that was the second bike tourer today that blew by with out even a wave.
at one
point i crested a hill and came into the town of ripton. a quaint little
village nestled into the hills; i bet it is hard to get to once it
starts snowing. i stopped at a private bridge to take a shot of the stream and the cute little flower boxes...
back to going up and up, i saw a sign for a robert frost interpretive trail that looked almost as interesting as the setting sun. i kept going thinking about dinner with a place to sit and enjoy the views. i passed another wayside with a reference to vermont's most famous bard and picnic tables. but, right in front of this sign was a tiny one--"no camping"! i have honored such requests and knew that the bread loaf campus had to be close so i pedaled onward...and upward!
soon enough i started seeing the white houses with names like 'dragon's den' (which may have another frost connection) and 'earthworm'. then the ubiquitous yellow buildings appeared spread out along the road and extending back into the huge fields. the sun was lighting up the surrounding mtns, including the one they call breadloaf, and i knew i had to find someone to give me permission to sleep there--easier said than done. the first person i noticed was taking pictures of the color, and she offered to snap one of me too.
i finally found a guy down in the bowels of one of the way back buildings who said "sure...!" he sounded authoritative enough. behind me is the picnic table where i set up dinner and then my tent. the picture below was my own private gazing chair off to one side of camp. it was a most sublime evening...
day 41 (65 mi.)--the proverbial horse smells the barn: i was up very early. i packed and turned on my lights to finish the climb up (and up...) past the middlebury snow bowl and over the gap. going uphill in the dark is a hard pedal. the lack of perspective is quite disorienting and i struggled to get used to it. i also stopped and stripped down as i was sweating buckets. when i crested the height of land and the sky was starting to get a little light to it i noticed that the smooth pavement stopped. i dropped down into the gloom trying my best to avoid any cracks, bumps, rocks, potholes, animals...and a few cars. there is an expression that bikers use when they ride in the road, not just on the shoulder, and i "took the lane" for the miles down into the foggy valley.
i stopped in hancock at a cafe/inn that advertised breakfast--it even had a chalkboard on the porch with a child's writing, "come on in the food is great!" my luck the door was locked, but then again it was not even 7:00 yet. it was a bit lighter by the time i got to the next town. i stopped at the rochester cafe and ate a big 'last breakfast' of eggs and home fries, waffle with apple and whipped cream, and a very large, extremely sweet, cinnamon roll! yes, i had finally found that treat from my past, and it was as good as i remembered it.
the food and tea were so comfortable i sat and wrote a couple of final postcards to the 4th graders at canaan elementary school. when i took them over to the post office i met two senior citizens with their walkers. as i got on my bike and headed up the rochester gap one of them gave a cry of disbelief about riding up such a hill.
as i climbed, i thought of the folks with the walkers and how our speeds were probably much more similar than different. at one point i came out of the saddle and did the ol' zig-zag over to the other lane and back. looking behind me, i saw a woman coming up strong on her mtn bike. when she passed me i suggested we should swap bikes. she politely declined the load and pedaled over a rise saying something about she "wasn't going to the top either..." what, this wasn't the crest?
turns out, there were 2+ miles to go before topping out. the view was totally worth the climb--green mountains all the way up to canada mixed in with the low clouds. it was supposed to rain this morning and it looked like it might. i hoped to be down before the road got slick... it was a much smoother descent than the one that morning. so smooth that this time when i "took the lane" nobody needed to pass--at times it seemed close to fifty mph. nearly 6 miles and 1500 feet later, i had a huge smile--i remember twists and turns like that!
i passed through bethal and got to route 14 and the white river. had to go through a couple of construction zones--one, a half-mile of repaving. nobody got too jazzed save for the construction truck that roared by be when he "took the lane"! stopped into the sharon general store and got two big cookies to have with 'tea o'clock'...from this point on, i was on home turf.
speaking of which, as i came out to route 4 from the rail trail i heard a "hey koby" from across the field at mascoma. the outdoor pursuits class was setting up tents. i took mine out and gave them a quick final test to see if they could put up a slightly different one with no instructions. they did so well i gave them each a granola bar! i re-packed my now dry hubba and followed the students up to the school.
it was a great reunion with teachers and students and i got to see quite a few folks. i even went to a speak meeting for a bit and then an elo where a student presented his summer work with crrel on radio wave transmission in the mountains.
in the back of my head i knew i had to head home at a certain time so i could unpack and clean up for pam! she had told me before i left that under no circumstances was i to appear with a big white beard. when i got to the house--which was unlocked, thank you--she had a little note on the whiteboard for me...how did she know i would be getting here today? turns out she saw the breakfast sandwiches--egg and smoked gouda on an english muffin--i bought in hague ny and did a little google mapping that gave her a pretty good idea. maybe she was the impetus to change routes back at the ny vermont border. she had also included her 'mice' count of eight--not bad for an early harvest.
i made quick work of unpacking and cleaning up and was ready by the time pam rolled in the drive. it was a treat to be home...
this is one of those rhetorical questions that going along the roads at bike speed constantly repeats itself in my mind. i thought of actually getting off my bike and picking up all the trash one hundred steps behind and one hundred steps ahead of where i parked--preferably at one of those little brown and gold bike route signs... the photo would have all the usual: bottles and cans (on one stretch i saw at least one oil container in every stream i passed--wtf?); fast food foam boxes and bags; various paper products; etc. but there was also enough of the exotic to wonder--maybe this just fell out of the back of someones truck: a nice wooden dining chair; couch cushions; pillows; a wine rack; various storage boxes--plastic and wooden; etc.
day 38 (120mi.)--upstate new york's little wonders:
i appreciated the quiet saturday morning as i left kaleigh's about the same time evan went off to work. a car or truck here and there, one runner on a side road, aside from them, i was alone out in the cool and crisp. a mostly clear sky promised a fine day of riding and if it stayed fairly cool, that would suit me. i headed east out of shortsville and through a couple of very well kept little towns. zig and zagging some, i actually worked my way back to rt 20--the same road jalil and i crossed ny east to west on--for about two miles. i can't say as i remember it except for a ny state fishing access point sign in the montezuma national wildlife refuge.
as i turned north after the refuge to get to rt 31 i noticed a couple of little lawn signs advertizing the montezuma aqueduct run / walk . when i actually got into montezuma, i saw a whole crowd of folks standing around the finish line. nobody was cheering yet so the runners / walkers were probably still out on the course. i took this photo off the internet, but the aqueduct looks really cool. i can imagine that when it was in use it was magnificent.
criss-crossing I-90 brought me into port byron where i found a part of the canalway trail--erie section . i hopped on figuring if the mules could work it, biking would be fast. turns out that over a hundred years of non-use has left it in pretty rough shape. the first mile or so looked like a canal albeit with lots of trees growing in and along it. i stopped and took a picture behind me and one ahead for a general idea of what things looked like now.
after this section, things really filled in and it looked like a stream running through a marshy channel. before we ever left i had read about biking the path but was discouraged by the amount of time on roads, some of them a ways away from the original canal. now i understood why. but, there were still a couple of really cool sights to see from back in the day, just highly scattered.
i passed a collapsed damn with some huge granite blocks in a pile. the actual canal was spilling into a stream at that point and it was hard to figure out how boats came and went with the blocks dividing the stream in two and the canal entering perpendicular to that...
a bit further down rt 31 i came to lock 51 where i stopped for lunch. there were two sides to this structure like lanes on a modern road. with the help of an info poster, i was able to envision how the lock worked and even imagined the huge metal gates opening and closing, catching and releasing water as needed.
i left the canalway path for a freshly paved rt 31 and crossed I-90 once again. from what i remembered of the maps, i thought it was the last time too. i noticed two loaded touring bikers coming toward me and crossed the road to chat. the husband and wife team had just started that morning, leaving baldwin which i would run into shortly thereafter. turned out that with less than an hour on the road the husband had already broken his front derailleur. i couldn't imagine not having at least two chainrings to switch between, but they were headed on for three more days.
in baldwinville i stopped at a tops grocery and stocked up on nature valley bars and a new favorite--breakfast biscuits. maybe i should have waited a bit as soon enough, i was into greater syracuse, complete with huge groceries. there was a wegmans and i remembered kaleigh's dad, ron, taking me in one for my first experience of the super fancy grocery store. i had just finished the nan bread that i got there, and thought about stopping. the heavy traffic and my fresh supply of granola bars kept me pedaling ahead.
i made it through the 'burbs' eventually and rode on toward the south shore of lake oneida. amazingly and wonderfully pleasant, the wind was mostly at my back. i was able to cruise along, quickly getting past the two 'ports' and one 'bay' and into verona where i picked up 365 to rome. i have always loved place names--being on a bike made them all the more fun. a week or so back i slept just outside of denmark and was now biking from verona to rome--in about an hour (from up against the italian alps in the north to down on the western coast of the mediterranean)--e stato veloce!
riding into rome i came to the fort stanwix national monument. it has an interesting history that i knew nothing about but makes sense given the rivers there and the critical "carry" or portage. 365 left rome to the east and i was immediately back in the country. i barely noticed floyd, but maybe that was because the sunset was so colorfully dramatic. i did notice the large fields at a school that seemed just the right place to camp.
i pulled into one of the parking lots and asked some folks running their remote control car if there were picnic tables nearby. they didn't know but suggested i use the bleachers in the fields. as i was pushing my bike over to one, i saw their car come around the back and heard the woman calling me, "sir..." she had found tables and come back to tell me! we ended up talking about my bike trip for quite a while--until the four-ish year old twins started getting antsy. the parents, jim and jill and the boys nathan and james, were really enthusiastic and jim insisted i have a half dozen granola bars...i talked him down to a couple remembering all the ones i had just bought back in baldwinville.
after a big dinner, i pushed the bike over to a darker part of the field and pitched the tent. it was a good day.
day 39 (95mi.)--i feel like i am back in new england: it was early but not dark as i made my way over the heavy dew on the field back onto 365. i pedaled east and soon got to holland patent a very pretty little town, with no breakfast places. i thought about walking around the graveyard and looking for some van beests but settled for riding around the center green to look at the twin churches.
nothing was open in next town barneveld either but as i started out of town i hit the hills that were going to be with me for the rest of the trip. the perk to all those hills made itself known as the sun burned off the fog and exposed the beautiful lakes and fall foilage new england is famous for. i had never been in this part of new york state and was excited to be riding into the adirondacks.
365 and rt 8 were going to be home for the next couple of days until i rolled into vermont. the 'map' had plenty more large hills, big lakes, and vast woods to go over, by, and through.
i came to the west canada creek as it wound through the town of prospect. sitting along the shore was a row of typical new england houses, their white contrasting boldly with the colored maple leaves and dark water. just out of town there was a huge dam built creating the 7 mile hinkley reservoir. the water level was low and i wondered if they commonly let it drop for the winter like they do for goose pond back home. i checked water levels on their website and saw that it is even lower today than it was when i passed by.
i stopped at a gas station-grocery store for some tea and muffins just past the picture above (the dam is immediately to the right where i took this picture). a local told me i would run into rt 8 just after the reservoir. the rest of my miles on 365 and getting onto rt 8 were where my thoughts started to focus on the trash on the roadside. it seemed so wrong that such a beautiful setting could be so wantonly littered.
i also met a group of four bikers out for a two day loop through that part of the adirondacks. i spoke of looking for the perfect site to sit and eat a big breakfast 2. they told me i was just about to get there. a half mile down the road i would come to the west canada creek pull off. it was all they promised plus i got to say hi to a minnesota couple traveling by truck-camper and another couple from north carolina.
a good climb out of this valley into the black river wild forest gave me a bit of an idea just how big the adirondacks was--wicked huge...most of it was relatively undeveloped except for around the bigger lakes: piseco, sacandaga, and pleasant. the later had the town of speculator--another interesting name--which served me up late breakfast 3, a couple tasty scones. i ate on the shore of the lake as a very stiff wind dried my tent and fly.
well fed, i pedaled up and over a height of land past those lakes and zoomed south, downhill to where two major branches of the sacandaga river joined. rt 8 took off north east (to the sunny right in the picture below), alongside the east branch and for the next 13 miles or so, i climbed through some of the most beautiful woods i had seen, heard, and smelled so far. even going uphill for so long, it was a joy!
the downhill into bakers mills, and then wevertown, gave a clear clue as to which side of the mountain had the money. the roads were all freshly paved coming out of speculator, where the homes were well taken care of and there were plenty of amenities for the numerous tourists. after topping out of the sacandaga drainage and heading down toward the hudson river valley, one could not help notice the stark contrast. abandoned buildings and junk that rural new england seems to collect in their front yards lined the rough pavement and i didn't see anyone that could be labeled a tourist. in fact, it was kind of spooky that i didn't see anybody at all--maybe sunday evenings were always this quiet.
then, all of a sudden i came to a really happy looking park at a bridge over the hudson river. it was so pleasant i slowed and considered setting up camp in a corner. i pedaled past remembering all the times the law had moved me on from such public places like that. not far around the corner, i saw a bunch of random wooden timber frame structures with a great list of woodworking options.
even though it was late sunday evening, joe the woodworker-timberframer advertised, was in his shop and i dropped in to ask about a place to stay. "sure...camp anywhere you want!" people can be pretty generous. we had a good chat about building in general before i shuffled off into the dark to find a flat spot.
day 33 (130 mi.)--you need to sign that passport: june got gary up to say goodbye and we gave each other a hardy wave as i headed out the drive. i had an idea of riding out on rt 15 down to 46, both straight shots and getting me to port sanilac with no complications. but, i got attracted to the back roads and kept to them in, even taking a couple of gravel roads until i connected with deckerville road. whenever i went 'off map' i repeated the phrase "adventure cycling" until i laughed aloud.
i stopped to chat up a farmer digging his potatoes and he told me i had made a fine choice. "it's a smooth road--for the most part, it has much less traffic than 46, and it will take you right to the lake!" he meant huron, and i decided to check out his "for the most part" as far as smoothness went. considering practically no cars had passed me so far, i knew his second point was bang on.
as i went along, i saw these large arms sweeping in and out of the low clouds and it took me a few seconds to figure them out. i took a movie, but it doesn't much do justice to the vision (mostly because you can barely see the "arms")...it was engaging though and i think i spent five-ten minutes just watching them. it was all very jack and the beanstalk-ish.
i stopped in deford at tea o'clock and had a snack chat with the local grocery worker and a county sheriff. the grocery guy was really taken with the idea of an extended bike tour, riding roads, eating, and sleeping when and where things felt right. "i've never met anybody like you before!" while i suppose it is sort of uncommon for a sixty year old to take a trip like this, i highly recommend the experience with its freedom and possibility.
like the apple trees i found at the edge of a freshly combined bean field. as i tested the varieties looking for a crisp one--i found it--i saw a bald eagle up in a dead tree watching over a tractor discing another field. the eyes, the tongue, ears, skin, and nose, get up close and personal when you are on a bike tour.
of course rural nature plays a big part of a trip like this, but i also enjoyed stopping in towns and talking to people--even when they spoke little english. three indiginous people gave me big smiles and shrugged their shoulders when they couldn't give me any information on a restaurant or road beyond town, "i don't know." a young man served me at a bar/grill and we got to talking about his future plans to leave port sanilac. the woman who drove me across the sarnia bridge into canada and then the canadian officers were super friendly and had all kinds of helpful information. when i apologized for not having signed my passport, he smiled and almost sang back, "no problem sir, it happens everyday."
after a grocery stop and making my way out of town, i found myself on another "adventure cycling" part of the journey when i had to detour because of a bridge out. couple that with increasing dark, and fewer and fewer houses out in the rural area beyond sarnia, and i started thinking about stopping for the night. as i was checking out a fairly flat but muddy spot in another bean field, a motorcycle passed me and pulled into the very next door yard. i decided asking them for a patch of grass was a more comfortable choice than i had in the field.
turns out brenda and mike were just the ones to ask. brenda invited me in and we looked at maps and chatted as i ate a late dinner. they gave me a bed and made me most welcome. brenda plotted a route to get me as easily possible down to king's hwy 3 without battling traffic. i went to bed and slept really well feeling lucky...
day 34 (115 mi.)--route finding with help: mike got up early with me and drank a cup of coffee as i had my tea and first breakfast. he opened his shed and i wheeled the bike out, finished packing, and pedaled away with a smile and wave.
brenda's route to 3 was perfect as far as i was concerned. i spent snack o'clock at a historical old church; another snack with a road question with a farm implement mechanic on a smoke break; lunch o'clock at a rest area and had a nice chat with a local kitchen installer; another snack talking with two flagmen as they cursed each other for not letting "the biker" through first!; dinner in a very quiet piece of woods beneath a huge radio tower; and finally pitching my tent behind a wooden structure at a paintball park.
in the last two days i had wheeled close to 250 miles and rather than being tired, i was wide awake and excited. ontario was mostly flat and the wind was not a problem as it had been. i had seen a lot of country and met a bunch of wonderful people. this is what it was all about.
day 35 (110 mi.)--far from and into the madding crowd: waking to another foggy morning, i took note of how heavy the dew and condensation made my tent fly. i shook as much off as i could, packed it away fairly damp, and pedaled off intent on rewarding myself with a restaurant breakfast if i could find one. about twenty miles later in simcoe i got my prize, at the shire restaurant and brew pub. the waitress was amused at the order--my usual: two eggs, as runny as possible on top of home fries with a side of salsa; toast, jam, and peanut butter; a belgian waffle with fruit and whipped cream topping; a mug and a thermos of tea; and a cinnamon bun to go. i thought of it as "eating like a hobbit" like their advertisement said, a hobbit about to go on a long adventure.
as the sun was starting to break through i wheeled away, not exactly full, but satisfied. i was aiming for cayuga and planning to turn off 3, and follow the grand river toward the north side of lake erie. the county rd i took was a joy--no traffic, plenty of sun, and a beautiful river, what could be better? i got into dunneville, found the library and emailed my friend kaleigh who had asked me to stop on my way back home. (jalil and i had worked with her at sead a couple of years ago, but had missed stopping on the east-west trip across ny state.) i figured at this rate i would be there the next day--well ahead of the rain due the next night.
after dunneville i found some really beautiful and nearly empty county roads that led to an even more secluded conservation trail. i stopped twice on the latter and chatted firstly, with three workers clearing trees and brush, and secondly, with an older woman biking home from visiting her parents at a home in the next town. she told me how to hook up with the friendship trail in port colborne: "turn right on cement road, ride to the lake and turn left, go to the canal and find the bridge--cross it and you'll find the trail!" riding ontario was easy!
indeed i did find the friendship trail, and it was as simple as that. it was paved and fast. a couple of bikers stopped at a crossroad, told me that the peace bridge to the us was just a couple miles further. at this rate i could get across and make it through buffalo before it got dark. unlike the sarnia bridge into canada, this one into the united states let you walk across. as i crossed the bridge i stopped to watch rowers sculling in the calm behind a break water.
far beyond the boaters i spotted a giant cloth structure which struck me as rather phallic looking. turns out it was the ferry street bridge to broderick park, under construction and covered. when i got across, the officer checking me in was not nearly as friendly even though he answered my greeting of how are you with "i guess i can't complain." he gruffly gave me back my passport and pointed me out the door, "do you know where you are going? right through that gate with the exit sign on it."
buffalo was busy but it was easy to navigate and before it got really dark i was past the airport on rt 33 or genesee street. with front and back lights blinking, i kept pedaling out of town. after testing two other spots but not being satisfied with flatness--by far the major parameter by which i pick a spot--i finally found some tall grass to set up my tent in a historic cemetery just west of millgrove ny. (the picture below was taken the morning after.)
this link will get you to the street view… i slept just about in the center, to the right of the flag, behind the multiple trunked tree next to a larger individual trunk…better to block the light of a street lamp right across rt 33. the spot came complete with:
- several raccoons chittering in the trees--one actually dropped down and scratched at my pannier. luckily i had thought to clip it shut
- rt 33 about 15 yards north with a steady stream of traffic
- the drone of I-90 not all that far off beyond 33
- an active train track to my south
- under the constant buzz of planes in a flight pattern connecting buffalo to the world.
it was anything but quiet--thank god the ghosts did not bother me.
day 36 (75 mi.)--headed for a friend to beat the rain: buttercrumbs bakery was the first stop i made the next morning. looking for a cafe, i noticed this place right off and went in to enjoy the goodies after talking to a local sitting at an outside table to smoke. three muffins, tea, and more conversation with harry inside, along with the gentleman with the ugly dog hunting, blaze-orange shirt on, …
the jell-o ("america's most famous desert") museum in leroy ny…what is in a jell-o museum you might ask? well we would both have to go in to find out as i was hungry and needed a computer, so i went down to the river by the library and ate first, then emailed kaleigh to tell her when i would be pulling into shortsville. i do wonder if they have removed all vestiges of bill cosby yet though…?
after leaving leroy, i headed off the main roads and pedaled into some really wonderful biking. passing 'sportsmen clubs', old graveyards, and produce stands galore (ok, there were only two gun clubs, but lots of the other stuff…). soon, i ran into the hills south of rochester--more than i had seen for days! the scenery was sublime though and with color just starting to happen, i was cruising along with a huge smile.
earlier, the crushed stone paths in ohio, wisconsin, michigan, and ontario had reminded me of what sawyer and hannah love in the dirt roads of western massachusetts and southern vermont; they rode the D2R2 again this year. these roads took me back to prince edward island and a canadian maritime tour i took years ago. coincidentally, soy and han also road pei this july.
the hills i mentioned were covered with horse farms, or whatever you call them. huge green expanses with miles of white fence spread out from the road, always with a couple of nice looking horses grazing within. several times one or two of them would run along their side of the fence, shaking their manes and tales when they got stopped at a corner but i kept going. i also kept pedaling when i passed a late 50's mercedes benz for sale. i took this picture from the internet, but it looked identical, sans the white fence in the background.
i went by a really solid, beautiful looking barn that i was tempted to stop and pin a note to a post, "if you ever want to sell this barn, call…" right past that on the other side of the road, is the grave yard that kaleigh told me got hit by a tornado on wednesday evening. that must of been the huge, roiling storm system i saw pass just north of me as i came across the peace bridge. i guess i was lucky not to be more intimately involved.
rolling into shortsville, it was easy to find kaleigh's as her dad, ron, was indeed mowing the lawn as she had predicted. i got a warm greeting and a hot shower before kaleigh and evan even got home from work. a couple of huge stuffed peppers sealed the deal--it was a great place to stop and rest, especially since it was supposed to rain all day friday.
day 37--rest and relaxation: rain woke me early and i thought of ron who left for his cable job even earlier, he was going to get wet. i stayed inside and ate, mapped my route, blogged, and emailed. kaleigh's brother ryan and i made pizza for the evening, including the dough, one meat, one "salad" made especially for sue, ron's girlfriend, and myself. we finished out the evening with some rousing games of uno. i begged out of a second round to pack for the morning.
ciao
day 30 (80 mi.)--people are wonderful: i woke fairly early, packed, and headed out dreaming of breakfast. it was fairly cool, with maybe even a touch of frost. i wasn't expecting a restaurant very soon as i was heading into some pretty rural territory. just past the little burg wahalla though, i spotted a big sign, country critters cafe with a couple of trucks in the lot--score! the waitress jessica took my large order with out much surprise and i dug into my 'american fries' eggs and salsa, thinking that waffle was going to taste really good. a woman came out of the kitchen and sat next to me to eat her own breakfast. it turned out norma, was more interesting than the food and i slowed down to listen to her history. i got her to pose by my bike where she finished telling me about working as an undertaker in a jewish funeral parlor.
i rolled away smiling at how people, no matter where you go, have some pretty incredible stories. the rest of the morning took me by plenty of more rural homes and until i got to the town of baldwin--with a library. while i was there i met freddie rosado, a bee keeper from branch, a 'town' i just passed through. i also got the addresses for all the postcards i wrote back on the badger (the ferry from manitowoc to ludington) and dropped them off at the post office.
as i headed out of town, i passed another rail-trail but choose to stay on the highway. a few miles down the road, a really stiff wind and the rolling hills got me thinking that maybe the trail would be better--flatter and less windy. i took the next connector i found. then as i bumped along on a rather rough pere marquette rail trail for a mile or two i started to wonder should i go back to the highway. i found some smoothness in certain areas and decided to stick with the trail. i came into reed city and stopped at the just closed trail center and chamber of commerce. no problem, it was still lunch o'clock so i parked myself at a picnic table and spread lunch out.
after reed city, the trail was paved and i made some really good time despite the nasty wind. at one point i did get off the bike and walk along with another older biker. "the wind is killing me..." started a nice conversation for almost half a mile. i remounted and took off as we neared his truck parked at a crossroad. just after that i passed a tiny lookout next to the river pictured below.
now things were really pleasant on the trail...and i pedaled into the evening toward my goal of clare. as the sun set and colored everything bright pinkish-red--"...sailor's delight..."--i knew clare would be tomorrow and started looking for a flat camp site. i found my spot and pulled off the trail, set up things, and ate before zipping myself into bed.
when i woke later to go pee, i felt a pressure deep in my jaw at the tooth my dentist had advised me to get pulled before i left. "it's only going to cause you trouble." i can remember saying back, "there have to be dentists out on the road..." now as i fell back asleep, it struck me it was going to be a pain in the butt to actually stop at one that could pull it. maybe it would go away.
day 31 (60 mi.)--real and figurative aches: toothache aside, i rode along happy that the grey sky was just that and not raining too. i went through clare and then came to coleman where a breakfast cafe stood on the corner of main street just off the pere marquette. eggs, potatoes, salsa, tea, and this time strawberry pancakes filled a good part of the 'tank' but there was still room i told the waitress. she had just told me "you eat like my teenage son!"
i rode through the large town of midland after leaving the trail. it was getting greyer and much windier as the day went on. about ten minutes after leaving town, i was thinking how terrible it was to bike routes with no shoulder when the wind was blowing so badly, directly into your face...then the rain started. i had thoughts of stopping and asking the folks i saw in their barns or garages and ask if they ever considered renting out space. the 15-ish miles from midland to bay city were definitely the toughest
miles i had pedaled this trip. at one point i got past a farm house
wind break and was nearly blown off my bike. i had to drop down to the
middle chain ring just to keep moving ahead.
when i got into bay city it started raining harder and harder, i
realized my hair was going to be a mess. i was riding along thinking this
is getting ridiculous--windier and wetter every block. at a stop light, a woman rolled down her window and asked "how far are you going?" she pulled ahead a few streets, turned in, and stopped. i caught up with her, june, and she told me about warm showers and directed me to her house where she would ask her husband, gary. the feeneys took me in and gave food and shelter that was indeed warm.
they were long distance bikers themselves and we shared plenty of stories. they also had the tv on so i got a chance to catch up on what was happening out in the non-biking world.
day 32--a rest day: church...rain is tapering--sort off...decided to rest one more day...all packed...glad i am not riding in south carolina
day 26 (95 mi.)--starting east, with a blessing: i opted for late start trying to let the rain get far enough east that i would never catch it. i said goodbye to nancy dawn and followed 96 east out of town. i went right by the pine tree apple orchard she and palmer had taken me to the day before. being that it was monday morning i thought it would be quite different than the weekend commercial madhouse we saw it as yesterday. but then again, it was developed to be that. i rode on toward stillwater.
a bridge out on the county roads i had planned to ride in wisconsin led me back to rt 64, the double lane hwy that map my ride kept throwing me off. it was under construction for some miles but eventually got 'normal'. again, being a monday morning, it was not at all crowded and i didn't have any qualms riding along a freeway. in fact i got several close encounters with birds off in the surrounding fields: a hawk perched in a tree, another hawk hunting a field, five or six turkey vultures circling off in the distance, one-two-three pheasants in the corn stubble, and my second flock of sandhill cranes--4 of them, taking flight with their raspy calls, less than 100 yards away.
when 64 reduced to two lanes i passed a large bar and grill with picnic tables out. i set up under one of their umbrellas and was on my third sandwich when a mini-van pulled in and a guy got out and came over to me. turned out keith, was a local minister that dabbled in commercial window washing and blessings for travelers in this part of the country. he asked if i minded getting one of the latter. when i replied that i thought he already had blessed me by stopping to talk, he took that as a yes and gave me an official one, chanted in hebrew no less. i felt refreshed as i packed up and got back on the road.
the midwest might not seem like the most exciting biking terrain, and at times i suppose i could agree, but i fell into some sort of comforting zone as i kept pedaling east, absorbing the experience. at a snack break i noticed the sky was full of roiling clouds of deep blue and purple with bright red highlights and realized the sun was setting. it was time to start looking for a camp. i passed the town of bloomer and got serious finally settling on another bar and grill that just happened to be closed on mondays. pushing my bike to the back under some oak trees and next to a cornfield, i found a flat spot. i mixed up some hummus and ate a couple of sandwiches. the stars were all out as i set up the tent and crawled into sleep.
day 27 (115 mi.)--what time is the right time: when i got up around 5:30 it was really windy--blowing the tent hard. when i took out the two stakes holding down the fly and tent, it started rolling off into the cornfield. in flat farm country the wind seemed to always be blowing--check out the street view on google! i slept at the back of the building, listening to the wind, traffic, and the refrigeration in an alternating chorus.
the hills appeared soon after i got on the road just as the sky was starting to lighten in the east. even though he was out in la, jalil and i still had an argument going as to which was worse, hills or wind. this morning i was actually thinking they were about even.
it was still dark enough to see two owls fly across the road. i started thinking about how those owls were occupying the same niche as the hawks seen the day before, only without the sun. since i was pedaling in the dark, i naturally contemplated how that was different than riding in the daylight. flashing bike lights and lower traffic aside, seeing things on a much reduced scale in both amount and detail, made me focus other senses more than i might in the light.
in taylor county, 64 runs into and then south of a fairly large collection of natural areas that combines several different ecosystems. the ice-walled lake and the eskar sections seemed like places to explore if i wasn't on a bike headed home. i did stop and eat first lunch at a large entrance sign to the pirus road swamp where 119 runs into 64. it was a sunny comfortable spot that would have lulled me to sleep if i was interested.
a few miles down the road i started my county road riding that would take me into wausau. what that basically meant was that i would avoid the big towns and pass through little "hamlets" as some call themselves. i stopped for a second lunch at a graveyard next to a cute little church. i had just seen a woman walking her dog--on a leash--way out in some well-manicured fields. at what seemed to be the dog walker's brightly painted, richly trimmed house i noticed at least two late model suvs and i wondered which big city did they move here from? soon enough, back on the road i got a possible answer when i came into the town of little chicago. as i went up and out of town, a woman in the loudest biking suit i have ever seen--a really bright blue with some sort of wild design--atop a super bike--carbon fiber and fast--flew by me. dogs on leashes and really expensive bikes seemed more city than country.
even with the wind against me and steep hills galore i made good time and got into wausau. after a lucrative stop at a grocery, i found the start of my next off road trail, the mountain-bay state trail. i laid out a fine supper with all the food i had just bought and ate until the sun completely disappeared. thinking that this was not the best place to sleep, even though it was quiet and flat, i packed, turned on the lights, and headed east. about 10-ish more miles out of wausau i stopped and set up the tent. it was a clear and getting cold and felt really good to crawl into the sleeping bag.
day 28 (95 mi.)--cold can lead to warmth: my first frost--cold riding but sparkling for the eyes. the sun was pretty much in my eyes but i did see the deer standing in the trail. for some reason animals seem much less skittish with bike riders and i often got really close to them before they bolt. i was wearing my winter gloves but it didn't take too long before my fingers felt like wooden blocks. i figure it is the constant pressure of leaning on the bars. it definitely gets worse when i am on a graveled trail rather than smooth asphalt.
i rode on to warm up before stopping to eat. my reward was a picnic table beside a nearly glass surfaced lake. i was able to take off some of the cold weather gear and spread out a breakfast feast. i have been buying the large container of yogurt since jalil left (he didn't think we could finish it...) and eating it over two sittings--one in the evening and one in the morning. my favorite is to add fruit, usually a banana or strawberries, granola, and dark chocolate chips.
...great trail most of the way to green bay...
some snowmobile club guys working on bridges...'sin'amon buns...getting through the big city of green bay...Denmark...relatively protected on the trail--no hills until i left the hills...
day 29 (30/10 mi.)--wow, that chain really was dirty!: cruise into manitowok...health food store...piggly wiggly...josh and dan at the heavy pedal...library closed on thursdays...sub...ss badger...bob...kids love granola bars...10-ish miles out rt 10...wind and hills
day 24--food is good: plans to get out and see the sights today gave way to more eating, conversation (with aj, my nephew, as well as p&nd), and more eating. we did finally get downtown and palmer and nancy dawn took me into the new guthrie theater. the views were way cooler than what you see in the picture of my brother and me looking out an observation deck on the 'endless bridge', but it gives you a sense. check out the latimes article if you want more insight. (i remember my grandmother and i went to the old guthrie to see waiting for godot in the 70's.)
palmer snapped a picture just inside looking through the blue glass to give you an idea of the three week biker look--before shaving. we went out for indian food right after this and i actually got full on a delicious coconut curry with tofu and veggies. they took me shopping at the seward coop right after and i stocked up with some quality food for the road. it will weigh me down but the food will be fresh and nourishing--and not loaded with sugar or food coloring. of course by the time i got home i had to have a bowl granola, bananas, chocolate chips, and yogurt...it sounds legit if you call it carbo loading.
i have pretty much decided my bald-ish head will be pointed east on monday. i have started a route going across wisconsin toward the ss badger ferry on lake michigan, from manitowoc wi to ludington mi. i will head mostly straight, into canada, and then back into upstate ny around niagra. it is only a matter of time and pedaling between there and home.
time for bed...
day 25--the true lightness of being: oh how responsive the nishiki is without a load! nancy dawn led palmer and i around some local trails this am--it was fast! after a nap, i made a big batch of pesto and palmer built some flat bread pizzas--yummy, more carbo loading. as we finished dinner out on the porch, the super blood moon eclipse was starting. we spent a good bit of time observing that and palmer and i three handed a picture using phone and binoculars...
this was a good rest, but i had to get to bed, pack up early in the morning, and start the trip home. i didn't know how much computer access i would have, but a few short notes now and then over should appear over the next two weeks.
stay tuned--ciao...
i took off toward crown point and the bridge across into vermont. at a maple products gift shop i looked at a map and changed my route after the women working told me it was supposed to start raining wednesday into friday. i turned around back into the wind and for a few miles had second thoughts as it was really whipping coming off the lake. but i hoped it would be somewhat behind me when i turned east toward middlebury. when i got to the bluffs--imagine the glacial runoff that carved these out--the wind was at my shoulder and less of an issue.
in the back of my head i knew i had to head home at a certain time so i could unpack and clean up for pam! she had told me before i left that under no circumstances was i to appear with a big white beard. when i got to the house--which was unlocked, thank you--she had a little note on the whiteboard for me...how did she know i would be getting here today? turns out she saw the breakfast sandwiches--egg and smoked gouda on an english muffin--i bought in hague ny and did a little google mapping that gave her a pretty good idea. maybe she was the impetus to change routes back at the ny vermont border. she had also included her 'mice' count of eight--not bad for an early harvest.
