Mood: special
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Durham, NH to Gloucester, MA
On the final day of the ride, we woke up to pouring rain. While disappointing to have to ride in the rain, we considered ourselves lucky since it was only the sixth day of rain we had had for 63 days. We headed over to the dining hall at the University of New Hampshire for our final all-you-can eat meal, stuffing ourselves full of calories to haul us the final 63 miles of our coast-to-coast ride. After breakfast, we gathered a group of about 12 coast-to-coast riders and headed out for our final ride together.
At about mile 10, I (Marisa) had my only crash of the entire 4400 ride. It happened like this: We were approaching a stop sign at a T-intersection to turn left onto Rte 155A. I was the third rider in the line of about 15 riders. About 100 yards in front of me, Keith headed out into the intersection and yelled "clear" to signal that no cars were coming and that it was clear to make the turn without stopping. Then Brian, the second rider in line, about 20 yards in front of me, yelled "car left" to signify that a car was now approaching left and to be careful when making the turn. When I got to the intersection, I saw the car to my left and could have made the left-hand turn, no problem. However, I knew that there were another 12 riders behind me and if I gunned it and went for the turn before the car came, other riders behind me might follow and do the same, even if I yelled back to them "car left". So I yelled "slowing" to signify my intention to stop. But considering that it was pouring rain, it was 1) hard to hear anything and 2) nearly impossible to use our breaks since they were totally wet. So when I stopped at the intersection, David Butler who was riding a short distance behind me was gunning it to make the turn based on Keith's first call of "clear" (he didn't hear Brian's call of "car left"), and ran into me from behind. Luckily, he swerved at the last minute so he didn't hit me head on -- and best of all, when he took me down, he went down first and I landed on him, so he made a soft cushion. :) Just a little "road rash" (the term used to describe the area where lose skin to the pavement) on my elbow. Everyone gathered around us and helped untangle us our bikes -- David's foot was caught in a wierd position under my front chain ring. After that, we thought it would be safest if we all road our own pace and strung the pack out so we weren't so many riders together.
The rest of the ride was definitely a challenge. The rain was relentless and we were on busy roads with tons of traffic -- welcome back to civilization! We headed south on Rt 125 through Plaistow and southern New Hampshire on into Haverhill, Massachusetts. We stopped for our final picnic lunch along the Merrimack River, and then headed east on Rt 133 towards the ocean. It's amazing we made it through the ride in one piece, as the roads were some of the most dangerous and poorly maintained ones we've seen. There was so much water on the road that it would form huge puddles and you had no idea what was under the water -- big potholes? huge cracks? sand? So in order to be safe, we had to ride out in the lane of traffic a lot. Luckily, the Massachusetts drivers gave us room and not a single car beeped their horn. I can't imagine what this ride would have been like in Michigan...scary thought.
Just three miles from the end of the ride, our friend Colin got a flat tire. And yes, a whole group of us stopped and helped him change the flat so we could all ride in together. We arrived to Gloucester High School to a group of cheering friends and relatives. With about an hour before we would leave for our police escort to the oceanfront for our tire dipping ceremony, Molly and I toasted champagne with my parents and good family friends Ira and Laura Lassman, and introduced as many of our riding friends to them as we could.
At 1:45 PM, we gathered in one large group, riders and staff, and were escorted on our bikes by the police through Gloucester and the crowded streets of their annual waterfront festival down to the ocean. As the sirens screamed and I pedaled the final 200 feet, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and let my head drop in a feeling of complete and utter amazement that for the second time I had safely made it across the entire country with the power of my own two legs. We crowded onto the rocky beach front and sprinted with our bikes in hand into the ocean. There was even a police boat in the water making sure that we could safely celebrate. I hear the ocean water was 63 degrees (brrrr) but I would have never known -- the feeling of frolicking with our new friends in the ocean after not seeing an ocean for 4400 miles was incredible. One of the best parts was seeing our riding friends from the UK -- Jane, Colin and Len -- feel so proud to be flying their Union Jack and dancing in their same ocean.
That evening we all borded a boat for an evening cruise. As we pulled away from the dock, the relentless rain finally came to an end and the clouds parted giving us a beautiful sunset over Gloucester harbor. The perfect end to a perfect experience.
Burlington, VT to Stowe VT
What an incredible ride! The main route for the day was only listed at 48 miles. It was a great chance to do touristy Vermont activities -- such as touring the Ben & Jerry's factory, Cabot Creamery, chocolate factories, glass blowing etc. At lunch, Molly and I went our separate ways -- Molly to B&J's and I headed straight past Stowe and onto Route 108 -- towards Smuggler's Notch. Anyone who has ever grown up in New England is probably aware of this Notch (the eastern term for a mountain pass). It heads past Stowe ski area and up a steep mountain with sharp switch backs that are built around huge granite boulders. It was the first time in my entire cycling history that I had to stop partway up a climb. The road was so steep that my heart rate was beyond reason, even though my breathing was fine, and so I stopped to rest. Little did I realize that the summit was about 4 switchbacks up the road. Being the first rider to reach the top, I was able to descend and tell the others what to expect. Definitely my most memorable climb to date!
That night several of us wanted to go out in downtown Stowe. We called a taxi and after an hour of waiting, decided to hitch hike with a pick-up truck that was from the catering company that fed us dinner. We piled 15 people into the back of the pick-up and headed off for some beers. That brings the total number of hitched rides on the trip to 5. :)
Stowe, VT to Littleton, NH
The word of the day -- "climb". This was one hell of a ride -- Green Mountains and White Mountains all in one day. Lots of steep climbing on roads with no shoulder and tons of cars - oh joy. And did I mention the roads stink because the winters are so sever? So even though we rode through beautiful landscapes today, I think I only looked at the pavement in front of me to avoid crashing. Sigh.
Littleton is home of the "worlds longest penny candy aisle" and boy did we stock up on treats! We also had the best meal of the trip in Littleton, it only took 60 days and 4200 miles. :)
Littleton, NH to Fryeburg, ME
This was one of the coolest rides for me (Marisa) because I cycled past lots of places I used to visit as a kid. We crossed straight through NH's White Mountains and passed some old favorites, including the Mt. Washington Hotel, Crawford Notch, Kangamangus Highway, White Mountain National Forest, Conway and more. Lunch stop was at Attitash ski area. Molly, Colleen, Kevin and I took the chair lift up to the summit and watched the rain roll in. We got down just in time to get on our bikes and sprint away from the bad weather. Of course -- we weren't quite fast enough. Before heading to camp, a bunch of us stopped for pizza -- what Molly calls the "new icecream". We also celebrated Colleen and Kevin's successful ascent up Hurricane Ridge -- a multi-mile, rediculously steep climb that Molly and I chickened out of.
That night we slept at the fairgrounds in Fryeburg -- which held its first county fair in 1851! We slept in the building where people display their produce, so we slept in large wooden vegetable trays. :)
Fryeburg, ME to Durham, NH
A beautiful ride weaving through quiet backroads with few cars for the first half of the ride. Lots of pretty small lakes along the way. We road with Karina, a women who joined us for Week 9 of the trip. Around mile 30, we stopped at Provence Lake to dip our feet in the water. At lunch, we had our picnic on the property of a gelato shop -- the shopkeeper opened his store a 1/2 hour early to accommodate many of the cyclists...since we eat lunch at 10:30 a.m.! Molly got two scoops to share -- coconut and ginger. They both had real pieces of fruit in them. The best icecream of the trip!
We road into Durham -- 80+ miles pretty fast since Molly and I both had haircuts to prepare for re-entering the civilized world and attending a party my parents had planned for us on Sunday. The ladies at "A Nu Du" on Maybury Street in Durham were great, we recommend them!
That night, we stayed at Durham High School. The indoor sleeping option was cramped and there was no air flow -- and we couldn't open the side door for risk of skunks coming in during the night. We had all set up our sleeping area on the floor just inches from one another. At about 9:00, despite the intermittent thunderstorms, Molly and I decided we couldn't handle the stench of the crowded indoor sleeping and went outside and pitched our tent. Ahh, fresh air! Even though we had severe thunderstorms most of the night...our tent remained perfectly dry inside. Referred to by several riders as the Taj Mahal, the fort, the McMansion, our tent has proved to be one of our best purchases for this entire trip. For those of you in the market and not concerned about the weight of the tent, we recommend the Sierra Design Bedoin 4 person. It rocks!
Well we have finally made it to our final week. We're writing this message from the home of David Rome, a rider we met during week 1 of the tour -- he lives just outside of Burlington, VT. He came and met us as we got off the ferry that took us over Lake Champlain which crossed us from NY to VT. He has a beautiful home on 10 acres off a dirt road in Essex Junction, VT. A totally idyllic spot. And it just so happened to be a rainy and cool afternoon during which we didn't have to set up our tent with the rest of the group. :) David is hosting Molly and me, Matt Olson "Molson" (from Iowa), and Jane from England. We just returned from downtown Burlington where we met up with the rest of the cyclists for dinner and tour talk, and then we went on to walk around the Church Street area and stopped at Sweets Cafe for a second dinner. :) We just can't seem to get enough calories!
Tomorrow we cycle a short ride -- 49 miles from Burlington to Stowe -- it should be absolutely beautiful. Along the way we plan to stop and get a tour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory, Cabot cheese factory and any other place along the way that will offer free samples. At the end of the day, there is an additional 20 mile option to climb Smugglers Notch. I'm still debating the option...the final 3 miles has a minimum of 10% grade with grades going up as steep as 20% -- that's steep enough to hope that your front tire doesn't come off the road while you're riding. The Tour de France doesn't go over 10% in the hardest Alps section.
Last week we weaved our way through New York State. We spent three days hugging Lake Ontario before cutting across the northern section of the state. The final two days of the ride were awesome -- we were in the Adirondack Mountains. The Adirondacks have tons of lakes -- we stayed on Friday night at Star Lake and over the weekend at Lake Placid. We also experienced our first multiple days of cool rainy weather last week. Days when you set up your tent in the rain and wake up and take the tent down in the rain and then ride all day in the rain. But tomorrow we are supposed to have a sunny day, fingers crossed!
Lake Placid was a great place for a day off. We indulged by staying at a hotel again, since the campground where everyone was was 2+ miles out of town and we preferred to be right downtown. We took a boat tour on Sunday on the historic boat -- Lady of the Lake, which was built in the 1930's. There is so much history on that lake and tons of preserved open space so it will always remain pristine and minimally developed. It is also one of the cleanest lakes in America.
Well, it's late and I'm too tired to remember any more details. Just five more days of riding until we dip our tire in the Atlantic Ocean. Amazing that this journey is almost complete. We promise to upload photos as soon as the trip is over, if not before.
xoxo,
Marisa and Molly
Greetings from Albion, NY. Molly and I are well rested after *2* nights in a hotel this weekend in Niagara Falls, and ready to take on the mountains of NY and New England. We began our final two weeks today with a flat 75 mile ride along the coast of Lake Ontario. It was a beautiful, sunny, cool day on incredible country roads with almost no cars. A dream come true. The last road we took into town had been recently re-sealed and we all had an incredibly strange experience -- the surface was grabbing at our tires and pulling us in like quick-sand. We all instantly thought we had flat tires but then saw other tires marks weaving through the pavement ahead of us. It was like cycling through glue. What an experience!
Niagara Falls is definitely the kitchiest place we have ever been. It's like Vegas and the Wildwood boardwalk all wrapped up in one. But the falls themselves were beautiful. Molly and I walked from the Canadian side over to the US through the border to the far end of the US falls to go on the Wind of the Caves tour. The tour takes you down in an elevator and out on a wooden catwalk that takes you under and to the side of the falls where the spray completely soaks you (they gave us plastic bag-like smocks to wear). It was exhilarating to be so close to the roaring water.
Week 7 wrapped up with wonderful, rural roads through the farmland of Ontario. Fruit orchards, asparagus fields and sweet corn lined the roads. Oh yes, and blueberries, lots of berries.
We had a bunch of riders join us this week from all over the country. So we're now about 70 people. Today's lunch spot was right on Lake Ontario, so we sat for 2 hours just relaxing in the sun since we had reached our 50-mile mark by 10:30 AM -- a typical phenomenon these days -- and didn't want to arrive in Albion, NY too early in the day (there isn't much here...but Oliver North is coming to speak in a week and lots of people are holding signs on the corner of Main Street to let us know that Jesus saves.).
Well, my time limit is up here at the library, and I must turn over the computer to a fellow cycling-mate who has been waiting patiently.
Love to you all, and thanks for the comments, e-mails and well wishes -- keep them coming!
Marisa and Molly
Greetings from West Lorne, Ontario. Just a short note since my time is limited on the library computers. Wow, thank goodness for Canada...after Michigan that is. What a week it's been. We've had lots of miles: Monday - 110+; Tuesday - 90; Wednesday - 91+ and today was a short 71...until the headwinds picked up around mile 10. But all problems were solved when we crossed the St. Claire River and landed in Ontario. Michigan has been by far everyone's least favorite state. In a nutshell, the drivers SUCK and are MEAN, MEAN, MEAN, and...they all drive the largest possible trucks and SUVs allowed on the roads. We had more horns honked at us and fingers flipped in three days then we have in the entire preceeding 3,000 miles. So we have been cycling all week with one thing in mind - Canada - where the roads are quieter, the drivers nicer and the politics a little more peaceful. :)
In the few short hours we've been in Ontario, we've been treated superbly, invited to a local neighbor's house to swim, and given free reign of the roads. Now that's more like it.
Just two more days and we'll arrive in Niagara Falls where Molly and I hope to sleep in a real bed for one night at a hotel. :) Then it's two remaining weeks -- one in New York and the final one in New England.
That's it for now. More when we have a better connection and more time. Hugs to all of you.
Marisa and Molly
We arived at the high school to a reception by the Chamber who had a table of goodies for us and info on the area. They had local news papers set up on all the tables and big smiles. One of the women offered to drive me to a bar downtown for a pint and pick me up! I mentioned that I had not had cheese curds yet (a wisconsin treat).. and boom! We had curds. Anyway- time up. hats off to Waupon!
I even heard that they wanted to have a parade for us.
Greetings from Plymouth, WI in Sheboygan County. We are just 40 miles away from catching the ferry in Manitowoc to head east over water to Michigan.
Well it finally happened...we had our first day of pouring rain. Not bad, considering we've been riding since June 20th. There's nothing quite like emerging from a warm, dry school building, in your warm, dry cycling gear and getting aboard your bike as the rain is pouring down on top of you. You remain dry for all of about 3 minutes, and then everything you have on is soaked to the core. Luckily it was a short day ~ 56 miles, and the temperatures were in the upper 60's and low 70's so we didn't freeze.
Wisconsin has been incredibly beautiful. Rolling farm country -- mainly dairy farms -- with a perfectly situated red barn atop each hill. We've hit some steep rollers this week ~ 15-20% grades in the road for 1/4 mile. Just in case we forgot how to engage our hamstring muscles (the muscles on the back of the thigh for those of you who are athletically challenged) while on the flats in Minnesota, Wisconsin has prepared us for the upcoming climbs in NY and New England.
Some of the highlights of this week include the Spartan-Elroy Bike Trail -- a 34 mile trail that weaved through the countryside taking us back into the hills and farms that you can see far off in the distance when driving on the main roads and wondering what's tucked back in the hills. Well we got to see it first hand, and it was beautiful. The trail took us through 3 tunnels that were all constructed in the 1870's for the railroads. They were cold and wet inside, with the beginnings of the formations of stalagtites -- cave-like. The first tunnel was 3/4 of a mile long with no lighting -- it was as black as night in there. We traveled through in a group with small bike lights and flashlights taking care not to slip into the river that was flowing on either side of the dirt path. The sound of the trickling water and the absolute darkness were amazing. Unfortunately, we had a few people go down on the dirt/gravel for various reasons and some injuries and bike damage, so this trail won't be used on this route in the future. We're glad we had a chance to experience it!
Today we enjoyed the Kettle Moraine State Park and Scenic Drive -- simply beautiful. Marsh land and thick forest intermingling. Even though we were looking at it through rain covered glasses, we could still appreciate the incredible beauty. Molly spotted the first owl of the trip.
But the true highlight of the week was doing our laundry in the town of Baraboo, WI(home of the Ringling Bros. Circus) and found a laundrymat that had a TV where we could watch the Democratic Convention. We finished our laundry and stayed for an extra hour to watch various speakers, since we didn't think the local bar would be willing to put on PBS. :) Hurray for laundrymats (for more reason than one!).
Tonight is the second week of the road relic competition. Molly was a hero last week when she unitentionally won the competition and then donated her winnings back into this week's pot. I found an interesting little lego person on the road, and intend to enter it. Fingers crossed. :)
Well, just three weeks to go. It's amazing how these days are flying by. We have our longest day of the ride this coming Monday -- 120 miles. Wish us luck.
Love to you all.
Marisa and Molly
I was thinking (while riding) of some little things that I have not shared with you, so the next part will be short bits of tour trivia. Last week when we were riding through the tail end of SD and most of MN, we were stopped twice by local town reporters who wanted the story for their papers. Marisa and I got our pictures taken with big grins. Big town girls going small town. We also had a water stop at a Senior care center. It was only 8 am but they had quite a spread set up for us. Cookies, cake and ice cream Sundays. umm... yes, I had a Carmel Sunday with whip cream and 2 cherries at 8 am. Shrug
I don't think I mentioned that when we were in South Dakota at the Badlands KOA, Marisa and I hosted a party on the front porch of our KOA cabin. It was a hair cutting party. (hey, we are with the same people -- in remote locations with nothing to do -- you have to be creative). Anyway it was a great success. We shaved bald 3 men with wonderful heads of hair. We also convinced Bruce, who is celebrating his 50th birthday, to let us cut his hair into a Mohawk. It looked cool and I did it up with some fine city hair product. He kept it for the next day's ride through the Badlands [Bad Hair - Bad Lands].
We have 12 new people this week for the Wisconsin ride. It is a bit overwhelming because we are all so used to each other. As a welcome for new riders, our friend Brian puts on women's panties over his shorts and runs through the meeting. ? Don't ask. Well, I told him that I would assist him in the tradition if he bought me a pair of tight-whities. I should have thought this one through a bit, but my feminist urges took control. As you can guess, this Sunday, Brian in pink panties and Molly in white Cotton briefs ran through the welcome meeting. Marisa loved it. : )
Tomorrow morning we hope to stop at a local cheese factory. Folks tell us to go early for fresh, squeaky cheese curds. I have not experienced this yet but am looking forward to it.
Love Molly
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