Biking across America

 Today is our final day of the adventure across United States riding from Manhattan Beach to Revere Beach. We rode from the Burlington Hotel to Revere Beach for a total of about 16 to 17 miles. We did our daily route rap song as well. It was our farewell song. We did BORN in the USA. After the song we group together. Someone asked who will lead us to Revere Beach and someone volunteered myself.  I have felt home since we crossed over the Massachusetts line. I was truly honored to be the leader. I then lead them from the Burlington hotel to Revere Beach.  At Revere Beach my friend Beth met me there. I was so excited to see her and so happy that she was there. She was able to take lots of pictures, some of which I will post below. This trip has been an incredibly awesome event. I will never forget these times. I will never forget the people I have met. The whole group was incredibly awesome. We had so many fun times as well as some very difficult times. Each one of us had o...

 Well, today was our last day of a full ride. We rode from Brattleboro Vermont through New Hampshire and into Burlington MA. I was able to complete the day for a total of 91 miles. Additionally, my climbing was over 5000 feet. I rode well through most of the day. During the last 10 to 15 mile I started getting tired. But I continue to ride on with no aches or pains anywhere. I remember at some point during the tour that Tom, one of the staff members told me that we begin to behave like we’re machines. Today that is what I felt like. My legs just kept going but at a little bit slower than they had earlier in the day. It was kind of surreal, passing through New Hampshire, and subsequently into Massachusetts realizing I am home, and I have actually cycled across the United States. I suspect this won’t hit me until a couple of days has passed, and I am back home. Again today I did not take many pictures. I think this was more because I’ve been in this area and some of these areas are f...

Today the ride was from Troy New York to Brattleboro, Vermont. We crossed over another state line. It was quite a hilly ride. I decided to ride in the sag for a bit and then get out and ride into the hotel. It was a great ride, except for the where we had road construction where it was all chopped up for repaving. I’m not sure how many miles it was but it felt like it was 100 but it was about 6 miles.  The ride itself was quite scenic as the scenery kept changing. Much different than the middle of the country where it was flat and you saw the same thing for miles and miles. Brattleboro is a quaint small town which from coming in it looked like a place I might want to come back and visit.  Tomorrow we cycle to Burlington MA which is our last full day of cycling. Again, this is with mixed emotions. We are all feeling quite similar. We have all had a great time. We would like it to continue but then, on the other hand, we are all ready to go back to our lives. I am hoping to do m...

 Today, our ride was from Utica New York to Troy New York. The weather couldn’t have been better. The temperatures cooperated quite well. We though did have a headwind which slowed most of us down a bit. Initially the ride was on route 5 until about 20 miles from Troy, from there, we rode the Mohawk bike trail. This ran along the Mohawk River. Below is a picture from the Mohawk River. For the last 45 miles I rode with Linda. It was quite nice having someone to ride with. It made the time go by quicker. We only have two full days left of riding. On the third day we will have a very short bike ride of 16 to 17 miles to Revere Beach. I can’t believe that at the end of this week, the tour will have been completed.  We will all have to go back to our normal lives Tomorrow we will be riding to Brattleboro Vermont. After that we will have two states left to cross into. We will briefly go through New Hampshire on our very last day of riding, but we will end up in Massachusetts at the ...

 Today we rode from Syracuse New York to Utica, New York. It was a short day with only 58 miles. It was a beautiful riding day. The weather was cool and sunny. We thought did have a headwind which caused us all to go a bit slower. Much of the scenery these days is quite similar to what I’m used to riding back in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. We did see a few farms today. But most of the areas were residential.   As this is the last week of our riding, most of us are focused on just riding and not taking too many pictures. The amount of pictures each of us are taking has dwindled quite a bit.  I have included a few below. This week is bitter sweet. At the end of the week we will have completed our seven week trek of riding across the country. Although many of us are anxious to get back to our homes, we have thoroughly enjoyed the past seven weeks. As my blog states as well as others, they have been some ups and downs, but mostly ups. It has been a great adventur...

 As noted in yesterday’s blog, I would be going to my nieces wedding today. I drove from Buffalo New York to Sturbridge Massachusetts, where she was getting married. Along the way I stopped in Albany at a bike store to buy a new pair of bike shorts, as well as some chamois cream. It was a great place and store. If you are ever in Albany and need a bike store, the name of it is The Downtube Bike Shop. They were quite helpful quite friendly and very knowledgeable. Kaylie‘s wedding was later in the afternoon around 4 o’clock. It was probably one of the best weddings I’ve ever attended. I had a blast. All of my family was there and I enjoyed every minute of the wedding. Kaylie looked beautiful. We all did a lot of dancing throughout the night. I got to visit with my granddaughter Mara as well. I also got to visit with all of my nieces and nephews whom I absolutely adore. On Sunday I had breakfast with one of my brothers and his family and then we all headed back out. They headed back h...

 Today the ride was from Erie, Pennsylvania to Buffalo New York. We crossed another state line today.  The weather today was quite variable in that initially, it looked cloudy then it warmed up a bit. I took my raincoat off and then shortly there after it started raining again. The rest of the day was on and off rain, sometimes with heavy downpours. There was a section of the road that had been newly paved with some type of material that when it splint it off caused multiple flats. I believe there was around 12 to 14 flats for people. Unfortunately I got quite cold by the first SAG stop and needed to get into the van to warm up. We have only one week left to go. After today’s ride, we rode up to Niagara Falls in a car that I rented to travel to my nieces wedding this weekend.   Five of us went up to see the Falls. We saw both the Canadian as well as the American side. I had not been there since I was a child. It appeared the same but different as well. It was quite awesom...

 Today was a rest day in Erie, Pennsylvania. And that I did too. I had a wonderful massage. I had a wonderful dinner with my friend Paul Kussell. Otherwise I just sort of hung out and chilled today. I look forward to riding tomorrow we will be heading to Buffalo New York. Lake Erie

 Today the ride was from Niles Ohio to Erie Pennsylvania. After riding six days in a row and a total of over 450 miles I actually took today off. Today instead of riding in the SAG wagon, I rode in the truck with Tom. He is such a great guy. I enjoyed riding in the truck with him. The rest of the group, though did ride most of the way. The weather was terrible. It started out raining then it stopped then it started to rain, and when it wasn’t raining, there was a headwind that was making the ride. Quite difficult. we thought rode into another state Pennsylvania. The hotel is right on the lake. It’s absolutely beautiful here. Also during the  we thought rode into another state Pennsylvania. The hotel is right on the lake. It’s absolutely beautiful here. Also, during the ride, we stopped at a very famous place where they serve ice cream and turkey sandwiches. While I was placing my order for some ice cream I started talking to the woman sitting next to me. Come to find out she w...

 Today we rode from Wooster Ohio to Niles Ohio. It was a 93 miles day. It started out a little bit cool. At one point we had a little bit of rain which then stopped. On the last roughly 11 to 13 miles it did start to rain again, but that was on a nice bike path and we were a little bit sheltered. The countryside is a lot more similar to the New England area. There was a lot of farmland with nice houses. We also rode through some residential areas. It was a very nice ride. I enjoyed it the most because we made lots of turns which helps to make the day go by. Sometimes riding for miles and miles on one road , I get a bit bored. Again I did not take a lot of pictures as my focus was to try to get the ride done. Additionally, I tend to be one of the slower riders and I feel like that would delay me. I did manage to take a couple though. When I got in, I was quite tired and my legs were quite achy. The hotel room though had a bathtub with a Jacuzzi and I enjoyed it immensely. Tomorrow w...