Day 42 - Horses to the Barn...

For some of us, the last full day of riding on the cross country tour started out as "I'm going to take it easy and not ride too fast" but with the threat of afternoon thunderstorms it quickly turned into "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead". In the end, it was an exhilarating and successful ride from Vermont through New Hampshire and into Massachusetts... We have made it to our destination of the metropolitan Boston area and tomorrow we ride the final 19 miles to the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 41 - @ 1 w/ the bike

Surgery may be required to remove the bicycle from my rear end when this tour is over, but today was one of those days when I felt like part of the machine instead of just the operator. A strange but exhilarating experience on a multifaceted day of breathtaking ascents and incredible descents in the "green mountain" state of Vermont.

Harold "the Hammer" and I spent most of the day eating pastries and drinking coffee as there was no rush to get anywhere fast. The pastry highlight of the day (and of the tour for that matter) was homemade strudel prepared by a friend of two of the XC riders, Stu and Sandy. The treats were hand delivered to our second SAG stop and we were strudel powered for the final ascent up Hogback Mountain. It was a fine and memorable day...

Day 40 - Albany, NY

There is something significant about forty days on a bicycle, but I can't think of what it is right now. It feels like I left Manhattan Beach a very, very long time ago.

We followed the Mohawk River for most of the day, passed through Schenectady and now have only two more days until Boston. Tomorrow promises to be another beautiful day as we cross into Vermont and the town of Brattleboro...Oh, yeah, we get to climb our way there!

Day 39 - Little Falls, NY

World's Smallest Church...

World's Largest Cow...

A relatively easy day of riding took us to Little Falls, New York nestled in the Mohawk River Valley and the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. The city is home to Lift Lock 17 on the contemporary Erie Canal that is one of the highest canal lift locks in the world.

It was a somber day for me after my friend Roy and I collided while riding early in the day. Although I was unhurt, Roy went down and spent much of the day being checked out by doctors before being released and RIDING to the hotel where he arrived earlier this evening . The mishap was a graphic reminder that while we have logged more than 3,000 miles, we're not yet at the finish line and vigilance remains paramount.

Day 38 - SUNDAY!!

NHRA? No. Tour de France? Hardly. But today reminded me of the old radio commercial that advertised race day w/ a big "SUNDAY" followed by the sound of loud engines and squealing tires. I think I smelled some burning rubber as flat out sprinting and "show me what you've got" was the order of the day for some of us with big hearts and small brains. Trouble is, we're all stronger now so there is little relative difference between us as compared to almost two months ago.

We're down to the last four days and little more than 300 miles to go... Little Falls, Albany, Brattleboro, VT and Boston await our arrival.

Day 37 - Too Fun!

Time is running out, but we're having fun and laughing a lot. Hamburg to Canandaigua and the Finger Lakes is a popular cycling spot for good reason. Good roads, scenic vistas and a fair bit of climbing... Is there anything better?

I was one of the few riders to get caught in a late afternoon downpour in the last five miles of today's 95 mile ride. It rained so hard at one point that I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. Some of the smarter riders took shelter at a local farmhouse and completely missed getting wet. If you're going to get wet, why not get soaked?

Tomorrow we ride to Syracuse.

Day 36 - New York!

The Erie Police Dept. was more than happy to give us a motorcycle escort out of town this morning and it was a blast running through red lights as a pack of mad cyclists.

It was a sunny and cool day of riding as we entered the "Empire State" and travelled along the banks of Lake Erie en route to Hamburg, just outside of Buffalo. Tomorrow we enter the Finger Lakes region, destination Canandaigua.

Yesterday, a small group of us drove (yes we actually got into an automobile) to Niagara Falls. It was a highlight of the tour for me as I've never before visited this magnificent natural wonder.