Resting, Relaxing and Reflecting
Monday, October 18, 2004
San Diego, CA
Home
Well, it has been nearly a month since I’ve finished the ride and made my way back home. If I could say just one thing to anyone considering a bike ride across country it would be to be to do it. Get out there and ride.
There simply is no way to describe how glad I am that I more or less woke up one day, decided to finally do it – and now know what it feels like to have done it.
From the early planning, to researching and gathering way too much gear (and shedding half of it before leaving and shedding half again after the first few weeks…), to the absurdly tough days in the beginning through the desert, to getting stronger in the Rockies, then dealing with the mind-numbing sameness of the Plains, flying at full strength through the “vowel” states of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, to riding through my past life in New York and finishing quietly with a big grin in New York City – there were so many challenges, so much learned and so many great memories that, when asked, it is hard to pick any one of them as the greatest.
Decompression Days
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
East Moriches, NY
East Moriches Hardware
Well, the bike is resting in my brother’s office waiting for the travel case to arrive, my gear is all packed in boxes ready to head back across country in by UPS in three days (after dragging it along with me on the bike for nearly three months) and I’ll be spending a few days visiting friends and family here and in New York City before I fly back home.
My brother Mike pulled through (as always) and drove into the city the night I finished and picked me up in Times Square. What a great place to formally finish the ride. We took some photos along with the hundreds of other tourists (but I was the only one with a fully loaded touring bike…), packed the bike and gear in the back of his truck and off we went. It couldn’t have been a better way to end the trip. I’m out on Long Island visiting family for a few days – and it feels good to not have to get on the bike to do so!
Made It!: 3 Months, 4,432 Miles…
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
New York City, New York
Coney Island, NYC
Incredible. I made it. The ride is over, I walked the bike down through the last hundred yards of sand, touched the front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean and poured the Pacific Ocean water I’ve carried on the side of handlebar bag since I left (where I could see it every mile of every day).
What an unbelievable, nearly indescribable feeling it was to be there. Just a perfect day for a ride and a great final route through Central Park, down along west side of Manhattan along the Hudson River Greenway bike path, cutting across the madness that is lower Manhattan (where the grid layout disappears and it is a crazy maze of streets, traffic and people), onto the Brooklyn Bridge (possibly the most beautiful bridge in the country, if not the world), dropping into the insanity of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, another ride through Prospect Park, then down along a bike path floating along New York Harbor and underneath the Verrazano Bridge and finally up the boardwalk to Coney Island to see the the beach and the ocean I was thinking about since I left Pacific Beach so long ago. Amazing.
Money Makin’ Manhattan!
Monday, September 13, 2004
New York City, New York
George Washington Bridge
Hard to describe how great it was to race along the Hudson knowing that I would soon be diving deep into the wild streets of Manhattan and only one day away from completing the ride.
My last night in the country was spent in one of the funkiest places I’ve had to call home. For most of the route, especially the sections in the Southwest and the Midwest, I’ve been riding along small country roads, far from big cities and highways. There are many, many places to stay and I stayed in all kinds – from cool original “Route 66″ block motels, to neon nightmares from even older roads, to “one star” oddities that are in such small towns that those nearby think of them as the Ritz. But as you move east, and especially as you move towards New York City, these motels are generally no longer quaint but downright strange.
Back in Binghamton
Friday, September 10, 2004
Binghamton, NY
Binghamton Court House
It was a great riding day today. Cool weather, nice cloud cover and the wind even turned around after the storm passed and was more or less with me the entire day. After driving between Ithaca and Binghamton dozens and dozens of times from when I went to school here, had family north of Ithaca and eventually lived in Ithaca, it was strange to make the trip by bike. There is one main two-lane highway connecting the two cities so of course I dug into the maps and tried to find a less busy route.
I lucked out and found a valley road that I’ve never taken before and it was a beautiful ride. Rolling hills, green, green scenery everywhere and I was able to reconnect with my old friends – the cows that have been there silently keeping me company for nearly the entire ride. In every state they have been there, standing around, raising their heads to stare at me, turning them in unison as I pass by like some sort of weird weathervane. I still always say hello or asking how their day is going or try to commiserate with them with it is too hot or too windy or too cold, but they never say anything back.
Hurricane Frances, The Slug Maker
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Ithaca, NY
Well Hurricane Frances, or at least whatever it is called now that it is just a raining mess, is mercifully passing quickly overhead, dropping buckets of rain overnight but soon to leaving good cycling weather in her wake – cloudy and cool. I’ve worked out my own route south along the Pennsylvania/New York border, across the Hudson River, south to Lake Peekskill for a visit with more friends, then back across the Hudson, for a brief sprint through New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge and down into Manhattan.
The bike has been resting quietly in a spare room so I am sure it is ready but I have to admit that these few days off (the longest stretch I’ve been off the bike since I left) have also left me feeling a bit sluggish and I am sure that I am going to pay for the first day or so. That said, I am definitely looking forward to riding again, to being out there, just me and the bike, seeing whatever there is to see and repeating the cycle of not knowing what is around the corner and then being surprised and pleased no matter what it is. I’ve got some rolling hills between here and Binghamton and then I am sure it will get more challenging once I hit the Catskill Mountains as I drop further south.
Anchored Down in Ithaca
Me, Joan, Interlaken
Monday, September 06, 2004
Ithaca, NY
Well, it was bound to happen. The remnants of Hurricane Francis are floating up the eastern seaboard and, just when I was starting to put the gear together to head south to New York, it is lining up to dump rain for days along the route. I’ve been visiting here in Ithaca for a few days and the weather has been beautiful so I was hopeful that the storm was going to move slow enough so I could do the 2-3 days needed to reach New York City, but since it looks like days on end of heavy rain, which I’m not interested in riding through – just tips the odds against success – I figure it is better to be stranded here with friends then in some “No-Tell Motel” south of Binghamton.
I could have scrambled out this morning but I also was met by another natural event that I haven’t experienced along the trip and that is the quite hectic life of two teenage girls. Meredith and Rachael just got back from vacation on the Cape; Meredith was away at summer camp for a month or so and hasn’t seen friends; school is coming and everyone needs to shop for the latest gear; Rachael is working – in short I feel for Joan as it seems to take less to have coordinated D-Day than to get everyone in the same room for 20 minutes, much less figure out what part of what day might work for us all to hang out!
Finger Lakes Floating
Finger Lakes Farmland
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Ithaca, NY
After that great day of riding along the Erie Canal I headed south and I’m back on the real roads again. With this turn towards New York City I have also left the the Adventure Cycling route for good and am now making it up as I go along. Even though I have gone “off-route” many times along the way, this will be the longest run and I have to admit that I always found it somewhat reassuring to have their maps, with an “tried and true” touring route, with elevation lines clearly laid out, good information on where you can eat and sleep, and the many other helpful info stuffed onto the maps. Now it is back to highway maps – where the perspective is clearly for cars and cars alone. Nothing about elevation changes, nothing about shoulders or sections with tricky traffic – just various lines of different colors and widths that you have to guess will work out in the end.
I’ve lived and traveled in this area before so I am somewhat familiar with the terrain and the some of the roads but even still, just like everyone zipping along in cars, I can’t say I paid much attention to the condition of shoulders, the distances between towns with places to stay, etc. so it is still a bit of a guess as to what will work best.
The Erie Canal, a Cyclist’s Dream Trail and the 4,000 Mile Mark
Erie Canal
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Rochester, NY
What a great day. Unbelievable in fact. It was a beautiful late summer day – sunny, warm but not hot, with big cotton clouds in the sky – and I was riding on along the Erie Canal all day long. Not just riding along on the road, but on a dedicated bike trail that follows the old tow paths on the side of the canal. They have done an incredible job of converting the tow path into a trail that, just like the Erie Canal, goes on and on and on – hundreds of miles all across the the middle of New York.
It was simply incredible – I did over 100 miles today with no cars racing by, no one brushing close by as they try to save 30 seconds rushing to whatever really important things merit a complete lack of consideration for others, no worries about tractor trailers, no need to look in the mirror every few minutes – just cranking along finally able to relax and really enjoy the ride for the first time since I left over two months ago. An absolutely incredible treat after so many miles with cars being the biggest danger – worse than the heat, worse than the mountains, worse than the miles – nothing compares to the non-stop awareness you have to have to be ready to take evasive action in case some fool doesn’t see you – or worse still – sees you and just wants to feel a bit more powerful during an otherwise powerless day.
By the Numbers: 3,920 Miles Down, 20 Pounds Gone
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Niagara Falls, Canada
Well, my mom and I have toured most all there is to tour around here. We’ve walked up and down the Clifton Hill area so many times that I’m going to lose my mind if I hear the same tape loops calling people inside various horror houses one more time I will lose my mind. Ripley’s was suitably weird, we walked a few miles each day as we strolled around the American and Canadian side of the falls, up along the rapids and have started going to the same restaurants twice. In short, it is time to move on…
It is hard to believe that it is already September. I am looking forward to a great ride down along the Erie Canal, along the Finger Lakes, into the Catskills (mountains again!) and I imagine the final run down into New York City wil be interesting to say the least.