Day 43, Fairlee, VT to North Conway, NH

Today was the penultimate day. I rode 77.60 miles from Fairlee, VT to North Conway, NH. There was 5,535 ft. of climbing involved as we traveled through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I touched a maximum speed of 42.2 mph on the steep descent after Kancamagus Pass. I was sad that the journey is coming to an end. I thought that if I pedaled slower than usual, I could make it last a little longer. I know it is not logical thinking but to my brain experiencing emotional overload it felt right.

1.1 mile after the start today, we came to the New Hampshire State Line.

I crossed the Connecticut River which is the longest river in the New England region of the United States.

The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States.

Fall is beautiful here in the White Mountain National Forest - the weather is perfect and the air is crisp.

New Hampshire Route 112 (abbreviated NH 112) is a 56.39-mile-long (90.75 km) east–west state highway in northern New Hampshire. The highway winds across the state, connecting Bath to Conway via the scenic and mountainous area of the White Mountain National Forest. Part of this highway, which runs through the White Mountains, is known as the Kancamagus Highway. This highway is known for its views of autumn foliage and is a popular drive in September and October for so-called leaf peeping tourism. Riding today was more dangerous than usual due to the thousands of vehicles driven by the “leaf-peepers”.

One of the rituals at the end of the ride for me is a long soak in a hot tub/whirlpool. This takes away all the fatigue from my body and gets me prepared for the next day’s ride.

I alternate sitting in the whirlpool and doing laps in the swimming pool. Sheree took this picture to capture the very impressive tan lines on my arms. I have similar tan lines on my thighs too. 

Tomorrow is the final day. We will ride into Portland, Maine and complete our Portland to Portland cross country bicycle journey. I have mixed emotions. I am glad that it is coming to a safe end with so many fond memories and I am sad that I will have to part from my “family” of fellow riders and guides. I know not why I shed these tears for they were "strangers" just a mere 44 days ago but now they tug at my heart with such force and arouse such passion that I am an emotional wreck.

“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” ― Khalil Gibran

Day 42, Ticonderoga, NY to Fairlee, VT

Today I rode 94.28 miles with 6,531 ft. of elevation gain. Some would describe today’s weather as atrocious. It was cold and raining all day long. I personally found it to be very enthralling. I had never ridden a bicycle in such conditions. There certainly was the element of danger due to the slick road conditions but the added challenge made it so much more rewarding for me.

We embarked on the Fort Ti Ferry which transported us, our bicycles and the support vehicles across Lake Champlain from NY to Vermont. The ferry connects the Lake George and Adirondack regions of New York, with the Middlebury and central Green Mountain areas of Vermont.

I entered Vermont, the 14^th state of my journey. Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Vermont is the 6th smallest in area and the 2nd least populous of the 50 United States. It is the only New England state not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermont's western border, which it shares with the state of New York. The Green Mountains are within the state. Vermont is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east across the Connecticut River, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. I now have only New Hampshire and Maine left. Two more days and I will complete the West to East crossing of the U.S.A. I have 141 miles of riding left to reach the Atlantic Ocean at Portland, Maine on Monday.

This is the only photograph with all the 22 riders in it. Did you count? You got 23, did you not? Well, 5th from left is Scott Heather, one of the guides. As all of us disembarked from the ferry together and got ready to saddle up and start riding, a thought struck my mind and I quickly acted upon it. I suggested that before we go our own way through the day, this would be a perfect moment to capture all of us in a photograph and here it is. The credit for this photograph goes to Joanne Ernst. Our guide Dave Edwards also snapped a picture with his very fancy camera with a lens that juts out about 2 feet. I am hoping to be able to get my hands on that photo as that should be more detailed with better definition and contrast.

Even though it rained all day, it did not stop me from enjoying the beauty of the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Vermont this time of the year is a landscape artist’s dream. The vibrant colors of the season are best captured on the slopes of the mountains of Vermont.

The highlight of the day for me was the teamwork that made the descent of Brandon Gap possible for me. As I reached the Gap, my guide Amy inquired about how I was doing. Was I cold? Was I wet? Was I hungry or thirsty? Did I want to take a “bump” and ride in the support van down the steep slopes coming up? There were 7 riders that were doing exactly that. No sooner had I stated my personal decision to ride the descent that there was a flurry of activity around me. One person handed me a banana and as I shed my rain jacket to reach my day bag strapped to my back to reach my rain pants, another person started peeling the banana for me. As I took a bite at a time, someone held the banana in their hand for me while I put my rain pants and rain jacket back on. I suddenly found myself with 5 pairs of hands. Holly, a very experienced bicyclist joined Amy in rattling safety instructions to me knowing how green I am at this bicycling thing. The folks sitting in the support vehicles also were prodding me on with encouraging words. And finally, Evan Mirapaul, a fellow rider who was done for the day peeled off his very fancy neoprene gloves and handed them to me. He helped me remove my wet and soggy gloves and don his warm and waterproof gloves. Would it not have been for that, I would have had very cold and stiff fingers on the descent adding to the danger. Nicole was busy with her GoPro camera capturing the moment along with her commentary. And then I was off. All this took no longer than 3 minutes. Would it have taken longer, I would have started to get chilled and hypothermic eliminating my possibility of going for the descent from Brandon Gap. 

My wish is that people reading this blog try to apply this principle of teamwork in their daily lives and see for themselves how much more can be accomplished with this kind of a mindset. I will never forget this day for as long as I live. My eyes are welling up with tears as I think of the selfless generosity of my fellow riders and wrap up this blog for today.

Goodnight.

Day 41, Speculator, NY to Ticonderoga, NY

Today I rode 72.69 miles with 3,077 ft. of elevation gain. After having done 7 century rides in a row, today seemed like a rest day. I was on the saddle for less than 5 hours and my rear side was very thankful for it. I rode through familiar territory as I negotiated my way from Speculator to Ticonderoga. Views of Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes at Hague, NY were outstanding.

I had to stop and take a photo of this tree along the shores of Brant Lake. Since the mid-1880s, Brant Lake has been a popular fishing and hunting area among wealthy visitors including Theodore Roosevelt. Around 1900, several hotels began catering to these wealthy visitors. Summer camps for youth were established around the same time. The seat of town government is today located in the hamlet. 

Scott, my guide must have said something funny that made me laugh as he snapped up this picture at mile marker 57 today. That was at the top of the final climb of the day.

Ticonderoga is a town in Essex County, New York, USA. The population was 5,042 at the 2010 census. The name comes from the Mohawk tekontaró:ken, meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways". The town of Ticonderoga is in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Plattsburgh. The town borders both north end of Lake George and south end of Lake Champlain. The short, but rapidly flowing, La Chute River connects the two lakes. The east town line is the border of Vermont, and the south town line is the county line of Warren County and Washington County.

We ate dinner at the Burgoyne Grill in the Best Western Plus hotel we are staying at. This framed poster was facing me as I sat down to eat my dinner. I thought it would be a fitting end to my today’s blog so here it is.

Day 40, Cazenovia, NY to Speculator, NY

Today I rode 103.49 miles from Cazenovia to Speculator, NY. There was 3,702 ft. of elevation gain. I have only 4 more riding days and about 310 miles left to complete the journey.

I witnessed a captivating sunrise and tried to capture it on celluloid.

I rode past Barneveld this morning. This is the closest that I will get to home in Lowville, NY. 45 miles north on Route 12 and I would be home.

The Adirondack Park is a publicly protected, elliptical area encompassing much of the northeastern lobe of Upstate New York, United States. It is the largest park and the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States, and the largest National Historic Landmark.

The park covers some 6.1 million acres (2.5×106 ha), a land area roughly the size of Vermont and greater than the National Parks of Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains combined.

As I was riding along route 8 just past Piseco Lake lost in my own thoughts listening to the “Om Mani Padme Hum” Buddhist chant, a car pulls up and stops just ahead of me. I slow down and stop. Bud Hall jumped out from the passenger side to greet me with a big bear hug. Bud, a pharmacist, has been a great friend and supporter of my crazy adventures over the last 20 years that I have lived in Lowville, NY. Also seen in the photo is his wife Chris, who works in the maternity department at the Lewis County General Hospital.

My abode for the night is Lake Pleasant Lodge. 

A panoramic view of Lake Pleasant. Lake Pleasant is considered a tourist hub in Hamilton County. Estimates put the number of summer homes at around three-quarters of the homes in the area. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the unofficial summer season, the small town is a busy community, with many activities including a parade, fireworks, summer musical, camping, nature hiking, water activities, and historical activities, art show, geocaching, mountain biking and so much more. Lake Pleasant is also famous for its fall foliage, and winter sport activities.

Janis Bond, a fellow rider from Delaware expressed a desire to go out on the lake in a canoe as she had never been in a canoe ever before. I was itching to be out on the water myself. So, we hopped in a canoe and off we went to the middle of the lake. The wind was blowing hard which made the waters choppy but no whitecaps. Looking around the shoreline from the water was very enjoyable, especially the fall colors. To read Janis’s blog, click here.

Wayne Pierce seen here has also been a friend of mine since I moved to Lowville 20 years ago. He works as a pharmaceutical representative. He is the one that got me into bicycling many years ago. He is also the one that taught me the game of golf. I have truly enjoyed his friendship and was so happy that he came out to join me for the evening. We had dinner together at the Melody Lodge.

My happiness knows no bounds now that I am reunited with my wife Sheree. She plans on accompanying the group for the last 4 days of the journey to Portland, Maine.

Here is my thought for today. I have been bringing you these “Wow” moments from across the country. But I realize that I live in the biggest “Wow” moment all year long. The beauty of Upstate New York is incomparable. Our fall colors, snowy winter wonderland, spring reawakening, brief but lovely summers, flora and fauna, lakes, rivers, streams, trails, mountains are a joy to behold. Why is it that one has to go far and away to realize what one has left behind? Now that I witness the beauty of the place where I live, I am more convinced that there is no better place in this big country of ours to live than Upstate New York. We may not have big “bank balances” but go check our “happiness balance”. The world needs to gauge people not on the basis of their “net-worth”, but on the basis of their “self-worth”.

I will be home on Tuesday, October 7^th and back in the office on Thursday, October 9^th.

Day 39, Corning, NY to Cazenovia, NY

Today was Day 39 of my journey. I have 5 more riding days and about 410 miles to go. This would mean I have cycled about 3,260 miles of the total 3,670 miles. Today I covered 100.44 miles and 5,237 ft. of elevation gain.

What makes Ithaca unique? Is it the towering waterfalls, lush ice-age gorges, endless panoramic views? Is it the hiking, the biking, the boating? Is it the beauty of Cayuga Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes? Perhaps.

But perhaps it's something more. Maybe it's the buzz from Cornell University and Ithaca College. You feel it everywhere—in our museums, our galleries, and in our restaurants. You hear it in our theaters, our nightclubs, our Finger Lakes festivals. You see it downtown on our pedestrian mall, the Ithaca Commons, where PhDs cross paths with street musicians and families stroll the solar system on an interactive "planet walk." You experience it in our area hotels, B&B's and waterfront cabins. You can't put your finger on it, but there's something special going on here. The bumper stickers say "Ithaca is Gorges," but it's more than that. Ithaca is beautiful and smart and always unexpected. It's intense and laid-back and disdainful of convention. Ithaca is Ithaca. There's a vibe here unlike anywhere else in America. And experiencing it is the only way to discover it.

A view of one of the gorges in Ithaca.

Finally, after a long and hard day, I entered Cazenovia, the destination for the day.

My abode for the night is the Brae Loch Inn.

On my journey across the country I have met some very wonderful people. Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting a very sharp young lady called Leah Thies. She waited on our table but I sensed something special about her. As the conversation flowed, we realized that she had spent time in Denver, Colorado and now lived in Syracuse. Her true calling is to sell real estate. With those sparkling eyes and ready smile and the intellect that I sense she possesses, I have no doubt that she will pursue her dreams to fruition. I look forward to seeing her running her own real estate empire in Northern New York someday soon. She is seen here with “Big wave” Dave Edwards, our lead guide at the BrewsterInn where we dined tonight.

What a fitting end to such a wonderful day to see my dear friend Tom Lizzio of Syracuse who drove down to Cazenovia to see me. He had come to Portland, Oregon to see me off on my journey. The only regret I have is that I was so sleepy that I was unable to spend as much time with him as I would have liked to. But I know we will have plenty of time in the Adirondacks when we climb together for me to fill him in with all my cross country stories.

My wish for today is for you to listen to someone's story, let them tell you about their dreams. Promote the younger generation to dream big, help them follow their dreams, stay true to themselves, not give up hope at the first stumbling block they encounter, and teach them to use obstacles as stepping stones for success. If you can do nothing of this, at least do not laugh at their dreams or criticize them for dreaming "big". I was one of those dreamers once. I had a lot of people that believed in me and a lot more that did not. The ones that did not helped me the most by challenging me to prove me right and not them wrong. Now that I have realized my "big dreams", it brings me great satisfaction to somehow inspire the younger generation to follow theirs and make our world a much better place for all. 

Goodnight.