A Week at Home

First off, I would like to apologize for not updating my blog in a timely fashion. A week seems like such a large sum of time to do something as simple as updating a blog, no? Well, I have found myself very busy with other activities while at home that have prevented me from updating my entries. Who would have thought that I would be so busy?

This 'vacation' has been very nice! I spent the first day relaxing and not worrying about my trip. I felt I deserved something of the sort since I had just put my body through some grueling situations. Since my left calve was in quite a bit of pain over the past three days of riding, I placed it under the infrared light and stayed off it as much as possible. With the help of my mothers healing hands my calve quickly healed and my legs felt great! Of course my mother did not stop at just my calve, she had plenty of other muscles and joints to work on. Being the worrying mother that she is, and probably rightfully so, she is on pins and needles about how my legs, wrists, hands, back and probably my left pinky toe are doing. Gotta love her for it though, because she just cares that much!

I will skip all the mumbo-jumbo that happened in between important parts of my break and this leads me up to the weekend; the whole reason why I stayed home for a week. My brother Jon played in a soccer tournament in Madison, WI. My parents and I went down to Madison and met up with my sister and grandparents on Friday night. It was great to see Grandpa Jim and Grandma Alice for I have not had many opportunities to visit them since I accepted the job in Massachusetts. Of course there was tons of talk about my bike trip but the real treat was just getting to spend some more time with all my family.

Since returning back to Hudson on Saturday night, I have been constantly on my computer planning out my route into the Rockies, applying to dental school, placing new music on my iPod, mapping out my trip thus far, updating my blog, writing letters to family friends and trying to upload the rest of my photos onto photobucket.com. I have also been packing constantly, picking out a new seat for my bike (I have two new ones now) and I was interviewed by the Hudson Star Observer (article release on September 24th). Of course I have been dinking around on my computer researching random things as well but that is more of a cooping mechanism so that I don't go crazy with all the stress.

I knew that leaving my hometown would be hard but I never thought taking a week break would be so stressful. It is a different stress than while on my bike but it wears me out just as much, if not more. While I was traveling from Maine towards Hudson, WI, I always had the idea in my head that I was heading home. I had a destination that meant a lot to me and I had a large drive to get there. Now that I am home that drive to get to the next place has diminished quite a bit. I am not looking forward to crossing Western MN and all of SD. This could potentially be the hardest part of my trip for two reasons.

1) It is very flat and there is not a whole lot to look at

2) I am traveling away from home which feels like it should be my final destination

I am really looking forward to getting to Yellowstone but that is quite a ways out (about 2 weeks) and that is a lot of biking to do for a single destination. After I make it to Yellowstone things should be a lot better though. There are so many amazing sites to be seen from Yellowstone till the end of my trip that I will be in heaven! I just have to make it there... I will just keep telling myself, "think happy thoughts".

To bring the first part of my trip into conclusion I have included a map of the trip thus far. I made this map on a new site I found called 'map my ride'. It is quite a nice site and I will hopefully be using it more often for the duration of the trip. I will pair this site with couchsurffing.org to make sure that I meet as many people as possible over the next 3 months.

The cool thing about 'mapmyride.com' is that I can transfer my route to google earth and do a mini 3-D tour of the route. I love technology!

The following is a map of my anticipated course for the next two days...

Wish me luck on the next week of travels for I will be very lonely and hopefully depression does not kick in! You know what... I am going to kick this portion of the trips arse! Who knows, it could be the most fun I have ever had! I just pray for no 25mph headwinds!!!

Day 23 - Sunday September 6th

137.61 miles
8:41.21 hrs
32.0 max
15.8 Avg

As expected, I got to a late start this morning. I didn't start biking till 11:30 and this made me pretty uneasy about the whole day. I knew that I had about 130 miles to ride before I reached the sanctuary that I call home. Lucky for me, the ride was flat and fast for the majority of the trip. The route was also engulfed by gorgeous scenery that took my mind off the distance ahead and allowed me to lose myself in the ride.

As I was approaching the 50 mile marker (into the trip) and was coming down a decent sized hill, two bikers on a training ride pulled out about 300 yards in front of me. With a little bit of adrenaline pumping through my body in hopes that I could meet up with these bikers and ride with some company once again (like I did in VT), I found myself biking at a steady 22 mph on average for the next 2 miles or so. At first I was gaining quite a bit of ground on these two gentlemen but as they slowly increased their pace I was no longer jumping that gap as quickly as I hoped. Soon enough, the adrenaline was starting to wear off and found myself about 50 yards behind my target. I quickly jumped out of the saddle and started to sprint. As I got closer and closer I started to feel the slip stream and I knew at that point that I had them in my grasp.

After I caught these two gents, I sat patiently in the back of their turbulence and took a joy ride for the next 12 miles or so. The gentlemen held a pace of about 22 miles an hour on average throughout their ride and I was very impressed that I could keep up with them with my loaded bike. Towards the end of the conjoined ride, I found myself loosing ground on the climbs but I easily caught back up on the descents. Unfortunately, I was not able to converse with them before they turned off into a gas station but I can't even imagine what was going through their heads when they saw a guy with a loaded bike keeping up with them on a training ride! I was proud of myself!

A couple dozen photos and about 9 hours of actual biking time later, I ended up pulling into my house around 9:30 pm. My mom was worried frantic and wanted to come pick me up when I was near Prescott but I would not let her, I needed to complete this day unassisted. In doing so I set a new record for myself for longest ride in a day! I can't wait for the week of relaxation to begin!

Day 22 - Saturday September 5th

128.78 miles
8:00.21 hrs
39.5 max
16.0 avg

With my family coming down to Madison the following weekend for my brothers soccer tournament, I packed up all the essentials into my two panniers and left my trailer in Madison for my 270 mile trip home to Hudson, WI. Losing the trailer allowed me to pick up the pace and really make good time on the longer ride. The combination of decreased rolling resistance and increased aerodynamics made riding much easier. I was surprised to find that the increased height of my center of gravity did not bother me while riding.

I had strangly gotten in contact (they rarely ever answer their phones) with two of my old high school friends the previous night who currently attend Iowa State University. I asked them, with little hope of them accepting, if they wanted to go camping at La Crosse on Saturday. They were both quick to say, "Okay, sounds good", without any hesitation. I was very excited to see them and this just gave me more motivation to make it to La Crosse in good time.

I took highway 14 all the way into La Crosse and the scenery was gorgeous. I had never been up the South West side of Wisconsin and had the opportunity to ride through my mothers birth place, Viroqua, WI. After making the trek through this quadrant of WI I have a new found respect for Wisconsin's landscape. Much to my dismay I strained my left calve some time between arriving in Milwaukee (maybe at the soccer game) and leaving Madison for La Crosse. On my trip to La Crosse my calve really started acting up (about 60 miles into the ride). At this point I could not put a lot of preassure on it without some intense pain. I pushed through the pain in excitement for the night to come.

Camping that night was a ton of fun! We shared stories, played cards, grilled some burgers and brats and just joked around till 'way to late' in the morning. Even though I knew that I had a long hike ahead of me the following day, I was ok with staying up late because it had been way to long since I had seen my friends and it was only one more day of riding before I would have a week at home with my family to rest.

Friday September 4th

I spent the day with my sister in Madison, WI.

Day 21 - Thursday September 3rd

94.69 miles
6:51.58 hrs
27.6 max
13.7 avg

Lindsey's boyfriend escorted me out of Milwaukee this morning. He too is an avid biker and it was great to ride with someone again. It became apparently obvious how much the trailer slowed me down on the climbs as he shot ahead of me every time we started up an incline. It sure made the ride go by faster. It is crazy what a little companionship and conversation can do for a ride. He took me through the scenic route around the south side of the city and then saw me off once we got to the Western side of the city.

The rest of the ride towards Madison, where my sister lives, was pretty nice. Again it was a longer day, but I made very good time. As I approached Madison there was a gorgeous sunset right over the lake on the south east side of the capital. This was the third city in a row that I cycled into after dusk. This did not bother me because every time I would enter a city at night I had a specific destination and a person of whom I was going to be seeing shortly.

It was great to see my sister, I ended up staying an extra day so that I could spend a little more time with her. It was one of the first times that we had an opportunity to do something, just the two of us. Time well spent!

Day 20 - Wednesday September 2nd

96.72 miles
6:21.50 hrs
26.6 Max
15.1 Avg

As I left Chicago in the 'early' morning my mood was very poor. I don't know exactly what factors contributed to my low morale, it could have been one of many. This was the first time that I had been to Chicago and not been able to really see any of the city, in a relaxed manner. I really didn't have enough time to spend with Molly and this bugged me immensely. Perhaps it was from a phone call I had with Dawn the previous night? The crappy road conditions? Or the poor directions some people gave me to get to the road I wanted? Or... I have no idea really... All I know is that I wanted more time in Chicago but felt rushed to get home. Next time I will make sure that my visit is more relaxed.

I kept this mood for most of the day until I hit the Wisconsin boarder. At this point my mood immediately altered. The feel of Wisconsin pavement under my wheels pepped me up and I was excited to get to Milwaukee to see Lindsey. Of course, one missed turn on the southern side of Milwaukee put me into town later than expected.

Lindsey, a good friend from SLU (Saint Louis University, for those who know nothing about my college life) is a very athletic woman and had an indoor soccer game this night. She kindly invited me to play with them and I happily accepted the invitation. Who am I to give up an opportunity to play sport? Even though I biked nearly a hundred miles previous to playing I was still excited to get on the soccer pitch!

Since I was not a member of the team I was last in line to get on the field. When my turn came, I jumped on the field and immediately tried to sprint towards the opposing player with the ball about 5 yards ahead of me. No more than 3 steps later I found myself flat on my face; my legs had forgotten how to run. I was so embarrassed but I could not help myself but laugh it off. I didn't find myself on the ground again the rest of the game, except when I meant to but I never had to pay so much attention to putting one foot in front of the other in my life. It is crazy what three weeks of just biking can do to your muscle memory. I wonder if my running muscles have started undergoing atrophy; I felt SO slow!

Day 19 - Tuesday September 1st

113.7 miles
8:10.24 hrs
25.3 mph Max
13.9 mph Avg

With a slight wind to my back and an hour to gain with a time zone transition, I thought I had plenty of time to travel the 103 miles (quoted by google maps) from Notre Dame to Moliver's house in Chicago... well, I made it. I made it at around 9 pm. I can thank a flat tire for that! Out of all the tires to get a flat, I figured that my trailer tire would be the last to get a flat, for it is a heavy duty mountain bike tire. Fortunately, I was prepared for such an occurrence and got to patch the tube up with my patch kit! I was wondering how long it was going to take me to get to use some of my tooling. Hopefully I won't have to do it again in the near future.

At the end of my trip I had the pleasure of biking along and by Chicago. The city looked amazing! I couldn't believe how much glass is in those buildings. With the way the sun was hitting the glass along the coast it was as if the City was protruding from the water. It was quite the site to see. I wanted to put my bike aside and just sit in the park and ponder life while gazing at the city by the water. It would have been so lovely to do. This was the first visit to Chicago when I have not been able to spend some time in the city exploring and people watching. I thought I had seen most of the city, but I guess not. I will have to make sure that the next time I visit that take a stroll on the Lakeshore Pkwy Trail!

Monday August 31st

REST DAY! This will be the first full rest day on my trip. I am visiting a friend at Notre Dame and am a little worried about the 103 miles I have to travel tomorrow to get to Chicago. It would be nice to do a little biking today to cut down the mileage for tomorrow. I am thinking that I might bike 20 miles this late evening and spend the night at a campground, to do just that. Not much more to say about today except that Notre Dame is gorgeous and I went to a Biology class today. It brought me back to undergrad days and makes me want to go back to school.

Day 18 - Sunday August 30th

118.00 miles

8:33.15 hrs

27.7 mph Max

13.7 mph Avg

This was a long day!!! I went well above my previous mileage high and my legs feel noodled. For the first time, walking down the stairs is difficult after the ride. I am staying with a friend's family friend and they are very hospitable. Upon arriving in Edwardsburg I had beer, a large plate of ribs, tater-tots and cooked carrots awaiting me. It was the best meal I could have asked for! Thank you Wayne and Anne for everything! You really made my night!

With such a distance to travel I did not know if it was going to be possible for me to make it all the way to Edwardsburg, since I got to a late start 9:30am. It was not nearly as windy as the day previous but there were definitely some hills to conquer. These hills were rolling and nothing compared to the mountains I passed through in NH, VT and NY, but I did not want to attack them in forecast of my legs/knees giving out if I took them too hard.

Typically, I would ride for 2 hours, take a little break, ride for another 2 hours, take a little break... etc. until my destination. Of course I would have to stop randomly for bathroom breaks, etc. Since I did not get started as early as desired it meant that I would not be able to take it easy and take a lot of breaks because I would be in the saddle for a presumed 9 hours. This means any time spent off the bike for a rest could prolong my trip longer than I had time to cycle with light. So, I would have to be on the bike constantly for longer periods of time than I was used to. Lets just say that 9 hours in a saddle with a half hour break for lunch was not exaclty fun for the touche'.

Day 17 - Saturday August 29th

51.36 miles

4:25.36 hrs

24.3 mph Max

11.5 mph Avg

Since I have about 3 days to get to Chicago from here I decided to take it easy this morning and not be too worried about time. I was going to head towards Ann Arbor and have lunch there while I checked out the campus. This really didn't happen for I didn't leave the hotel till about 1:30pm-ish. It was good to sleep in but it would have been better to bike an extra 20 more miles instead for then I could have camped somewhere closer to the destination I had set up for the following day.

It was fun to see Ann Arbor but I missed the majority of the campus by going down Main Street and transferring over to State Street on the south side of campus. It was very cold, VERY windy (headwind) and kind of hilly making this trip not very fun. I did have my iPod up and working which was a plus, comparative to the five day stint where it was out of battery during my trip through Ontario.

I ended up making it to Irish Hills Campground just on the West side of Clinton. The normal price for camping was $22, which is outrageous for a single tent, but he game be a 'break' and only charged me $15 for the night. That is such a high rate for having someone just pitch a tent and then go with no upkeep or anything. I think I want to open up a chain of parks across the US just for people like myself and only charge $5 per night/per person. Hopefully that would cover all the costs of the land and upkeep (probably not going to happen but it is an idea!).

Day 16 - Friday August 28th

77.99 miles

5:43.37 hrs

26.1 mph Max

13.6 mph Avg

Today was a VERY interesting day! It started out with me getting an average start out of Charing Cross and heading towards Windsor, ON at a brisk pace along a new route that the Sparks family recommended due to its decrease in overall distance. With a slight breeze at my back it started to rain pretty hard about 10 min into my travels. I didn't mind the rain really because of the tail wind that I had, you don't come by many of these when traveling East to West. I already had my rain gear on due to temperature outside (55 degrees) and in preparation of the clouds ahead. Unfortunately, I was soaked after about two hours of riding. With the elements against me I pushed through and arrived at the boarder a lot sooner than I expected. I was very excited to get back into the US!

Here is where things get interesting... There are two ways to cross the boarder. You can either take the bridge or you can take the tunnel. As bikes would most likely not be able to go in the tunnel I headed to the bridge. I took my time along the river taking pictures of Detroit and taking in the view of the bridge. As I rode up to the boarder patrol station to pay a toll to cross the bridge I found out that you cannot bike across the bridge either! This put me into a little predicament... I ended up calling a cab but when I found out that was going to cost me at least $50 I nixed that option. There was no way that I was going to spend $50 to go a mile in a cab!

The other options I had for traveling across the boarder were to travel back East and then North around Lake St. Clair to another boarder crossing (120 km away), Travel back East and then South to Kingsville to take a Fairy to PeLee Island and then take another fairy to Bay Point, OH, or to pack up my bike into a bag (?) and take the bus across the boarder where I was, or find another person riding in a truck and ask him if I can throw my bike in the back of his truck and then we ride across. Yes, I am talking about hitch-hiking... and I chose the last one. Of course this was probably not the smartest idea but it was a lot better than spending a couple extra days trying to get over the boarder. Anyways, the boarder patrol did not like me hitch-hiking across the boarder and the truck I was in got searched and I got a little lecture from the cop.

Needless to say, I made it over the boarder safely, but I was unable to get in contact with unemployment. I guess that will have to wait until next week.

When I got over the boarder and through Detroit I had little time to get out of the city and find a camp ground to stay at. As you can imagine, there are not many camp grounds around the suburbs of Detroit. I stopped at a grocery store to look at a map and asked around. As I was checking out, talking to the cashier, a lady overheard my conversation and approached me when I was outside packing up the food I bought on my bike. She started talking to me about how she loves to bike around and some of the options I had. She was going to get in touch with a friend who lived fairly close by and see if I could camp in their back yard but ended up offering to put me up at a Redroof Inn for the night. This was truly a treat and made my day a lot better compared to me previously thinking that I was going to be stranded in Canada for a couple nights.

I ended up spoiling myself this night and went out to eat. My days total expenses came in well above the budgeted $15/day that I am trying to stay under but I didn't really care at the time. Overall, I am well under my budget and things will work out.

Day 15 - Thursday August 27th

99.11 miles

6:48.59 hrs

35.4 mph Max

14.7 mph Avg

Three trip records were broken today! I hit the 1000 mile mark on my bike trip, I went over 90 miles in one day and I averaged 14.7 mph. Overall it feels pretty good to be this far in the trip! Surprisingly, it was not till the second half of the trip that my averaged jumped so much. The first half average was at 12.5-13 mph and at the 40 mile mark, after lunch, my legs felt pretty good and with a little tail wind I averaged about 18 mph for the next 2.5-3 hours! I was very happy to be knee-pain free for I would not have been able to do this with any knee pain. Hopefully they feel good tomorrow too!

Since today was cold and wet, I ended up wearing my full rain suit. I feel like this helped my knees out by keeping them warm and dry! I took off the jacket at one point but kept the legs on and it seemed to work wonders.

A special thanks to the Sparks family for hosting me this evening in Charing Cross, ON, Canada. The hospitality was amazing and the company even better. It was great meeting you all and hopefully our paths will cross again in the future. Thanks to the Asher family as well for the pie and sponsorship of my trip!

I am needing to get out of Canada by 4:30 tomorrow so that I can call unemployment before the weekend. I will just have to plan for this by leaving early in the morning.

Day 14 - Wednesday August 26th

80.81 miles
6:43.10 hrs
33 mph Max
12.0 mph Avg

Today started out great with the Ring family, in the house I slept beside the previous night, offering me a shower and food in the morning for my trip. They are a married couple who have a summer house right on lake Erie.

After a nice shower, some fruit, granola and a banana I headed down the coast. Within five minutes of my departure it started to rain. I threw on my rain coat and kept peddling. Of course it was also cold and this did not help. My left knee started hurting about 10 miles into the trip and I found myself keeping as much weight off it at all times. Every time I would stop to check the map my knee felt better instantly but when I got back on the bike the pain was increased 25% over the previous pain.

After about 40 miles of biking I stopped at a convenience store and spent a little time getting warm. As the rain slowed down I threw on my rain pants and coat and continued to peddle. I don't know if it was the extra heat that the insulated pants gave or maybe some increased pressure on the knee but my knee pain went away! I went the rest of the day without pains!

The weather was a little funny for the rest of the day. Half the sky was clear blue (to my north) and the other half was dark and rainy. The sun never came out for more than a couple minutes at a time but when it did it felt so good!

As dusk approached I decided that I would peddle until I hit 80 miles and then start looking for a place to stay. I fortunately ran into an older gentleman in his yard and he offered up some grass for me to place my tent on. His wife cooked me some pork chops and I enjoyed the best tomatoes that I have ever tasted fresh from her garden! (I don't like tomatoes, but these were good!)

Day 13 - Tuesday August 25th

43.39 miles
3:44.36 hrs
25 mph Max
11.5 mph Avg

This morning I spent my time getting up for I knew that it was going to be a rest day and I would only go about 40 miles or so. I went down to a cheap all you can eat buffet and loaded up on food. The food was not all that great but I got plenty of it!

When I got back to the Double Tree I put on my bathing suit and headed down to the pool. I sat in the hot tub for about 20 min and then went into the dry sauna. The sauna may not have been the best idea because it may have dehydrated me but it felt great when I was in there. Of course, when I got back up to my room it was almost time to check out and I still had to pack everything up and I still had wet clothes from the previous nights bathtub laundry extravaganza! (It was really not that fun but I like to stay positive!)

As I hit the road at about 2pm, after stopping at the travelers information center for a free map that is HUGE, my knees were in near instant pain. The next 3:44 hours of riding were miserable. It was sunny, which was nice, but it was also very windy and the pain never stopped.

At the end of the day I stopped at a long beach and talked to a few people about my trip. I inquired about camping on the beach and everyone thought that it would be ok. I eventually decided against it and decided to ride towards the next camp ground (3 miles away).

The camp ground wanted $30 for the night and I would have nothing of it. I said no thanks and rode towards the next camp ground, this time looking for some people to talk to who may offer up a spot in their yard. I approached two people in a driveway, one an elder man on a bike and the other a mid age woman. I inquired about a camp ground near by that was not $30 a night or if they knew of any land where I could pitch a tent for cheap. The older gentleman, Stan, informed me that he just cut his grass and offered for me to stay in his yard for the night.

We rode side by side down the street at a pace of about 4 mph, it reminded me of one of those postcards with a father and son doing something special together. As we chatted, I talked about my trip and when I proceeded to tell him I was doing the trip for cancer research Stan stated, " I don't think much of cancer research." This threw me off guard... what do you mean you don't think much of cancer research???!!! I could tell at this moment that this conversation was going to be awkward. I did not think that it would become more awkward until I continued to talk about the trip and he interrupted me stating, "Wait, your American?" His demeanor totally changed at that point and I couldn't believe it. I then proceeded to wonder if this was a common feeling that Canadians had for Americans.

As we pulled into his house. The back yard was full of mosquitoes but I was not going to let that stop me from have a good nights sleep. As I inquired about jumping in the lake, something clicked in Stan's head and he told me that if I wanted I could go and camp out between the two houses across the street (he owned the 30'x6' strip of land between the two houses, marked off by some stakes in the ground). This spot was perfect for it would bring me closer to the water, allow a great view of the sunset and there was a breeze that kept the mosquitoes away!

The one worry in my mind was what the neighbors would say when they saw my tent on the side of their house...

Day 12 - Monday August 24th

77.17 miles
6:14.27 hrs
21.4 mph Max
12.2 mph Avg

Niagara Falls baby! The ride into Niagara was beautiful. I met a guy on the road, Mike Bundy, who gave me $16 for my trip, it was my first sponsorship! Thanks Mike!

I stopped at a bunch of fruit stands along the road, talking to people and filling up on some great, cheap, fruit! Fruit has become a main source of nutrition for me as it has made itself very prevalent along my route. The problem is that you need to consume a lot to fill up, but it makes a great mid-ride snack.

When I got to the US side of Niagara, the town looked like it was going into the shitter! There were many signs up for "Opening Soon" and a lot of closed doors. I did not feel comfortable biking through the city and the road conditions were brutal. I am very surprised that I did not get a flat.

As I crossed the boarder into Canada things turned very upscale and beautiful. I took many pictures of the falls and the surrounding area. I don't know when I will get to post these... probably when I make it to Hudson, WI, come the second week of September. I ended up deciding to cash in my HHonors Rewards points for a free hotel room at the Double Tree on the strip. The reservation used all 30,000 points and I was a little upset about this but the room was amazing! Two queen beds.. a large shower... two cookies... a bunch of coffee and a great location with a view! I spent the night out on the town walking up and down the main streets people watching and exploring the splendor of Niagara Falls. Overall it was a very good day! I was so relieved to be out of NY State and in another country.

Day 11 - Sunday August 23rd

85.5 miles
6:35.32 hrs
331. mph Max
12.5 mph Avg

Today was a very rough day! It rained all day, there was nothing to look at and my iPod ran out of juice so I had nothing to distract me from the dullness of the ride.

On a happy note, I did meet one gentleman who expressed that he would like to donate to the cause. This made me think of what I can do to be a little more aggressive in my campaigning for the cause. I do not have a set strategy for making my goal of 15K for the LAF. If I want to do this I am going to have to spend some extra time in a couple cities and sell some food or something. Anyone have any ideas?

Day 10 - Saturday August 22nd

77.96
5:41.28 hrs
35.6 mph Max
13.6 mph Avg

Day 9 - Friday August 21st

85.69 miles
6:05.25 hrs
39.9 mph max
14.1 Avg

As you approach the Adirondacks from VT, as I did yesterday, and you ride up and down the rolling hills you can't imagine anything more beautiful. Once you cross over the boarder of VT/NY, the what once were mystic mountains turn into what seem to be little hills (compared to the White Mountains); It is kind of a disappointing site. It wasn't till I biked along Lake George that I thought that the Adirondacks were truly beautiful. I gazed into the crystal clear lake with large hills bulging out of the water to define the outer diameter and was immediately in a state of awe.

I stopped along lake George at a visitors station and met this very nice lady whom I talked to for quite some time about the Adirondacks. She convinced me to bike a certain route that she ensured would be low in traffic and not a lot of climbing, I think she mixed the two roads up! The route she sent me on started off with a 5.5 mile climb up the side of a mountain!

The funny thing about NY is that I think they try and deceive you whenever possible. Ask me why next time you see me and I will explain all the ways that they make you think one thing and deliver something totally different.

I wandered into a town called Camden at the end of my trip today and they had a Firemans Fair going on. I talked to a couple firemen and they allowed me to camp out under the large tent on the fairgrounds because it was going to rain 1/2 to 3/4 an inch. I unfortunately had to wait until the fair was over (11pm) to finally pitch tent. Prior to the end of the fair I had 3 potential donators to the cause, had fallen asleep on a bench for a least 30 min and was given some free fried clams by the fireman. The clams were not a good idea for they did not settle well and I had stomach aches all that night and the next morning.

Day 8 - Thursday August 20th

I am too tired right now to add anything to the blog besides numerical input... it is as follows:

74.76 miles
6:19.47 hrs
43.0 mph Max
11.8 mph Avg

Let it be stated that the ride time is the actual time I spent peddling on my bike. My computer has an automatic setting that stops recording if the bike stops. So, when it says that I rode for 3 hours or so... I was probably on the road for 5 hours as it does not include breaks and such. Today was a long, hard day. A ton of climbing and a long distance. I look forward to the next couple days since the mountain stages are done until the Rockies!!! It is dissapointing to leave them all behind, as they give great scenery, but they are a pain in the ass sometimes, that you can take literally!

As I was on my bike today I thought a lot about cancer and what it must be like to fight against it. I then related it to the bike trip in the sense that this trip is my cancer... I must conquor it! There are no excuses... I do not get a break. I will bike every day no matter what the elements throw at me. I may try and dodge them but I must fight through this. I was granted the opportunity to do this amazing trip and I am going to make the most of it! This is the moment in my life where I define who I am, what I have and where I am going... it is my opportunity, my challenge and my choice in life. I MUST make the most of it and do it to the fullest. This is the only way! NO EXCUSES!

Now that I may have said something that I will regret down the line I must go to sleep... my eyes are droopy and I need to replenish for tomorrow... a day of projected heavy rain!

Day 7 - Wednesday August 19th

58.2 miles
4.49.05 hrs
47.4 mph Max
12 mph Avg

Today I passed the 400 mile marker and have set that as my minimum for travel each week. I want to travel at least 400 miles a week. I will shoot for 500 but will be happy with 400. Hopefully this means that I can make it to the Californian coast before it gets too cold.

I am sad to have this be the last day of riding in a group, but hopefully this means that I will be able to ride farther each day. I look forward to the possibility of meeting more people like the three I met yesterday and hope that it happens again shortly!

This night will be spent in luxury for I will not have the opportunity to stay in a real bed for $25 again, for a long time. I must head out now and make it through the Adirondack Mountains before it gets too late and starts raining! It could be a long day and night! Peace and love to all, I look forward to what adventures lie ahead!