Riding Day 57 - Yes, we made it!

Just a short blog tonight. Rich and I arrived at the Atlantic Ocean today around 1:30 p.m. after riding 74 miles from Hanover. We were greeted by Kathy, Cindy, my brother Bill, his wife Janis, and their children Rachel and Andrew, as well as several other interested and enthusiastic onlookers who were captured by the moment.

The finish was perfectly placed -- we ended the ride on a dedicated bike trail, where it entered a public boat ramp, so we weren't competng with traffic. The last half-mile or so was right along stunning Portland Harbor, with brilliant blue sky and water, and sailboats scudding about. We did the requisite dipping of our wheels in the ocean, hugged and cried a bit, and later all went out for a lobster feast outdoors on a wharf.

It's now late, and there is far too much to feel and think about and process than I can deal with right now. Thanks so much to all of my readers for your interest and support. Stay tuned in the coming days!

Riding Day 56 - Epicness

Just 50 miles today, from Colebrook, New Hampshire, to Hanover, Maine. It was great to have a short day, finished by lunch, but we certainly paid for it on the climbs. There were three of them, each a few miles long, and each with some sections at 6% or steeper. They gave us no real problems, but we were definitely in our lowest gears for some of the time.

Some of the highlights of the ride included:
· The coolest morning we’ve had in quite awhile – just 46 degrees. Definitely a morning for long sleeves, tights, and long gloves.
· Entering Maine, our 13th and final state (plus two provinces)
· Going over the 4,000-mile mark for the whole trip
· Seeing our first sign for Portland
· Riding over the Dixville Notch, with a beautiful lake near the top on the north side, and an initial drop on the south side that was so steep, I couldn’t even see the road until I was at the summit. Dixville Notch is famous for being the first place to cast presidential primary ballots. Voters gather to vote at the stroke of midnight on primary day.

So we set up camp before lunch, and then had a leisurely afternoon of blogging, napping, route planning, etc. Looks like we’re all set for tomorrow!

I realized the other day that I was using the word “epic” in my mind when thinking about this ride. I don’t know if it truly qualifies as epic (Who decides that, anyway?), but it definitely feels that way. When I think about riding 6 days a week for more than 9 weeks, about going more than 4,000 miles, about starting in San Francisco in the rain, riding over the Sierras, across the Nevada ranges and the Rockies, up and over Beartooth Pass, through rain and snow and hail and wind, traversing major parts of 11 states and two provinces, plus minor parts of two more states, it feels pretty epic to me. That’s interesting, because I haven’t done much in my life that I would count as epic. Rather, I have long pursued balance, trying to cultivate many aspects of myself in my activities, but resultantly not having a major focus on any single thing for an extended period of time. This is different. I’m not sure how much epic stuff I’ll do in the future, but I’m enjoying how it feels.

Riding Day 55 - Back in the US of A

A 93 mile day today, our second longest of the trip, took us from Granby, Quebec, to Colebrook, New Hampshire. I was very apprehensive about this day, because it was so long and also involved some of the most sustained climbing since Beartooth Pass. We were pleased to discover that the climbing was nowhere near as daunting as I feared, and another tailwind helped considerably, so we finished before 3:00, tired but still feeling good. It was good to get back to the USA after 12 nights in Canada, although we enjoyed our time there. (Those of us with less French certainly enjoyed Quebec less than the others.) We entered the US in Vermont, but were there only about 10 minutes before moving on to New Hampshire. 14 miles later, mostly riding along the picturesque Connecticut River, we were at our campground. We're in the northern end of the beautiful White Mountains, and our campground enjoys a commanding view to the south and east.

Waiting at the campground were my brother, Bill, his wife, Janis, and their children, Rachel (pictured with Ginger) and Andrew. They have come up from their home outside of Boston in order to be with us for the last couple of days of the ride. It is a wonderful gesture that I really appreciate. When we finish, we now know that someone will be there to help us celebrate!

Riding Day 54 - Certainly Not Boring!

Today saw us go "only" 86 mies from Coteau-du-Lac to Granby, Quebec. The first 55 miles was through the south and east outskirts of Montreal. It was certainly the most urban riding we've done since Salt Lake City, and had many challenges, including wrong turns, committee meetings for navigation, a tunnel, narrow bridges, struggling through conversations in French to get directions, and quite a number of miles on freeways (not the safest thing, but preferable to being repeatedly buzzed by big trucks on surface streets). The last 20 miles were much more rural, and we even got to ride on a very nice bike path for the final 8 miles or so. We are camped in a huge RV park and campground, with over 1,100 spaces.

Being in Quebec is fun, especially since I do possess some rudimentary French. It's like bicycling in Europe, but without the expense of getting overseas. Of course, it did take some effort to get here, now that I think of it.

Some highlights of today's ride included some very nice views of the St. Lawrence River, especially from the bridges (sorry, no photos -- we were in busy traffic), and seeing a freeway exit toward New York! Believe me, after riding all the way from San Francisco, that "New York" sign really lifted our spirits.

I'm realizing that I'm running out of time on this trip to dedicate some space to Kathy and Cindy. What an incredible support crew they have been! It is beyond words how grateful Rich and I are, and how amazed we are, by all they do for us day after day after day. They take care of almost all of the motor home needs every day -- hooking up and unhooking water, electrical ,and waste connections, and putting the stabilizers up and down. They find campgrounds and maneuver the vehicle into campsites, leveling it if necessary with blocks. They plan all our menus, purchase the food, and do most of the cooking of all dinners (Rich and I do the outdoor grilling, but that's about it). They almost always do the laundry. They keep things organized in our tiny home on wheels. They send us off in the mornings and happily greet us at the end of our rides. They meet us on the road for lunch. They search out local foods, which they always creatively include in our menus. When the weather is bad they keep extra close tabs on us, making sure we are OK. I can't tell you how wonderful it is, at the end of a day of biking, to have them and the motor home there to welcome us, with the canvas chairs out for us to collapse into, while they and the bikers share the adventures of the day.

I'm probably forgetting some important functions, which will occur to me after I have posted this, but suffice it to say that it is just amazing to Rich and me that Kathy and Cindy have dedicated their summers to supporting this adventure. I must add that they are both incredibly capable and accomplished people. Kathy is a retired change management consultant. Before that, she was a project manager and systems analyst, and before that she was a music teacher and choir director. Cindy is not at all retired. She has worked many hours this summer as a partner in the marketing and public relations firm of Graves-Fowler and Associates. Kathy and Cindy are also mom and grandmothers, and enjoy regular contact with their children and grandchildren while they are on the road.

I hope, after this trip ends, that Rich and I will find some ways to adequately express our profound thanks. We definitely owe them, big time!

Riding Days 52 & 53 - Nous sommes arrivee en Quebec!

It’s not often that 87 miles can be called easy and fun, but yesterday was. Also beautiful. The first 20 or so miles out of Renfrew were very hilly, but then the Ottawa Valley flattened out and we spent most of the rest of the day with the wind at our backs, traversing beautiful farmland, much of it with old gracious farmhouses, many of them brick. The smallest of towns seem to compete for who can have the biggest churches with the grandest steeples. The ruined church in the photo is St. Raphael, which was built in 1831 and gutted by fire in 1970. We crossed the Madawaska (pictured) and Mississippi Rivers (no, not that Mississippi). The roads didn’t have much in the way of shoulders, but we were on county highways with light traffic, so it didn’t matter. We did have to ride for a couple of miles on Highway 17, which we had shunned last week. Not only was the traffic still heavy, but the narrow shoulder was completely taken up by a rumble strip, forcing us out into the traffic lanes. Interestingly, we spoke with some other bicycle tourists in the Renfrew Campground last night. All of them recognized the horrors of Highway 17, but just shrugged, saying there was no alternative. We’re so glad that we found one!

Today was another 87-mile day -- not quite as easy, but still not too tough, with a tailwind much of the way again. We were finished by 2:00 and are now in the internet room, doing our blogging, e-mail, etc, before dinner. The terrain today was much like yesterday -- rolling farmland with big farmhouses. This part of Canada seems to have retained the small family farms, and they do a good job of marketing their produce locally. Kathy and Cindy are at a loss for where to stop. So many choices, so little time! (See Kathy's blog for more on this.)

We rode into Quebec this afternoon. It's interesting that, whereas in the rest of Canada the highway signs are bilingual, in Quebec they are en francais seulement. Hardly seems fair. We are near Montreal, but we decided to bypass it, on the grounds that navigating through it, either by bicycle or motorhome, would just be too tough.

It’s amazing to us how the summer has disappeared into this trip. Starting at the end of May in San Francisco, and progressing to the end of July here in Canada, we have seen the days lengthen to the solstice, and now start to shorten again. We saw corn in Montana and North Dakota that was just a foot or so tall, and now is over our heads. The wheat in the northern plains was new and green. Here it is golden. Through it all, we continue to be blessed with birdsong and wildflowers, continually changing and continually beautiful. We are very grateful.

Riding Day 51 and Layover - Seasonals

Saturday took us 83 miles from Madawaska to Renfrew, where we are ensconced in a nice KOA (on a lake, of course) for our layover today. The day started with a lot of ups and downs, and then at about 24 miles had a nice long drop into the Ottawa Valley, back into farmland after many days through mostly forests, lakes, and rivers. Near the top of the last hill we came upon a large church, St. Mary's, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland -- the oldest Polish Catholic Church in Canada, founded in 1875 (pictured). We had a light tailwind most of the day, and my legs are pretty well recovered form their weakness on Friday, so it was a good day. Overcast and muggy, but no rain.

Rich and I have been talking periodically throughout the ride about getting a massage, but yesterday we finally did something about it. At our lunch stop I made calls to a couple of massage places in Renfree, but could only leave messages. When we arrived at the KOA about 2:00 we asked if they could refer us somewhere local. They did better than that -- they contacted Joanne, a massage therapist who is a seasonal resident here. So she came over after our swim and Rich and I had massages on the picnic table at our campsite! Pretty amazing, and we were pretty aromatic aferward, given the mentholated "white oil" she used.

We have discovered that a lot of RV parks, especially those on lakes, have a large number of "seasonals." At many places, they represent the great majority of the users, particularly the trailers and 5th-wheels. For these folks, the RV is at the RV park for the whole summer, and is like a summer cottage, but with less expense and upkeep. Many of these RVs stay at the park year-round, but are just occupied in the summer. The retirees often spend their whole summers in them, while the working people come up for weekends and vacations. Many of them are older people, and they are periodically visited by their kids and grandkids, who stay in tents at their sites. You can tell the seasonals at a glance, because the RVs have various external accoutrements. The most common is a deck under the awning, but also included are such things as flowers, lattice skirts around the RV, signs saying things like "The Mulroneys Live Here," etc. One that is near us here in Renfrew even has a brick walkway and a hand-painted mailbox. Most of the seasonals seem to know each other and some places have community activities. They have invariably been friendly to us, providing good information about weather, roads, etc.

Tomorrow it's back in the saddle and on to Kemptville, our last stop in Ontario.

Riding Day 50 - "Will you still need me, will you still feed me...?"

OK, at least the Beatles fans among you know what birthday I'm celebrating today. Our little traveling commune did a fine job of making me feel special, including some nice slices of cake from "the best bakery in northern Ontario." (BTW, if this is northern Ontario, then what's the part north of Lake Superior? Just askin'.)

About half of our 83-mile ride from Huntsville to Madawaska today was straight across Algonquin Provincial Park. Last month we rode through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and today we were priviliged to be in another of North America's great parks. In some ways, the landscape was a lot like territory we've been seeing off and on since Minnesota -- thick forests, with lots of lakes, rivers, and marshes. However, the water is much more visible from the road than anywhere we've been so far, and it's really beautiful. There are lots and lots of canoe trails available. Kathy and I are dreaming of a canoe camping trip here sometime after we move to Michigan.

Unfortunately, my legs were exceptionally dead today, almost certainly due to some "intestinal distress" I suffered yesterday afternoon and evening, so I was pretty slow. We didn't arrive in Madawaska until well after 3:00. I did perk up a bit in the afternoon, so better things should be in store for tomorrow. Better weather, too, we hope. Today was intemittently rainy and overcast all day. Pretty hilly, too, especially in the lst 20 miles.

For those of you who are tracking our route, and perhaps planning to connect with us somewhere, here is what the rest of the trip looks like, at least for now:

Sat, 7/24 Madawaska to Renfrew
Sun, 7/25 Layover in Renfrew
Mon, 7/26 Renfrew to Kemptville
Tue, 7/27 Kemptville to Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec
Wed, 7/28 Coteau-du-Lac to Granby
Thu, 7/29 Granby t0 Canaan, NH (previously listed as Pittsburg)
Fri, 7/30 Canaan to Hanover, ME
Sat, 7/31 Hanover to Portland!

This schedule is somewhat ambitious in terms of mileage, so is still subject to change, but it's what we're hoping for.