The Coast

Saturday 6/30 Day 71


****I added a trip map at the bottom with all of my stops and roads I used. It also has trip millages for the days **** 7/3/12 Grand total of 4221 miles, give or take a few.
****Blogs are updated up until the last day, working on a final display of my pictures and this blog post!**** 7/12/12

*** Finally Got photos up! http://jeffreyericson.zenfolio.com/f607548870  Enjoy! 9/9/2012 ***

After 71 days and close to 4500 miles, I made it to the coast of Maine today :) and spent a couple hours on the beach! Thanks for all the support, more to come when I update.

To Maine

Friday 6/29 Day 70
Today was a difficult day to start off. My brain was not wanting to continue, it thought it was all done with the trip. But i only had about 95 miles till the coast and about 130 miles till I was done. Thankfully I had really mellow riding. I was able to take several breaks and enjoy a few lakes on the way to Maine. I also stopped for a Large Blizzard ice cream before I got to where I was staying tonight. I am going to miss eating so much food, sadly I wont be able to eat this much in a couple of days.
I was able to stay with one last warm showers on my last day, Karren and her husband. We had a lovely dinner outside. I was also informed that I was only six miles from the coast that night. But I was going to hold out till I could make it to my finishing spot tomorrow. After dinner Karren and I plotted out my final day's route and were able to get a map also.
It was a bitter sweet feeling on the eve of my last day. Proud emotions for what I have accomplished, yet sad that it was coming to an end. All I could think about was that walk across the beach to finally touch the Pacific and what that was going to mean for me.

Meredith

Thursday 6/28 Day 69
Today I took the day off. I had been going for almost two weeks straight without a break with a few hundred mile days in there. I was able to meet some of Garrette's family, enjoy some home made food, and went swimming in the lakes around her house. Little known secret that I learned while being in New Hampshire is that Garrette can cook! She spent her time in Bend telling me that she was not  that good at cooking, well she is very good at it. She is the grill master.
We made a strawberry pie and other goodies on my day off. It was good to get a break and at the same time my mind acted as if I was done with the trip I think it was because this was where I would finally end up and my mind made the connection that I had finished. But have no fear, I will finish :).

I'll Find you

Wednesday 6/27 Day 68
I woke up this morning with one goal in mind, that was to ride till I get to Meredith so I could see Garrette. It was within striking distance, and the cool thing was that she would be getting there the same day as I would be. She also did not know about the idea that I would be seeing her today.

No more Rain!

I got up at about six thirty this morning so I could leave the fire house. Thankfully there was no fire last night so I did not have to hear the alarm. There was a huge river in my tent this morning but I did not have to worry about it because I was going to be sleeping inside tonight one way or the other. I road out into town where I got a healthy McDonalds breakfast for the day, which included coffee and sausage burritos.
In the first section of my day I started crossing the Appalachian mountains and did one of my final climbs of the trip. it was about a 2200 foot climb, which was really not that bad at all. It was easy compared to some of the climbs I did in the west. But once I got to the top it felt as if I was going downhill the rest of the day. In fact the rest of Vermont was completely downhill, and it was very pretty.
Once I hit New Hampshire I was doing a lot of zone riding. With big shoulders and a mellow roads I was able to get in a groove for most of the day. In fact by the end of the day I was getting about 18 mph. I did hop onto a rails to trails section later in the day. It was neat, went by a couple of lakes but after about 15 miles of it I went back on the road.

Rope swing

The final stretch of the day I was on the best road that I had been on the entire trip. When I turned onto the road I saw the sign for it which was Rough Mountain Road. When I saw that I was not that excited, but a half mile out of the city I ran into this newly paved road with a three foot shoulder. It was basically this way until I made it to Garrette's house. I love the feel of freshly paved roads, so smooth.
My final stretch getting to Garrette's house were the hills in her neighborhood. Oh man, these were the worst hills of my entire trip. Some of them I think went straight up.

Rails to Trails

After about 13 hours of riding I made it to Garrette's house where I was able to finally see her. Great reunion. I met her mom and had some dinner! I was about to collapse from the ridding I did today, I slept very well tonight.

The Revolution

Tuesday 6/26 Day 67
Today was one of my favorite rides of my trip. For the first half of it I had the road to myself going through the Adirondack Forest. winding hills up and down for hours. Breath taking. I had a pretty decent climb for about 10 to 15 miles which turned into a great down hill to the edge of the forest. I really appreciated the cool clouds during these climbs.
After I left the forest I made my way to the dividing waters between Vermont and New York. I picked up some subway for dinner and headed to a ferry that I would be taking across the water. I made it just in time for the last one across. As I went across I looked back to the mountains where I was riding earlier and they were being pounded by the rain.
The feel of Vermont was amazing, I got the impression that I was in the revolutionary war as I went through the little towns. Each town had their own wooden church that looked authentic to the times. They kind of looked like the towns in the Patriot, and I imagined that there could be hundreds of red coats around every corner. Along with the historic look I ran into a couple of Revolutionary war markers on my way into town. It was great to see this type of history.
After about 10 miles into Vermont the rain started to come, I was soaked within 10 minutes. I tried stopping at houses and asking if I could pitch my tent but was not in luck. I figured since this route was on the Adventure Cycling route people around here were more used to bikers and could be more annoyed. I eventually went to a fire house and asked if I could pitch the tent in their yard. They agreed as long as I picked up after myself. easy enough :).

Trying to dry my cloths, I have
underwear on also...

Once into my tent I peeled off my layers and at my subway. I didn't have to worry about bears so I just ate in the tent. I had a really hard time falling asleep tonight because it was down pouring. I was worrying about flooding in my tent.

The Adirondack

Monday 6/25 Day 66
I had breakfast with Larry and Jenn this morning where we watched quite a few birds at their bird feeder. There was one wood pecker that was hanging upside down under the feeder trying to get out of the rain. I was laughing because I wanted to do the same thing, but I had hope that it would clear up this morning. Sure enough it did. After riding about 15 miles the clouds started to break and it was a beautiful sunny day.
Today I was surrounded by thick forests, I was waiting to see my first bear of the trip, but never got the opportunity. I could have done my ninja camping about 10 feet from the road in these forests because they were so dense. It was hard to see through them. Along with the forests I went through a couple of towns along the lakes. Although they were very touristy they were amazing. It reminded me a lot of Northern Minnesota. On one of the rivers I stopped by I aw a bunch of kids come down on it with tubes. It looked fun, and it reminded me of my times on the Deschutes river in Bend.
By the early afternoon the clouds were rolling in again. I had worries of the same rain hitting me, for the most part I would only ride in a bit of mist today. The great part of riding where I'm at is that there are quite a few campgrounds. And since it was the middle of the week there is nobody occupying them. I stopped ridding around four because the clouds were getting thicker and I went to one of these campgrounds. I had beach front property!
I tucked my bike and tent away in the back of a camp ground so no one could see me if they drove by. It worked really well, some guy and his family drove in just to see the view and he didn't even see me until I came out of the woods. We talked a little about camping.
After he left I made dinner and hopped into bed. During dinner I was thinking about the trip. It is starting to hit me how quick this trip is coming to an end. At this point I only have a few days left. It seemed difficult to think about days where I would not ride my bike. It was nice doing this trip because everyday I would be riding, the only question was how far.
I stayed dry tonight through the rain.

The Mountain Cottage

Sunday 6/24 Day 65
Today was a bit cooler, riding with the clouds settling in. Although it was cooler it would be the beginning of the rain for the next couple of days. Which thinking about it I have to be pretty thankful because I have had such great weather this entire trip.

Went to Mexico today

On my way out of Oswego I met Andrew who had been touring up the east coast and was now working his way over to the west coast. He had been on the road almost the same amount of time that I had. It was fun hearing the storys and sharing possible routes that we could take. While we were stopped there we had a couple people ask if we needed help, even a cop. That was the only time during my trip a cop stopped to see if I was ok. Just little reminders of how great people can be :). After talking about a half hour we headed off.
Most of my ride today was in hilly country with trees and lakes. I was making my way over to the Adirondack Forest. Although the lakes were crowded, the roads were not that crowded. Riding in New York has been great, I'm either on empty roads or the shoulders that I'm on are big enough to fit my bike and me :). I did stop by a lake today and ate my packed lunch that Leanne made me. Nothing beats peanut butter and jelly on the road :). After lunch the rain clouds started massing. They were huge and dark but there was no lightning or thunder. At first I was doing a great job outrunning them and then the rain came from out of no where. I felt a few sprinkles and then looked behind me. I could see the road changing colors as the wall of rain was coming my way. I tried to outrun it, but it caught up with me and I got pretty wet. So I waited under a tree for a few minutes as it passed.

Larry & Jenn's Place

This tactic happend on and off for the next few hours. My last stop was infront of a house where I was tired of riding and being wet. I went up to ask the people that lived there if I could pitch my tent in their yard. Larry answered the door, and he said that I could park in the barn and stay there. Then a few minutes later I was invited to stay in their spare bedroom upstairs and got dinner and a warm shower. I spent the evening talking with them and enjoying some TV. They were very nice, both in their late 80's, they had done quite a bit of traveling in the US.
Right after I had gone inside the rain started and did not let up till after I left in the morning.

Oswego

Saturday 6/23 Day 64
With an early start today I was able to avert the heat a bit. I spent the first part of my day riding on the Erie Canal and then I headed north. Once getting off the canal I was able to see a New York that I had only heard of. Tiny two lane roads that went through the country side and through many farms. The land was so green. Another thing that I started to run into today were the hills. These were not just little bumps, but real hills! I dont think I have had real hills since South Dakota. The other bonus of riding on these back roads was the lack of traffic.
Today I stopped to enjoy Lake Ontario a couple of times, this was the forth Great Lake that I was able to see, only missing Lake Superior. Again in the afternoon I stopped for the Euro Cup Quarter finals game between France and Spain. It was a pretty bad game but the food was great at the bar. The hamburger that I ate was huge. After the game I only had about 20 miles left so it went pretty quickly.

Revolutionary war Soldier

I arrived at my house to find out that I told my hosts I would be there on Sunday and not Saturday. I think when I made the arrangement I thought it was a different day. But it worked out.
Leanne, my host, said it was ok and that I could still stay tonight. So after I took a shower we took a tour of the city of Oswego. We went down to Fort Ontario, the cemetery by it, and the lake. Leanne gave me a great history lesson of the area. I also was able to see my first Revolutionary War grave. I was all giddy because I have not been around US History that came from this era. After the Fort we went down to the harbor to see some older boats.
One that we saw was a tugboat from WW2 that was used to transport ships across the english channel, specifically during the D-day campaign. It was also the only tugboat to shoot down an enemy aircraft during the war. Along with the tugboat we were able to see Christopher Columbus wooden ships. They were remakes of the ships, actually the were floating museums which went around to cities and shared the history with the kids. The crew is volunteers which give at least one month of time. (www.thenina.com). the ships were exactly the same as in the past except for the motor that was required to be on the boat.
After our history tour we went back to the house and made some food and chatted until I went to bed. we cooked with freshly picked garlic which gave a nice smell to my hands for the next couple of days :).

Eire Canal

Friday 6/22 Day 63
This morning I was able to spend some time with Pete and catch up on or ride back north. Pete and his family were headed up to Canada for vacation, and they were going to drop me off close to where I was picked up. Pete and I hope to meet up in July one last time before I head off to Japan.

Original Locks on the right
New ones on the left

Today I spent most of my day on the Eire Canal. It started off going through some of the older locks, so I was able to see that chunk of history. The path was crushed up stones which was not that bad to ride on. Actually this was one of the better paths that I have ridden on, the view was great, the history was great, and it got me out of the big towns.
About halfway through the day I was able to stop and watch the Germans play their quarter finals game, very good game. I was at the bar and became aquatinted with the locals pretty quick. I had a couple of beers on me and some others bought me a few and we all enjoyed the game. I have liked these soccer games during the day, it gives me a good reason to stop and watch TV inside for a couple of hours. It also was also a good chance to cool down and let the heat pass.

Pete & I, we had a hair growing contest
He won the head I won the beard.

My final two hours of riding today were through the city of Rochester NY and like I said earlier I was able to avert riding through the city and this was due to the bike path. It made the travel so much easier than navigating through the city roads. Just outside the city was my host for the night, Gretchen. We made some chicken, salad, bread, and potatoes for dinner. It was really good. we talked for a decent amount of time and then the riding caught up with me. Just about fell asleep while talking. I moved on to bed soon after.

Niagara Falls

Thursday 6/21 Day 62
Tim Hortons. Have you heard of it? Well that is where I went for breakfast this morning. A Canadian fast food chain created by a hockey player and it was pretty good. I went once before with my parents and we got the doughnuts but this time I got a muffin and a breakfast sandwich, Dale and Suzi took me out. It is the place to be in the mornings, a lot of people go there for their breakfast and their morning needs. Once we were full we headed home and started the day.
Today Dale road with me to Niagara falls and showed me a path to the falls that had very little traffic. We stopped along the canal and watched the big cargo ships pass by, man they were huge! I also learned that they were about ready to make the 5th version of the canal a couple years back but then the economy set in and Canada changed their minds. I couldn't immagine any bigger ships going through the area! I enjoyed riding with Dale out to the falls, it was a good change of pace from me riding by myself.
Once we hit the Niagara river we headed north to the falls and the boarder crossing.  As we were going north there were a few battle fields from the War of 1812, and other historical markers along the way that I had to stop at. This year is the 200th year since the war and it has also been 200 years since we have had war with Canada. Once getting to the falls we encountered many people but squeezed through the crowds with our bikes and managed to get a few photos.

Niagara City

This was the second time I have seen the falls, although the first time I was about four or five and I do not remember the experience. It was really impressive to see the amount of water going over the edge, seeing the power of nature. We overlooked the maiden of the mist going up to the falls, and the different walk ways from the US sid and the Canadian side of the falls. At the top of the falls we also saw an old barge that crashed in the 1920's, we saw where the water gets sucked in for the hydro electric plants, and the Niagara rapids. Dale explained how at night time the water that goes over the falls is drastically reduced because they use so much for the power plant, but during the day they are not allowed to divert as much water. They still divert enough so it does alter the way the falls would look if it were natural. He was also telling me how there used to be a fair on the frozen part of the falls in the winter until it collapsed one year. haha I loved all the history lessons.
Dale then took me to the bridge to get back into the USA, and we said adios. Customs was not to bad, the boarder agent responded to me by saying, "Get Out of Here", when he found out what I was doing. But I got through without a problem and explored the east side of the falls. While I was over there I had a few tourists get pictures with me, it was kind of funny.

Dale & I

I was soon picked up by my buddy Pete's dad. This is the Pete that I started off the trip with. I had the opportunity to meet his family and see him, but I had a small window of this night. We went into Buffalo where for dinner we had wings and pizza! We pulled out a map and I showed them where I had gone on my trip, it was a surreal feeling to see how far I have gone and how much I had left. Just hard to believe.
Petes flight was late so we would have to save our reunion for the morning.