Middlebury, VT to Sharon, VT (The Last Day of a Great Tour)

August 21, 2010
65 miles
Total miles 3,641

This was the last day of the official tour. On our final day we left the Middlebury Inn and headed south to Brandon Gap. All of us had a real sense of accomplishment that we had ridden all the way to Vermont after 9 weeks on the road. We also felt a little apprehensive knowing that our lives as we have known them for more than two months would come to a close. We all had formed close relationships with each other and it was sad to think we may never see or ride with each again.

I enjoyed being with every rider throughout the trip. Each one was an amazing role model of a "can do" and positive person. Also, the two support drivers, Tim and Blaine were great. They gave me the extra lift to make it all this way.
I truly and sincerely will miss all of them.

On this final day our big job was to make it over the Gap. It was a four mile climb uphill but the last mile or two was incredibly steep with a nasty sting at the top. My cycle comp. read 12% incline, steady for about 1 mile. That tired most of us out and we all were happy to see Blaine at the summit with some snacks.

Heading south on Vermont country roads from Middlebury


Sharon and Kim reaching the summit of Brandon Gap


Snack stop at summit of Brandon Gap


The ride down the summit was very good and Lesa said it was one of the best down hill rides she has had. At the bottom of the Gap we turned north in order to stop at a coffee house in Rochester.

Lesa speeding along after a fast down hill from Brandon Gap


Kim finally found a coffee cup that will satisfy her love of java in Rochester


After about a half hour at the coffee shop we turned back south and headed toward Sharon, VT about 20 miles away. Ed, I and Sharon were in front in South Royalton and made the final turns to the entrance to Ken and Nancy's street a little east of Sharon. We stayed at the bottom of the road to wait for others to arrive. We felt we came all this way and we were going to arrive at the house at the same time together.

The rest of the group arrived at the entrance to Fay Brook Road shortly after we did with Nancy. We decided it would be great to follow Nancy the last mile to her house. It was a wonderful last mile with all of us riding right behind Nancy to the house. This is how it all started in Seattle with Nancy leading the whole group the first few miles out of the city. So it was very special to have her lead us the final mile.

Blaine was ready as we approached and had food set out for us. As we sat and ate lunch on Ken and Nancy's porch we talked about the trip and thanked the
W's for all their work making the tour wonderful. Dick, who rode with us from Seattle to Luddington, MI drove to the Ws' house to met us. Tim, our first support driver also drove to the Ws' house to meet us. He was sporting a new mustache. Also, John, who had ridden on a previous cross country tour came to the house to join us for the celebration.

In about two hours most of the group had gone their separate ways. Ed, John, Lesa and I stayed the night and wanted to attempt riding farther into Maine. However, the weather report for the next several days wasn't good. But I thought I'd give it a shot and if it got too dangerous I could always bail out.

On Sunday when we woke up it was pouring rain but we headed out anyway. Nancy was scratching her head wondering why would we want to ride in bad weather. After ten miles of riding in New Hampshire with horrible shoulders and lots of traffic I decided it was better to end the trip with the frame of mind as we all did yesterday than riding two more days in horrible conditions.

I went back and stayed at Tim's house near the VT-NH border. Tom was there too and we had a good time hanging out and enjoying a good dinner. Today I am heading to Boston and hope to see a few relatives I have not seen in many years.

The final mile on Fay Brook Road-Nancy (only rear tire visible on the left) in the lead


Reflecting about the trip on Nancy and Ken's porch




The group all together one last time.

Silver Bay, NY To Middlebury, VT

August 20, 2010
31 Miles

The folks at the Silver Bay Center provided a great morning breakfast. We decided not hit the road until around 9:00 a.m. since this would be a short riding day.

Home last night on Lake George with our bikes under the entrance sign


Lake George at sunrise before we headed north


I left with Gail and Tom and we rode up the western side of Lake George for about 14 miles before we came to the town of Ticonderoga. We hung around the visitor's center there for about 45 minutes and then rode to Ft. Ticonderoga. This fort has a lot of history dating to the Revolutionary and French and Indian War. The fort is well preserved and had a number of demonstrations.

Tom entering Ft. Ticondiroga

Ft. Ticondiroga

Ft. Ticondiroga



Ft. Ticondiroga


By lunch time we took the ferry across Lake Champlain to the Vermont boarder. The wind picked up significantly. The first 10 miles were very pleasant as there were no cars riding on the narrow roads. However, once we got to our lunch spot in Shoreham the road surface became rough and the traffic increased. Tom, Gail, and I met the others in the group outside the library in Shoreham. After lunch we all road to Middlebury and got there around 2:00 p.m. This town is very nice and we got to stay in a classy hotel called the Middlebury Inn. Ken and Nancy took us all out to "Fire and Ice" and then ice cream afterwards.

Ferry ride to Vermont from Lake Champlain

Entering the final state of the organized tour


Lunch Stop on country road in Vermont

Indian Lake, NY to Silver Bay, NY

August 19, 2010
59 miles

This is the third day riding in the Adirondack mountains. This three day stretch has to be the most beautiful consecutive three days of the tour.

When we woke up this morning it was foggy at the hotel. We had to climb out of the Indian Lake watershed and the sun was shinning nicely once we got to the summit of the first hill. Also it was not humid which made for another great day of cycling.

Morning Climb east of Indian Lake out of the fog with Gail way in the distance


We first rode again on Hwy 28 to North Creek until we got to Riparius. When we reached the Hudson River there were many rafting groups getting ready to spend the day on the river. This area is very forested and pretty. After Chestertown we came to our lunch stop on Bryant Lake. As we headed east we had a significant climb toward Lake George. Once we reached the summit we had a 4 1/2 mile down hill to the little town of Hague.

We headed south along the shore of Lake George to the YMCA/Siver Bay Center of the Adirondacks. This is a huge facility with many things to do on the lake.

Reaching the Hudson River with Ed, and Tom

Crossing the Hudson River in Riparius

Lunch stop at Bryant Lake

Looking west after the big climb from Bryant Lake. This is where we had been cycling for the past few days.

Elephant Rock on the downhill to Silver Bay

Reflection in Hague

Old Forge,NY To Indian Lake, NY

August 18, 2010
47 miles
Just as we were eating breakfast at the trailer this morning a couple of deer came up and wanted food too. They are pretty used to people around here.

We are in the heart of the Adirondacks now. No more flat rides.

We left the Forge Motel around 8 a.m. and took a back road around the lake to Inlet.

Dinner in Old Forge. Kim, Gail Tom, Blaine, Sharon and Ed

Some deer asking Blaine for a hand out at our motel


Lake view from Old Forge Motel in the morning



At Inlet we got back onto Hwy 28 which is a designated bike route. Riding conditions were excellent again as it was cool with no headwinds. Most of the ride consisted of up and down rollers with a few steep hills. I kind of enjoyed it as the humidity was very low and we got some great down hill rides.

22 miles into the trip we stopped in Raquette Lake and had an ice cream cone while checking out another beautiful lake. It was another 11 miles to Blue Mountain Lake.

Snack stop in Raquette Lake. Gail and Ed


We had a great spot for lunch with a view of Lake Durant. This area is very well preserved for a state park.

Finally we got to Indian Lake around 1:30 p.m. and some of the group stopped at another ice cream shop waiting for Blaine to come to the motel to check us in.

As the official tour winds down the group is now feeling very mellow. The rides each day are shorter and most of us take it easy by stopping at several shops along the route.

The obligatory satellite dish in the beaver den shot

Rest stop with Gail, Ed, and Ken

Blue Mountain Lake

Our lunch stop on Lake Durant with Kim, Sharon, Blaine and Tom

Rome (Delta Lake) NY To Old Forge, NY

August 17, 2010
49 miles

I woke up this morning feeling a little chill in the air. This is the first time I felt it that cold since Glacier NP. I prefer it a little cool and it felt like around 60 degrees.

The group had breakfast at the camp cafeteria and Gail, Ed, and I headed out around 8:00 a.m. We headed north on some farm roads around Delta Lake. There were few cars on this section.

Breakfast at Delta Lake


A beautiful day to ride in the Adirondacks


When we turned onto Buckhill Rd. we hit a series of steep hills. Nancy told us last night at our meeting that this road is the steepest on the entire route. I checked my Cateye gauge and found one of the hills to be 17%. Fortunately this road wasn't as long as Stevens Pass in Wash. or Pine Canyon in Wa.

Ed almost at the top of the first hill on Buckhill Rd.


Buckhill Road (the steepest hill on the entire route at 17% grade) Nancy out front followed by Gail and Ed.



After some more country roads we got onto Hwy 28 which is also considered a NY bike route. The traffic was very busy here all the way to Old Forge. Lots of people were coming up to the Adirondacks for vacation.

We got to our hotel around 1:00 p.m. and all enjoyed eating lunch sitting in Adirondack chairs overlooking the lake. I later went to the Post Office and shipped a bunch of stuff back home that I would not be needing anymore.

Part of our group went to a restaurant/pub for dinner and had a great time.

Riding on Egypt Road

Ed and I entering Adirondack Park

Our view out of the hotel room in Old Forge

Jordan, NY To Rome (Delta Lake) NY

August 16, 2010
68 miles

We woke up to a very strong storm with quite a bit of lightning. However, by the time we hit the road the skies had cleared and we had wonderful conditions. It was cool and there was a tail wind.

Ed, Gail, and I headed out early and got to Baldwinville relatively early. This area is on the Erie Canal and is a suburb of Syracuse, NY. As such, it had some traffic that we had to deal with. One advantage of this was that there were a few decent coffee places. Once Ed saw a Barnes and Noble we all stopped in to have an coffee.

Ed, Gail and I entering Baldwinville, NY


Pit stop at Starbucks in Baldwinville, NY

Today's ride was very good. We had no precipitation and the shoulders were the best of the whole tour. They seemed to be 8 feet wide and smooth unlike the conditions in the Midwest.

There were only a few hills but I could tell we are more than half way across NY. It is cooler now and I think we are relatively close to the Adirondacks.

Thanks NY -Perfect road conditions, wide, smooth shoulder, tail wind and clear skies


I used my GPS for the last few miles because some of the roads were not marked around Delta Lake. This area is just 20 north of Rome, NY

Lunch stop outside Lake Oneida



Last view of the Erie Canal on our route


Ed and Gail nearing Delta Lake

Our cottage dorm at Delta Lake

Newark, NY To Jordan, NY

August 15, 2010
40 miles

Last night at our nightly meeting the weather report was for rain in the morning. As such, we all decided to get up early to try and beat the storm. We had breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and loaded the truck at 6:30 a.m. By the time we got on our bikes it started to rain a little.

We rode on Hwy 31/Bike trail 5 all the way to Jordan. I really liked this road because the shoulder was huge (about 10 feet wide and smooth!). So far, riding in New York has been very good.

Morning ride on Hwy 31


Gail, John, and Lesa riding on Hwy 31


Along the route today we went through a number of very small farming towns along Hwy 31, These included Lyons, Clyde, Savannah, and Weedsport. Because of the short day we got into Jordan by 10:30 a.m. and had lunch outside the church parking lot. About noon it started raining again. I was glad we weren't riding far today because of the afternoon rain.

We all hung out in the lobby reading, blogging and listening to music. A couple from the church came and made us dinner.

Our home for the night in Jordan before the storm


Great dinner provided to us by a local couple