Cycling Ellen

Are you here looking for my year of adventure blog?  Link on over to ellenmartyn.wordpress.com and you’ll see it there.  Enjoy.

45 very soggy miles

2379 total

It’s hard to believe but the riding is finished.  My front tire has been dipped into the Atlantic Ocean (the rear one went in the Pacific at the start last summer).  What a last day it was.

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. with the sound of seagulls outside my window.  Alas, the weather didn’t cooperate the way we had hoped, so we donned our rain gear, turned on our blinky lights and headed east for our last day.  With the wet roads and traffic, our scenic route was changed at the last minute to ride the quickest way to Acadia National Park where we were to meet at the Visitor Center at 11.  We were going to meet there to ride to the ocean together.

Best laid plans…

Riding in the rain was quite miserable.  With the rain spraying our cycling glasses, it was hard to see.  I used my finger as a windshield wiper every once in awhile to see a little better.  The wet roads were slippery so we had to keep a careful grip on our handlebars.  At times the shoulder was too crumbly to ride or there wasn’t a shoulder, so we had to ride in the traffic.  Rain soaked our shoes quickly so each pedal stroke became a squish.  Grit and dirt accumulated on our backsides, causing skunk-like stripes up our backs.

There were times with a good shoulder and even some fresh pavement, things that were very much appreciated.  In Ellsworth, several of us stopped at a coffee shop for a warm beverage and to warm up a little bit.  Then, back into the rain to our meeting spot.  As I was riding down a hill with 3 others, traffic backed up behind us as there was no shoulder and lots of cars.  I looked over my shoulder to see my son and his wife drive by!  Behind us, several riders had flat tires.  Riding in the rain seems to make flats happen more easily and they certainly aren’t fun to change in this weather.  As we waited at the Visitor Center, feeling quite excited about being so close to the finish, it became clear that we were all starting to get quite chilled standing around.  Michelle made the decision that those of us who were ready could ride the few miles left to the pier.

What a celebration upon our arrival!  I had a wonderful welcome committee of my son and his wife – Peter and Jackie – and friends, Jen and Larry.  They greeted me with a welcome sign, flowers, balloons, cowbells and a nice bottle of champagne (and even real champagne glasses to drink from).  I dipped my tire, we took pictures and cheered, toasted with the champagne and just basked in the moment of completing the Northern Tier.

Jen put my bike in her van (where it still is so I’m not totally sure of my final mileage) and we all went to her café – The Trailhead Café – for lunch.  Peter and Jackie have headed back home to Vermont.  Peg and I are sharing a room at the Grand Hotel.  By the time we got in, having sat around in soggy bike clothes for an hour or two, we were both shivery.  I took the longest, hottest, shower I’ve had in a long time to wash off all the grit, chain grease, and sweat.

This evening, we will all gather in our nicest clothes (for some, our best t shirts) to walk to a restaurant for our final banquet.  Most women are leaving early in the morning; bikes are at the bike shop ready to be shipped home.  Some of us will be here for a few days and will have a chance to enjoy the island in the sunshine predicted for tomorrow.

My friend, Judy, will take me home after a visit to Pat & Sue’s (our Southern Tier friends) in Northern Vermont.  I’ll be back in my own bed by Sunday night.

Many thanks to all of you for your comments, support and contributions to this ride.  It has been an amazing adventure and I am so grateful that we all made it here together from Fargo to Bar Harbor.

86.5 miles today

2325.1 total

Today I need to begin with a couple of thank yous.

First, thanks to all of you who did whatever needed to be done to keep the rain at bay.  Although there were a few times where we got a little wet, most of the day it was cloudy and dry.  Just goes to prove not to worry until you see what happens.  The forecast this morning said 90% chance of rain and we beat it.  If only we can do the same thing for our finish tomorrow.

Thanks also to all of you who have made contributions to my ride.  When the weather forecast is for rain on a long day with another 4500 feet of climbing, I think about how the money I raise will go toward good causes and it makes it a little easier to get on a bike.  I don’t have any totals yet as I’m hoping there are some contributions waiting for me at home.

Kit and I rode today together and we didn’t see anyone else all day except Karina.  There were all kinds of options to accommodate tired riders and those wishing to avoid the rain.  Many people opted to ride in the van until Camden, a scenic town at mile 50 and ride the last part of the ride.  Some people opted to stay on Route 1 all day and avoid the parts that looped into some small, scenic towns and cut off a few miles.  We decided to do the whole thing as it was on our cue sheet with the option to stop if it got so rainy that it would be dangerous to ride in traffic.

As luck would have it, we got to ride the whole thing.  It started out with a challenge riding up and over the bridge we could see from our motel.  The climb was surprisingly steep, especially first thing in the morning before our legs were really awake.  At mile 8, I did something I’ve never done on a tour – I tapped my helmet when the SAG car went by to let her know I wanted her to stop.  It had started to rain and so I swopped out my regular jacket for my raincoat.  At least we had all of 8 miles done before getting wet.  I put my camera in a plastic bag and we hunkered down for a wet ride up and down the hills.

Our first detour off Route 1 was into Damariscotta, a cute little town.  The next one was through Waldeboro.  Our cue sheet was understated in saying there was a rough road and a steep hill.  There was a really steep downhill on wet roads in terrible condition.  We basically had to ride on the middle line in order to get anything resembling a flat surface and even that was filled with bumps.  We went down, down, down, really slowly and then turned a corner to find we had to go almost as much up, up, up on a really steep grade.  Our muscles certainly got a good workout today as did our lower gears!

Fortunately, by then, the rain had stopped.  I’m also glad that we didn’t decide to forego other detours off of Route 1 because the next one was through Camden.  We caught up with Karina there and found a great bakery/coffee shop for a little treat.  After we finish this ride, we won’t be able to eat everything we want to anymore so I’m glad we could take advantage one more time for a croissant and a mocha.  The town was filled with shops and tourists.

The road in and out of town was fun – first with the fancy homes and gardens with ocean views and then farmland and lakes on the other side.  The road surface was good, there was little traffic and there were hills of course.  With 50 miles under our tires, when we came across the van I left my raincoat.  At that point, if I was going to get wet, at least I only had 36 more miles to go.

Eventually, we ended back on Route 1, a busy road with many commercial and tourist businesses along it.  At one point, I stopped Kit when I spotted a silly place I had been as a kid and with other friends before – Perry’s Nut house.  We never went inside but we did buy a bottle of water (the SAG was back helping another rider with a flat tire) and took tacky, tourist pictures.  Why not?

Just before the finish, we crossed the Penobscot River Bridge, a huge suspension bridge I had crossed before by car. When we finished at our motel only a couple of miles away, my room has a nice view of the bridge as well as Fort Knox which I visited as a child.

I decided to go outside to clean my bike as I didn’t do it before the expected rain.  What a surprise to see Judy DeFrancis out at the desk in the lobby!  Judy did the Southern Tier with us and did the first half of the Northern Tier last summer.  She’s giving me a ride home to Vermont but I didn’t expect to see her until Bar Harbor.

Tonight’s dinner is our last out of the trailer but with the light rain here now we won’t get our last time in the plastic chairs in a circle in the parking lot.  Tomorrow we’ll be sharing our final meal of the tour in a restaurant.  It’s so hard to believe we’ll be in Bar Harbor tomorrow!  Will we be soaking wet?  Don’t anticipate (but if you had anything to do with helping us with a dry day today, would it be greedy to ask for another one tomorrow?).

67.5 miles today

2238.5 total

As we stood around the breakfast table this morning, eating our oatmeal with fresh Maine blueberries, the mood was tired.  Since we left Middlebury four days ago, we have climbed over 4000 feet each day.  With a six-day stretch to finish this tour and many long hilly days, both behind and ahead of us, some women have had enough.  With rain in the forecast for tomorrow, and an almost 90 mile day with lots more climbs, some people were making “reservations” for their spot in the van.  One of my tenents for this ride is to stay focused on the present so I’m trying not to anticipate what I will do but I’ll keep my options open at this point.  I still have my brand new rain pants that I’ve worn for all of 10 minutes.  Aside from the heat, we’ve been very lucky with the weather on this trip.

Last night for our final state line crossing, we had an open bar.  It was open in the literal sense – on a picnic table – and Michelle was offering us whatever combination of drinks that were left in the trailer.  Maybe that was why the mood was tired this morning, hmmm…

Like the open bar, today was a potpourri of riding.  It was a 3-page cue sheet so if you didn’t like the road, just wait a minute (or ten).  I think the longest stretch without a turn was 6 miles.  The first part had more of the particularly challenging road surfaces but there was also fresh pavement later and some nice smooth roads.  There were downhills over bumps and cracks and there were a couple of sweet downhills where you could see ahead and the road was smooth.  There were uphills that were gradual and there were a few that were over 18% grade, including one that reminded me of my driveway only longer – think really steep!  (I overheard some conversations about naming the hills and they weren’t names I can print here.)  Some of the time we even road on level roads.  There were roads with no shoulder and traffic, roads with no shoulder and no traffic, roads with shoulders with and without traffic and even 2.5 miles on a bike path.  Days like these keep your mind engaged, looking for and anticipating the next turn.

One of my favorite classes in college was geography where we learned to look at a landscape and see how and what kind of development happened there.  After miles of looking at cue sheets, you start to anticipate where the next turn will be.  Sometimes it’s because the road is going up or down to a logical intersection.  Sometimes the traffic starts to increase as you approach a busy road.  Maybe there are more houses or back in the land of cornfields, you might spot a break in the field or see a car on the horizon.

Today’s ride was also a potpourri of landscape.  We rode by lakes of various sizes and saw various kinds of boats.  We rode by lumberyards and farms.  There were lots of acres of forest and also acres of open pasture.  There were trailers in the woods, vacation homes by the water, and houses both old and new in the towns.  There were stretches where we didn’t say anyone and busy villages and towns.  We rode by a few rivers and marshes and caught our first scent of the ocean as we got closer to Bath.  Today I saw my first lobster traps stacked on a dock and the giant cranes where ships are constructed nearby.

It was really nice to ride over the Maine Turnpike instead of on it as I usually do on a trip in Maine.  Instead, my son and his wife are driving past us today on their way to meet me in Bar Harbor.  We popped out on Route 1 in Brunswick for all of .2 miles but I recognized where I had eaten in a diner there this past spring at a dance festival I attended.  We rode through part of the Bowdoin College campus and onto a 2.5 mile bike trail that wove between the Androscoggin River and the interstate.

Tonight we are enjoying the comforts of a Hampton Inn (a tour favorite) because of their comfy beds and big breakfasts.  I got in early enough to be near the top of the laundry list (time to wash the street clothes in anticipation of time in Bar Harbor), had some clam chowder and spent a little time resting my muscles in the hot tub.  My body has actually held up very well over these weeks except for a knot in my neck.  Advil is now part of the morning routine.

Keep your fingers crossed or pray to the rain gods that tomorrow the forecasted rain doesn’t come.  Or maybe it could come after dinner while we sleep, ok?

69.2 miles today

2171 total

Last night I had a very pleasant surprise as my good college friends, Lynn and David and David’s mother came up to see me from where they were staying on a lake in New Hampshire.  It was fun to show them the way we live on tour with the trailer kitchen and the circle of plastic chairs.  They were there as we had cosmos for our New Hampshire state line crossing and then left before dinner.

This morning was perfect for our ascent up the Kancamagus Highway.  It’s always a challenge to know what to wear – what combination of arm warmers, jackets and jerseys that will keep us warm enough at the beginning, not too hot on the climb and warm enough on the descent.  I hit the right combination for the 50-degree start with a short sleeve jersey, arm warmers and a vest.

The climb started right outside the motel and ascended for the first 12.2 miles.  It was a gradual grade, from 4-7-8% and the road surface was good.  Towards the top, we started to see some great views of the White Mountains.  The descent was even longer, about 20 miles.  It started out steeply (hold on to those brakes!) but evened out as we descended.  I stopped at many of the viewing places just because it’s easy to do on a bike.

Once to the bottom, we entered the craziness of Conway, NH traffic.  It was backed up through the intersection and it was great to be on a bike, riding along side of the cars and through town while the cars stayed stopped waiting.  As we headed toward Fryeburg, Maine, though, the tide turned, as we were the ones challenged by the 2-lane road, lots of cars and no shoulder to speak of.

At mile 42, we entered the state of Maine, our last state line crossing of the 12 states we have been through this summer and the four we did last year.  It’s still hard to believe that we are in the state where we will finish but we have some hard days ahead to get to Bar Harbor on Tuesday.

I have now given Maine the title of the worst roads of any state I’ve ridden through.  At one point, on a back road through pine forests and few houses, I could see Clark ahead of me weaving back and forth across the road.  If I didn’t know her so well, I would have thought she’d been drinking until I got closer and saw the potholes, cracks and bumps she was riding around.  We did as much climbing in the last half of the day as we did climbing the pass today.  The down hills were not much fun with the challenging roads and some were traffic-ridden.

Along the way today, we crossed paths with Rob and Jake Davis, two other cross-country riders who started on the west coast this summer on recumbent trikes.  They are from the same town as me.  We first saw them in Middlebury.  I did a training with Rob a few years ago at school and Jake will be a senior at Compass where many of our Marlboro students go to high school.  Toward the end of today’s ride, I stopped at the beach of Highland Lake and had a hot dog with them.  We all have lots of stories from these rides!

We traveled on Hardscrabble Road for about 5 miles this afternoon.  At one end was the poverty of Maine – the occasional trailer with piles of stuff surrounding it (I even heard gun shots as I passed one).  That end was bumpy and challenging including a stretch of dirt/gravel road.  At the other end was smooth road, a golf course, views of a ski mountain and a lake, and upscale homes.

Tonight, Clark and I are enjoying a very nice motel room with our own balcony overlooking a beaver pond and a gas fireplace.  I don’t think it will get cold enough to need it, especially as it’s 80 degrees right now, but it’s nice to know we could if we wanted to.  The balcony comes in handy for hanging out our laundry.  Maybe we should host the state line crossing happy hour here tonight!

63 miles today

2101.8 total

As much as I like Linda’s cooking, last night I enjoyed a meal in a nice restaurant in White River Junction with a friend from home, 65 miles south.  At this point in a tour, I notice the “tour bubble” being breached more often.  Some people start reading newspapers or watching the news on T.V. again.  Talk turns to Bar Harbor and how and when people are leaving and whether or not they are shipping their bike.  Since I have been traveling close to home, it’s feeling like we are winding down.  Now we are no longer in the world of cornfields and soybeans but of quaint New England villages, familiar stores and beer, and places I have visited before.  We are starting to plan out how many more rides we have left and how many more times we need to wash out our bike clothes.  It’s a bittersweet feeling coming to the end.

The weather is also changing.  I much prefer the challenge of dressing for cool mornings than dealing with the intense heat.  I’ve discovered that the arm coolers I bought for the heat in Iowa work well as lightweight arm warmers for this weather.  As it warms up either later in the day or on a climb, I don’t get too hot with them on.

Today, though, the weather was cooler than it’s been and I got chilled when I stopped riding.  We started out this morning in the 50’s and immediately went down a long hill.  What goes down usually goes up soon afterward and this was the case this morning as we hit a long climb.  For some, the knees and legs aren’t quite awake, but I was happy to climb in order to warm up.

We headed north up Route 5, past the King Arthur flour headquarters and into the tony town of Norwich.   Our route followed the Connecticut River for the first 15 miles or so and I spotted a few rowers out in the water.  With the mist rising, it was a beautiful sight.  We crossed the river into New Hampshire and followed River Road for the next five miles.  The road was closed to traffic for part of the time so we enjoyed the mountain and farm views across the river and the big homes with river views without the distraction of cars passing.

Once we turned onto Route 10, we were all aware of the logging/wood industry here.  Big trucks passed us filled with wood chips and with logs.  There was a bit of a shoulder but not as much as we wish we had in some places, especially when we were climbing and there was nowhere to go as the trucks passed.

We passed through towns with historic homes (many of which were for sale), farms with eggs and meat for sale, pick your own blueberry farms and cows – both Holsteins and Scottish Highland cattle.  At our 40-mile SAG stop, I spotted 2 donkeys and 2 sheep way down below in a field.  As more people stopped, including 4 young men riding back to school in New York city, the animals found their way up to the stone wall where we fed them some fresh green grass.  They also know that the grass is always greener on the other side.

During the last 15 miles, we had lots of ups and downs.  We went down a long, bumpy hill and suddenly, there were the White Mountains in the distance ahead of us.  They loomed large and with sharper tops than the Green Mountains of Vermont.  I started riding up Route 112 toward Lincoln feeling really tired all of a sudden.  I stopped to eat part of my sandwich and some electrolyte jellybeans wondering if I was worn out from yesterday’s climbs.  Later, I found out that it was a 2-mile climb and most of us felt the same way at that point.  I pulled off into a scenic parking spot where I met a local cyclist.  He told me that I was at the top (whew!) and there was a 3-mile downhill into town with a 12% grade the first two miles.  “Brake with both hands”, he said, “or you’ll be going 60 mph before you know it.”  Good advice as it turned out but it sure was nice to be descending at the end of the day.

We’re staying tonight at the bottom of the Kancamagus Highway on the edge of town in a very touristy area.  The local cyclist also told me some details about that 11 mile climb but I’ll save that to report tomorrow.

67.6 miles today

2038.8 total

Last night my massage therapist commented that Vermonters are full of pride.  Today, I really felt that, especially as I came into the motel at the end of the ride.  Every cyclist I saw commented that they loved today’s ride and that it was the best of the trip so far.  Now, I can’t take credit for the whole state obviously, but I certainly felt happy that my friends on this tour from across the country not only enjoyed the riding here but love my home state.  If pride is a sin, I’m guilty.

Ever since I received the itinerary for this trip, I’ve wondered about the day we were to climb the Middlebury Gap.  There was approximately 3500 feet of climbing today and the beginning and end pitches were about 18% grade.  I had Barbara’s triangle in my back pocket and I could almost hear her voice as she used to like to call out the grades as we rode.

During the first five miles to get to the beginning of the climb, I was wondering how it would feel.  Just past the Waybury Inn, we started the climb with the brook to our left.  The road surface was new and smooth and even though it was steep at the beginning, I never felt overwhelmed and I was actually pleased to find that it turned out to be something I was ready for.  I guess those first 2,000 miles paid off with stronger legs, even if we haven’t done a lot of climbing until recently.

The road itself is beautiful.  It winds and turns along with the brook.  There were some nice little down hills along the way and some gradual climbs.  I think most everyone was pleasantly surprised.  We passed by the Robert Frost trail where you can walk a loop to see some of his poems posted along the way.   We rode through the Breadloaf Campus of Middlebury College where there is a summer writer’s conference and many famous authors have spent time.  We passed the Middlebury College Snow Bowl where many of my fellow students spent many winter days.  (I opted for the cross-country ski trails instead.)  My ears actually popped as I passed the Snow Bowl, a first for me on this trip.

Just before the top, the fresh pavement ended and we were back in the land of rough surfaces.  The Long Trail, a state long hiking trail, crosses the road at the top and there were a couple of hikers there getting ready to head out.

Because of the road surface, we all used our brakes more than we might have liked on the descent.  It was 12% steep going down for the first couple of miles and no one wanted to hit a crack or a hole going too fast.  I was feeling great that my bike was no longer humming when I coasted until just before the end when it started up again.

In Rochester, right on our route, I stopped at the bike shop that had worked on my bike the other day. It’s a bike mechanic’s dream with a store full of parts and bikes and even a drawbridge that folds down as a ramp for bikes during the day.  I headed back to the bakery/café to wait for my bike and enjoy a mocha and a muffin.  There were many cyclists there already enjoying the treats and the beautiful sunny day.  The Gap was behind us and life was good.

Sherry was willing to wait for me and my bike as the others left.  My hum couldn’t be fixed without some major work on the rear hub but Dune, the mechanic said it wasn’t dangerous to ride and just ignore it.  He tightened up my bottom bracket and sent me on my way.  Michelle joined us on the ride out of town.

For most of the rest of the day, we rode along the White River.  The road wound through towns of my youth.  My grandparents used to rent a cottage in the summer where my grandfather would fish in the White River.  We passed the restaurant where we used to go for ice cream cones and even by the house where my dad was born in Bethel, VT.  Sherry and I stopped at a sugarhouse where I did my best to explain the sugaring process and picked up some maple candy for the group to enjoy after dinner tonight.  I tried my first maple creamie (soft serve ice cream) which was actually quite tasty.

The last mile or so up to our motel, across from the VA hospital where my dad was a patient when I was young, was as steep as the Gap this morning.  The day began and ended with a climb but it was a beautiful day to be on a bike in Vermont.

2.7 today

1971.2 total

I am just filled with gratitude this rest day in Middlebury.

I am grateful for my reunion with Pat and Sue, the other Vermonters on our 2008 Southern Tier who joined us for dinner last night and spent the day with us today.  Happy Birthday, Pat!

I am grateful for the reunion of the ST group of 2009 with the addition of their friend Laurie here for the rest day.

I am grateful for the delicious breakfast the Middlebury Inn provided for our rest day (usually we’re on our own) and the camaraderie of the many riders from our group and visitors here today in the dining room and the afternoon tea.

I am grateful that I just happened to be at the edge of the parking lot when Katie drove away so I could say goodbye to her again.

I am grateful for the generous donations to my fundraising for both the BMC and Dana Farber that I learned about this morning.  Many thanks!!!  (And a gentle plug that it’s not too late to donate either online or in the mail to the address to the right.)

I am grateful for the test ride I did on my bike this morning up to the college campus.  It was such a pleasure to ride around the beautiful campus and find out that my bike is no longer making the terrible noises going downhill.

I am grateful for the conversation I had with my daughter in India who is on the first leg of her way home.

I am grateful that my friends, old and new, shared in the fun of exploring the many interesting and fun shops in Middlebury.

I am grateful that today was the Farmers Market in Middlebury and we got to taste some fresh blueberries, cucumber salad and see all the brightly colored fresh veggies displayed on a sunny afternoon.

I am grateful for the time I spent on the porch of the Inn, sipping lemonade and finishing my book.

I am grateful to have a sack of clean laundry, even if I did lose a bike sock (how does that happen?).

I am grateful that I have a massage scheduled for later this evening and the thunderstorm that blew in is moving on so I won’t get soaked walking there.

I am grateful for the cocktail party in another room that is going on now and I’m a little late for.

45 miles

1967 total

The emotions were all over the place for me today.  As we left the motel this morning heading down the road to Fort Ticonderoga, I was hopeful that the vibrating sound that bothered me so much yesterday would have cleared itself up.  I was also really excited about crossing Lake Champlain into Vermont – coming home to Middlebury, where I had a wonderful four years at Middlebury College.

The morning was perfect for riding with just a bit of a chill in the air.  The road wove around more Adirondack lakes with their picture perfect islands of rock.

On the first downhill, as soon as I reached about 20 mph, the vibrations began again.  Hoping that there wasn’t anything structurally wrong, I decided to keep riding but take it really easy on the descents.  That proved to be a challenge as today’s ride was all about ups and downs.

The first major climb was about 15 miles into the ride.  It was an easy grade up about 1-½ miles.  The challenge for me was the descent was even longer.  On any other day, I would have loved the easy ride down.  This time I was braking for all I was worth and having a really hard time keeping the speed down.  The reward for the slowness though, was a gorgeous view of the Green Mountains of Vermont on the horizon.  I stopped for a quick picture as the other women went flying down.

I think most of us rode in to Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain but only a few stayed for a big look around.  Connie, from California, said her eyes were overwhelmed by all the green – the lawns, the trees – the things I tend to take for granted.

We waited a bit for the ferry to take us over to Vermont across the lake.  It’s a quick 7-minute ride and about half the group was on the boat snapping pictures.  As we rode closer to the shore, some of the women who were part of the ST (Southern Tier) group in 2009 spotted someone who looked like their friend, Laurie.  Knowing she lives in North Carolina they discarded that idea but as soon as we landed, there was a huge reunion as it turned out that it was Laurie, there to surprise them.  She was hoping to ride with our group this summer but has been going through cancer treatments instead.  It was so fun to see the surprise and excitement!

It was also exciting for me to see the Welcome to Vermont sign.  After the requisite pictures, I headed up the hill seeing my home state with fresh eyes.  There was a big dairy farm, manure on the road, and a Ben and Jerry’s moment with a field of dairy cows.  I could see the apple orchards, the fresh hay on the field and the Green Mountains in the distance.  The road climbed and descended over and over again and riders nearby understood why I can climb!

As we got closer to Middlebury, the landscape filled with memories and soon I was at the Middlebury College sign.  Wow, I got here by bike!

At the Inn where we are staying, I grabbed my walking shoes and brought my bike right to the bike shop foregoing lunch in town with friends.  Unfortunately, their mechanics are both on vacation but the shop called to Green Mountain Cycles in Rochester on the other side of the Middlebury Gap and they said they could help me.  That’s a 45-minute car ride away.  How could I get there?

As luck would have it, Katie is leaving our trip in Middlebury to begin teaching in California.  A new woman, Beth, who just happened to drive to Middlebury today, will take her place.  Five minutes after we met, she offered me the keys to her car.  What a sweetheart!

After a quick shower, I drove over the Middlebury Gap (where we’ll be riding in a couple of days) to Rochester.  It’s going to be a challenging ride with the steep pitches and long climbs.  The bike shop is filled with bikes and parts and really nice mechanics.  I dropped off the bike and headed across to the book/bakery, which just happens to have Wi-Fi so I can write my blog.

The mechanic found me in the café to tell me that my front tire was flat.  He is replacing the tire while I write and has lubed the rear hub, which should take care of the vibration.  Time to head back to Middlebury for a reunion with Pat and Sue, the other Vermonters on our Southern Tier trip.  What a day in Vermont.

85 miles

1922 total

As Kit and I rode into the motel today, we were buzzing from a great ride.  There weren’t many of us who did the whole thing given the amount of climbing and the two times it rained.  The first time was a gentle misting and the second time was a major downpour but by the end of the ride, the sun was out, the sky was blue and the white puffy clouds hung over the mountains.

It was pretty dark this morning as we started out around 1^st Lake.  We proceeded past the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^{th ones}.  With all the lakes in Minnesota, I never saw any numbered ones! They were very beautiful and I understand why almost all the vehicles around here have boats on them.

Just past the lakes it started to rain as we started to climb.  That’s actually not a bad combination as the climbing keeps you warm as you get wet.  We passed Raquette Lake where my principal has a cabin.  I was glad to finally see it!

There was a huge climb up to Blue Mountain Lake.  I had hoped to finally see the Adirondack Museum there but it was closed that early in the morning.  What goes up does go down (at least eventually) and there were lots of nice down hills after that climb.  Unfortunately, the road surface was terrible with lots of cracks in the shoulder and steady kathump sounds as we passed over cracks that ran across the road.  I’ve been having trouble with my bike the last couple of days with what feels like my brake rubbing as I descend and those bumps were really trying.  I took the downhills very conservatively as I didn’t really trust my bike.  Neither Michelle nor I can find anything wrong with it and the rubbing stops as soon as I pedal.  I’ll get it checked out in Middlebury tomorrow just to get another opinion.

As I passed by Long Lake, the really heavy rain began.  I was lucky with my timing as I was near a gas station and I ducked under cover there for the worst of the storm.  Since that was the only service for the next 40 miles, my timing was good.  I got myself a chocolate milk until the worst of it seemed over.  I still got soaked but started climbing right away so I stayed warm enough.

Kit and I rode together as we reached the SAG stop at 60.  The van pulled in behind the SAG car and we were both surprised to see that it was full of riders, bikes all on top of the van.  Unlike those terrible days of heat, I was feeling strong and happy so I tanked up with some more water and headed out again.

From there, we kept climbing and began to see some of the high peaks of the Adirondacks.  The views were beautiful and the sun was coming out.  We started to enjoy some great downhills swooping down and around some curves.  Then we’d climb some more.  Eventually, we turned onto a new smooth road with a good shoulder.  After all the bumps, it’s so nice to ride on a smooth road.  It’s even better when the ride turns from a lot of climbing to a lot of downhills.  It seemed like the last 20 miles were all downhill.  That was a bit of an illusion but enough that I’ll keep it!  It was a sweet finish to a great day on the bike.  I love riding through the forests and past the lakes and with the sun coming out to dry us out before the finish, it was a good way to end the ride.

Our motel here is right out of the 50’s except that there’s Internet in the lobby.  The town is several miles away.  Not much to do so I’m going to go sit in an Adirondack chair and enjoy my book.  Tomorrow – Vermont!