Update: We’re home!

To anyone who isn’t aware, we all made it home via Metti’s car just a couple nights ago. The drive back took three days. I’ve finally been able to update my Strava, so anyone who cares to can check out my trip data here.

Life is again chaotic as I prep to take a trauma care course for my new job, search for an apartment and generally get back into the groove of life after touring. I’ll make every effort to finish the trip-worth of blog posts. I hope also to put together an excel sheet of mileage and stopover towns for my own knowledge and future baggers. Finally, I’d like to do a little “trip by the numbers” post regarding climbing, mileage and average distance.

Stay tuned for further posts!

Belated Cadillac Mountain sunrise. #nomorebiketour @thejermaj

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#madeit #greatbigbikeride

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ADK to VT

Day 93 – Newcomb, New York, to Middlebury, Vermont- 68.9 mi – Saturday, August 29, 2015

We woke up slowly to the noises of the campground after thinking it had rained all night. Devin and I both woke up hearing what sounded like rain drops landed on the canopy above us and were worried enough that we staked our our rain fly. We were surprised to find very little water on the ground. We don’t know what happened, but we were mostly dry. 

I went back to the post office for one last ditch effort at finding my charger. It hadn’t come in with the one shipment of mail the post office received. Bummer. A woman at the post office took another address for me and said she’d forward the mail to Portland, ME, for me to pick up there, presumably priority shipping. 

We rode the rest of the hills up and up and up, then down, then up and finally down in the valley of Ticonderoga. On the way, we stopped to check our directions at a lean-to across the street from a couple houses. A man pulled up in his car and said, “Can I… help you gentleman?” I was a little anxious since he seemed a little put off. We explained that we had just gotten internet and were wayfinding with it (as well as trying to find a Warmshowers host). He seemed relieved and went on to explain that someone had pooped in his driveway during a bicycle race and left toilet paper and all there. He explained that this had actually happened three times in the last two to three years. I guess he was worried that we were going to poop in his driveway. After discussing amongst ourselves, we think maybe a neighbor has it out for him and used the bike race as a cover. Weird. 

We ended with a breathtaking downhill into the valley where Ticonderoga is found. After a decent break at McDonald’s for internetting, we biked through town to the Ticonderoga ferry, just past Fort Ticonderoga. The ferry runs most of the day, so we rode it across after a short wait, then hit the beauty of Vermont. 

Our trip became much hillier, though were rolling through farmland and loads of apple orchards. Toward the evening, we came to the college town of Middlebury, a quaint town and the largest we’d seen during our time in Vermont. We stopped to check out some happenings in town and bought groceries and beer for dinner at our host’s house. We biked to the southeast of town, actually still on the Northern Tier route, and into our host’s driveway. Douglas and Johanna met us there with their dog and tortoiseshell cat. 

We made burgers and kebabs after setting up our tents. Johanna made blueberry pie, which was delectable. We were all pretty wiped out and wet to bed not much later. 

 

High peaks of the Adirondacks

  

yes

  

Enforcer or enforcee?

  

Old school church

  

Simple solution

 

Lovely lakes

Hello, everyone! I’m finally taking one of our last break days to try and catch up. We spent last night in Brunswick, Maine, just north of Portland, with a wonderful couple and their kiddos. Today is a break and a wait for Metti to arrive, then we’ll be heading north tomorrow to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park! Thank you, everyone, for all the positive words after our success in riding coast to coast! I miss everyone and am excited to get back home at the end of this amazing journey. 

Day 92 – Blue Mountain Lake to Newcomb – 42.1 mi – Friday, August 28, 2015

We woke up to sun, a slight chill and the sound of some kind of noisy bird all over the forest. We could see them, but I never figured out what they were. I’ll have to go over my bird sounds mp3s. Jeremy was up first and I joined him on the footbridge to look out over the pond while we soaked up the sun. Once Devin was up, we packed all our things and made the hike back out of the forest. Long story short, we were not attacked by bears. The hike out was pleasant. 

In town, we stopped at the convenience store to get breakfast and coffee. We talked to a couple bikers (motorcyclists) with BMW bikes who had all sorts of questions about our trip. I have to say I really like the pseudo-camaraderie between bikers and cyclists. 

We also noted an unusually large number of cyclists out for a ride on a Friday morning. As we got riding, we found out we were overlapping with part of the Cycle Adirondacks week-long ride. We chatted with a few people but separated from them within ten miles. 

We rode up and over the first big pass of the east and descended into the rolling hills of the Adirondacks, riding along several lakeshore towns. An interesting thing I’ve noticed is that you can hit a town line miles and miles before you get to where the people live. When we made it to Newcomb, we rode for a ways to get through town. 

I had high hopes of finding my camera charger in Newcomb, but it hadn’t arrived at the post office. The office was right next to Lake Harris state park and campground, so we decided to stop early so we could check the post office the next day. 

The campground was pretty and packed with people. We looked for a lakeshore site but figured out we were better off at a different site. We went for a swim then biked into town for a pizza. After that, Devin headed back to the site, and Jeremy and I had a couple beers, then we biked back to the site and called it a night. 

 

A truly primitive campsite.

  

Rock Pond

  

Pond footbridge. Don’t fall off!

  

The end of the hike out. It was tough.

 

 

Cycle ADK had these bear signs all over.

  

Fitting, as the rest of this town seemed to be owned by one business.

 

The “hungry man”. Yes. #greatbigbikeride

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Wow. You guys. We made it to Portland, Maine! Rewarded ourselves with a hotel room tonight. #wemadeitforreal #greatbigbikeride

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Holed up, deep in the woods…

Day 91 – Thendara to Blue Mountain Lake and Rock Pond – 40.5 mi – Thursday, August 27, 2015

We woke up to rain at the campground and (I think) all willed ourselves back to sleep hoping the rain would stop. It actually did stop by around 8:45, and we were able to get up and shower without getting our gear too wet. We tried to dry stuff out, including our tents and some stuff we accidentally left out. 

On our way out of Thendara and the next town, Old Forge, we stopped at a grocery store and ate some breakfast. A lot of our electronics had run out of power, so we found a cafe, ordered coffee and interneted. I set a reservation for the three of us and Metti at Acadia National Park for September 9-11, so it seems 9/9 is going to be our official end date! There you have it!

We rode at a slow pace after leaving town around 1 or 2pm. We stopped in the town of Inlet to get some stuff at the bike shop and check tire pressure. We were hungry enough by then to stop at the Screamen [sic] Eagle for pizza and chicken wings. We took off from there with 20 miles left to our goal town of Blue Mountain Lake. 

After some really lovely hills, we hit the town. We stopped to check in at the convenience store, per map instructions, and the folks there didn’t know what we were talking about. After talking to a number of people, including a woman off of the street where the trail is, we were able to find a turnoff for a trailhead. We biked down a short dirt road to the trailhead. There, we started walking our bikes up a 0.6 mile hiking trails with roots, rocks and mud in the way. 

We “paid” for our campsite by slogging up this trail, ultimately coming to Rock Poond. There we crossed a footbridge which ended right next to a campsite. We set up tents and got to work building a fire from downed wood. As dark came on, we drank some beers and had some interesting discussions, though most of the discussion was between Jeremy and Devin. I worked on hunting down wood and stoking the fire. We were also continuously making loud noises to scare away any bears in the area. 

We started hearing plopping sounds in the water of the pond and thought at first they might be fish, though it sounded more like large rocks being tossed in. When we really started freaking ourselves out, we made some noise and heard the scampering of little paws across the bridge. I started doing my bad loon call with my hands, and someone from a property at least a mile away (not on the pond) started doing it back. I stopped, but they did it for another five minutes. We really scared ourselves thinking that either a bear was going to come and mess with us or some teenagers were. In the end, we were able to get to sleep. 

Adirondacks at last!

Day 90 – Osceola to Thendara – 54.4 mi – Wednesday, August 26, 2015

We were up at a halfway decent time and rode a pretty killer downhill into the main crossroads of Osceola. We ate at a diner there and watched the news about the tragic shooting of two Virginia journalists unfold on Fox News. While we were there, there was a lot of tsk-ing, and a man who seemed to think he knew everything said some racially insensitive stuff. He also offered a lot of unhelpful information about touring, including trying to tell us what the point of bike touring was: “To get there”, according to him, and in the fastest and lamest way possible, it seems. He chastised our maps for “sending you by all the campgrounds”. 

On our way away from Osceola, we’ve seen a number of confederate flags. I wonder if some of it has to do with the recent resurgence in stigma regarding the flag.

Interestingly, as we made our way into the Adirondacks, the houses were better-maintained and drivers seemed more courteous. Who knows what to make of all this. 

A certain amount of giddiness took over the day, and Jeremy and I have spent a lot of it riffing off of various cartoons, particularly Bob’s Burgers and the character Linda. 

We took a break in a small town with an ice cream shop, and I was able to get some business done with the limited phone and internet I had. Klymit is kindly replacing my sleeping pad under warranty! Amazing service! Consider buying one of their pads. I still don’t know if Luke sent my charger.  If I can’t confirm a text from him, I’ll probably order a new one online. 

We arrived to Thendara, and Jeremy and I decided to stay in the Nicks Lake state park campground. Devin tried to make a go of stealth camping or finding some other place to stay. We parted ways with plans to meet in the next town tomorrow. Jeremy and I bought groceries for dinner and made it to camp with daylight enough to set up the tent and drink a beer. We saddled back up and headed down the road to buy firewood because the campground doesn’t sell it. 

The wood ended up being pretty wet, and it took us a while to get the fire going. Once we did, we were back to goofing around. After we started to get dinner ready, Devin rolled up and joined us as he didn’t have luck and was a little worried about camping on state land with rumors of black bears in the area. After a good meal, we’re heading to bed. 

 

 

Backwooods riding

Day 89 – Fulton to Osceola – 53.1 mi – Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Riding today was short. We got up and out a little later than expected but far earlier than when it had just been me and Devin. The landscape is getting hillier but also far prettier than when we were west of New York. 

We had a couple hiccups in the day. Jeremy got a flat early on which was easily repaired. We also stopped at the hardware store so Jeremy could try to fix his Dynamo (hub-powered) headlight. No dice yet. 

We stopped for lunch and a sweet treat at a small diner, and our waitress was about seven years old. She was really cute, and I think the girl listening in and taking our order behind her might have been her sister. 

We rode through a number of small towns and met a couple named Jon and Connie who just started the Northern Tier route in Bar Harbor and are heading west. They’re driving their camper and alternating during parts of each day. They have three Scotty dogs, too. 

The craziest thing is that they both, like Jeremy and I, have maroon disc truckers with 26-inch wheels. We ended up getting a family photo. They also have “woody” fenders, which I think they said are made of cherry. 

We ended up staying in a campground a little bit off-route. They’re often closed during the week, but the shop we stopped at called and gave them a head’s up. On arrival, we were told to set up anywhere. Later, they brought us plates of food they had made, including chicken, pasta, buns, fruit and cheese! Woah! I spent some time when we first got there photographing and filming hummingbirds. At highest count, I spotted seven. 

As an interesting side-story, I left the charger for my nice weather-proof digital camera at Maurine and Alex’s house in London, Ontario. The next night they hosted a man named Luke who was traveling alone and “seemed to be heading in your direction” according to Maurine. She sent him with the charger. I only got the email about it yesterday and realized that he passed us along the way and stayed at Perette’s place in Rochester the night before! Ach! I finally got a hold of him, and unfortunately he’s headed to Manhattan. I’m trying to get him to send the charger ASAP as I don’t have a nice camera for high quality photos. We’ll see if I get it where I’m hoping to. I have no cell service right now, so I can’t keep communicating with him.