Epilogue

 

So, the ride is done.  When we plotted out the ride, we calculated it at 2045 miles.  We actually bicycled 1897 miles, and had 148 miles of “assists” – pickup rides or public transit.  As Diane noted on Facebook, if this had been her first bicycle tour, she would not have had the courage to do another one.  After we completed our Kitty-Corner ride across America in 2011, she announced it was her last road trip, but Rob convinced her to ride again.   (Never say never, Rob.)

The trip was unexpectedly arduous, but we did get stronger along the way.  Each day had its joys, and we always found something to laugh about. 

PS. A few unshared photos.

There are always more photos taken than shared - especially when you are trying to tell the story of the day.  Below are a few additional shots for your consideration.





My favorite pic of Diane this trip. (We try to patronize local establishments when we can. But Dunkin Donut was the only viable breakfast option one morning - Diane loves her coffee!

It very important to thank all of the people who helped us along the way... and there was a bunch. This photo of local campaign workers (who were visiting small towns to plant campaign signs) giving us a lift beyond a piece of particularly bad road. It's offered as an acknowledgement of thanks to all.



 





The last three days of this tour we rode hard and put up the bicycles wet - not even stopping for good air. Our bikes and panniers were covered with a fine sheen of road greasy and grime.  And Diane's favorite jersey and Rob's shoes tell the tale.

And we were pretty much running out of everything.

 

 

But that is not the image we want to leave you with. On all of trips there are always pictures of wildflowers.  Given this was a fall ride, wildflowers did not appear.........

....until the morning of last day's ride.  This photo is offered as bouquet to those of you who have faithfully followed our blog. Diane and Rob.

 



 



The Last Hard Ride!

Thursday, October 16.  Waterville to Bangor

 The day was supposed to be an easy 52 miles.  That changed when rain threatened to inundate us, and we altered our route (as recommended by Google Map's bicycle function), adding 8 miles hoping for a quicker ride because of less hills.  Google Map's route was a total fail.  The route proved to be much hillier, including a packed dirt road that was wet but not yet too slippery to ride.  And to add insult, we rode a stretch of road covered with manure slurry (thank goodness for fenders).

 

AND, We biked in rain anyway, although not a downpour.  We came to a service station/convenience store/deli that was also having troubles.  It was colder inside than out,  so we had a quick hot chocolate, and Diane changed out of her wet jersey and gloves to a dry set, and off we went again. 

 

We grinded our way into late afternoon -- finally, we saw the sign “Bangor” and took our classic end-of-ride picture as we crossed the bridge from Bangor to Brewer.  Not too much further, but up a final hill, we reached our destination, Vacationland Inn.  We chose this hotel due to its proximity to Pat’s Bikeshop and a U.S. Post Office, so we could easily ship bikes and gear home.  Although we did not realize it until registering, it’s also close to great Italian and Japanese restaurants.  Fortunately we got settled in before the rains hit again.  By morning we awoke to a heavy downpour.  In the end we did beat the really heavy rain into Bangor.

 

Early in the day, the route change seemed to be paying off. We flew down the road with the wind.

Rob remained vigilant for moose - especially as we traveled the Moosehead Trail. But no luck.

(Your fall color photo of the day.)

 

Diane, the conqueror....... beating the

 ......evening rain in Bangor.



Ain't no truly easy west to east rides in Maine.

Wednesday, October 15.  Wilton to Waterville

 

Anita prepared a great breakfast, including gluten free pancakes for Diane, sending us off sufficiently sated to run the morning.  Today was a staging-in day for the last day’s ride.  We anticipated a 38-mile ride, but altered our route, adding 5 more miles, but less hills, and better highway and shoulders.  The Pleasant Street Inn, in Waterville, was a welcome sight, though, after the last few miles, which comprised rough roads, and city traffic.  We were the first guests to arrive and everything was ready for us, so we reheated Diane’s leftovers from last night for a tasty lunch.  Later, we had a pleasing meal at the Thai Bistro, and then ventured a few doors down to the Amicis Cucina for dessert.  A great day! (I know, I know, eat, ride, eat, eat and ride again. Repeat!)

Part of the daily rituals, Diane resets here cycle computer to record the stats.

 

Rolling down Hwy 2. Later in the day we end our relationship with this road which has carried us across 3 states.

 

Every town has one - a cemetery.  In the South the graves are above ground because of the high water tables. In the Midwest and East they always on a hill. They range from family plots in the Kentucky hill country, to small ones associated with community churches, to large communal cemeteries which according to one historical marker in Vermont seem to have been first established in New England.   They have become part of the Halloween tradition and therefore (at least for some of us) associated with Fall harvest celebrations.  It is this sense of celebration that tomorrow we put this Fall ride to rest.  

Yeah We would Ride 65 miles (again) for that Italian Meal

Tuesday, October 14.  Gorham to Wilton

A pleasant and satisfying breakfast at Welsh’s restaurant, while Rob previewed for Diane the anticipated hills of the day.  And then we were off -- looking to leave New Hampshire and cross into Maine! 

 

It was a strong 65-mile ride, and yes, there were hills, but not the horrid kind we had been riding -- although there were a few crawlers.  The vistas were beautiful as was the scenic Androscoggin River, which we followed eastward a good portion of the way.  There were lots of vacant, and ostensibly abandoned, homes along the highway.  We did not see any moose.  Diane thought for moment that she spied one, but quickly realized she was looking at a rather regal portion of a fallen tree. 

 

In the middle of the day, Rob's bike seemed to "get in the Halloween spirit" by beginning to give off a low eerie howling sound that was at first infrequent but became more persistent. When the problem did not become evident with an inspection, Rob resorted to the classic approach - spray the hell out of every possible candidate with WD-40.  This did seem to mostly quiet the sound so we pressed on.  Later Rob ferreted out the source of the sound.  The back panniers were pressing the tool kit bag which in turn was pressing the rear brake cable causing the rear brakes pads on occasion to graze along the rear wheel causing the low pitched howling.

 

It was just getting dark when we reached Wilton, and the lovely Bass Hill Bed and Breakfast where we were warmly greeted by the owner, Anita. She recommended we dine at the Calzolaio Pasta Co. that was an easy walk, just down the hill from her home.  So glad we did – lots of gluten-free options for Diane.  Another night of gluttony, joined in by Diane this time.  But she had the good sense to take a portion of it back to the B&B to transport the next day and have for lunch.  Yummy!

 

The Halloween bike in front of the Top Notch Inn.

 

The last New Hampshire stream before ...........

 



.... we enter Maine!

 

 The White Mountain Forest.



Racing sundown to end the day's ride in Wilton, Maine.

Not a Fast Fifty, but Well Ridden

Monday, October 13.  St. Johnsbury to Gorham

Omigosh.  The hills of New Hamshire are in full color – what a treat.  The color, that is, not the hills.  Yes, they do go on and on.  There was a walker today.  And there were several crawlers, one roller, and multiple riders. 

 

But it was a great ride!  We started our day by walking the bikes through .5 miles of road construction, then hopped on and rode a few blocks to the local diner, where we had a good breakfast, including gluten-free toast for Diane and Vermont maple syrup for Rob (which he shared).

 

Then we hopped on our bikes again—by this time it was 9:00 a.m. and 35 degrees.  But we were never cold because we began climbing immediately.  We rode through moose-crossing countryside, but saw no moose.  Darn.  But at the top of each climb there were unbelievable Fall vistas!  About twenty miles into the day, close to the Vermont/NH border, we took a side road to go through the Mt. Orne Covered Bridge, and then followed the river into Lancaster, NH.  We ate lunch from our pack in a laundromat (Diane’s idea to stay warm while eating), and then continued on. 

 

Rob uses an app on his android phone that graphs the elevation gains and losses between points, so we knew we had some big hills climb and one long descent outside of Gorham.  When we saw that last hill coming up, we each thought to ourselves (later confirmed) “that’s a walker.”  But instead it was a crawler, because of a new smooth surface and two lanes plus a wide shoulder going up. So new, that the only markings on the highway were the double yellow  lines dividing the two-way traffic.  What a difference the surface makes.  Also, by this time we had a gentle tail wind that helped whisper us up.  The top was about four miles from the hotel; the downhill comprised a two mile 8% grade followed by a two mile 6% grade.  Diane braked, but Rob let it rip, reaching 42.5 mph. 

 

The Top Notch Inn proved to be nice home away from home, and dinner next door, “J’s Corner Restaurant” provided an opportunity for gluttony (for Rob, that is; Diane ate sensibly).

Tomorrow, we experience our last day in NH and our first day in Maine. 

 

A little road construction to start our day.

 

Looking for Moose, but to no avail.

 

Mt. Orne covered bridge.

 

And since we are featuring structures, note the "flying buttresses" on the St. Agnes Catholic Church in New Hampshire - an omage to the great cathedrals of Europe.

 



But back to Fall Colors and ....

... a great smile.....

..... even up a crawler.

 

This is how you beat the Vermont mountains

Sunday, October 12.  Williston to St. Johnsburg

Another 70 mile day.  This one with a very satisfying result.

 

Started with a good breakfast, and pushed off at 8:40.  Nine hours later, we had arrived at the outskirts of St. Johnsburg, discovering the highway up the hill to the town was under construction.  We called the bed and breakfast where we had reservations, and were informed by the owner that she had no information showing we had reservations, and she had no room available.  Imagine the shock and frustration!  But we had stopped at the intersection adjacent to Fairbanks Inn.    Luckily, there was a vacancy – a king, nonsmoking!  Also, because the local pizza place delivers and has gluten free pizza, guess what we had for dinner! 

 

Today we had no mechanical difficulties or flats.  We rode strong, notwithstanding the hills.  Diane now classifies hills into four categories – rollers, riders, crawlers, and walkers (Rob has suggest one other category - Oh, hell no.  We didn’t have any walker hill!  We had a few rollers and several crawlers (the kind that are 2-mile long pulls with  passing lanes and require usage of our lowest gears), but most hills today were “riders” – that is, moderate quarter-mile hills that do not require your lowest gears.   

 

The scenery was absolutely spectacular.  The temperature was about right for the vigorous activity—on the warm side going uphill and on the cool side going down.  We enjoyed a too-leisurely lunch at a picnic table adjacent to and provided by a general store.  Too leisurely, because by the time we arrived St. Johnsburg, it was close to sunset.  At one of our rest stops after a crawler, about ten miles from our destination, a young man on a mountain bike appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.  He was biking a new trail, not yet completely surfaced, that goes into St. Johnsburg.  He recommended we take it for the next two miles, which we did.  This cut off one, and two thirds of another  crawler.  And then we began a very fast and cold eight mile descent into town. 

 

All in all a very successful day.  Tomorrow we leave Vermont, and spend one night in New Hampshire.

 

Early in the day we rolled through farmlands and by the pumpkin stands.

 

 

Your Fall colors shot of the day.

 

Diane kicks butt in Vermont.

 

 



Hills!, Hills!, Flat, Flat, Bus, Bus, Walk in the Dark

Saturday, October 11:  Ticonderoga to Williston

What a day!  The 39 miles from Ticonderoga to the Essex Ferry took  6.5 hours of biking!  This snail pace is a result to two factors:  (1) terrain, road surface and shoulders, and high traffic density; and (2) two flats on Diane’s rear tire.  The road was miserable – continuous long steep hills, narrow to non-existent shoulders, and rutted highway.  New York calls this road “Bike Route 9.”  Ha!  Our down time was an hour and twenty minutes, due to (a) repairing the flats and stops for good air; (b) Diane’s need to walk the remainders of two really steep hills; and (c) meal, rest, and comfort breaks. 

 

We arrived at the Essex Ferry Dock just in time for the 4:00 P.M. ferry across Lake Champlain to the Charlotte, VT dock, a twenty minute trip.   Concerned that nightfall would come on before we could bike the remaining 24 miles or so to our hotel in Williston, Rob began an internet search for public transportation options.  Turns out there were bus links that would get us close to the hotel, if we were able to catch a 5:28 bus at a stop about 8 miles from the Charlotte ferry docks, and if the bus had bike racks (and if Google Maps was correct about Saturday service).  We made it! 

 

The first bus was running a few minutes late, but when it arrived we were happy to see it had bike racks, and no bikes on them.  That bus took us to Burlington, and from there we transferred to a bus going to Williston.  The latter got us to within 0.7 of a mile from the hotel.  It was quite dark and a bit rainy when we disembarked and walked  our bikes to the motel.  When we got there, the receptionist and manager both told us they had overbooked, so rebooked us to another hotel.  We stood firm, and they relented, so we settled in at 7:40 p.m.  Rob had bike maintenance chores – repair the two tubes, tighten the wheel bearings on Diane’s front wheel, and general inspection of the bikes.  Diane did the laundry, bottle washing, and general prep for the next day.   We were exhausted but ready to take on another day.

 

 

Diane churns up of the many hills with no time to enjoy the fall colors.

 

Passing through small hamlets with interesting artifacts of the past. Such as this facility used water power to manufacture who knows what.

 

Leaving NY state by ferry under darkening cloudy skies.

 

With twilight upon us, smiling at last as we know we will make it to our motel.