Daily Stories, News & Updates...Photo links are lower left.

Day 33, Amesbury

Thu, 26 May 2011 09:43:43 -0500

The photos taken in VT, NH, and MA are ready for viewing in the title page.
Absolutely beautiful weather...are we in the north east. High 83 and sunny all day. Wind calm early variable as we neared the beach.
It's hard to believe we've come across the nation in such a short time. It seems just a minute ago that we were dipping our wheels in Costa Mesa and preparing for our journey. Or was it a lifetime ago? We've endured and prevailed...to here. But this morning we had one more day of riding. I told the riders to savor the last day, but we had to keep moving since we have our banquet in the evening and need to box up all the bikes, etc. With that we must focus for one more day before we can celebrate in Amesbury.
The first order of the morning was the final breakfast and luggage load. Everyone was in super spirits as we packed the van for the last time and chowed down for the challenges that lay ahead of us on the last day.
Right after breakfast, it didn't take long for the riders to get a smack of reality and experience what stood between them and the beach...Gilsun Hill, lots of ups and downs, and Joe English. Gilsun and Joe English are 2 of the toughest climbs we'd have the entire trip. Only 3 miles from the motel, we started up Gilsun listed as a 13% climb with a 15% pitch or two thrown in. As I stood near the top of Joe English a last 15% climb, it was interesting to see how the riders tackled the challenge. Some rode it as a piece of cake while others less prone to enjoy hills struggled a bit. But struggle or not, all completed the climb and felt a great sense of accomplishment as a result. Three weeks ago, I think this hill would have been more than some of them could have completed...but not now after 3400 miles and countless other climbs already behind them. Even with their tired legs they all topped the summit with aplomb.
Everyone arrived at the rendezvous within our estimated target time and waited until everyone arrived before the final assault to the beach. We planned to take the whole family to the beach at one time and we even had a police escort. We want to thank the Amesbury and Salisbury Police departments for the escort to the final wheel dip. All cheered as the final rider arrived at the first rendezvous point and all mounted fort he last time for the final 5 miles to the water. I took the helm in the van with all the riders in tow for the final miles until the second rz point just 2.8 miles from our wheel dip. From there I jumped on my bike to lead everyone to the sand behind the police escort. Passersbys cheered us as we neared the beach. When we made the final turn to our beach head, the riders breathed a sigh of accomplishment...We'd done it! We were at the beach!!! Now the celebration can begin.
Emotions flowed as the riders savored the feelings of accomplishment. We all shared in the celebration taking photos of the wheel dip and water transfer formalities. Shelley and Eric shared the honors of pouring the Pacific water we’d carried across the country into the Amesbury Atlantic. After the pour, I think several contemplated what it would take just to keep going...a boat I guess. All, at one time or another, got swept up in a wave that filled their shoes with sand and sea water...but who cared?
After our celebration at the beach, it was time to get to work to get back to the motel, secure shipment of the bikes, and get ready for the evening's activities. The police escort continued with us all the way to the motel...what a way to finish. After arriving at the motel, we scurried to get all the work done before dinner with help from Bill from the office and Dan, Judy’s husband shuttling people to bike shops and helping with unloading. After boxing bikes and taking people to the bike shops for shipping, we were ready for the banquet and closure to our adventure. It was hard to believe it was over. I’ll be back tomorrow to finish this page...
Saturday: I'm back...Wow...it's over. Another successful crossing in the books. It was a lot of work and a lot of effort, but the riders triumphantly stormed the beach Thursday in mass celebration of the completion of a memorable journey. Friends were made and the memories will last forever.
The festivities at the banquet was testament to the feeling of accomplishment each had...each in some way felt a sense of fulfillment, a sense of self satisfaction, and a sense of loss as each would go their separate way at dawn's light.
Everyone had a different reason for doing this ride and I'm sure there were times during the course of the ride that they all questioned their sanity for even thinking about doing such a thing, but they pressed on. But now that it is over, they all can be proud of their accomplishment. One thing I found interesting, not one focused or complained about the tough weather or the tough terrain they encountered this trip...they will wear it like a badge of courage...well deserved. I told them on day 1 they would stretch their comfort zone beyond their imagination and they did that. They endured heat, cold, rain, traffic, and headwinds all across the nation. They rode in conditions especially into Illinois and Indiana that if they had been at home they wouldn't even think about getting on their bike. It's amazing what we'll do when we have to ride to our next meal, have an important goal, or have a group from which to draw inspiration...and this group was most inspirational. They have joined the elite fraternity of riders that have crossed the US in short order...I salute them all for their grit, good nature, and final success.
As they go their separate ways, it will take them awhile to fully appreciate what they have accomplished. Some will continue their cycling adventures while others will not want to see a bicycle for awhile. But tomorrow or the next day when they return home and are flooded with questions from friends and family about the trip, it will begin to sink in. They will start to appreciate their immense accomplishment and will begin to miss their newly adopted family on the road. They will wake up at 5:00 in the morning and suddenly realize their routine of the last 32 days is no longer applicable. I personally don't know what I'm going to do with the 2 hours a day I'll have by not doing a journal every day for awhile. But for the riders, their bodies will scream for the stress of a 100 mile ride, the taste of grape Gatorade, and the usual 6000 calories it has gotten used to for the last month. Every time they see a silver 15 passenger van, they will hunger for an oatmeal cookie and feel the need to tap the top of their head to get it to stop...it probably won't. Every time they see a white van parked along the side of the road, they will look for someone standing in the weeds trying to get that perfect photo of them riding by. They will long for the companionship and the inspiration they've had for the last 32 days and won't understand why everyone they talk to for the next 6 months can only be interested in hearing about their adventure for about 30 seconds...on a good day. It will be a shock when they get back to the regular grind, but they will all have a new perspective on life and on what is and what isn't important...for those who are going back to careers, they will have a recharged attitude to deal with the stresses of their job, but they'll have to do it without a daily rap session and support team to get them by. Maybe, they'll start planning their next ABB adventure and try to do it all again somewhere else...we sincerely hope so.
The friendships that were made on this trip were like all the other trips except maybe even a little stronger due to all the encounters they made along the way...these friendships will last forever. Judy, Karen, Jim, Jay, and I all salute our new friends in the cycling world and will consider them friends for the rest of our lives. God bless and may they have tailwinds and smooth roads in their future...we've grown to love them all and hope they'll come ride with us again.
I hope you have enjoyed following us across the nation and I hope you will check back when we do the North Ride, and the West Ride in September. I want to thank the riders for their sense of humor and for putting up with me making fun of them on the website. It really picks up the spirits of the ride when we don't take ourselves so seriously. Until the next ride, on behalf of the ABB front office and the on road staff I hope you have a great year and may God bless. See you on the road. Mike

Day 32, Keene NH

Wed, 25 May 2011 19:57:47 -0500

The last couple of days we've been trying to take it easy to save a little for the final two days...well, they are here. Today's ride was not for the faint of heart...and tomorrow's a pretty tough day too. The terrain will be a challenge and there's plenty of navigation to deal with too. These two days are not days you would want to ride any "bonus" miles after missing a turn someplace.
Breakfast was at the motel so we were able to get an early start. From the motel, their tired legs struggled on the 1.5 climb out of town so it didn't take long before they were seeing what the day was going to be like. We actually rode between the mountain ranges most of the day so our riding terrain was mostly just big rollers, but our road went up and down enough to amass over 7000 feet of climbing. The wind was calm until the afternoon when it became a tailwind and we've been really lucky with the weather for the past couple days and it looks like we'll go to the beach dry...and warm too.
Today was another 3 state day, I hate to see New York go since I really like the roads there, but Vermont is really beautiful as is New Hampshire. Most of the day we had a shoulder to ride on but several times there were sections where the edge of the roadway was pretty beat up. The winters up here are really hard on the highways and about every 5 years they have to repave them. Cyclists have to stay alert lest they get their wheels swallowed by a crack in the road.
Vermont is nicknamed the Green Mountain State. When you see it, there is no doubt how it got its name. As you can see by some of the photos, the terrain is spectacular. We rode along a river and two pristine lakes nestled between two tree covered mountain ranges that stood majestically on both sides of our route. Every where you looked you'd find small farms nestled into the base of these "hills." The farm lots are usually older houses covered with ivy along the sides with big beautiful maple trees for yard shade and stone fences along the property lines surrounding stoic old barns. Everywhere you looked you'd see lots of scenes that Norman Rockwell probably has painted at one time or another. It's also a reverent place as we were crossing areas where men died while fighting for America's independence in the 1700s. We ride through several Revolutionary War battle fields from here to the ocean and there never seems to be an end to small cemeteries that have stones dating back to the 1700s.
Yes, we are closing in on our target. Just a short 31 days ago these riders were in California trying to figure out what they'd gotten themselves into. Now they are hardened cross country veterans, a little tired, but with legs of steel and lungs to match. They have covered over 3500 miles in the last 31 days which is a pretty good accomplishment by any definition. I think everyone will be glad to sit on something softer than their bicycle seat after tomorrow, but for now, we have 1 more day on the road. The riders are starting to realize that this ride is almost over. On this day, I usually see lots of mixed feelings on their faces. Most are going to be glad it's over but all will hate to see it end. We have become a family and this group has really gotten along well. I haven't seen any personality conflicts anywhere. It's amazing how something like this can bring a group of diverse individuals close. I'm really proud of the whole lot for rising to the challenge.
Tonight we held our last route rap to cover tomorrow's challenges and banquet...a challenge in itself I guess. Tomorrow we make our last assault on the beach. When we get to the beach, they'll dip their tires and try to remember Newport Beach in CA where they started this odyssey. I stressed everyone to stay focused for one more day and that they would have plenty of time to celebrate at the banquet. It's going to be a long, tiring day, but it will be well worth it. Pray for their safe arrival. Talk to you again soon with the final day wrap up. Tootles.

Day 31, Amsterdam

Tue, 24 May 2011 16:31:05 -0500

Photos from PA and NY are up for viewing on the Fast title page.
Well, we're closing in on the ocean...but first, we have another day in the saddle along the Mohawk River. It's so beautiful here. When we came through on our way out to the west coast, the trees weren't even thinking about opening their leaves yet, but now it's green everywhere. Some of the foliage is just maturing because my sinuses seem to be revolting in this spring period. I left home after the pollen season there just to arrive just in time for it to hit all along our route. This area has had so much rain lately that every where you look yards are knee high. We saw several people out mowing, but they were needing a hay mower the grass was so tall.
Today was a day of contrasts...terrain and scenery. Our route started out with 11 miles of navigating through Syracuse with all it's morning traffic, but after mile 12 we were in the quiet New York country side until mile 40. After that, we basically rode 5 east to Little Falls then cross the Mohawk River and ride on the south side until crossing back to get to Amsterdam. In this area the terrain changes from rolling farmland to small plots along the Mohawk River Valley with mountains on either side of the river carpeted with greenery from the over abundance of moisture they've had lately. The view from the high areas on the south side of the Mohawk are awesome. I always enjoy riding through this area because of the scenery. It's hard to believe how green it is here after being out in the desert west only 3 weeks ago. Where we are now is so different than out west where we didn't see settlements for miles and miles. Here we are seldom out of sight of either a farm house or a town and it seems there's always an ice cream shop to stop at in these parts.
Our middle miles included several small towns like Utica and Herkimer with vibrant thoroughfares to break the monotony of the back roads. In former times, these towns served an important role when the Erie Canal was in its heyday. Herkimer was where the process for making paper out of wood pulp was perfected.
We have really been lucky with the weather for the last couple of days as the forecast each day has been for rain and thunderstorms. Today we rode under some ominous clouds, but we only had sprinkles a couple of times. At one point when I was on top of the ridge taking photos, I could see several dark clouds that were dumping on areas all around our route, but nothing where we were riding. We’ll take this for sure...now just hope we can keep skirting the wet stuff...and the wind has been better too! But what ever weather we may have, our hearts must go out to the people in the midwest who are enduring hardship after hardship through all the tornadoes and storms. We made contact with many of these people as we passed through those areas just a few days ago. Our prayers are with them...we ride on.
Tonight we are staying in Amsterdam NY which was once a thriving textile center specializing in manufacture of carpets. At one time they also had interest in the small computer industry, but now everywhere you look around the motel you see store fronts that are empty and it appears the town is dying. It's a pity to see an old downtown die in such a beautiful area.
Well, we've finished another tough day in the saddle...I can't believe we have only 2 more days of riding. Tomorrow's really hilly with at least 3 major climbs to contend with, but luckily the weather is supposed to be great for the rest of the way...there's always a good side.  PS: I may take a couple days to post the next two days...I'm going to be pretty busy at the end of the next two days. Stay tuned and I'll get the finals posted as soon as I can. Thanks for following.

Day 30, Liverpool

Mon, 23 May 2011 17:56:27 -0500

It was mild this morning (65 degrees) as we loaded after breakfast. A storm went through last night and seemed to clear out the skies, but it left a pretty brisk wind from our right all day. I can take these forecasts that call for thunder showers but only rain after we get through with the day. It was nice all day until the very end when Karen and I were finishing our day around 4:30. We got a couple of sprinkles, but that’s about it.
It was a day to take it easy but the pesky winds made everyone work a little harder than we'd hoped. It's also a time to savor the finish of the adventure. I told the riders that the last two days would be a real test...long distances and lots of climbing would await them before they got to the beach. Today was supposed to be a 125 mile rest day...when did you ever think you'd hear that. These riders look at a hundred miles much differently than they did a couple weeks ago. Now they see they can ride monumental distances even in unfavorable wind and still feel good while doing it. The terrain today was not flat even with the most loose definition but it would be nothing they would see before ride's end.
I spent the day in the van working the ride in the morning and then swapping with Jim in the afternoon. This late in the ride I start to drag myself...I'm not used to riding everyday and when I ride I usually ride much harder than I should. Tonight my legs feel pretty toasted...the wind made it pretty hard for me today...I'm so impressed with the riders as they seem to be oblivious to the tough conditions.
New York is beautiful especially around the finger lakes region where we rode today. I think it surprises most people to see how much of NY is farm land. Not the kind of farm land we saw in Illinois which was flat and platted out in perfect squares surrounded by quiet country roads. But much more intimate...not at all what I thought the first time I came through here. When I think of New York I see NY City with all the concrete and people. But when you get away from the city, large rolling hills dominate the landscape and the pungent odor of corn silage in the fall and manure being spread on the fields in the spring will fill your nostrils as you pass by the small dairy farms that dot the landscape...the only skyscrapers you see out here are silos behind big red barns. And I think there is more corn in New York than in the corn belt.
We also passed through several small and very old towns today to include: Leroy, Caledonia, Avon, Lima, Bloomfield, and Geneva all before lunch. Many of these towns have been around since the mid to late 1700s and everywhere you look you'll see plaques that tell of colonial times and the stories of the famous people who made history developing this country into what it is today. People like Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton all were from this area and all were instrumental in the ground work for the freedom we share today. Other places of note include Seneca Falls, the birthplace of women's rights and Waterloo which is the birthplace of Memorial Day. The final treat today was riding along the Erie Canal just outside of town. It's neat to ride along places you've read about as a kid in history class. Much of the canal is still as it was years ago and you can almost see the mule teams pulling the boats along the canal.
Well, so much for the good things about the day. We had an unfortunate incident about 10 miles short of our first SAG today. A lady pulled out of a side road and struck one of our riders...Chris Cullum. I took the title photo of him above about 2 miles before the accident. He took quite a jolt and his bike was pretty much destroyed. He spent the day at the Strong Memorial Center in Rochester getting checked out. Everything seemed to be fine but in order to get a release for him to ride tomorrow, it required an MRI. It showed a cracked C5 so his ride will stop here. We are so glad he will be OK in time, but we are sorry to see his trip come to an end. Our thoughts will be with him as he spends time with family in the area. The ride goes on, we will miss him at the beach.
As we close another day in our our journal, we have only 3 more days until we dip our wheels in the Atlantic and while I think several riders will welcome the finish, I think most of them will hate to see it end. They've endured a lot on this ride, but they just keep turning those pedals and inching their way toward Amesbury, but the events of the day will remind them to reamain vigilant in their focus to get there safely. They are definitely a family now...they have their goal in sight, but they still have more journey to experience. That's the important part of this ride...the journey, not the destination. Tune in again tomorrow as we try to navigate our way out of Syracuse...it ought to be worth the price of admission.

Day 29, Batavia

Sun, 22 May 2011 20:32:44 -0500

Short day today only 82 miles. Sometimes it seems the short days are the hardest for some reason. I always struggle on this day and today was no different.
Everyone got on the road in good order after a relatively late breakfast and seemed to be cruising fine enjoying the cool morning. I spent the first half of the day in the van in a support role just bouncing back and forth checking on everyone’s progress until lunch. As I was threading my way through for the last time, I came upon England Bob standing on the side of the road after a facilities break and he motioned an “OK” sign for me to keep going. Just as I was cresting over the hill and out of sight, he noticed he had a flat tire...timing is everything. It didn’t take long before for Jim our mechanic to come along and assist. And a good thing too as he had a tire failure that required a boot to get him rolling. By the time Bob got to lunch to change out his tire, he had a hole as big as my thumb in the tread of the tire. I think he got the full benefit out of that one as his tread was cord all the way around the tire. Bob wasn’t the only one who had “air seepage” today, but everyone got everything fixed in good order. Today at mechanics, several riders were changing out their tires for the final assault on the beach. Nice to know you have good rubber under you for the final few days.
After lunch, I rode in with Karen. We had a couple errands to do before getting in as we’ve changed our route which caused us to have to have a new place for our lunch stop. So we spent several minutes scouting out new locations for next year. By the time we got through with our “chores,” we headed down the road. I said I had a bad day today...well, I simply ran out of gas today...at one point I could hardly climb one hill...just no energy. I stopped at a store and tried a couple of energy bars which helped me muddle through the last few miles. I think the stress of the ride has finally gotten to my old bones. I’ll recover in a day or two...Hmmm, I think a good dinner and some feet up rest will help too. We’ll see tomorrow.
One thing was missing from our route today...we missed touring the Bicycle History Museum in Orchard Park. We always stop in and visit with Carl Burgwardt who owns the largest private bicycle collection in the world. The tour was always the highlight of our fast ride, but he’s retiring and relocating the collection. We wish him and his wife Clare well and hope we see them again someday on the road. We sure missed learning all the nuances of our sport from one of the most knowledgeable experts in the world.
Everyone got in safely today in spite of all the new roundabouts the DOT has installed on our route. They always make our cues confusing since many of them aren’t on our route sheet because they weren’t there the last time we came through...and they changed the name of the motel since we got our reservations. At least the route sheet was right on, it just took us to a Clarion instead of a Holiday Inn we expected. I don’t know why the don’t inform us when they change names...oh well, it just makes life on the road interesting sometimes.
Tomorrow we head toward Syracuse...Liverpool to be exact. We have only 4 more days before we attack the beach. We are striving to keep our focus on safety and our goal is to get everyone to the coast in one piece. We have a few obstacle allusions between here and there, but we’re tough enough to take on just about anything. See you tomorrow. M

Day 28, Dunkirk NY

Sat, 21 May 2011 19:05:17 -0500

I'm glad I have a route sheet to look at because all the days are muddling together. I can't even remember where we were this morning! Where did Ohio go? I thought we rode through Pennsylvania? Oh...we did. It seems like a week ago when we left warren after breakfast at the motel, but that was just this morning.
Today was the longest day we've had since Kirksville and one of our longest days on the ride. By now, this mileage is nothing to this group and it was made better by the weather. We had light tailwinds all day to offset the days in Indiana and Ohio where we were cold and wet with headwinds most of the time.
Our route started off to the north through quiet Ohio back country until getting to Lake Erie where we turned northeast along the shoreline to Dunkirk. We were on highway 5 for most of the afternoon, but it's bicycle friendly with nice smooth shoulders and plenty of great scenery to watch along the lake. We rode along the side of the lake off an on for several miles after getting into New York and you could always tell when you were near the water as the temperature would drop about 10 degrees for no apparent reason.
Our first SAG stop was at an old decommissioned covered bridge that we use on all of our rides. It's a neat place to stop and I try to imagine what it was like in it's heyday when it spanned the small branch that runs beneath it's south end. Last year, the branch was a raging creek as the heavy rains of the night before had put a strain on the banks to contain the water, but his year it was beside a tame brook with crystal clear water babbling across the cobbles. The bridge stands on land owned by Mr Robert Benson who pulled Barbara out of a wet field 6 years ago with his trusty tractor. He stopped by to say hi while we were there today...great to see him for sure. We meet the nicest folks on the rides. We got to see another bridge on our route that was still in commission. There are several in the immediate area but most of them are on gravel roads so we usually don't go exploring.
Another of our favorite stops on this day is the White Turkey Drive-in about 1 mile short of the Pennsylvania State line. The White Turkey is an old time open air root beer stand that serves some mean hamburgers and has 60s tunes in the jukebox. Most passed by before it was open, but Shelley, Steve, Darryl, and myself enjoyed a tall root beer and a light lunch.
After our stop at the root beer stand, I rode with Shelley, Steve, and Darryl on our way to the lunch SAG about 17 miles down the road. Everything was going good until Jay Lewis road back to pick us up. I joined him for the last 5 miles to lunch and he about tore my legs off as we honkered up a pretty good hill just short of the SAG. As I was red lining by the top of the hill on his wheel, I realized he was only riding 10 miles today...gee, why do I do this? Aw heck, it was fun.
Today was our second "3 state" ride...Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. As I mentioned before, the first 60 miles of the ride today were on quiet, rural Ohio roads where the Amish influence was ever present. This being a Saturday, the traffic was almost non-existent as we left town and during the rural portions, the traffic is always light anyway. The afternoon found us entering New York; the state that has maybe the best roads overall on our trip. A couple years ago I told riders that New York had great roads but that year the DOT had scraped the first 20 or so miles of the highway to prepare for resurfacing...I thought everyone was going to lynch me.
Everyone was in by 4:00ish due to the favorable winds so we were able to get mechanics done fairly early and get to dinner shortly after. Everyone seems to be getting used to the routine of getting up early and riding all day...but it's coming to an end soon...too soon for some. We just have another 5 days before we'll be dipping our wheels in the Atlantic...the Pacific seems so far away now.
When we got in we were greeted to quite a spread of wings, fruit, and sandwiches provided by Michelle Sahli from the ABB Challenge crew. Thanks for the great reception Michelle...good luck on the summer rides. Tomorrow we'll eat late at 7:00 and not get on the road until around 8:30...it’s only 85 miles...see you then.

Day 27, Warren

Fri, 20 May 2011 19:55:57 -0500

The OHIO PHOTOS are up to view on the Fast Title page. Hope you enjoy the captions.
The day started out tame enough...early breakfast and early departure into the misty Ohio countryside. It was a bit on the brisk side with temperatures in the mid 50s an promising wind most of the day. That wasn't the biggest worry I had...we've never come through here that they weren't working on the roads which causes us to have to deviate from the planned route. We didn’t have any detours today, but we were wishing they were working on some of the roads...we had a couple that have been neglected for quite some time. Patrick even commented that he had 2 extra miles today just climbing out of the potholes.
Everyone got out of the motel in short order and was enjoying the cool morning ride. I worked my way up through everyone in the van and found a place to get some photos. It didn’t take long for the riders to appreciate the fact they should be looking at the route sheet as several of them had made wrong turns within the first couple of miles. Lasse was MIA for most of the morning, but he finally found his way back on course after a couple map checks...he wasn’t the only one though as every time I would pass through the riders they were in a different order. That made the morning interesting...but they all finally made it to the first SAG.
Some of the ride today was in more urban areas, but the majority was still rural. The terrain wasn't flat either by any stretch of the imagination. The hills today were short and steep and they were continuous in some areas especially midday. We had it all today as far as road surface...smooth country roads, complicated urban streets, complicated construction areas, beautiful quiet bike path, but the biggest challenge with today's route was a section of rough road surface after the first SAG stop that I alluded to in the first paragraph. Ohio has some of the most beautiful countryside, but in contrast, in spots it has some of the roughest roads one could imagine...some said pothole was the word of the day. Karen had so much fun riding one stretch of bumpy road that she threatened to call the county road commissioner and file a complaint. It's hard to tell everybody about all the bumps because they seem to be in a different area every year. Every year they fix one section and another section gets worse from the freeze and thaw of the northeastern Ohio winters...there's no getting around it so we press on. One good note though, they fixed one of the worst roads so they are working on making these roads better. We will be overjoyed when they finally fix the rest of them on our route, but by then the good ones will be bad. Soon we'll be in New York where they have the best road surfaces in the country...at least where we ride. Hey! That's tomorrow!
Everyone got in fairly early in spite of the rough roads they encountered today...gee, they are getting strong. Also, the route with all its navigational challenges didn't keep us from our destination...Lasse even made it in spite of all the extra miles he amassed. It's amazing what the group will go through to get to the next meal.
We had rap early since we have a long day tomorrow when we head to Dunkirk...it will be a 3 state ride...Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. At 137 miles, it will be our longest day since Kirksville...but it will not be nearly as strenuous...depending on the winds. Hopefully, we'll have a favorable day and for now, the forecast looks good. Just another day in paradise...See you then.

Day 26, Wooster

Thu, 19 May 2011 20:25:37 -0500

The weather plays the most important role in what we do...and when it is like it was today, our attitude and spirits are much improved. As you’ve seen over the last couple of days, we’ve been in a pretty depressing weather pattern, but today our luck changed and the sun even came out for a time or two. It’s amazing how much better everyone felt today riding...even in the challenging terrain...it was just plain fun.
To say we’ve been in a wet pattern the last few days is an understatement. But I’m thinking the local farmers that got their crops out already are loving it. The ones who still have to plant may not be too happy and if they were planning on planting corn, they may have to reconsider. May be a lot of soy beans growing here this summer.
Well, back to our day, we had lots of hills today...that's what makes this such a good riding day. Some of the hills were pretty steep too. Just before lunch, we turn onto hwy 603 which is also marked as the Cardinal Bicycle Trail. That means there are more cyclists than just us who brave this stretch of road. This road is really a roller coaster and a fun, beautiful contrast to the flat farmland of the last couple of days. In a vehicle, you can sustain zero Gs as you top several of the peaks. The pictures to the left might give you an idea of what the terrain was like. We were worried that Jay might just get to within 10 yards of the top and then roll backwards toward the bottom and then like a marble in a bathtub, coast back and forth up one side then down the other until he bottomed out at the low point. But that was not the case...he, like everyone else, did a great job on those tough rollers. By the time everyone got to the lunch SAG, they were all smiling and commenting on how great a day and ride it was...I think they'd already forgotten about the rain the last couple of days. We had a rider last year mention at the SAG that he was having so much fun that it should be illegal.
This day is always a favorite and for more reasons than just the good scenery and terrain. Everywhere you look there are wildlife scenes...Canadian Geese, deer, Wild Turkeys, Groundhogs, and other small game are always scurrying around on the roads. We usually are also greeted with ever present farm dog who is usually curious as to what all these bikers are doing riding through their territory. Someone made an observation last year about some cultural differences of farm dogs in Ohio...they seem to be more friendly than other states. I think they are just used to more cyclists riding by or maybe they have eaten so many cyclists that they are more choosey than the hungry dogs out west...think?
After lunch the hills never let up. I'm thinking that if we would have had this day earlier in the ride, several wouldn't have survived, but now they are so strong that these hills are sometimes fun. I was able to ride from the first SAG to the motel and I know my legs didn't like the first couple of climbs, but after a good warm up, I was feeling much better and able to enjoy the rollers.
One of our favorite photo ops is of the pink pig that sits atop one of the first climbs after lunch. The gentleman who lives there said he just wanted to put that pig in his yard...much to the chagrin of his family. But now, it's a landmark that has to be photographed when ever we ride through. He's even added a "piglet" a couple years ago, but someone must have stolen it...or it grew up and became a honey ham.
The day pretty much unfolded without incident but about 15 miles from the motel, we crossed a bridge and found about 2 feet of water over the roadway. The creek was out of banks and had the roadway covered for about 300 yards. Jim did a bang up job getting everyone around it and back on course and without adding much mileage. This was only the second time we’ve experienced water over the road in the 15 years I’ve been doing these rides.
All in all, it turned out to be a pretty good day and all were in by 3:30 in spite of all the hills, the high water, and late start. Everyone was really psyched about all the steep hills today, but all I heard at the SAG and the motel was how much fun the hills were or how tough they seemed to be. They all admitted they never thought they would say that terrain like this could be so much fun...That's the way it is on this day...the ups are challenging, but the downs are fantastic.
Well, we are closing in on the ocean...we only have 7 more days. I think they are starting to realize how fast the time is going. Blink and we'll be in the sand in Amesbury...but for now, we concentrate on tomorrow's 96 miles...join us then.

Day 25, Marysville OH

Wed, 18 May 2011 20:57:49 -0500

As they say on TV...”A day without sunshine...is an ABB ride in Ohio in the spring.” Well, I guess they don’t say it quite like that, but they should have this year. We seem to be stuck in a wet pattern that won’t move...well, it’s moving but we are moving along with it. We may be wet all the way to the beach, but we press on come rain or wind. The good news today was the temperature did mellow out a bit and the wind was light all day.
Can you believe it, we entered our 10th state today...Ohio. Welcome to the east I guess. We crossed the state line about 4 miles into our ride today and the riders had to stop and record the event. We only have 4 more states to go...seems like we have been on the road for a week...not 3. Did we start in California? Ohio is one of my favorite states as we are mostly in the rural countryside surrounded by family farms and pastureland and the roads are much more interesting than the rural roads of Indiana that are pancake flat and straight. Ohio rural roads seem to have more character as they wind around farmsteads and pastures and have a little up and down too. I call it intimacy...more houses closer to the roadway and more trees to break the monotony.
We rode most of the day on the marked Cardinal Bike Trail, a stretch of lonely country roads many of which didn't have any lines. These are the roads that they pour crushed gravel down and then put on a coat of oil to make it into blacktop. It makes for a great road to cycle especially in the cool winter and spring. In the summer, however, the heat makes the oil soft and sticky which sticks to wheels...fun to ride, but messy sometimes.
With the rural riding comes lots of turns to make our way across the state. Lots of turns usually means extra miles as the riders tend to miss a turn now and again. I'm not sure if anyone got through the day without at least missing one turn. The good news in Ohio is that most of the roads run north and south or east and west and are laid out in nice squares. If you miss one turn, just go to the next intersection and get back on route...well, that works most of the time.
Besides great roads and the farms that dot the countryside, my favorite things are the homes and the endless number of barns we rode by today. We passed some beautiful old structures that must have some interesting stories to tell...wish they could talk. Many times I've thought I'd like to just go inside a rickety old barn and spend the day listening to it tell me of what went on in it's earlier life.
When we arrived at the motel an old friend, J. L. Herron, from past rides was there to greet us and to take some of our folks to the bike shop to get some of the needed repairs we needed. A couple of riders had a few small adjustments that needed to be done along with getting a few small parts that we don't carry. Thanks J. L. for your time and generous help and mucho thanks for making runs to the bike shop.
Also had a visit last night from an ABB buddy Ken Mercurio who has ridden with us on a couple occasions. We were able to have dinner and visit for a bit. Also nice to see Lucinda Dunbar an ABB North Alum who came by for a short visit. Nice to see friends on the road.
Tomorrow we trek into Wooster...one of my favorite days. The day of Johnny Appleseed, the pink pigs, and 603...a road the riders will remember after tomorrow. We’re hoping to get some much needed sunshine. I'll be in the van early but hope to ride some time during the day and I'll try to get some good photos if the sun comes out. Hope you've had a good day...we sure did. See you tomorrow. M

Day 24, Richmond

Tue, 17 May 2011 20:50:51 -0500

Every ride has to have a day where everything goes wrong no matter how hard you try to keep it from happening. Well, today was that day. From my perspective it was a total wreck...everyone got in safely, that was the good thing so I guess it wasn’t a TOTAL wreck. Let me scan over the details.
The day started out early, but not on the road. We were treated with a tour of the Roark bicycle factory before we rode today. The Roark Bicycle Program Director, Kevin Metzler came up in a van and took all of us to the factory to show us the process of bike building, plus all the new "toys" available to outfit our bikes with the latest and greatest components. The picture above is Kevin explaining how they build bicycles in an aerospace factory and why a proper fit is of the utmost importance. The tour also included frames in various stages of assembly, explanation of the welding process, and information on why Roark is a quality product. They only build custom titanium frames and you only have to see one to realize it is quality workmanship...and the ride confirms that fact. I personally have 2, a road bike and a time trial bike, and I love both of them. All in all I had a personal victory this morning...I went on the tour and came out with my credit card intact!
Today's route was developed about 5 years ago. Barb and I researched country roads to get around Indianapolis. When we laid out this route, the roads were quiet and very scenic, but in the last couple years they have built 10 or 12 large housing areas along the route and have cleared several more areas to be constructed soon. Because of that fact, last year Karen and I rerouted the first 60 miles out in quiet Indiana farmland. The changes were a hit, but we ran into some snags I’ll get to in a minute.
Our route finally connected to highway 40 in Knightstown where the movie Hoosiers was filmed. From there we took highway 40 all the way to the motel about 500 yards from Ohio...our next state we’ll enter tomorrow.
Today was raw concerning the temperature, but all was well until about 5 miles before the first SAG where we encountered a road closure and detour. Karen and I kicked into high gear to make sure we got everyone through and around the trouble. I rushed up from the back with spray paint in hand while Karen drove through the detour and relaying the info back to me to inform the riders. I put down arrows to keep everyone on the detour and even stopped riders to explain how to get around and back on course...only trouble was the info I gave them took them a block off and out of town past the SAG. Some riders decided to go it on their own, while others found their way back on course. I think all but about 5 made it back to the first SAG but they all got there a different way. After about a half hour of scrambling trying to chase down riders, we finally had everyone accounted for and all was well...for a bit.
After the SAG, we joined highway 238 south of Noblesville. Well, it’s not highway 238 anymore and what used to be a complete road to the next cue was now a road that had 2 turns in it that weren’t on our route sheet...and the roadway had a different name. Yikes!!! I zoomed through directing everyone through that confusion and while doing so, painted each turn to get them to the next published turn. By now everyone’s mileage was off and we were again trying to make sense of the navigation.
By now, I had gone to the front runners to insure they’d made it through the confusion and Karen was driving with the trailer to make the lunch SAG. When she got to a small town, she missed a turn herself and with the trailer it causes issues trying to get turned around...well, the Kiwis saw her and followed her...now she was trying to find a place to turn around and also trying to stop the Kiwis and get them back to the route. She informed they had missed the turn so they headed back. By the time Karen got back to the route, she saw the Kiwis had missed the turn again...now she had to chase them again in the wrong direction with the trailer...we had a van going one way off course, riders going another, while others were following her through town in the wrong direction! Stop the madness!!!! It took a few minutes, but finally Karen got all straightened out before anyone else followed her. She made it to the lunch SAG about 2 minutes ahead of the first rider...that was still on course. If they were filming an episode of the “Keystone Cops” in the area today they could have gotten some ideas from our escapades...it would have been a hit, but it wasn’t much fun for us as it was unfolding.
The final straw was even the motel had changed names and even though Karen had told each individual when they picked up their route sheet this morning, by the time they had ridden in the cold and rain all day, some forgot and couldn’t find the motel even though there was a motel smack dab spot on the mileage. I stayed in the van all day and didn’t finish until about 6:30. This was the second day in a row that finished after 6:00 that on normal rides are easy, early finish days. Tough day...but it wasn’t all bad I guess as I always consider it a successful day if everyone gets in safely.
Other than the construction, our other challenge today was the winds and cold again. If I had to label this ride I think it would be pesky winds...seems like we've not been too lucky most days lately with that subject. Today the wind was out of the NE most of the day which made the pedaling a bit heavier when we were heading east, but the southerly headings got a nice push.
We are closing in on our destination. It won't be long before we will be dipping our wheels in the Atlantic. But that's still 9 days away...right now, we just take it a day at a time and hope to stay safe. Tomorrow's ride is a great one, but I'm taking bets that everyone will get lost at least once. Ohio has lots of navigation with a turn at least every 2 miles and I’m sure we’ll run into a bridge closure at one point...super ride in the country. Now all we need are winds that come from the west. See you tomorrow.