“Whimsy doesn’t care if you are the driver or the passenger; all that matters is that you are on your way.” ― Bob Goff

I took my time leaving Courtney and Bella’s apartment, I slept in, ate breakfast, and packed up all my belongings nice and snug. I stepped out on the porch, locked the door behind me, and realized I had a flat tire! So I got to unpack my gear, break down the bike, patch the tube, put the bike back together, and pack it all up. Oh well, better here than out on the road somewhere!

Patching the flat

Heading into Vermont I had a long, slow climb up Killington as I headed deep into the green mountains, still with a little snow at the ski resort on the peak. I was due for a lunch break as I passed a house with a couch at the end of their driveway with a sign reading, “FREE”. I sat down, enjoyed the mountain view and chowed down on camp food and water. After a minute or two, the owners of the house pulled up and had a good chuckle, stopping to ask for a picture and were glad that someone was using the couch they were trying to get rid of. Further up the climb, I popped into a bike/ski store to fill up on water when a woman said, “Hey! It’s the couch guy we told you about!” The owners of the house with the couch were in the bike store!

On the way down Killington, on the East side, I passed the legendary Appalachian Trail, my dear old friend. It was towards the end of the day, so of course I stopped to spend the night on hallowed ground. I got to hike around a little bit, and for once I wasn’t worried about getting discovered by people in my tent through the night…I was on home turf! It was a chilly night up at elevation.

In Vermont, I had some long straights before heading down some dirt roads to a relatives house. Beautiful mountain views, spacious farms, and another NASCAR track! Diane and her husband Tim were extremely hospitable…shower, laundry, and lots of rest! Tim cooked up a magnificent dinner then Diane took me for a tour of the property on an off road vehicle. We watched the sun set over the Adirondack Mountains from the living room and traded lovely stories of past travels. Homemade waffles for breakfast with Vermont Maple Syrup, come on, this journey is a challenge, I swear.

I saw my first other bike packers in White Hall, NY. They were heading the other way and shouted, “Where you heading?” I replied, “West, and you?”…”North”. They we were past, such a simple conversation, but it felt wonderful to feel like I wasn’t the only lunatic out there!

To break up the long trip from Vermont to Buffalo, NY, I found a few waterfalls to put on the route. The first was Canajoharie Falls, pretty nice, but I couldn’t get anywhere near them because of the steep terrain. I walked around for nearly two hours looking for a place to camp, but came up empty handed. Towards the end of the afternoon I had to settle for a little section cut out off the side of a power line, but it actually had a splendid view. I heard the mysterious animal from a few days back that sounded like a loud horn in the night, hunch confirmed…it’s a deer.

My butt began feeling a little bit less sore. Still very sore, but at the end of the day it no longer consumes my every thought. What more could you ask for?!?

Along the Erie Canalway Trail, I ran into my first cross-country bike packers. Two woman, one about my age, and the other is 65! They are heading to Seattle along the Northern states and are moving at 25 miles per day to start. Very cool to talk to these two inspiring women!

I stopped at one of the locks along the Erie Canalway and watched them flood the lock to bring a large ship up the canal. Took about 15 minutes to flood the lock full of 10 million gallons of water and the boat to be on it’s way, completely gravity fed!

My second waterfall led me down Carry’s Hill road, the longest and steepest decent I’ve had so far, straight down for 1 miles, I was flying, what a sensational feeling of excitement. At the bottom was Chittenango Falls and my jaw hit the ground, absolutely beautiful cascades streaming down the cliff side.

Leaving Chittenango Falls, I had about 10 miles of a canal trail that I was hoping to find a place to camp, especially because the sky was getting dark and the forecast was calling for rain. The trail was a little too populated, there wasn’t much woodland nearby, and the nearby forest was very much a marsh. So I kept pushing on looking for a place to camp. Unfortunately, I quickly found myself in downtown Syracuse where everything was cement and I knew I would have to get a considerable way out the other side before there was any chance of some woods.

As things became a bit more rural, I went up an access road to a water tower looking for a camp site. I scouted a little side trail, it looked somewhat maintained, but I was overdue to settle down, so I grabbed my bike and headed down the trail. Just down the trail I startled a man in a red shirt, he took off sprinting away from me, and I turned around and immediately sprinted away from him. I have no idea what he was up to, but neither of us wanted to stick around to find out! So I ticked off more miles and crept back into farm land. I saw a farm nearby that had some people outside, I even saw the name of the farm on an Adopt-a-highway sign, so I thought this might be a good place to ask for my first sleep over on private land. “Excuse me mam, I am cycling cross country and was looking for a place to set up my tent for the night, any chance I could stay in the corner of one of your fields?”…she stares at the smelly hobo on a bicycle…”I don’t know, I’d have to ask my husband and he’s not here right now.” We exchanged a little more small talk, but I got the message, the answer was no…back to the road! Around 7:00pm, I finally found an empty boy scout camp where I set up my tent deep in the woods. It was a lovely site, but it was a long day on the road.

I work up at the boy scout camp during first light and hear small footsteps around my tent. Out of curiosity, I stuck my head out to see a flock of 12 huge turkeys walking through the woods with rays of light shining through the trees.

In Skaneateles, NY, I stopped for breakfast and treated myself after the long day before. Eggs, toast, sausage, potatoes and all you can drink water!

Near the end of a day, I was deep in farm country and didn’t have many options for forest camping nearby. I decided to try my luck again with asking a local for a favor. That’s where I met Larry, a 75 year old farmer with 55 acres who let me set up my tent next to his barn for the night. It was nice to read and relax without worry to getting caught for trespassing, and I walked around a bit watching some farmers run their equipment before seeing the sunset in the distance.

After leaving Vermont the pain I had experienced in my knees had nearly diminished, sometimes it was gone completely! The last three days into Buffalo however it crept back and at times gave me shooting jolts of pain from under my knee cap. I could shut out the pain and pedal through it for the most part, but anytime I rested and started again, I felt it strongly.

I took my time the next few days, trying to spin the pedals in an easy gear as much as possible, I knew I could limp into Buffalo and get a good rest and recovery if I could make it there. To be sure, I made a reroute to bypass a nearby state park, for a more direct route. I battled into strong headwinds all day, every mile felt like three, the climbs were one after the other, I could feel myself mentally drifting into a dark place. The knee pain twinged so hard one time that I got the sensation that I needed to vomit. In the emotional roller coaster of adventure, this was a low point. Luckily, there is nowhere to go but up from there!

The next morning I had a half day into Hamburg, NY to visit my friend Emily from the Peace Corps. She welcomed me into her home before heading into Buffalo to check out Niagara falls and meeting her boyfriend, Dave, for dinner at the La Nova, the best wings and pizza in Buffalo, and boy of boy was I in heaven! The falls were remarkable, we walked the Cave of the Winds and were able to get close enough to stick your head right into the falls! The following day was a rest day, so I sat around and did absolutely nothing for as long as possible. When Emily got home from work we took her beautiful dog, Athena, for a walk on the beach, you should have seen this dog fly when catching a Frisbee, she was remarkable! Later in the Afternoon we met up with Dave to race go-karts. Not just any go-carts, this suckers were 0-45 mph in 3 seconds flat! It blew me away how fast those things could hold corners and accelerate out the other side, both Dave and Emily beat me, but that’s some serious fun. We stayed up playing card games late into the night before drifting off into sweet, peaceful sleep in a warm, dry house.

And I wish you all a very happy Memorial Day from the town that started it!!!

“The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.” ― Karen Blixen

The wheels on the bike go round and round, round and round, round and round…oh hey, welcome back, glad you could keep up! The weather has been much nicer to me in the second week on the road, as has the beauty of the landscape and the ease for finding campsites.

Shortly into my day out of Nick’s house in Wallingford, CT, I was slowly cycling along a road in front of a firehouse and was looking over at it, checking out the building. Suddenly, an alarm rang out from the building with tremendous force…it was so loud, the vibration of the sound was so terrifying, and I was so caught off guard…my body went into fight or flight mode and my legs sprinted for their lives before I even realized what was happening…I suddenly began to weep crying and laugh hysterically at the same time as my mind was processing the events.

Nick and I

Nick described the North-East corner of Connecticut as the “Quiet-corner” and once I passed through the city of Hartford all my dreams came true…beautiful farm land and rolling hills, the sun came out for the first time in eight days and I could see my shadow for the first time since the start of the trip. A woman at a gas station where I was buying food became the first person to ask me where I was going and where I had come from, I almost gave her a bear-hug. I removed my rain jacket and climbed ridges to view high lakes. I even passed a NASCAR race track in the quaint town of Stafford before finding a camp site on the CT/MA border.

At dusk while , some animal was making loud horn-like calls maybe 100 feet away from my tent. I couldn’t see it, so still have no idea what it was, maybe a deer or a large bird, due to the volume of the call, it had to be a decently sized animal. I slept with one ear open.

As I’ve gotten further North, I’ve noticed that street signs are usually only marked for the cross street, and not for the street you are on. This makes my directions tracking a bit tricky, and sometimes I have to guess and ride for a few miles before I can confirm I’m on the right road, that’s all part of the fun though, and I don’t mind getting lost because I get a little human interaction when asking for directions! One intersection in particular got me good and I had to ask for lots of directions and ride miles out of the way to get back on course. My favorite direction giver was a teenager at a plant nursery who was watering plants, he told me, in a thick Boston accent, to “keep on that road for days and days”.

 

I’ve noticed that I miss having someone to share stories about the same experience with. While hiking the AT, you could talk with any of the other hikers and the would get where you were coming from, while in Peace Corps, the other volunteers were the perfect outlet, but out here on the road, I’m yet to run into another long-distance cyclist.

Had a few cold nights heading to Maine, slept in long john bottom, long johns top, a long sleeve fleece, thick socks, and had my 40 degree sleeping bag fully zipped up and around my head like a mummy with only my nose and mouth exposed. I still slept soundly enough, but that was about the limits of the gear I have packed.

The mapping I am using occasionally puts me on old railroad beds that have been converted to recreational paths, they are a great break from traffic and street signs and I usually adore them. The exception being the Roakingham Recreational Rail Trail…my directions called for 9 miles, and it was sand…loose and thick, like walking on a beach. Riding the bicycle was completly out of the question. I sucked it up and began walking the bike for a few hours into the evening. On the plus side, I was in the forest, there were no cars, and I was thrilled to have my butt off the bike seat! I camped near the rail trail and hung my food for the first time since I started the trip, feeling that I was getting more remote and potentially into bear territory.

I saw a historical sign along the road side for General John Stark…Game of Thrones anyone?!? Further down the road I passed a stone marking his birth place.

A field of rotting butternut squash

Crossing into Maine, my left knee was feeling a bit sore, but I had energy, so I was pushing out fast miles North on highway 4, and arrived at Nate’s house in Sanford, Maine around 3:00pm. I’ve never met Nate in person before, we both play video games with a mutual friend and have spoken with each other on countless occasions, but I had never even so much as seen a picture of him. Nate and his family showed me exceptional hospitality and I immediatly felt like a part of his family. I showered, did laundry, Nate cooked hamburgers and corn on the cob and his girlfriend made potato salad, we even played some video games. My favorite part of the night was when we drove out to his step-daughters school to watch her 6th-grade band recital, where Isabella crushed it on the percussion!

Heading through Portland, the Eastern Trail took me through the massive Scarborough Swamp, really neat area that looked like it had recently been flooded. Coming across the bridge into Portland, Maine, I went from being the only bicycle on the road, to a bicycle explosion, a neat little city with friendly bike paths. A Peace Corps friend, Meghan, took me in for the night, we walked around town for a bit and feasted on rice, beans, chicken and vegetables for dinner. In the morning, Meghan took me down to the waters edge to dip my wheels into the Atlantic Ocean before officially turning West, she even hopped on her bicycle and rode out with me for a few miles!

I pulled off a road near Lake Ossipee and was scouting for a campsite for the night, all alone walking around, when a giant turkey squawked for dear life and flapped it wings loudly to get away! That will get the heart pounding!

 

The bugs have been out in full force already. When I scout for campsites, set up camp, and eat outside of my tent, the gnats, flies, and mosquitoes are relentlessly biting and flying into my eyes. I can’t believe how many ticks I’ve pulled off so far for how early it is into the season. I get into my tent as soon as possible…my sanctuary, my only little bubble to call mine, imperveous to the bigs and rain, where I can snuggle up for bed and read a book in peace at the end of each day!

I crave vanilla soft-serve ice cream at the end of a long day. So far, food and water have been pretty easy to come by, and I haven’t had to carry much food weight, just resupply more often.

I found a great campsite off the side of a road near a river. I love the sound of water while I sleep to drown out the noises of the night. I was on top of a bluff just off the road, but couldn’t be seen from the bottom. At dusk, I heard two cars stop right at the bottom of the hill, I heard car doors close and some talking. What are the chances, there are no shoulders on this long river road, why would they stop right here?!? I just kept quiet and after 30 minutes I could hear them leave. Around 7:30am, as I was waking up and about to break camp, they came back and stopped directly at the bottom of the hill again, what?!? I still have no idea what interest they had in that spot, but my tent site was good, they never saw me, I just had to be very quiet packing everything up, and muffled every zipper and found a round-about path back to the road. They were probably just doing some fishing, just a funny coincidence that we both picked the same spot on this deserted road.

My most recent day on the road was the coldest by far and also very windy. I had some extended climbs over ragged mountain and saw my first sizeable waterfall, although when I hiked down and tried to get a picture, my camera battery died, I later found out that this sometimes happens when they get too cold. As I crested the mountain, I was looking forward to an extended downhill, what goes up must go down! Although, as I went over the mountain, the winds were hitting me square in the face and blowing so hard that I couldn’t drift down the hill, I had to be actively peddaling into the wind to keep moving, not only did I have to pedal, but I was in my very easy gears for climbing, it was such a bizzare experience to be working so hard to move downhill that I kept looking around to make sure that I was indeed in a downward slope!

I was thrilled to finish out that cold and windy day in Claremont, NH at the house of Courtney and Zach, who graced me with a warm shower and some warm snacks! We met Courtney’s sister, Bella, for her birthday celebration at Harpoon Brewery for a sensational meal and even soft-serve ice cream for desert!!! Coutrney and Bella have gone so far above and beyond generosity and are letting me take my first rest day at their house. Zero miles, lots of calories, and a couch…rest day baby! Happy to let me knees and butt take a long overdue break. Plus, I have access to a computer to share this beautiful journey with all of you! Thanks for riding with me!

 

Rain rain, go away, come again another day…

First week on the road baby! I’m reporting to you from Wallingford, CT with the help of my friend Nick. I’ve been absolutely spoiled all week by friends and family who have given me hot showers, delicious food, and a warm, dry place to sleep on several nights, but let’s go back to the morning when things kicked off!

Some of you might have been wondering what I’m packing, here is a quick peek at my supplies and bicycle set up. I have all the camping essentials: sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, food, water, clothes. Plus some bicycle specific tools and safety gear, a water purifier, a book and journal, and a small backpack. Shout out to Chris Miller for hooking me up with his old iPhone, I don’t have phone service on it, but it’s been crucial for emailing home and keeping in touch with contacts along the way.

I woke up and Mom was already cooking up pancakes, bacon, and sausage as some loving friends and family arrived to send me out. I did some final packing, dressed and redressed for the cool, 60 degree, overcast weather, and made some mechanical adjustments to the bicycle. Dad kept sneaking cookies into my packs, that’s not such a bad thing in life!

I climbed on the bike and rode out of the driveway right around 10:00am. My mother, Barb, and my sister, Chelsea, rode out with us for the first half mile to the stop sign at the end of the street before saying goodbye. My brother, Brendan, and friend, Scott, rode about five miles out before having to peel off. And my father, Jeff, stuck with me for at least 12 miles before we had to part ways!

I loved have everyone ride out with me, but was also excited to get underway by myself and get some of those first solo miles under my belt. I had a few of those “OMG, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!” thoughts, but mostly I was singing, talking to myself, and making jokes about road names, spirits remained high. I descended a steep hill that turned into gravel halfway and caught me off guard, but I kept the bike under control. I crossed the mighty Susquehanna river over Route 372, and eventually wandered through downtown Lancaster.

I pulled up to Aunt Beth’s house around 3:00pm, got a shower and relaxed. Mom and Dad drove up for a bit and we feasted on Italian food and scrumptious gelato before having to say final goodbyes. I slept like a log.

The second day, Aunt Beth cooked up a mean batch of scrambled eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast, what a great way to start any day! I walked on the front porch and could see my breath in the cold air and rain splattered all around…glad I packed those rain pants after all!

I kept warm and dry through the drizzle and kept on my route successfully, even touching a few bike paths near the Schuylkill River, which was great to be away from my biggest concern…cars. Beautiful sights and sounds of farm country as I closed in on the house of Gena and Joey, a loving couple with a HUGE dog, appropriately named Moose! They drove me out to see the famous Trexlertown Velodrome before we feasted on bar food. I even got to watch the newest episode of Game of Thrones with them! I woke up in the middle of the night feeling very parched and chugged two bottles of water back to back.

Gena and Joey put out a wonderful breakfast spread in the morning…what? I told you I was spoiled! Hit the road around 9am, another cold and misty day in the rain suit, and set up my red blinking light on the back of my bike to increase visibility. A few nice climbs on the way East to Doylestown. A few nice bike paths and one path even took me on an old retired military base where John Glen and the first astronauts trained in a massive centrifuge! I stopped under an awning of a firehouse for lunch to get out of the rain, I heard a loud buzz come from inside, and within five minutes a few cars had pulled up, the firefighters sprinted inside, and they were off on the engine within seconds, the reaction time was incredible.

My destination was Dan’s house, a great college friend. I arrived a few house before he got home from work, so I took advantage of the dry afternoon to eat, read, nap and relax on his back porch until he came home. We played with his dog before he and his wife cooked up a sensational dinner of burgers on the grill, sweet potato fries, coleslaw, and all the fixin’s!

Thunderstorms rolled through the night, but the weather was back to it’s cold mist when I departed in the morning. Had to stop and ask for directions a few times on my way to Hazlet, NJ. People were very accommodating and friendly to help a lost traveler in the rain get back on track. Going through downtown Trenton wasn’t half bad for the reputation that the city gets. My butt was so sore when I arrived at TJ’s house after seven hours on the bike seat, I was happy to see a friendly face and get a warm shower. TJ and Michelle’s children were an absolute pleasure to meet for the first time and to play with. They treated me to hamburgers, hotdogs, sweet potatoes, and asparagus on the grill….I’m really roughing it! I spent a fair amount of time on the computer planning my route for the next few days, I’m very grateful for my friends going out of their way to aid me in every way possible on this journey, I can’t thank them enough.

I woke up early to see TJ’s family before they all left for school and work, but they let me hang out in the house until a bit later when I was ready to set off to another cold and misty day. I got my first flat tire about 30 minutes out crossing a bridge, I could hear the tinkle of glass and metal under my tires and an immediate sigh of the rear wheel deflating. A restaurant parking lot was the perfect place to break down the bike and patch the tube, then a small deli had no problem with me using their employee bathroom to wash all the grease off my hands.

Off the subject, it’s been difficult to find places to pee, there are always people, houses and cars around…I didn’t anticipate having to hold my bladder for so long! Nice view from the top of the huge Victory bridge and a fun descent down the other side. It was my first night camping, and I found it slightly challenging finding a good place to stealth camp away from the road because of the population density, and also because of the high water level from all the rain causing many wooded areas to be swampy. Eventually, I scouted a nice place to plop down for the night and was glad to get my first night in the tent, there is something so beautifully simple about sleeping in a tent.

I broke camp around 9:30am, took a nice bike path through Rochelle park, then crossed the bike patch on the massive George Washington bridge into Manhattan, NY!

Going across the island wasn’t too bad, but my rear tire did go squishy when I took a wrong turn. Luckily, it was a slow leak, so I was able to just pump up the wheel and keep on riding without having to break down the bike in the middle NYC. I had to pump the wheel two or three times through the day and never felt confident on it taking turns, but it got me through the day. I got a little lost on a bike patch and ended up trapped inside of a fenced in golf course before eventually finding a hole in the fence big enough to squeeze the bike through. I got pooped on by a bird today…TWICE! I couldn’t believe the luck, once for each arm! My intended camping spot didn’t pan out, so I had to ride on a bit further and wasn’t able to find a suitable location until nearly 7pm, luckily it was still plenty light out, but my hiney was sore after such a long day. Emotionally, I remain somewhat neutral, I don’t get to let my mind wander as much as I would like because I must remain engrossed by the directions.

Leaving camp in the morning, it was raining steadily and I had to talk myself through getting out of my warm sleeping bag, back into my wet clothes and to pack up the gear. I also had to change out that squishy rear tire in the morning, but I found a nice tree to hang the bike up like a stand and took the time to turn up my shifters while I was at it.

The rain stopped an started several times through the day, but I’m getting pretty good at dealing with the weather at this point. A little bit of a windy day, slow and steady wins the race. I got my first view of the Atlantic ocean this day!

I arrived in New Haven, CT around 3:15, to the house of my college friend, Brian. He wasn’t home yet, but the homeowners were extremely friendly, showed me in and offered me a shower. It was comical though, the water was so scalding hot that I couldn’t even but my body under it, I had to gently splash it onto my body and use a wash cloth like a sponge bath, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, and I have nothing to complain about! Brian got home from work shortly after, we drove to run an errand or two, then went into town for a beer and the biggest pizza I have ever seen…one for each of us! We nearly finished, and I think we could have, but we would have been quite uncomfortable! We caught up through the night and slept like a dog.

Brian and I scarfed some food at a local diner in the morning, then he helped me out with some directions for the next few days and he even helped me devise a new system for putting my paper directions on my handle bars with an old CD case, hopefully it works out over the next few days! The ride up to Wallingford, CT was only about 1.5 hours, so I got the legs warmed up, but giving the butt a rest from the saddle for most of the day. Because I don’t have a cell phone, Nick waited outside for me for 30 minutes so he could let me into his apartment building, what a guy! We went out to lunch for Thai food, he gave me a guided car tour around town, and I got to hear about all of the neat travels and lifestyle he has lived over the years since we last got together.

Sorry for the ramble, but I had a chance to get out some thoughts behind a computer. Thanks for following along, let me know what you’re interested in hearing more about, I’m happy to write about whatever interests you on the trip! Thanks for all the love and support!