The final 3000

I stayed an extra day in Boston as my brother drove up from NY to visit.

As I was one of the last ones to leave the hotel it was a strange feeling not being on the bike, but seeing everyone leave.

I did not see Jim depart as he was first to leave the hotel which was not unusual. He sent a nice email to all of us last night.

Next was Alec, who has seemed to recover from his illness and Al.

Peter and his friend Mario were leaving to bike back to NY, but Peter seemed a little confused without Jim, Al and his cue sheets.

Nancy, Mike J (good luck on your continued bike tour and update your blog more frequently) and Peter's wife, Andrea all ate breakfast with me. Sue joined us for awhile and Mike T also came down for awhile.

Willie and his family ate next to us, and Hank and Champ's families ate together.

I passed Chris and George in the hotel corridor along with their wives.

And as normal for this trip, the last persons I saw eating breakfast were Harry and Karen.

My brother, his wife and son arrived at the hotel and we spent the day together.

While I was sitting in the lobby talking with my sister in law, as has been the nature of the persons who I biked with on this trip, Hank offered me a very nice present to take back home with me.

Hank and Carol (his wife) left around 5 and we all said good-byes.

And so I end this blog with my final thanks to Yuko. Without your encouragement and support I would have never been able to ride on this trip. Words cannot express my feelings.

Final 18

18 miles to the beach. As my bike is packed away no official mileage today and mostly pictures. To Harry, Karen and Alec - I could not have done this without the 3 of you. Each day was so much fun. Thank you.

The last flat in front of the hotel










The procession to the beach

Atlantic Ocean

Group picture at the beach

The completed map. Which Ira do you prefer ?

These are the people that I rode with from LA to Boston. What I will remember the most is how we all supported each other and became one family.

My roommate for the trip, Peter.

Jim

Willie

Nancy

Hank

Chris

Al

Champ - I heard you took a bump today

Tom

Mike - I would never have made EFI if you had not lent me your wheel.

Sue

Mike

Thanks to Jack, Mark, Darryl, Barbie, Jack R, Rich and Fred. You should all complete another part of your journey next year.

Tom D- Thanks for your support.

Bob - Get better and fulfill your dream of riding cross country.

Down to 3

Today started out on a downer. I have ridden with the same persons since day 3. Harry, Karen and Alec. Today when I went to breakfast Alec told me he would not be riding, due to his illness. It was a very sad moment. While I had looked forward to EFI, the fact that we all would accomplish it as a group is what made it more meaningful. Harry, Karen and I all took off, but we were all thought it too bad we could not do it together. We have been through so much together and for it to end two days short was depressing.

For the first and only time during the trip we were going to bicycle through 2 states. The first state we went through entered was New Hampshire. We biked through the foothills of the White Mountains. These were fairly steep inclines on two of the climbs (I am told 12% grades). There is a CrossRoads tradition of sprinkling sand from the Pacific Ocean at each state border. At the New Hampshire border we sprinkled for ourselves and Alec.
























Next up was the last state of our trip - Massachusetts












The climbs were not that not as steep as New Hampshire, but they were challenging. However, after 7 weeks of biking these were no problems. Willie joined us and I went with him to a fire station. Harry carried on as Karen went ahead. I yelled out to Harry, make a left at 119. After we met the firefighters in Ashby we continued on and Karen yelled out to us that Harry had not made the left turn. I chased after him, but would not have caught him if a motorist who we had told to be on the lookout for him had found Harry. When I caught up with Harry he was talking with Francine who was doing a non-supported tour. She had about 40 pounds of gear.











The weather was was sunny, but not too hot. Biking through the suburbs of America and looking at the houses was beautiful. It was a perfect ending to our last long day of riding.

The last few miles were a little bittersweet. For 45 days, Karen has led us into the hotel, followed by Harry, Alec and myself (I was the last to join so I always came in last). It was our last day and Alec was not with us and it was the last time during the bike tour that we were entering a hotel. We all shook hands congratulating each other on a good ride (we did this after each ride)

Brattleboro, VT - Burlington, MA

Miles 95.850
Ave. MPH 14.2
Actual bike time 6:43:50
Left hotel : 7:25
Arrive Hotel 4:40

One long day

Today was a state crossing, climbing, rain, a sick member of the Dalton 4 and a flat tire. It all added up to a long day.

We started out and crossed the Hudson River in Troy, NY. There were some pretty bad roads for about 10 miles.

We left NY and entered Vermont which was very pretty. Bennington was the first city we passed through and it was quite nice.

There was about 5,100 feet of climbing today. There was one uphill climb of about 7 miles through the Green Mountains. I felt pretty good and climbed at a good rate. It was sunny and there were pretty streams. Unfortunately, Alec was not feeling well today. He feels he had something which upset his stomach. He has been climbing well lately and when I looked back today and saw him struggling I knew that something was wrong. When we reached the end of the climb, we rested for awhile and then took off for the last SAG of the day. It started to get cold at the top and started to rain quite hard. We got to the SAG and rested some more. At this point Harry realized he was losing air from his tube. We found a Gazebo and Harry and I changed the tire while Karen and Alec continued on to the hotel. It started to rain again, but we were protected as we change the tube. We left and it started to really rain heavily for the next 30 minutes or so. Most of the ride was downhill and sometimes the rain was so hard it was difficult to see. I went slowly as I did not want to fall.

By the time we entered town it had stopped raining and the sun came out.

Latham, NY - Brattleboro, VT

Miles 78.961

Ave. MPH 13.7

Actual Bike time: 5:45:49

Left Hotel 7:25

Arrive Hotel 5:00

Tomorrow we will enter our last two states, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It is a long ride filled with steep climbs.

Quiet day

With the realization that we had 4 days until we finish and with today being a rather easy day it was a quiet day for me riding as I was trying to look around and enjoy the scenery that upstate NY has to offer. It seems as if everyone on the trip is beginning to realize how quickly the trip has gone and that it will soon be ending.



We stopped in town and we ate a late lunch in Scotia, NY.

In the picture above to the right is Nancy who injured herself two days ago. After taking one rest day to recover she biked the whole route today. She is one tough person to be able to bike so soon after her accident. Nancy refers to me as friendly terriost.

My roommate, Peter and I spoke with Bob Fuller yesterday. He sounded really good, but knows that he will have to work hard in rehabilitation. He hopes to complete the tour next year.

Little Falls, NY - Latham, NY (outside of Albany)

Miles 69.951
Ave. MPH 15.8
Actual Bike time 4:28:28
Left Hotel 8:25
Arrive Hotel 3:45

Little Falls

The weather was sunny today so it was a much more enjoyable ride. As the mileage today was not long, we took our time, stopping to take pictures and look around at the scenery.

You even sometimes go through towns with stores that are not open and tell you when
they will reopen.

You may even run across the world's smallest church which is located in the middle of an algae field.


Opposite from this field you can participate in some winter and summer activities depending on the season.





Liverpool, NY - Little Falls, NY

Miles 78.547
Ave. MPH 15.6
Actual bike time 5:02:12
Left Hotel 7:25
Arrive Hotel 3:00