My final update on my once in a lifetime cycling adventure reflects on the highs, lows & challenges we experienced, as well as answers to the big questions. Trying to pick out a few moments to summarise 93 days of cycling (plus another 30 rest days) has been more difficult than I expected, as there were so many highs.
The adventure began when we boarded the Bainbridge Island ferry in Seattle on 30th April & ended when we dipped our wheels at Maquoit Bay, Maine. We needed thick rain jackets to keep the cold wind at bay in late April, but by the time we reached the East Coast, we had shed weight as well as our jackets!
National Parks
When we first floated the idea of cycling coast to coast, we both wanted to ensure we experienced as many areas of outstanding natural beauty as was possible. We each purchased an America The Beautiful annual pass which gave us unlimited access to all the National & State Parks through the USA. Without doubt, the best $80 we spent on the entire adventure.
In order, we visited the following National Parks (NP) & State Parks along the way – Glacier NP in Montana, Grand Teton, Yellowstone & Devil’s Tower NPs (all in Wyoming), Mount Rushmore NP, Custer SP & Badlands NP (all in South Dakota) & Niagara Falls (New York).
Wildlife
We both had a wish-list of wildlife we would like to meet along the way – in spite of having high hopes, we didn’t expect to see the huge variety of animals who wanted a look at two crazy Brits on a cycling adventure! We were visited by a menagerie of animals – pretty much the only animal on our list to elude us was a moose, although seeing a golden eagle swoop over our heads on the way to Rexford more than made up for it!
Our wildlife show began on our 2nd morning when we saw a pair of bald eagles perched on the mast of our ferry. I’ve included a few of my favourite photos below including an eagle with her offspring, terrapins, deer galore, a black bear cub, alpacas, elk, bison, a snake, pelicans, heron & turkey vultures.
Hydration Strategy – aka the beer count
Several people got in touch early on to ask whether I was on a cycling adventure or a booze cruise! I promised that I would report back at the end, so they could decide for themselves – here are a few of my favourite photos.
Toasting our first day on the road in Port Townsend
Celebrating after summiting Stevens Pass in Leavenworth
Cheeky beer to recognise crossing from Idaho into Montana
We may still be in our cycling kit but that didn’t stop us being pampered by Misty & Tina at The Pioneer Bar (our first night camping too!)
Enjoying a beer after a rest day in Lincoln
Relaxing after a 6 day block of riding into Helena
Contemplating the news that Yellowstone NP was closed due to flooding as we reached West Yellowstone
Looking smug after completing our longest ride of the trip (104 miles) into Cody
Surrounded by money on the walls in Hill City on Independence Day
All the gang at The Wagon Wheel (equal favourite watering hole with The Pioneer Bar)
We’ve made it to Minneapolis – the first big city since Seattle (11 weeks ago)
Afternoon drinking at the Fremont Hotel
Toasting our 75th day of riding in Defiance
Enjoying the last of the summer sun on the Erie Canal at Brockport
Toasting Dave, Ruth & Sienna who kept our adventure on track in Ticonderoga
The end of the cycling adventure as we celebrate in Brunswick
I notched up 72 different varieties of beer on my travels – mainly IPAs & only one mass produced beer on the entire trip. I started with a Pike Place IPA in Pike Place & along the way found some unusually named brews – Dutch Girl Blonde, Jackass, Neon Bear Hug, Sodank, Falling Knife, Chaos Pattern, Great North Moose Juice & Mind Haze. I ended with a World Gone Hazy in NYC!
My final update will focus on the people we met, the mountains we explored & the cake we ate!
Although our cycling adventure ended in Brunswick, Maine on 30th August, it wasn’t the end of the trip – we had a few days exploring The Big Apple planned! We took the 11am train from Brunswick to Boston North Station, enjoyed a final 3 mile ride across the city & then caught another train from Boston South Station, arriving in Penn Station just before 8pm.
I’d booked us into The New Yorker Hotel, on the corner of 34th St & 8th Ave, which had a spectacular view across to the West River & uptown towards Times Square. After dropping off our kit, we headed out for a bit of a wander – we made it one block before stopping in The Tailor to take the edge off our thirst & we ended up staying there reminiscing about our adventure until about 1am.
Anyone who knows me well will be aware that NYC is my favourite city. I’m fortunate that many of my friends have joined me on one (or more) of my trips – my first experience of New York was in 1990, when my cousin kindly put me up for several weeks & I learned to navigate without a map! Since then, I’ve returned to meet up with friend Jo when she was Au Pairing in 1994 (just before I started work at Bank of Ireland) & again with my hockey friends Dave & Michelle in 1997.
I returned to NYC for my 40th birthday in 2004 & I was fortunate enough that about 15 of my friends joined me & then joined Bob when he celebrated his 50th birthday in 2007. Sean & I have previously visited too, at the start & end of a cycling trip from Albany to Niagara Falls & back in 2007
I then visited twice in 2014 – firstly to celebrate Mum & Dad’s 60th wedding anniversary & then again for my cousin Chelsea’s wedding. In short I’ve shared many wonderful moments with friends & family, hence me wanting to finish my adventure of a lifetime here!
Saturday 3rd September
We began the day by dropping our bikes off at Liberty Cycles, so they could be prepared for their flight home. Our plan for the morning was to stroll along the western edge of Central Park on our way to the National History Museum on 79th & 8th.
Pretty much all the major tourist attractions required booking in advance, a hangover from Covid restrictions earlier in the year. I won’t bore with what we did & where we went, I’ll just let the best of the photos tell the tale.
Africa
The Tropics
Sharks & Dinosaurs
Birds
Artifacts from ancient civilizations
I had an appointment in Central Park with one of the kindest & most generous people I know – my lovely friend Shada. I thoroughly enjoyed showing Shada the sights of Central Park, including Strawberry Fields & a wonderful view towards The Dakota Buildings.
Central Park is an oasis of peace & quiet amongst the hustle & bustle of New York. In one direction was the Boating Lake, with terrapins sunbathing on a rock, yet by spinning 180 degrees, we were looking back towards The Plaza Hotel & 5th Avenue. All too quickly my time with Shada was up, but it’s a moment in time that I’ll look back on fondly for a long time to come!
I just had enough time to get back to the hotel & get changed, before meeting up with Sean at 7.30pm. We’d intended to have a fairly quiet night, but that wasn’t quite how it turned out – we started with dinner (washed down with a couple of pints) in Smith’s Bar on 44th & 8th. We then headed to Hells Kitchen on 9th Avenue – we’d built up a thirst on the 10 minute walk, so stopped in Mercury Bar for a couple, before moving on to Rudy’s Bar for a couple more.
All would have been good if we’d gone back to the hotel at this point, but we didn’t! We walked to the Printer’s Alley bar on 40th & 7th, where we continued to test new beers until just gone 2.30am…..luckily my only photo of the evening was taken just before our dinner arrived!
Sunday 4th September
We met up at 9.30am, both feeling a little the worse for wear, but keen to do some more exploring. Once we’d had some breakfast & recovered our energy levels, we headed to Grand Central Terminal & then on to Times Square.
We stopped briefly in the Levi’s Store & both of us stocked up on jeans in our new slimmer sizes! We made our way across town to The High Line at 30th & 10th. This was once the main raised railway line for freight into NYC, but it eventually fell into disrepair until the local community persuaded the city to turn it into a green space.
After taking in the views across to New Jersey, we followed the High Line as it headed downtown. We’d arrived at lunchtime & things were a bit busier than expected – I’ve since learned that we should have done this early in the morning, before everyone else arrived. There were numerous sculptures & art installations along the way & this is somewhere I’d love to come back & visit again.
It was time for some serious shopping, so I headed to Macy’s for a couple of hours of retail therapy – a pair of jeans, a few tee shirts, boxer shorts, socks, a belt & a wallet later, I headed back to the hotel, totally shopped out (for today at least!). We collected the bikes from Liberty Cycles, as planned then headed out for dinner, a couple of quiet drinks & then a stroll to Times Square.
Monday 5th September
We had a tasty breakfast in Skylight Diner, then headed to Macy’s to buy a suitcase each – when we travelled from London to Seattle, we jettisoned our very old suitcases, as they were then surplus to requirements. Luckily it was Labor (sic) Day bank holiday, so there was a big sale on & we were both able to pick up a relative bargain. This also meant I now knew how much room I had for clothes & I bought another pair of jeans for myself, as well as a pair for a Christmas present for my brother.
We dropped our purchases off then set off for the main event of our NYC stay – I’d managed to get some baseball tickets for us to watch the Yankees take on the Minnesota Twins (we passed their stadium when we passed through Minneapolis). Believe it or not, I’d got two $72 tickets for $36 from Stub Hub.
The Yankees were the team to beat in the American League East (they eventually won the division, before losing the championship to the Houston Astros). Our real interest was watching Aaron Judge bat, as he was on his way to setting an American League East record of 62 home runs in a season. In line with our luck throughout the entire adventure, we saw Aaron Judge hit a home run!
In the end, the Yankees were far too strong for the Twins, which the result all the home fans (& us) were hoping for.
We took the subway back from Yankee Stadium (in The Bronx) to Manhattan & headed out for our last night in The Big Apple. We returned to Hell’s Kitchen for food & a few more celebratory beers as we took turns to go through our favourite moments from the last 21 weeks.
Tuesday 6th September
The last day of our adventure was spent doing present shopping, as well as stocking up on a few essential clothes – I had room in my case, so it would have been rude not to fill the space!
Leaving the hotel, I took one final look at the Empire State Building, as we headed for JFK airport & our flight back to Heathrow.
I’m planning one final ‘Reflections’ update tomorrow evening – I’ll share our favourite places & best moments as well as answer the all important questions regarding beer, cake & ice cream!
When we set off at the start of our adventure on 30th April, our plan was to ride an average of 5 days in every 7 & to average 50 miles a ride.
I find it hard to believe that we reached the end of our adventure on 30th August, after only 4 months. We actually rode 5.40 days in every 7 & averaged 61.17 miles a ride. So we were close in terms of ride days per week, but we significantly underestimated how many miles we would travel on each ride.
The outcome of the additional miles & ride days was that it only took 93 ride days to complete our adventure – I had anticipated us taking 114 days of riding to complete our planned route. Once you add in the rest days, we finished almost a month earlier than we’d expected!
A few people have been in touch, asking what States we visited – if you’re interested, check out the table below. Just 3 states (Washington, Montana & South Dakota) accounted for half of our cycling days;
State
Time Spent (In Days)
Days Ridden
Miles Ridden
Feet Climbed
Washington
19
16
913
44,318
Idaho
5
4
157
6,775
Montana
28
20
1,238
46,512
Wyoming
11
9
581
25,397
South Dakota
15
11
653
23,654
Minnesota
6
4
240
5,328
Wisconsin
7
5
335
5,419
Michigan
3
3
222
5,046
Indiana
4
3
235
2,641
Ohio
7
5
328
4,275
Pennsylvania
2
1
58
1,421
New York
11
8
505
21,934
Vermont
2
2
94
6,066
New Hampshire
2
1
70
4,308
Maine
1
1
62
4,049
Totals
123
93
5,689
207,143
There were 30 possible riding days in August (we finished our adventure on 30th August), so we were expecting to have ridden just over 21 days in the month.
August totals were;
13.5 – average speed in mph.
22 – number of days ridden.
46.1 – highest speed achieved in mph.
64.8– average mileage per ride.
84.64 – longest single ride.
106 – number of hours ridden.
1,426 – total miles ridden.
46,752 – feet climbed.
The totals since 30th April are;
12.9 – average speed in mph (up from 12.7 at the end of July).
93 – number of days ridden (up from 71 at the end of July).
53.3 – highest speed achieved in mph.
61.2 – average mileage per ride (up from 60.0 at the end of July).
104.08 – longest single ride.
440 – number of hours ridden (up from 334 at the end of July).
5,689 – total miles ridden (up from 4,262 at the end of July).
207,143 – feet climbed (up from 160,396 at the end of July).
While I had a detailed plan of the route we would try to follow, I hadn’t spent too much time planning where we might be at the end of August – I certainly didn’t expect to be in Maine!! There were some significant changes to the original route;
April & May’s unseasonably cold weather, which has resulted in road closures due to snow in the mountains.
Late snow in Washington required us to navigate The Cascades via Stevens Pass, rather than Rainy & Washington Passes.
More snow in The Rockies meant we couldn’t explore as much of Glacier National Park as planned & the Going To The Sun Road was closed. As a result of increased Covid outbreaks, paperwork requirements & late snows, we didn’t visit the Canadian Rockies at all.
Our extended tour of Montana delayed our arrival in West Yellowstone – by then there had been flooding which caused Yellowstone National Park to be closed. We detoured via Jackson & Grand Teton National Park, so we could enter via the South Entrance on the day the National Park re-opened.
We made a late decision to explore Wisconsin when we left Minneapolis, rather than Ohio & Illinois as previously planned. Thank you to everyone we met on the way who encouraged us to cycle in Wisconsin, we’ve had a great experience riding deserted roads, meeting some wonderful people & watching a world class Water Ski exhibition. We also got to take a ferry across Lake Michigan!
The changes to itinerary have all added to our experience & have taken us to some amazing places – Grand Teton was one of my favourite places on the adventure, yet we only visited it because Yellowstone was closed.
I’ve been amazed by the kindness & generosity of the people we’ve met on our journey across the USA. Without fail someone has stepped up & helped us when we needed assistance or support. Doug, Tom & Dan at Black Hills Bicycles saved the day when I was stuck with bike troubles in Philip, South Dakota. Also Dave, Ruth & Sienna got me out of a pickle when my chain broke less than a week from the end of our adventure.
The Wagon Wheel stands out as my favourite evening of the adventure – Joel, Don, Vicki, Sharon, Karie, Charly & Allen made it a night to remember, especially the sunset cruise on Oakwood Lake.
Monday 29th to Tuesday 30th August – Stages 92 & 93.
Monday 29th August – North Woodstock to Bridgton (Stage 92)
We only have two days of our Coast to Coast adventure remaining, but that doesn’t mean we can take it easy, as today we plan to ride 69 miles & climb the Kancamagus Pass (pronounced Cank-a-Magus I’m reliably informed!). At 15 miles in length & 2,200 feet of vertical, it’s almost Alpine & the first BIG climb since Powder River Pass on Stage 46, way back on 26th June.
We continue to see reminders that Moose do exist, although this feels a little that we’re being taunted. as it’s one of the few animals that has eluded us on our travels! We’ve seen a whole load of animals I didn’t expect to see (like a black bear cub & a golden eagle), so I shouldn’t complain.
The towns of North Woodstock & Lincoln are ski resorts in winter, but they have also harvested the forest since the late 1800’s – between 1893 & 1947, 2 billion feet of logs were hauled out of the Loon Mountain forest on the railroad!
We’re riding the Kancamagus Highway, which is a scenic byway that links Lincoln with Conway, 37 miles to the East (it’s also our planned coffee stop in a few hours time). The early slopes of the climb followed the course of the Swift River & that resulted in the gradient being more friendly than either of us had expected – we were climbing at a fairly consistent 4% to 5%.
This was our last chance to get some action photos on a climb, so we took a few shots of each other – the best are included in the next two sets of photos. At this point we were about half way to the summit & were grateful it hadn’t been as bad as we had initially feared, although we knew it ramped up in the last half mile or so of the climb.
As we climbed higher, the views became more dramatic, as the road cut a way through the forest. We only had about 3 miles to the summit from here & we began to relax a little, as we climbed ever higher.
There was one final hairpin, where the gradient increased slightly, but then we passed a sign for the Pemigewasset Overlook & we knew the big climb of the day was almost over. Just before the summit I passed Paul, who was on a 5 day tour & he was towing his dog in his trailer! Sean was moments behind & we stopped at the overlook to compare stories.
The summit itself is about 1/10th mile beyond the overlook, so after taking in the view, we said our goodbyes to Paul & headed off to get a shot at the Kancamagus Pass sign. We also stopped briefly at Beaver Brook Overlook to take in the views on the other side of the mountain.
The White Mountain National Forest is very carefully managed & incredible as it may seem, all you can see in the photo below Sean & myself has been harvested at least once & some sections have been cut 2 or 3 times. The National Forest are responsible for ensuring that the environment remains pristine, while balancing our requirements for timber & recreational space – they appear to be doing a great job in this particular instance.
The descent was fun, so I’ve included some video, as well as the usual photos. There were a few large logging lorries doing the descent too, but they gave me plenty of room.
Lower Falls had parking for about 200 cars & about half of them must have been in use. There were families sat sun bathing & enjoying the glorious sunny weather. I had a couple of attempts at capturing the scene, but neither of them worked at all – it just looked like people sat on rocks!!!
Covered Bridges are an integral part of New England landscape & the White Mountains have more than their fair share. The majority were toll bridges, built in the late 19th Century. One bridge in nearby Lebanon made a 70% annual return on investment in 1870!!!
The examples below are the Albany Town Covered Bridge in the first photo & the Conway Covered Bridge in the final photo. We had the road to ourselves for the 5 miles between the two bridges.
We stopped in Conway for a portion of strawberry shortbread – we’d completed 38 miles & also seen off the big pass of the day, so were in a good place! Within a few miles of setting off again, we arrived at our last State Line & crossed from New Hampshire into the Pine Tree State of Maine. The end of our adventure really is close!
We also took a small Adventure Cycling Association detour onto our last piece of cycle track – we were on the Mountain Division Trail for less than a mile of the 6 mile track, but it felt like a symbolic moment. At some point I’ll work out how many miles we did off-road, but it feels like the answer will be at least a few hundred miles!
In Fryeburg we found more quiet roads as we gradually made our way towards our overnight stop.
We were following the Saco River upstream, so were gradually climbing. The long views across to the White Mountains in the distance help take our mind off the drag uphill. The few houses we saw were what I would call up-market with plenty of land too. We’d both checked the route last night & commented that it looked like there was a hilly end to the route – we were just about to find out how hilly!
The answer quickly became clear – quite hilly & quite steep at times! The forest protected us from the heat of the sun, although the ambient heat was plenty warm enough. The road rose in ramps, so we also had a few nice descents where we could recover before the next ascent – at times the climbs hit 11% & 12%, which is more than enough in the later stages of a ride!
Real moose had avoided us again today, but we did at least see a life-size representation of one in a front garden! This was at the top of the final climb, so all that remained was to freewheel the final mile or so to our overnight accommodation in Bridgton.
The Noble House Inn was located right across the road from a gorgeous lake – I captured the sunset as we were heading out to dinner. This is our last night of the cycling adventure, so we enjoyed a couple of drinks with our meal & chatted about what an absolutely amazing adventure this has been.
Stage Stats – 70 miles, 4,308 feet of climbing. Our final Mountain Pass of the adventure!
Tuesday 30th August – Bridgton to Brunswick (Stage 93)
Our final day of our cycling adventure is here already – I can still remember our first day in Seattle like it was yesterday, when we struggled to get our kit on the bikes! Matt & Lynn were the perfect hosts & served up a treat of a breakfast, fresh fruit & a cooked breakfast, washed down with fresh orange juice & coffee!
I have many competing emotions this morning. On the one hand, we’re a mere 58 miles from achieving our shared dream of cycling across the USA, Coast to Coast from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, I feel a sense of loss, as our adventure is drawing to a close. We’ve had the most incredible 4 months since we started in Seattle & I’ve made some memories that will keep me smiling for the rest of my days, so please don’t feel sorry for me!
I took a final photo of the idyllic lake opposite our hotel, then we made our way across town & headed into the forest as the road carved through the trees & followed the rising & falling contours of the land.
As we reached Long Lake, we stopped to enjoy the view at Naples & that was the moment that a seaplane came in to land. Once more we’d arrived at just the right moment!
The road through Naples was a slightly busier State Road, but we were only on it for about 10 minutes before joining another deserted County Road (the US equivalent of a lane in the UK, only wider). We’d identified that the remainder of the ride was either uphill or down dale, so we were expecting things to become a little bit tougher. The early climbs were quite comfortable & the scenery made it easy to forget about the gradient & simply enjoy the view.
Having said that, Sean looks to be putting in a lot of effort in the last photo!!
Our trip round Europe continued as we arrived in Poland – this is where Poland Spring bottled water is sourced. Waterford, Paris & Norway were all sign-posted as being within 10 miles of Poland, as was Wales, Monmouth, Yarmouth & New Gloucester!
As the temperature rose during the morning, we began to appreciate the shadow that the trees provided, especially on the climbs.
I wasn’t quite sure how many downhill sections were remaining, so I decided I’d get a final video of me descending quite early in the day. As the day continued, I found out there were still plenty of climbs & descents left!
The descent took us past a pretty lake & then straight into a brute of a climb – 15% for 400 yards was enough to make the eyes water & the legs sting! The next descent took us past Shaker Village & along the shoreline of Sabbathday Lake, where we found a great ice cream & soda stop on a sandy beach. The perfect stop for our final stop of the adventure! A scoop each of black raspberry & choc chip ice cream washed down with a black cherry soda – delicious!
As we left the lake behind, we hit our steepest climb of the entire adventure – a 16% section that went on for about 5 minutes & was at the very limit of what I can climb on a fully loaded steel bike! I was doing about 3 mph up this ramp & was close to having to weave across the road to keep going.
You might be able to see the look of relief of mine & Sean’s faces at having survived the climb! We spent quite a bit of time today talking about the whole adventure & how neither of us had really prepared for how we might feel at the end of it. It’s almost as if living in the moment every day enabled the end to creep up on me. A combination of planning the daily routes, riding & keeping my blog up to date took up most of my day – I’m pleased it did, as it means I’ve focussed on the adventure itself until the very end.
I had one final opportunity to capture birds on the water, as well as demonstrate how much the body loses flexibility over an 18 week cycling adventure! My legs were still in shock after the steep climb earlier & they were shaking as Sean took the photo for me!
As we reached Brunswick, we cycled past our motel for the next 3 nights & headed for Maquoit Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. It was an emotional moment (in a very British ‘stiff upper lip’ type way) – it took us 93 riding days to ride from the Pacific Ocean in Seattle to the Atlantic Ocean in Brunswick. In that time we cycled 5,689 miles & climbed 207,143 feet!
Ivan kindly took the photos for us – he had completed a supported Coast to Coast crossing in July, which added a nice touch to our finish. We exchanged a few stories, before heading back to the hotel, where we captured a photo at the finish point of what has been an epic cycling adventure.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way – I plan to do an August update, where I’ll take time to say a proper thank you.
I hope you’ve enjoyed joining us on our adventure of a lifetime – I’ve been humbled & delighted in equal measure that so many friends, family & strangers have chosen to engage in the adventure with us! If you have an opportunity, don’t be frightened to chase your dream, whatever that may be.
I’m off to The Big Apple for a few days of Rest & Relaxation. Once I get home, I’ll post an update on my time there too.
Thank you, once again for coming with us as we across the USA, Coast to Coast!
Stage Stats – 61 miles, 4,049 feet of climbing. The final day of what has been the most incredible adventure!
Well, How Did We Get Here? Miles, Feet Climbed, Maps & Profiles.
We’re very much on the home stretch, with just 3 days of cycling remaining. I’ve kept updating the map & elevation profile so that it now covers the first 17 weeks of our trip!
We’ve covered 5,518 miles & climbed 195,987 feet to reach Fairlee.
Previous updates described how we travelled from Seattle in Washington to Pulaski in New York over the first 16 weeks of our adventure. Now find out where we went & what we did in Week 17! Hopefully picking a single photo to represent each day will refresh my mind when it comes to looking back on my adventure!
I spent Saturday planning our routes for the coming week & we finalised our accommodation arrangements. A downpour on Sunday delayed our start time on a very wet ride into Boonville, where we’d splashed out on some luxury accommodation. Monday morning was more of the same wet weather, but things brightened up in the afternoon on the way to Long Lake.
On Tuesday we had a near disaster as my chain broke in Newcomb, but fortunately we met Dave, Ruth & Sienna who saved the day & we made it to Ticonderoga a bit later than planned. Wednesday was another rest day, so I used the time to catch up on my blog. Thursday was a gloriously sunny day as we crossed into Vermont on a ferry & did a full gas effort up Green Mountain on the way to Pittsfield. Friday started out dry until the day’s big climb out of Sharon, then it was rain all the way into Fairlee, via a covered bridge & a brief foray into New Hampshire.
Wednesday 24th to Saturday 27th August – Rest Day & Stages 89 to 91.
Wednesday 24th August – Rest Day.
We were staying outside of the town itself, so we were a bit limited on activities today. That was no bad thing, as it gave me an opportunity to catch up on my journal, as well as start preparing my weekly & monthly blog posts. I also needed to update our routes from now until we finish our adventure next Tuesday.
We decided to do our own thing for food & I succumbed to the Micky D’s across the road – sometimes only junk food will do & today was that time! I also decided to go for a bit of a walk to work off the calories & managed to catch a view of yesterday’s descent & got a better understanding of why we plummeted down it so quickly.
Thursday 25th August – Ticonderoga to Pittsfield (Stage 89).
We set off at 9am & after just 3 miles we had a treat ready & waiting for us – a crossing of Lake Champlain by ferry (our 4th & final ferry crossing of the adventure). The crossing from Ticonderoga to Shoreham takes 7 minutes & costs $5 for a bicycle & rider & out of peak hours you use a flag system to hail the ferry.
I took a few photos on the way across the lake to remind us of the ferry & the ticket lady kindly took a shot of Sean & myself with the pirate flag. We also moved from The Empire State of New York, into the Green Mountain State of Vermont during the crossing of the lake.
Our route profile told us it would be rolling the entire day, including a couple of serious climbs. We joined the Lake Champlain Scenic Byway as we left the ferry crossing & began climbing almost immediately as we briefly headed into a wooded area. As we reached the plateau, we rode through the small village of Shoreham, one of a number of English place names we’ve encountered since we entered the New England region.
In spite of there not being a town for miles around, we passed Lakeview Cemetery. It then took us 20 minutes to cycle past the nearest church, so it was an unusual location for a graveyard. We briefly joined the road to Bridport, before taking a right towards Cornwall – as I mentioned previously, there are a few English place names around here!
We stayed on a plateau for about 20 minutes with vast views laid out before us, but it became clear at some point soon we would be heading downhill, with the prospect of a climb up to the next plateau!
As we started climbing, we saw a sign for Lemon Fair Sculpture Garden. The sculptures were laid out in fields & stretched for as far as the eye could see. We spent about half an hour having a walk around some of the closer exhibits & enjoying the views.
While we were taking in the art, a group of horse riders galloped across the field & then stopped, as if they were awaiting instructions on what to do or where to go next. Although there were dogs with the horse riders, they didn’t appear to be hunting.
We left the horses & riders to carry on doing their thing & set off for Cornwall. We continued on quiet two lane roads with our first views of the Green Mountains – our big climb is one of the lumps in the third photo below. Passing through Middlebury, we saw our first cyclists few quite some time, they were out for the day & were attempting to navigate their way across town.
We took another quiet backroad out of town, where we saw another cyclist heading in the opposite direction, we exchanged waves as we passed each other. Just before our planned coffee stop I had to stop to take a photo of a sign to Bristol – over 5,500 miles cycled & finally I see a sign for my home town!
Otter East in East Middlebury was a great little coffee shop – I asked the assistant for advice on what one pastry I should try & quick as a flash she said her favourite was the lemon & poppy otter’s claw. I was sold & picked up a ginger cookie to go with my coffee – we had a big climb lined up after our stop & I didn’t want to be short of energy!! The pastry & the cookie were delicious.
Our big climb today is Green Mountain & it measures 10 miles in length, climbs 1,600 feet & has ramps up to 13% – it qualifies as a mountain in anyone’s language! I was acutely aware that I may experience some pain up this little beast, as Sean had declared this morning he planned to give it full beans & he’s also ditched his tent before today’s ride (which weighed about 4 or 5 pounds) now that we had motels booked until we reach Brunswick.
Since I lost 20 pounds or so, my riding has come on in leaps & bounds & I can now climb reasonably well – the thing is, Sean has always been a better climber than me, by a significant margin. I wanted to test myself, so decided I was also going to give it a full gas effort & deal with the consequences later! I made sure to take photos on the climb – this is an cycling adventure, not a race!
The two long, steep ramps were at the start & end of the climb. At the start, the road was being prepared for new tarmac, so we had to ride on a rough surface too. We both gave it all we had & finished together at the top in just under an hour, so I now know my climbing really has improved!
We stopped briefly at the summit to get our breath back & take a photo – although there wasn’t a proper summit sign, there was a Green Mountain sign of sorts. Now for my favourite part, the descent!
The first couple of miles of the descent were lightning quick & I hit 45mph at one point. A shout out to Chris Hancock, we passed through the town of your surname today – ironically it’s where I stopped for the man with big cockerel photo! Bob, fear not, a copy will be on its way to you as soon as I get back into phone coverage!!! 🙂
We have a number of mountains coming up in the last week – this is because we’re heading West to East & the glaciers that formed the valleys moved in a North to South direction. This is a repeat of what happened in Washington State, only the mountains here are at a lower altitude. I’ve come to like the mountains now I can climb them, as they provide some glorious backdrops.
As we were riding through the 3rd Rochester of the adventure (others were in Indiana & New York, now New Hampshire) we stumbled across The Rochester Cafe & Country Store, so decided to stop & see what they had to offer. Delicious ice cream was the answer – I had a double scoop of Maine Black Bear (cherry & chocolate in vanilla) & Black Raspberry!!
We ended up chatting to a lady who was a retired nurse & had worked at the Bristol Royal Infirmary during a 2 year spell of living in the UK. She’s hoping to meet up with some of the people she used to work with on a trip to South Africa – I’m keeping fingers crossed that she & all her friends are able to travel.
As we left town, we followed the White River downstream (we’re following it again tomorrow), which was great news as it meant the final 15 miles into Pittsfield were gravity assisted! It only took us about an hour to reach our hotel for the night.
We’d landed on our feet once again, as the Clear River Inn & Tavern was perfect – we had a room each, that was spacious & everything looked & behaved as if it was new – we had codes to get into the rooms, rather than keys. Breakfast would be provided in the morning & there was a great bar & restaurant on-site.
We toasted a glorious day in the saddle under blue skies & our good fortune with the hotel. There are now only 4 riding days of our adventure left, so I’m beginning to try & work out how I feel about the trip coming to an end, but in the meantime, I’m making the most of the time we have remaining.
Stage Stats – 58 miles, 4,573 feet of climbing. Cycling in the sun with an alpine climb thrown in for good measure.
Friday 26th August – Pittsfield to Fairlee (Stage 90).
We made the most of the Clear River Inn’s breakfast nook, helping ourselves to cereal, fruit & protein bars, as well as enjoying the coffee & juice on offer. A great start to what should be another big climbing day.
We were on our way by 9.30am (a slightly shorter ride today), under leaden grey skies – rain is forecast for late morning / early afternoon, so we’re expecting to get wet at some point today. We re-traced our tyre tracks the 5 miles back to Stockbridge, where we picked up the White River again & warmed up our legs on a couple of steep ramps that took us over some bluffs.
As we were descending one of the bluffs, we saw movement ahead of us, so slowed down – we approached a flock of game birds (partridge or grouse maybe?) that were teaching their chicks how to cross the road safely!!! It was quite a sight watching 20 to 25 birds running across the 2 lane road. They didn’t seem in any way phased by us riding past, they just looked on from the field.
A few locals have been saying that they are need of rain, as the rivers are all running dry – we saw this at first hand today, as we followed the White River valley. Most of the bed was dry, with just a small channel down the middle. The other observation was that the mountains were looking bigger, the further down the river valley we went!
I’m always on the lookout for something interesting, historical or just different & today we passed the birthplace of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Their missionaries travel around the world spreading the word of the Mormon Church. I knew a little about them, as when I worked for a bank in a previous life many years ago, a number of their US missionaries used to come into the bank to cash their cheques.
There’s a 38 1/2 foot granite monument commemorating his life, but it was 2 1/2 miles away up a hill, so I settled for just taking a photo of the historical marker!
The sky was becoming darker & it clear that rain was on the way, so we picked up the pace a bit to try & reach Sharon before the rains arrived. We managed to make it the local gas station for coffee & processed cake just before the heavens opened, but only just!
It was bucketing down when we set off after our coffee stop, with thunder & lightning thrown in for good measure. The climb itself began with a couple of 13% ramps which quickly warmed us both up, but then it settled into a steady 5% to 7% gradient for about 4 miles.
There wasn’t a sign at the summit, so we simply rolled over the top, before hitting a 12% descent for 2 miles. In no time I was descending at about 45 mph, so concentration levels were 100% switched on. After a few miles the gradient eased & I was able to get a couple of photos – we were only doing a little of 20 mph, so had plenty of time to enjoy the steam rising off the trees, as well as pay attention to the road.
The British theme continued from yesterday, as we hit an East Anglian stretch today, as we headed through Thetford & close by Norwich.
We enjoyed a couple more short descents & were beginning to think the worst of the climbing was behind us, when Thetford delivered a cheeky little punch to the solar plexus – Thetford Hill had a name for a reason, it was a short, sharp & steep ramp that lasted for less than a mile, but hit 12% for a big chunk of it. We were relieved to reach the summit!
On the outskirts of Thetford we crossed the Ompompanoosuc River on the first Covered Bridge we’ve seen so far on our adventure. It was built in 1839 & measures 127 feet across. The road deck is wooden, although beneath the bridge there are now steel struts to give it some structural integrity.
At East Thetford we crossed the Connecticut River, taking us briefly into New Hampshire, although neither of us spotted a Welcome to New Hampshire sign. We followed the deserted River View Road along the edge of the river, spending about a mile on a good quality gravel road.
As we continued along the banks of the Connecticut towards Orford, we crossed our second covered bridge of the day & I stopped to get an action shot – yes, it was still raining & we were properly soaked through! As we reached Orford, we took a left turn, crossing the river back into Vermont & then making our way into Fairlee, where we’re staying at the Silver Maple Lodge this evening.
There was a laundry right next to the hotel, so we took the chance to do our last batch of washing before we reach the end of our cycling adventure. There was also a restaurant nearby too – for some reason I was starving this afternoon, so I went to dinner on my own at 5pm, about 2 hours earlier than normal.
I still toasted another adventurous day in the saddle – it’s a Friday & Beer Club traditions need to be maintained!!! Tonight’s offering was a Little Devil IPA. Here’s to a drier day tomorrow.
Stage Stats – 54 miles, 3,261 feet of climbing. The rains return!
Saturday 27th August – Fairlee to North Woodstock (Stage 91).
We had a late start today, as we only had a 40 mile ride to North Woodstock planned. We met for a continental breakfast at 9am, having already chatted about heading into town if we needed a more substantial meal. We met Linda & Brian, who were in town to see family – they come from just outside Boston. They were both really interested in our adventure, how we came up with the idea & our stand-out moments.
Linda has family from Salisbury & they had both visited the UK pre-covid & had been to Bristol & Bath during their trip. Linda said if we find ourselves in Boston we should look them up & they’ll put us up – another example of the incredible generosity of the people we’ve met on our adventure.
As we were saying goodbye to Scott (who owns the motel) he told us that he’d ridden Coast to Coast 50 years ag0, as a 22 year old. He then got out a large scale map with the route he’d taken – it was a real privilege to hear about his adventure! We’ve used modern technology all the way round, whereas Scott picked up a paper map of each State as he crossed the State Line. I was in awe of what he did.
It was about 11am by the time we left Scott & the Silver Maple Lodge, & after stopping for a breakfast of eggs, sausage & toast we were on our way under sunny, blue skies. Our first task was to get a photo in front of the Welcome to New Hampshire sign which instructed us to Live Free or Die just before we crossed the Connecticut River!
We rode close to the Connecticut River as we made our way along the side of the valley. Initially it was like being back in Wisconsin again, as we passed maize fields. Although the route didn’t show any climbing in the early stages, the reality was somewhat different, as we regularly found ourselves heading up & down undulations in the road.
Just before our final view of the river, I spotted a sign that reminded me of my friends Train Driver Jake & Helen Warren – it’s been fun looking out for signs that remind me of home
We were riding on Dartmouth College Highway – Dartmouth was chartered in 1769 & is one of only 9 colonial colleges which remain from before the American Revolution. It’s also the inspiration for the film National Lampoon’s Animal House, as one of the writers Chris Miller) was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house during his time there.
We saw a couple of touring cyclists as we reached Haverhill (which made me thing of The Proclaimers – I was havering myself at this point!). There was also what looked to be a Trump Evacuation Route towards Canada (zoom in on the image above the writing……).
We took a right towards The White Mountains & the climbing started in earnest – there was a steep ramp at the start of the climb, then it settled into a steady 4% to 5% gradient for the remaining 8 miles, as we climbed up to 1,300 feet above sea level. I’d popped off the front, so managed to get an action shot of Sean, just as he summitted the first of our 2 proper climbs of the day.
After a brief descent, we crossed the Ammonoosuc River & started the final climb of the day. It was a 5 mile climb, but it would only gain 800 feet of altitude.
We entered the White Mountains National Forest on the lower slopes, so had some protection from the sun as we headed past Wildwood Campground & State Park. The final drag took us up to Beaver Pond, where we stopped briefly to enjoy the view across the lake to the even taller peaks.
The descent was awesome. The long, sweeping bends didn’t require any braking, as the road was wide open, always offering big views all around. In next to no time we were on the lower slopes, freewheeling towards the small town of North Woodstock.
As we rolled into town we saw the Woodstock Pie & Coffee Company, which claimed the title of “Best Pie in New Hampshire”, so we had to try it out! I decided to go all in, so added some soft ice cream, to complete the taste test – it was a great piece of mixed berry pie & the ice cream was delicious too!
This is our last two night stop before we finish our big adventure, so we headed our for dinner, then stayed out a bit longer for a few beers too.
Stage Stats – 39 miles, 2,805 feet of climbing. Crossing into New Hampshire & finding some mighty fine pie!
Sunday 21st to Tuesday 23rd August – Stages 86 to 88.
Sunday 21st August – Pulaski to Boonville (Stage 86).
We made plans to set off this morning at 9am, however, the weather gods had a different idea! Thunder, lightning & a deluge of rain made the decision to delay our start for an hour, rather an easy one to make.
We eventually got underway at about 10am, at which point it had, at least temporarily, stopped raining. Leaving town, we passed the local airfield, where I stopped briefly to get a snap of the Canada Geese preparing for their own take-off in the field next door.
There is a growing Amish community around Pulaski & the road signs remind motorists of the possibility that horse & carriages may be on the road. The only horse & carriage we’ve seen on our travels was 3 weeks ago, when we on the way to Rochester, Indiana.
The reality of today was that only mad fish & Englishmen would be out in the mid-day storm!! The dry spell had lasted less than 20 minutes when the skies opened again – while the final photo below shows a still image of the rain, I’ve also included a video clip. You’ll need to forgive the poor quality of the audio, as water got in the microphone.
The Salmon River & Reservoir were both hidden behind the trees, so it took about an hour before we got our one & only look at the lake. Most Atlantic Salmon of Lake Ontario, although the same species as those salmon found on the Atlantic coast, spend their entire life in Lake Ontario & the Salmon River.
In 1860 salmon were so abundant that farmers used pitchforks to toss the fish onto the bank as they swam up-river in the Seneca River. Documents also claim that over 2,000 salmon were speared in a single night at Pulaski.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are now responsible for managing the limited salmon stock in Lake Ontario & the surrounding rivers, including the Salmon River. Over time, NYSDEC aim to increase salmon numbers, but it’s very much a long term project.
Although it had been raining for most of the morning (& it continued to for another hour or two), it was warm enough that I was riding in overshoes, shorts & a short sleeved wet weather cycling top (A Castelli Perfetto for the cycling geeks among you – I have no hesitation recommended it for wet weather riding. For clarity I bought it, so no product placement here!).
Some of my friends will remember that I made a conscious decision to go out training last winter when it was raining – at the time I said I wanted to be mentally prepared to deal with days of rain if / when it happened on my adventure. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop the rain when it happened, but I could choose my attitude.
As we left Salmon Lake behind, we started climbing & headed up to Osceola ski resort on Tug Hill. It’s only about 1,700 feet above sea level, but has 15 miles of cross-country ski trails & is popular in winter. We didn’t see a soul when we cycled past it!!
The final photo below gives an idea of how dark it was & how heavy the rain was as we continued on our way.
We stopped at a bar in Osceola for a quick coffee (no cake today), just to get out the rain for 15 minutes. The very kind landlady offered us a room for the night if we needed one – this has been typical of the many people we’ve met, always offering to help if they can. We had a hotel booked & paid for another 90 minutes away, so we declined, but said how much we appreciated her offer.
Back out into the rain we went! Creeks that had been barely flowing only a couple of days ago were already showing signs of how much rain had fallen in the last 12 hours.
I’d pulled over for a natural break when the heavens opened again – I was in just the right place to get Sean riding past & the rain bouncing off the road, with a State Forest sign in shot (we’d been passing them all morning).
Finally the rain relented & then eventually stopped! This was the first time we’d been rained on in a while (a thunder storm in Winona a month ago is the last time that springs to mind), so in spite of getting very wet today, we appreciate how lucky we’ve been recently.
We’re staying in a really comfortable hotel tonight. The Lodge At Headwaters is much more luxurious than our usual accommodation. I took a photo before I spread my wet kit all across the room, so it would dry for the morning!
The Boonville Hotel is an old opera house & looked like it might be just the place for a couple of restorative IPA’s & a slap up meal – they certainly delivered!!! The spaghetti & meatballs & HUGE chocolate brownie sundae (on a Sunday) were delicious. Tomorrow’s another day, but the weather forecast is saying we’re in for more of the same, so I’m off to choose my attitude for another day in the rain…..
Stage Stats – 49 miles, 3,018 feet of climbing. A day in the rain & a return to the mountains as the Adirondacks approach.
Monday 22nd August – Boonville to Long Lake (Stage 87).
Sadly the rain forecast was correct & we set off in light rain for the 2nd day on the trot – this is a first on our adventure. As a result I’ll be in the same jacket as yesterday, although underneath I have a clean cycling jersey on…..honest, I do!!
We left Boonville on a small, quiet & hilly road that took us up to the Black River feeder canal & a slippery (when wet) steel grated bridge – I was livin’ on a prayer when I crossed it!
We continued past a gaggle of 5 wild turkeys who were walking across someone’s back garden & then re-crossed the canal, before crossing the Black River itself. By now the light shower had moved on & been replaced by a downpour. Once again it was time to choose an attitude & I like to think I did a good job of selecting the right one, check the video & see what you think!
We occasionally found refuge from the deluge under the overhanging trees, but as you can see, we were drenched by this point – we were probably 6 or 7 miles into the ride, but it was warm again, so things could have been much more challenging for us. Mile Creek ran through the back garden of one property & although the weather wasn’t great, it looked like a lovely spot to sit on a warm, summer’s day.
The rain stopped at about 10.30, which lifted our spirits & encouraged us to take some action photos & also stop & take in some of the historic buildings – the Old Red Schoolhouse dates from 1870.
We had been riding along Moose River Road all morning, so we knew there was a river hiding behind the trees somewhere, we just didn’t know where! Then it revealed itself for the first time, away to our left. In between sightings of the river we found ourselves climbing, then descending the bluffs every time the river twisted & turned.
At McKeever we joined a larger County road, crossed the Moose River & headed towards Old Forge. We passed through Thendara on the way, which had a historic railroad museum, which included a restored station & a Scenic railroad. In front of the train are Railbikes (which run on the railroad track) – each railbike takes up to 4 people & you can hire them (from $85 for 2 hours) & explore the surrounding scenery on the railroad.
At Thendara we picked up the Thendara, Old Forge, Big Moose, Inlet, Eagle Bay (TOBIE) Trail – which provides a cyclist friendly route around the local lakes.
Old Forge was a lovely working town, with specialist shops offering cheese, statues carved from tree trunks by chainsaws & most interesting to us….Ozzie’s Cafe! Sean made this great little find yesterday when researching the fine detail of today’s ride. I chose a wild berry cheesecake & snickers cookie to go with my cappuccino & was very pleased with them all!
We left Old Forge on South Shore Road which took us past First Lake & a lakeside inlet. Although we were riding round a single lake, it had been separated into sections – First Lake & Fourth Lake were, in fact, the same lake!!!
We followed South Lakeshore Road as far as Inlet, at which point we took a right turn onto our last road of the day, although we still had 35 miles of riding left! The very good news was we’d left the rain behind for the day.
We passed Fifth & Sixth Lakes, then at Seventh Lake I saw a sign for Payne’s Seaplanes & Air Services – there were about half a dozen planes on the water, but none were due to take off any time soon, so I settled for taking a few photos of the planes then we set off on our way again.
We found a quiet spot to take a selfie action shot & continued our numeracy lessons on the lakes – they stopped at Eighth!
Although the numbers had run out, the lakes continued to come thick & fast – Raquette Lake was beautiful, with remote islands in the middle. Slightly further on, the shallows offered vistas of the Adirondack Mountains in the distance – more of them over the coming days.
Lake Utuwana & Eagle Lake were connected by a narrow neck & I stopped briefly at both to get a photo to remind me of them in future – 2 more lovely lakes in stunning scenery. In order to reach our motel for the night we had one last, steep climb up to Blue Mountain (no sign, so no photo). Although it was only about a mile in length, it topped out at 11%, which at the end of a long, wet day was testing enough!
For every Ying, there’s a Yang & we had a joyous descent down the other side.
As we rode into Long Lake, we could see The Shamrock Motel in the near distance. We checked-in, got ourselves settled, then put the laundry on while we cycled the mile into town to get some food from the gas station – a sub sandwich & 2 slices of pizza were this evening’s gourmet offering for dinner!
I then went & chilled out on the Shamrock’s private beach for a bit, taking in the views & enjoying the solitude. The perfect end to an epic day in the saddle.
Stage Stats – 74 miles, 4,823 feet of climbing. Another wet morning, then a lesson in lake counting in the afternoon.
Tuesday 23rd August – Long Lake to Ticonderoga (Stage 88).
We left Long Lake under brooding, grey skies & a gap in the early morning rain. However, within 10 minutes the skies had opened again, just as we summitted a small climb with a view over Shaw Pond. A lone heron was fishing for its breakfast, but it looked a very sorry figure with the rain falling like stair-rods.
This is the third day running that there’s been heavy rain, so we at least know what we’re in for! The worst of it rarely lasts more than 15 or 20 minutes (by which point everything we’re wearing is dripping wet), then it eases off for a while (sometimes stopping completely, like today).
We continued on drying roads that rolled up & down between small ponds & rivers. All seemed to be going swimmingly as we passed a sign that identified the primitive area of Essex Chain Lakes.
Just after the 15 mile point at Newcomb, our adventure was thrown into doubt when the chain on my bike broke as I stood up to climb a short incline. Before I came away I had a conversation with my friend Jimbo & he heavily recommended that I take a replacement quick link for an emergency such as this & learn how to replace one. I, of course, didn’t follow his advice & now found myself in a spot of bother!
While I was pondering my options, Tom stopped & asked Sean what the problem was. When I spoke to him & explained, he said there was an Outfitters up the road who rented out mountain bikes, so they may be able to help me. He gave me a lift the mile to Cloudsplitter Outfitters & introduced me to Dave & Ruth, the owners. I explained my predicament & Dave offered straight away to pick up my bike in his truck, bring it back to his workshop & then see what our options were.
Gene Genie stripped of panniers & missing a chain!
10 minutes later we’d got my bike back to the shop – we confirmed that Dave’s Mountain Bike chains weren’t compatible, so we would need a replacement chain. To cut a long story short, I googled the serial number of the chain I needed & Dave phoned a bike shop in Glen’s Falls (60 miles away). They had the chain – now we just needed to get it back to us…..
Dave’s daughter Sienna was running her regular errands for the business, picking up supplies etc in, that’s right, Glen’s Falls. She agreed to pick up the chain & bring it back to Newcomb once she’d finished her appointments. I paid for the chain over the phone & now we just had to wait for Sienna to get back to Newcomb some time after 2.15pm.
Ruth let us use the Pilot’s House, their rental property above the shop & an outdoor space under an awning on the banks of the Hudson River. Sean set about catching up on his sleep with a few 20 minute naps, while I took some photos, had a stroll, did some work on my Blog & reminded myself how to fit a chain by watching some You Tube videos!
Having made the best of our situation & enjoyed our surroundings, I was eager to test my new found knowledge when Sienna arrived with my chain. With Dave’s guidance, we had the chain fitted in about 5 minutes & just like that we could restart our adventure on the road!
Dave, Ruth & Sienna – thank you so much for your help, generosity & kindness. We were in a real difficult position when we met you, but in the space of 4 hours we were able to continue our adventure. This wouldn’t have been possible without you, so a heartfelt thank you.
Dave, Ruth & Sienna – my latest saviours!
We were back on the road by 3pm, with about 45 miles still to ride. The weather was still unsettled, but we set off in the dry & kept our fingers crossed that it might stay that way. We started climbing the side of the Hudson River valley along Blue Ridge Road & rode through verdant, green forest up to the summit. Our enforced delay resulted in us arriving just in time to see a rainbow further up the road.
It was another example of everything appearing to happen for a reason – if my chain hadn’t have broken when & where it did, we’d not have met Dave, Ruth & Sienna, nor would we have seen the rainbow.
We had a tailwind along this stretch of road as we bounced along the ridge, so although there was heavy rain ahead, it was being blown away from us. We had a fun descent into North Hudson
The low cloud on the surrounding mountains made for some moody views, especially when the sun occasionally poked its head out. We continued through Severance & started climbing again after passing the town of Paradox & its lake.
We had the road to ourselves for large parts of today, which made the riding even more enjoyable, especially on the climbs, where we pootle along at anything between 5 & 10 mph. The deserted roads also enable us to ride abreast of each other, have a chat & take a few photos together – the 2nd photo was on a gentle descent, so these were ‘free’ miles!
We followed Eagle Lake for a couple of miles before arriving at our final climb of the day – a short, but steep ascent that took about 15 minutes to complete, however, there was a reward waiting at the top.
We had a 3 mile descent into Ticonderoga, where we’re staying for the next couple of nights! There were huge views all the way across to Lake Champlain in the distance.
In spite of the delay to replace my broken chain, we were checked in to the motel not long after 6pm – a later finish than usual, but with a significantly better outcome than I feared 8 hours previously.
We headed out to the restaurant where we had a great pasta dinner, where we selected the specific ingredients to go into our sauces & it was then cooked in an open galley – the chef had 4 pans going at any one time.
It was also a chance for us to toast Dave, Ruth & Sienna for their enormous help & kindness today. Your random acts of kindness today won’t be forgotten any time soon!
Stage Stats – 63 miles, 3,599 feet of climbing. A near disaster averted by Dave, Ruth & Sienna.
Well, How Did We Get Here? Miles, Feet Climbed, Maps & Profiles.
I’ve had some positive comments about the map & elevation profile that covers the complete route, so I’m going to include it again this week. As we rolled into Niagara Falls we tipped over 5,000 miles cycled so far – I can still remember getting on the ferry in Seattle at the start of the adventure like it was yesterday!
We’ve covered 5,219 miles & climbed 176,707 feet to reach Pulaski.
Previous updates described how we travelled from Seattle in Washington to North East, Pennsylvania in the first 15 weeks of our adventure. Now find out where we went & what we did in Week 16! Hopefully picking a single photo to represent each day will refresh my mind when it comes to looking back on my adventure!
Saturday was a rest day in North East, so I took the opportunity to plan out the next week of potential routes & we got accommodation booked. We crossed into The Empire State of New York on Sunday & skirted the shoreline of Lake Erie. Monday included a bit of sightseeing as we crossed Buffalo on the way to Niagara Falls. We visited Thundering Water on Tuesday, better know as Niagara Falls for a trip on the Maid of the Mist. On Wednesday we joined the Erie Canal Trail at Lockport & stayed on the crushed limestone trail for the final 40 miles of our ride. We picked up the Erie Canal Trail again on Thursday to navigate around Rochester, then joined a quiet backroad to Wolcott. Finally, on Friday we saw Lake Ontario (our third & final Great Lake) on the way to Pulaski.
Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th August – Stages 83 to 85.
Wednesday 17th August – Niagara Falls to Brockport (Stage 83).
After yesterday’s amazing morning at Niagara Falls, we were back on the road, cycling again by 9am this morning. We took the Military Road north, stopping briefly at Reservoir State Park. Although we were more than 5 miles from Niagara Falls, the mist was still very much visible in the background. The State Park is a favourite with locals because of its many uses – tennis, roller hockey & basketball courts, softball diamonds combine with kite flying, model aircraft clubs, football & golf. The reservoir also has excellent fishing if that’s your thing.
We took a right turn as we reached Upper Mountain Road & headed East towards the Tuscarora Indian Nation on gently rolling terrain. The route took us past a historical marker which identified the home of Martha & Thomas Root. They were abolitionists who helped many slaves escape to freedom, via the Underground Railroad.
The term “Underground Railroad” was first used in 1831 & was used to describe an escape network of secret routes & safe houses used by enslaved African Americans. The escape routes were likened to railroads & people used the same terminology – for example a conductor was someone who served as a guide to an escapee, while a station was a hiding place (most likely in a private house, church or school).
Many escapees journeyed all the way to Canada, as the USA’s own Fugitive Slave Laws meant fugitives needed to leave the USA to be safe. Canada had no slavery & didn’t allow slave catchers onto their land.
Lockport to Niagara remains one of the most difficult stretches of road I’ve ever ridden. We cycled into a headwind for about 20 miles in 2007 & I remember being in the easiest gear I had available & we struggled to maintain 8 miles per hour – it makes me shudder just thinking about it!! It remains my gauge for how strong a headwind really is & to this day I’ve not ridden in more challenging conditions. Funnily enough, Sean had similar memories!!
We arrived at Lockport after 24 miles & found Carson’s Deli & Bakery where we topped up our calories & water levels. I had mapped a route which would follow the small roads if necessary, but we agreed we would try the Erie Canal Trail first, as a few people had said it was better than the road option.
The Erie Canal is no longer used to transport freight, but it remains open for recreational boating, as well as cruises up & down the canal. We joined the Empire State Trail (which runs alongside the canal) in Lockport & stayed on it all the way to tonight’s stop at Brockport!
The trail is mostly crushed limestone with occasional stretches of gravel & tarmac. When we attempted to ride this surface back in 2007 (in the opposite direction), we decided it was too difficult for us. Fast forward to 2022 & we cycled on it for about 40 miles today, with more planned tomorrow!!
While we were on the trail we saw the canal being used by a large barge which was taking people on a cruise, a small boat with just a couple of people on board, a paddleboarder & a gaggle of geese who were practicing their synchronised swimming.
As we reached the outskirts of each town, they had defences in place (should they be needed), to ensure the town was protected from flooding. There were also different bridge designs & colours – the drawbridges in town were just above the river, but could be moved to enable boats to pass & each one had the town’s name on a sign. Pedestrian bridges were the same colour as the drawbridges, but you had to climb the steps to get over them. Roads outside of town were higher again & painted either grey or green, depending on the classification of the road.
We reached the northernmost point of the Erie Canal, which was good news, as the light wind was blowing from the North. We had the trail to ourselves by now & stopped to admire the view & take a couple of photos. The crops also switched from fields of maize & soya being harvested by big combine harvesters to orchards of apples
We stopped at The Coffee Joint in Albion, where the cake of choice today was an apple turnover & the drink was a salted caramel latte – the perfect pick-me-up for the final 20 miles into Brockport!
There were signs along the length of the trail, giving information on the canal & I’ve included one, so you can see the attention to detail that goes into them.
We left the trail on the edge of Brockport & made our way to our motel for the evening & once we’d checked in, it was time to do the laundry (again!). Laundry is a task to be endured, so it always feels like we’ve worked extra hard for our celebratory beer & today was no exception! We cycled down to The Custom House, where we enjoyed a couple of The Kind IPA’s each & had a delicious vegetable pasta.
Stage Stats – 69 miles, 469 feet of climbing (pan flat!). A glorious day exploring the Erie Canal Trail!
Thursday 18th August – Brockport to Wolcott (Stage 84).
We were on the road by 9am & back on the Erie Canal Trail by 9.10! You may be able to make out the Brockport sign below the 3 flags (New York State flag, United States flag & New York State Canal Corporation flag) that are on all the town bridges.
We headed East all morning (which made taking photos a challenge, looking into the sun) & remained on crushed limestone as we made our way towards Spencerport initially. When we cycled from Albany to Niagara Falls in 2007, we cycled on the road in the 3rd photo, but were heading in the opposite direction – the world sometimes feels very small!
Construction of the 363 mile long Erie Canal commenced in 1817 & was completed in 1825. It was 40 feet wide by 4 feet deep & each of its 83 locks were 90 feet in length. The canal cost $7,143,789 at the time & it took 10 years to make a return on that investment. The journey from Albany to Buffalo by stagecoach took 2 weeks, whereas the same journey took 5 days on the Erie Canal. It was also the first navigable water way to connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
Today, the canal is 120 to 200 feet wide by 12 to 23 feet deep & it has 57 locks, each of which are 310 feet long. As we made our way past Adams Basin & Spencerport the variations in width were obvious to the naked eye. The bridges were always located at narrow crossing points.
We saw a couple of boats out this morning & the geese were again perfecting their synchronised swimming – they left their offspring in the shallows while the adults were on manoeuvres!
As we reached North Gates the woodland closed in on the cycle path & we were plunged into shadow. This was where we had to temporarily leave the trail for a couple of miles. This surprised both of us, but I managed to navigate us back to the canal & trail a few miles further on – this enabled us to avoid Rochester (a city with a population of 200,000 plus) & its busy roads .
The trail was now tarmac, which was smoother & as a consequence, faster. At times we headed into parkland, but the canal was never far away & at one point we saw a large barge with its dredging bucket on the front. We headed off in different directions, but bumped into each other again further along the canal (see the 4th photo) – we crossed the canal on the small, white arched bridge behind the boat, where it met the Genesee River.
We continued through quiet parkland & then popped back out onto the bank of the Erie Canal, with the main freeway on the opposite bank. The trail was almost deserted at this point, as we made our way towards Brighton & Lock 33, which is still in use.
There was a heron fishing for a late breakfast / early lunch on the edge of the canal – this was the last of the wildlife we saw on the canal, but we had more surprises waiting for us around the corner & under the bridge. A passenger carrying paddle steamer passed us, travelling in the opposite direction & a few miles after that treat it was time for cappuccino & a coconut scone!
Soon after coffee we joined the road network again & there wasn’t much new scenery to see in the final 40 miles of the ride. We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon riding on quiet roads, it’s just that they were all the same as each other! We had a few minutes of respite when we passed between orchards of apples.
We had our first look at Lake Ontario about 5 miles before the end of the ride & it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Sodus Bay was covered in a combination of water plants & green algae! The final run into Wolcott included a few short, sharp climbs & they were always visible from some way away.
Wolcott is a small community & it had some neat graffiti welcoming us to town. We dropped off our kit, checked into our camping cabin & then headed back into town to get dinner – tonight we had take out pizza that we ate in the shop!!! We then cycled back to Orchard Creek & had a relaxing evening before beginning tomorrow’s next adventure.
Stage Stats – 78 miles, 1,581 feet of climbing. A morning spent discovering the Empire State Trail in all its guises & an afternoon following a long road!
Friday 19th August – Wolcott to Pulaski (Stage 85).
As we left Wolcott, we joined a small & quiet two-lane road that took us through woodland, then through a variety of different crops, from orchards, to maize & soya plants – it was like being back in Wisconsin or Indiana again!
As we reached Fairhaven I got the view of Lake Ontario I had been expecting yesterday! Calm, clear blue water in a picture postcard marina – we were lucky to see it with a clear blue sky, which added to the view.
Lake Ontario is surrounded by one US State (New York) & one Canadian Province (Ontario) & the border between the two countries passes through the middle of the lake. It’s the only Great Lake not to border the US State of Michigan.
At 193 miles long by 53 miles wide, it’s the smallest of the 5 Great Lakes when measured by surface area at 7,340 square miles (but still the 13th largest in the world) – for comparison, Lake Superior is the largest at 31,700 square miles! Lake Ontario is 243 feet above sea level & has a maximum depth of 802 feet, so the bottom of the lake is more than 550 feet below sea level!!
Lake Ontario is the final lake before the Great Lakes Chain empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the St Lawrence River. The river is 310 miles in length & passes through the Canadian cities of Montreal & Quebec City before releasing its water into the Atlantic.
The St Lawrence Seaway enables oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean all the way across the 5 Great Lakes to Duluth, Minnesota, 1,500 miles west of the Atlantic.
The Great Lakes hold 21% of the worlds surface freshwater by volume (1 pint in every 5) & 84% of the surface freshwater in the USA!
We left Fair Haven behind as we continued on our way east. We remained on empty back roads, passing through the town of Hannibal on the way – there was no sign of the man himself, nor of his adversaries Will & Clarice. We remained hopeful he hadn’t captured a census taker & eaten them with fava beans, then washed them down with a nice chianti!!
As we reached the town of Fulton, we entered a National Heritage Corridor for the Erie Canalway. Our route took us over the canal itself, where I spotted some herons looking for an early lunch. Just beyond the drainage basin we passed over the lock that enables boats to navigate past the shallows of the Oswego River.
We had one final & unexpected treat before reaching Kathy’s Cakes & Big Dipper Ice Creams for our coffee stop in Volney. Neatahwanta translates from Iroquois as “The little lake by the big lake” & is a favoured hunting ground for osprey, although they were elsewhere today. The “imperfection” in the bottom left of the first photo is a toxic blue-green algae that can cause liver damage in humans & kill pets, although many fish thrive in the lake.
After coffee we returned to familiar scenery, as we again entered farming country. The quiet roads continued along Route 6, taking us past small ponds & onwards towards New Haven, where we joined a busier tourist route.
As we reached the village of Port Ontario we stopped to take our last look at Lake Ontario & say goodbye to the Great Lakes for the final time on this adventure. We were only a couple of miles from Pulaski, where we’re staying for the next couple of nights – someone had even painted a big Welcome to Pulaski sign to make us feel at home!!!
Somehow today was yet another laundry day, so we checked into our Super 8 motel, then found the nearest laundromat & got the washing out of the way, so we could relax. Once that was done, we went to Stefano’s for dinner & toasted another 3 days of glorious adventure riding!
Stage Stats – 56 miles, 2,831 feet of climbing. A couple of brief glimpses of Lake Ontario as we head into our next rest day.
A rare rest day & we have an off-bike adventure planned! We caught the Niagara Falls Transit Authority Trolley Bus from right outside our Super 8 motel, along with about 10 other people – masks are still compulsory on all public transport here, so we masked up.
There are many metrics for measuring the ‘biggest’ waterfall in the world – height, width, flow of water to name but 3. However, Niagara Falls is generally accepted as being the 2nd biggest waterfall in the world, behind Victoria Falls for flow of water.
Our adventure began with a brief sortie into Niagara Falls State Park – we became two of over 8 million people who visit the Park every year. In less than half a mile the calm Niagara River becomes a raging torrent as it prepares to plummet over one of the three waterfalls. Niagara translates from the Indian language as Thundering Waters – it was time to find out why.
I took a few snippets of video, as this gives a better feel for the speed & force of the water as it accelerates towards the Horseshoe, American & Bridal Veils falls.
We bought our tickets for the Maid of the Mist boat trip & headed to the Observation Deck where we stopped to take in the views of the Rainbow Bridge, gateway to Canada & the USA . The Rainbow Bridge was started in May 1940 & opened in November the following year. The roadway runs 950 feet from Canada to the USA & is 202 feet above the water level. It’s estimated that 6 billion pounds of water flow under the Rainbow Bridge every minute!
The water depth at this point is in excess of 175 feet & the current averages between 26 & 30 miles per hour.
To the West, we got our first views of the American & Horseshoe Falls – I confess I was genuinely excited, in spite of this being my third visit. I experienced the same sense of awe as when I first visited as a 26 year old in 1990.
The video footage starts by looking towards Rainbow Bridge, then pans across to Ontario on the Canadian side of the gorge & falls, then takes in the Canadian Falls themselves & finally the American Falls. Bridal Veil Falls are hidden at this point.
It was time to board Nikola Tesla, our fully electric, zero emissions boat. It takes about 7 minutes to charge the boat up to 80% capacity & this is carried out in the time passengers disembark & embark between sailings. On the way to the boat we put on our souvenir rain poncho – the first indication we were likely to get wet!
First up was the American Falls – it’s a 98 foot drop from the top of the falls to the top of the boulders below & it’s approximately 1,050 feet across. Only 10% of the water that flows over Niagara Falls does so via the American & Bridal Falls – this is exclusively water that has been extracted from the Niagara River for hydro-electric facilities.
The International Control Dam manages the flow of the water over the falls by way of movable gates. Another little known fact is that under an international treaty, the flow of water over Niagara Falls is reduced at night to allow more of the water to flow into intakes used for power generation.
Power generation facilities along the Niagara River supply more than one quarter of all power used in New York State & Ontario.
I only managed to get a few photos of the Bridal Veil Falls – it’s a mere 56 feet across & is separated from the American Falls by Luna Island & from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island. The run-off from Bridal Veil is in the first photo & it’s on the far right in the second & third photos.
90% of the water from the Niagara River flows over the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls. They are 187 feet high & 2,590 feet across. This is where Niagara Falls roars – the sound is deafening & the spray is more intense than any storm I’ve experienced.
During periods of peak flow in summer & autumn, more than 700,000 gallons of water per second flow over Niagara Falls! This is because 4 of the 5 great lakes drain into the Niagara River, as the water makes its way to Lake Ontario – the Fifth Great Lake.
On 29th March 1948, the Niagara River ceased flowing completely & Niagara Falls fell silent. A strong South Westerly wind had pushed the ice that was in Lake Erie across the mouth of the Niagara River. This blocked the channel completely for 30 hours, until the wind changed direction. A two mile boom is now installed each autumn to stop this phenomenon happening again.
The boat took us into the heart of the Horseshow Falls & it left me feeling very insignificant compared to the power of nature.
You may have noticed that Sean & myself are modelling rather fetching blue ponchos – this is specific to the American Maid of the Mist. There’s also a Canadian Maid of the Mist & they provide red ponchos!
I only noticed how many seagulls there were when I was preparing the photos for this post – there appear to have been hundreds, yet I don’t remember seeing any on the day!
We did a final pass of the American Falls & pirouetted through 360 degrees, giving everyone an opportunity to get a few last photos, before delivering us back to our jetty. In all, the boat trip lasted about 25 minutes & it was a truly memorable & exhilarating experience! I feel fortunate to have got a few decent pictures to help me remember my adventure on The Maid of the Mist.
We took a walk up to the Crows Nest, which lets you get quite close to the American Falls & get a photo of the falls in the background.
We left the same way we arrived – the elevator back to the Observation Deck. I stopped for yet more photos & then we made our way out via the rather disappointing gift shop. I collect fridge magnets as souvenirs of placed I’ve been & surprisingly, there was only one type available in the shop & it wasn’t my thing.
We had a little bit of time to kill before our scheduled Trolley Bus back to the motel, so we invested the time wisely & went in search of a souvenir. I’m delighted to report that I eventually found a magnet that I liked!
The bus was empty (other than the driver) on the way home, but we stuck to the rules & wore our face masks! Niagara Falls had lived up to our hopes & surpassed them – we both agreed that it was one of the top 3 experiences of the adventure so far. It was up there with Glacier & Grand Teton National Parks – even better than Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower & Mount Rushmore!
In short, if ever you get a chance to visit Niagara Falls, take up the opportunity & also sail on The Maid of the Mist – it was a snip at $25.50.
Gav's Cycling Adventures 