Day 44 - Niagara Falls to Henrietta NY

Had a great day off in Niagara Falls.  Got a full body massage at the Casino Spa.  Followed by a sauna, steam and hot tub.  Body really needed the time off the bike.  And of course our favorite pastime...

We had to sneak into the Day's Inn to do laundry as our hotel did not have any facilities.  Day off and the hotel has no laundry - just another dumb decision by someone at ABB.

Had two great meals.  One at the Culinary Institute and one at a little wine bar called Wine on Third.  Perfect day off.  They gave us dinner cards to Denny's (again) and everybody headed to real restaurants and used the Denny credit for breakfast the next morning.

I did go back to the Falls for some more sight-seeing.  I got up close and personal and took some more shots of the Falls.  I could literally reach out and touch them.

What scared me the most though was the lack of tall railings to protect anybody from falling off the bridges and walkways and going down over the falls.

I mean you lean the wrong way and bam! you are over the Falls.  When I walked over this bridge some young teenagers were joking around on the bridge - and it scared the bejeezus out of me.

The Ride...

Today we had an 88 mile ride between Niagara Falls and Henrietta, NY.  Weather was great and the wind was with us again.  I averaged 15 mph and was able to keep up with one of the fast rider groups.

No pictures - nothing of interest.  And after the Falls everything else was anti-climatic.

Everybody is getting a little sad.  Most are now trying to cut down on the daily calorie intact to get re-acclimated to "civilian life".  I have been careful on what I have been eating - so this won't be too big an issue for me - I hope.

Tomorrow we head to Liverpool, NY and there are only 6 days of riding left.

Day 42 - I think Back in the USA

I have totally lost track of days.  Can't tell you if it is Sunday or Monday.  Can't tell you if it is July or August.  Totally clueless - as the only important time items are when do we wake up and when do we load our luggage so we can start the next ride.

After a quick 65 mile bike ride (where I got lost again so for me it was a 70+ mile ride), we arrived in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side and saw the splendor of the falls.

Now there is a stark contrast between the Canadian side and the US side of the falls.  It is like visiting Vegas (on the Canadian side) and Reno (on the US side).  Both have views (and gambling) but one side is glitzy (Canada) and the other side (NY) is raw and poorer.    In either case both sides are quite the tourist trap - where you can buy anything you can think of with the Falls imprinted on it. (Luckily I still have a 35 lb luggage limit or I would have bought some stuff for the family).

We have a day off today so we have time to do the tourist things..   One suggestion is to take a boat to get a closeup of the falls.

Included in the price is a blue rain poncho.  The boats get quite close to the falls - so you are bound to get wet.

Not sure this is my thing - but will give some thought about it later - after a couple of naps.  I did manage to get my pic taken at the Falls.

Once we took in the views on the Canadian side it was time for the team to cross back into the USA.   As we had to go through customs it required us to get on the bridge along with the cars and wait our turn.

When we reached the Custom checkpoint they started out looking at each of us one at a time.  When the car line backed up as they checked 40 passports one at a time - the Custom official gave in and checked us in as one large group.  We survived, and all riders were allowed back into the States where we were greeted by our next State.

When we arrived at our hotel one of the riders, Rick who lives in the Finger Lakes region and his wife (who came down for the day) greeted us with sparkling wine from their home town.

It was quite the reception.  I can tell you though, after a 65 mile ride (70 for me), this stuff goes right to the head.   But of course I had to have a couple of glasses - strictly to eliminate any chance of dehydration.

They say the view of the US side is not as good - but I disagree.  On the Canadian side everything is concrete.  On the US side, you walk through parks and greenier to get to the Falls edge.

In either case the Falls are spectacular.  Never thought I would have enjoyed coming to the Falls - but glad I got the chance to see them.  My last picture was splendid.

Most riders stayed up to see the Falls at night all lite up - plus a fireworks display.  But Alan and I were exhausted and headed off to bed at 9pm - after having a great dinner at the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute (plus more wine).

We had a choice for dinner - a $15 gift card to Denny's or the Culinary Institute.  Duh....

So this morning we will get our Grand Slam and then take in the sights and sounds of Niagara Falls - after we do our wash.  Then some more sleep and start our last 7 days of riding to reach the Coast.

Getting closer to my goal every day....

Day 41 Heading to Brantford ONT

It was pouring when we started out today.  So the nice staff said they would put our bikes in the vans and bring us to the next hotel.  NOT!!!

When it rains - you ride!  Full rain gear required.  Jackets, pants and helmet cover required.  WET was the word for the day.

Quick ride of 65 miles on nice quiet roads.

Best part of the day was Cathryn's cookies at the SAG stop.  Thanks hon.

Could not take any pictures due to the weather.

Just got some pictures of us crossing the bridge...

Should get more exciting tomorrow for pictures and stories as we head to Niagara Falls..

Back to the USA

Day 40 Heading into Canada

Today was the day for entering Canada.  Clearly with about 45 people, , 5-7 people with non-US passports, 3 vans with luggage and bike equipment - the crossing of the border was going to take some careful planning.

But ABB has been doing this for so long - they have thought of every detail.  First, as I mentioned yesterday, they prescreened all of our passports.  Second, they have over the years worked out a deal with the Bridge Authority to shut down the bridge to traffic so that we riders can cross safely.

This is not something easy to do.  This is like shutting down one of the NY bridges.  In order to make sure we are all together they have us line up at the bottom of the bridge.

They put the slow riders up front (me included).  Then they have a truck that escorts us over the bridge. Here is the side view of the bridge again.

It actually is a big hill climb to get up and across the bridge.  When we were on the bridge, the ABB crew shot pictures of us crossing as a group.   As I was in the front, I am hoping they got a couple of pictures of me riding on the bridge.  If so, I will post tomorrow.

Once we were over the bridge, we had to go through Canadian Customs.  They reviewed our passports one at a time.  Again the bridge is still closed - so I suspect the people in the cars were steaming.

I am happy to report we all made it into Canada.  We put Bill ("wounded warrior project") up front with his American Flag and Canadian Shirt - to warm them up.

So we have now officially left the USA.  And contrary to my friend Rich Luciano who said I have now been disqualified on my ride because we left the USA, I reminded him this is America by Bike - not the USA by Bike - and the last time I looked Canada was on the North American continent!   Phew!

But just in case there was one last chance to turn around...

In any case once we left the border, we had an 83 mile jaunt to London, Ontario.  Again the miles this week are racking up (113, 90, 90, 78 and now 83).  Hopefully we get a short one soon as my body is really sore (more on this later).

About 3 miles into the ride the group heard a loud train whistle.  The fast riders quickly beat the gate going down.  Us slow riders got up to the train gate and saw this freight train coming from about 1/2 mile away.  A couple of us wanted to go under the gate as it was clear that this train was poking along.
But a couple of riders objected and for the good of the group I stayed back.   BAD MISTAKE!!!!

The train ended up being about 600 cars and it took at least 20 minutes to pass by.  To make matters worst another freight train came through from the other direction (equally as long) and the total wait time was about 25 minutes.  Never saw trains this long...

Here we are waiting for the train to pass.  Not much you can do but relax (which is still damn near impossible for me)....

The train finally passed and we headed out on our ride.  One of the Canadian riders swore up and down that the winds would be at our back.  WRONG AGAIN.   The headwinds were moderate and were strong enough just to make the ride hard.  

About half way through the ride, Jim (the mechanic) can riding by (each staff member gets to ride every other day).  I told him I was looking forward to the next rest day in Niagara Falls as I was going to get  full-body, sports massage.  

He said you don't have to wait this long - as there was a massage place right next to the hotel we were staying at in London.  This was great news as I could really use some work on my back and neck.  

Unfortunately he was pulling my leg as this is what I encountered when I reached the hotel...

I gave some serious thought to going there regardlessly.  How bad could it be?  Even an XXX rated message has got to do something with the back and neck - don't you think?

But the better part of me said no - so I will have to wait until we get to New York State.

Terry one of the Canadian riders called ahead and had a case of Labatt's beer waiting for us.  I will have to reciprocate in NH.  

Nothing better after a 83 mile ride than a beer.  Or a massage.   

We head to brantford, ONT tomorrow and finally a short ride of 75 miles (never in a thousand years before this trip would I have ever considered 75 miles to be short).   Forecast is 60% chance for thunderstorms.   Ugggg.

Check

Say 39 Lake Huron and Port Huron MI

Not much to blog on today.  Perfect bike day though it started out at 50 degrees.  Much better than the heat wave we experienced in the Dakotas.

Ride was 90 miles long and after 3 long days (113, 90, 90) I am pretty sore in spots.  But of all the States, Michigan has been the flattest.  No mountains, some hills but compared to the previous climbs, Michigan has been flat.

We arrived in Port Huron on the edge of Lake Huron early this afternoon.  We got a glance of the bridge we will be crossing into Canada.

Rumor is that we get a special escort over it - will fill you in tomorrow.  Several of the riders are not going to be able to cross.  It appears that if you have a DUI on your record, Canada won't let you in (this is what someone is telling me).  For all I know the person could be a felon.

Another person (young college age woman) came on the trip with an expired passport.  She had to take a taxi down to Detroit today to see if she can get it renewed on the spot.  That was a 70 mile taxi ride (time 2).  We have all known we needed our passport - next time they will have to tell people it has to be a valid passport.

Here is a snapshot of where we stand...

Getting close to the end.  My odometer reads 1995 miles.  So we have about 700 miles left to go.  Three days in Canada then into NY, Vermont and finally NH.

Tomorrow blog's posting will be an international one.

Day 38 Crossing Michigan, One Town at a Time

Today was supposed to be a short 74 mile ride between Mt. Pleasant, Mi and Birch Run, MI.  The wind god that was with us yesterday decided to reverse direction and we fought a headwind or strong side wind the entire ride.

Yesterday I felt like a Tour De France speedster and today I was brought back to reality with an average speed of 13.5 mph.

We continue to go past mile upon mile of corn.  Because the wind is so strong in the area there are lots of windmills popping up in the middle of the corn.  Hundreds of these large machines.

Most are running.  Some have been stopped because they are making people sick- from the noise, wind turbulence and a flicker that is caused when the sun is shining and the blades go around.  Plus I am told the birds like to fly into them for some reason.   I am sure that they will figure out solutions for all these issues - and should bring the farmers a good second income.

On the ride today there was a really mice farmer who likes to have us set up our sag stop on her property (does this every year it seems).

 Normally we are in vacant lots, parks, or stores that sell lots of cold drinks to us when we check in.  Not only she let us use her property every year - but also lets us go into her house and use the facilities.  She enjoys chatting with all the riders.

Very nice lady.  Indicative of the kinds of people we have been meeting on our ride.  Everybody is nice to us and congratulate us for doing the ride (but you know they must think we are crazy - perhaps like my blog readers as well).

At about mile 50 we encountered a bridge out - and the detour added another 10 miles.  Everybody was beat from the 113 miler yesterday so the added miles were not welcomed.  But what can you do but smile and gut it out.

We just checked into a Quality Inn near a large outlet mall.  But with our "not to exceed" 35 lb luggage limit - I think most of us will pass on the shopping.  Hopefully there is a bar nearby- I could use a beer.

One more day in Michigan and then on to Canada!

Day 37 Crossing Michigan - the Lake and the State

Yesterday was our "rest day" which required us to ride our bikes 3 miles to load onto the Badger - the ferry that crosses Lake Michigan.

The Badger is a big ship that carries cars, trucks and passengers from the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan to the Michigan side.  The ferry use to carry railroad cars across the lake but this business died out and the ferry was retired about 30 years ago.  One of the original workers on the ferry raised enough money to convert the ferry to carry cars and trucks and the ferry was recommissioned.

It's a great boat but it is not without controversy.  The ferry is a true streamer and uses coal to fuel its engines.

Suffice to say the EPA is not happy with the ferry or the ferry owners.  Someone said it will take $6M to convert to natural gas.  Given all the money the government waste it would seem they should have funded the conversion.  Lot bigger return than Solyndra - but that is just my opinion (my blog - my opinion).

While waiting for the boat in Lodington found some more of my favorite things....

We all gathered at the dock and waited to board.

The trip takes four hours and we settled down for a nice cruise.

On board there was a movie theater (chick flick with Barbara Streisand, bingo, trivia and of course food and a bar). Trip went quickly and we soon reached the Michigan shore.

So we now have reached another State.  Of course got my picture at the Welcome sign.

Headed to the hotel and retired for the night.

Today we had a 113 mile ride to Mt Pleasant, MI.  It was a really cool day and the winds were finally at our back.  Blasted through the ride in record time 7 hours and 37 minutes; 14.9 mph and 3100 calories.  Need more days like this.

While I didn't take any pictures the landscape has changed drastically.  Lots of trees, and now apple orchards and fields full of vegetable plants like asparagus.    The trees are really noticeable.

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Much nicer riding than just looking at cornfields.  Been a great day - heading to do laundry as I am first in line for the washer!!!!

Why the Blog Entries are Getting Shorter

As you have probably noticed the blog entries are getting shorter and shorter.  These are real long days and when you get into the hotel you don't have that much time before dinner and getting ready for the next day.

I thought I would share with you a typical day.

We generally get up 45 minutes before you load your luggage on the Sag Van.  This means we are generally getting up between 4:45 and 5:15.  The actual time depends on the length of the ride for the day.  If it is 90-120 miles we are trying to get on the road by 6am.   This will prove harder as we enter EST - so this will make the end of the day harder.

Once we load our luggage we try to get a quick breakfast in.  This is pretty easy to do at the hotels we stay at - as the selection is pretty limited.  There are eggs and cereal and waffles you make yourself.  Sometimes there is yogurt and very infrequently fruit.  I focus on eggs and yogurt.  Try to limit my coffee to none or at most one cup (don't want to make the other riders wait trying to find a toilet once we start the ride).

The rides average 79 miles but it seems most are in the 90-100 mile range.  My odometer only records time when my front wheel is moving.  So if it takes me 7 hours to ride - it means I am probably on my bike for 8-9 hours (when you factor in sag stops, getting lost, stopping for water etc).  I try not to eat too much at the Sag stops and generally do not stop for lunch - for fear that once I stop; I won't get going again.

The days with the heat and the headwinds are killers.  My roommate and I do the best to form a two person paceline and rotate every two miles to the front to block the wind (with the backrider getting a rest). But most times the wind is hitting you sideways so you can't take full advantage of the paceline.  Not to mention pacelines are boring - as you have to focus 100% on the rear wheel of the person in front - so you do not ride up and hit the other rider.  

The reason one starts on the West Coast is that the theory is that the prevailing winds will be at your back.  Has not been the case this year - only a couple of days has the wind been at our backs.  Mostly in our face.

The first couple of weeks there were lots of photo opps.  But once we hit the "cornfield states", there has not been a lot of interesting things to shoot.

In any case, this means we are arriving at the hotel around 3pm.  Seems like lots of time.  But when you have to get your laundry done and clean your bike for the next day - the time flies by.  Add and hour for laundry every 4th day and an hour every other day for cleaning your bike.  Add 20 minutes to lay out your clothes for the following day.

Cleaning your bike is mandatory.  You pick up a lot of dirt and sand onto your chain, cassette and derailleurs.    If you don't remove this stuff - it acts like sandpaper and destroys your bike components. As I mentioned in a previous posting I have already replaced a chain - just wore out.  

Most of the hotels are Best Westerns, Quality Inns or Holiday Inns.  Most have been good; but a lot of have either no washer/driers, only one of each or the machines are broken.  When you have 40 riders with really dirty, smelling clothes - this is a problem.  When there is a laundry that is working - there is a mad dash to get there first.  After that we post a sign up sheet.  With the washer only taken 30 minutes and the drier taking an hour.  The backup for the one drier is pretty long.  

The other day one of the riders went to a laundry mat and put his clothes in the washer.  Went out to get something and came back - only to find his bike clothes were stolen.  Took 3 of his shirts and 2 of his riding shorts.  He has been scrambling since to buy new stuff as he was left with only one shirt and shorts.  

At around 5pm we have a Rap meeting where the next day's ride is discussed.  Directions are handed out and some of the trickier directions are explained.  Today for example we had a left followed by a quick right (which of course I missed.  this took me a mile to figure the mistake out and head back to the route).

Dinner starts at either 5 or 6 pm.  ABB (America by Bike) is now being called ABB (America by Buffet).  Never knew there were so many "all you can eat" buffets.  The good ones have plenty of salad and healthy alternatives.  The crappy ones (and there are a lot of these) are just horrible.   ABB has had it share of crappy ones.  Sometimes the dinners are exceptional - but sadly not enough good ones to make up for the bad ones.  

In any case, you finish dinner at about 7 or 8 pm.  

After dinner, you head off the bed as you are exhausted and know that 4:45 am will come quickly.  I have not watched TV (we did watch a chick flick on a day off - put me and my roommate to sleep before the movie ended).  On occasion I will grab a beer - but not if the next day is a century ride (100 miles). I need every bit of energy to get through these days.

There have not been any scales to weigh ourselves - but it looks like everybody has dropped 10-20 lbs.  Not sure where I fall on the weight loss factor, but suffice to say, I only have one more hole left on my belt buckle.  Having burned 86,000 calories - I have to have lost something.

But this is what we signed up for - hard daily rides required to get across the US in 50 days.  

Day 35 So This is Where My Cheese Comes From

This was supposed to be a short simple ride to Manitowoc (57 miles) where tomorrow we load a ferry for a ride across Lake Michigan.  It was a short ride but the wind did pick up into the 25 mph range - so it with the headwinds it was more like a 75 mile ride.

The day started off in Fond du Lac where we had our first great breakfast.  We stayed in a hotel built in 1923 and it was totally restored.  Fresh fruit and made to order Omelets.  Yum yum.  Much better than the Best Western continental breakfasts and put Denny's grand slam to shame.

Our ride started with a tour of the lighthouse on the Lake at Fond du Lake (yes thee is actually a lake there).

The lake looks quite big - my guess it is about the size of Lake Tahoe.  Big boats and marinas all around.  I took a picture of the lake and I could not see the other side.

Fond du Lac was the prettiest town we have been in since Jackson (Jackson Hole) Wy.  I think there are about 40,000 people that live there.  Some nice restaurants downtown and lots of bars - so there must be a younger population.

On the ride today we passed the following plant...

Now Cathryn and I buy this cheese all the time.  I now know where it is made.  Unfortunately the plant in the background does not reconcile with the Sargento commercials where you get the impression they make their cheese "one wheel at a time".  Oh well it does taste pretty good.

Not much else on the ride (still lots of corn fields) and at about mile 50 we got a glimpse of Lake Michigan.

I was riding with a young woman from Taiwan and she commented "it looks like the Pacific Ocean".

Tomorrow we get to take a ferry across the Lake.  This will cut out 400-500 miles.  I think the crossing takes 4 hours - so this will count as our day off.  Then it is back to the grind.

For some reason I keep getting stung by bees.  Got stung both today and yesterday.  That makes 5 bee stings on this trip.  I am pretty sure I am the only person that has been stung so far.  Not a big deal -just makes the ride a little less comfortable.

On my odometer today I passed 2600 miles.  That means we are down to about 1000 miles to do.  Miles are just flying by (at 12.5 mph that is).

On the graph you can start to see the end is near.  Here are my stats.

Miles             2,682.55 mi
Time                   212:01:00 h:m:s
Calories             87,300 C
Av Heart Rate   96
Ave Speed        12.7 mph

Not sure I will be able to blog tomorrow as we get in late on the Ferry and also jump to Eastern time.

Day 34 Heading to Fond du Lac

After a tough day and a tougher night - today was a dream ride.  Started out with a Grand Slam at Denny's and a quick 84 mile ride to Fond Du Lac, WI.  The hot spell that has chased us over the last two weeks (from South Dakota to Minnesota to Wisconsin finally broke.  Today we started out at 65 and ended at about 80 degrees.  

Again lots of corn fields but we are beginning to see more towns.  Small towns in between corn fields.  Corn fields, town, corn field, town.  Our sag stop was in a nice little town with a waterfall.  

These must be great little towns to live in.  Everybody must know everybody (plus each other's business).

In the next little town the American Legion was running a Brat Fry.  Getting a brat seems to be a tradition of the bike tour - so even though it was only 10 am we all stopped for a brat.

It really was good - and the proceeds are used by the American Legion for scholarships, etc.

After this town it was back into the corn fields until we reach Fond du Lac.  Generally a great riding day with not a lot of controversy.

Tomorrow is a short riding day of 54 miles - as we load a ferry to cross Lake Michigan.  

Cheers,