Were home! And its great to be back! I know I missed our second to last day's blog and so Ill make up for that with this follow-up (that I have been everything short of forced to write). Its not that I don't want to write the last blog, but I have been so overwhelmed by being home that I haven't felt like I've had time to collect my thoughts, or even sit down for a moment. I want to describe this overwhelming experience as something like culture shock. We had become so used to having one pair of clothing and only the possessions we carry on our bikes, so now when I sit in my room and look at all the clothes I have and the belongings that are part of everyday life, I feel stressed that there is so much to take care of and keep track of. This has even prompted me to clean out my room, and I am about to take a few overstuffed boxes to Good Will. Our last day was awesome, and also so unbelievable. It went by so quickly I have very little to say about it. The ride in was so nice, and went by way to quick! As we rode past the familiar places it didn't even register (and I don't think it has yet) what we had just completed. It was great to see everyone at the beach, and I want to thank everyone who came out. Great to see my family and so many familiar faces! We had talked about whether or not we would go swimming and I'm glad we did, it couldn't have felt better to be in the water in our hometown! Now its over and I'm just about ready to be traveling again, haven't made it back on my bike yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon enough. Thanks again to everyone who supported us. Glenda and Clay at Bay Area Bikes, everything you guys set us up with was perfect, and the bikes are, as everyone says, bombproof. Simply Smiles and CT Challenge thanks for all the support and I'm glad we got to work with both of these charities. Health Warrior, I'm still eating chia, the stuff is great! Thanks to the Gubinskis for the welcome home barbeque. Thanks to everyone who donated! And I hope to see everyone tomorrow!
Everything seems tiny. Having donned a set of normal person clothes (what a feeling) I got into my car and aimlessly drove around town. I should probably mention that while pumping gas I attempted to dislodge a pebble from one of my back tires (silly silly behavior). As I drove I knew something was amiss but not until I was looking out from Sasco beach did I realize what it was. The process of covering such an inconceivable distance has skewed my sense of distance and space. I would imagine that it is my minds way of coping with what I forced it to accept as normal for the past two months, a defense mechanism if you will. Yet now it has the affect of making everything seems drastically smaller. Apparently normal life may take a little getting used to, but what an amazing feeling it is to finally be home!
I apologize for the delay in entries, yesterday was a bit overwhelming, as well I was waiting for my partner to write tuesdays entry. And as I am not in his immediate vicinity I can't just nudge him to write it. It is conceivable that I could call him but it is kind of nice enjoying our separate space.
Yesterday morning may very well have been one of the longest moments of the entire trip. At any other point in our journey we would have relished in the joy of all the downtime and hotel amenities, yet I was far too anxious to complete our journey. Finally it was 11 o'clock and we rode the two miles to meet up with my father, Brad, Aili, Ann Marie and my sister, just this was too much to comprehend and generally overwhelming. The rest of the ride is an absolute blur of emotions upon sighting familiar locations and people. It was as though our trip had been exponentially accelerating for the past few days and it had just hit the point in the curve of no return. I do recall that riding over the train station bridge felt really really good, when cycling normally that hill slows me down to 22mph, yet yesterday I crested it doing 32mph. I think that my adrenaline and knowing that Ellie, Jake and Roger were waiting at the library were contributing factors. I immensely enjoyed my sisters as well as neighbors signs on the final stretch. Running into the water stands out as feeling indescribably good. As I said before the day was a blur and doesn't quite feel real.
At one point I found myself thinking "wow we have amazingly nice neighbors". It was extremely fitting that after experiencing such tremendous hospitality and generosity across the country we would finish on the same note. It seems impossible to properly thank all the family and friends that supported us and made this entire trip possible, we really could not have done it without you. Thanks again to Glen and Clay at Bay Area bikes who quite literally made this possible by setting us up with outstanding equipment - that certainly gets my seal of approval, as well as to Health Warrior for providing us with the necessary nutrition in our greatest moments of need, who knows where we would be without Chia! It was great working with Simply Smiles and the Connecticut Challenge, truly an honor to be affiliated with both organizations and the people behind them. This entry seems lacking as numerous thoughts keep coming to me, this will probably mean you may see a few more entries in the coming days. In closing my body also doesn't quite realize that it has made it home as my leg muscles are twitching with unspent energy. It is not out of the question that I could find myself on a bike later today. -Lucas
We started decently early but it was rather slow going as there were some impressive climbs. While stopped at a gas station we were instructed to a shortcut that was supposed to be more scenic as well as less hilly. Perhaps the first was correct but certainly not the later. It seems that the shortcut was essentially to go through the lower catskills rather then around them. This translated to a solid 2 hours of climbing and the sight of a sign claiming steep grade for the next 4 miles was worthy of a celebration. The celebration was in the form of lunch at the bottom. Following lunch we were miserably cold and then instantly soaked in sweat due to one last ridge. We are now camping (perhaps for the last time depending on what tomorrow has to offer) just outside of Montgomery, NY. Can't wait to be home!-Lucas
The circumstances of the morning appeared to be stacked against us, namely an assortment of free cocktails and a 2:30 am bedtime, but it is also worth mentioning the coldest temperatures yet, as well as the wind and rain. We left Cornell and headed to a amazing cafe in Elmira. Coffee and brown bread (a delicious molasses based treat) rejuvenated us to an extent but braving the cold was still tough. Once we got going things improved as we rode out of the rain, dry cold is infinitely superior to wet cold. Better yet we actually had our first significant tailwind in recent memory. A few climbs were welcome as they warmed our core temperatures and before we knew it the riding was very enjoyable. Yet as the day wore on I noticed my feet starting to numb and eventually they just felt like bricks. Now would probably be the time to complain about the cold but in light of the fact that we rode through 110F temperatures earlier in the trip I find myself refraining.
We knocked out 40 miles and were nearing the town of Owego, NY and figured it would be a perfect place to stop for lunch. On our way into town we passed a FEMA shelter and in the back of my mind I thought of the recent flooding in the area. I also began to notice a few houses being gutted on the outskirts of town. Then we dropped down a hill and there was debris everywhere, all of a sudden it struck me that the town had been absolutely destroyed by the flooding. I was reminded of the aftermath of a blizzard with massive snow piles but rather the piles were the remnants of the house's interior. It seems that the houses had been completely gutted and the inhabitants belongings were piled in from of the house and then plowed away into fields. I have never in my life seen destruction on this scale and was absolutely shocked by the extent of it. I would have taken more pictures but the nature of the devastation seemed so personal that it didn't quite seem appropriate.
We are lucky enough to be staying with some of Joe's relatives in Vestal NY. As we were nearing their house Kevin (the dad) passed us and warned us of an upcoming hill. As it turned out the hill may very well have been our largest climb since Missouri. We ended up having a truly enjoyable evening with them as they took us out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Our hosts could not be more hospitable and it was a pleasure meeting them. -Lucas
We knocked out 40 miles and were nearing the town of Owego, NY and figured it would be a perfect place to stop for lunch. On our way into town we passed a FEMA shelter and in the back of my mind I thought of the recent flooding in the area. I also began to notice a few houses being gutted on the outskirts of town. Then we dropped down a hill and there was debris everywhere, all of a sudden it struck me that the town had been absolutely destroyed by the flooding. I was reminded of the aftermath of a blizzard with massive snow piles but rather the piles were the remnants of the house's interior. It seems that the houses had been completely gutted and the inhabitants belongings were piled in from of the house and then plowed away into fields. I have never in my life seen destruction on this scale and was absolutely shocked by the extent of it. I would have taken more pictures but the nature of the devastation seemed so personal that it didn't quite seem appropriate.
We are lucky enough to be staying with some of Joe's relatives in Vestal NY. As we were nearing their house Kevin (the dad) passed us and warned us of an upcoming hill. As it turned out the hill may very well have been our largest climb since Missouri. We ended up having a truly enjoyable evening with them as they took us out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Our hosts could not be more hospitable and it was a pleasure meeting them. -Lucas
In other news we thought for a second we might lose Paul to a rest day but then he realized it was way too efficient to just stick with us so luckily he is still here. He may also make an appearance in Fairfield which would be exciting for all you readers.
We left Salamanca and ran into a dense bank of fog that blocked out the sun, for the next few miles it alternated between this and brilliant sun, these transitions were so abrupt they pained your eyes. We stopped for a midmorning snack at the cider mill (Joe insisted) for donuts and hot cider. Lunch also happened later but was generally uninteresting.
Following lunch it had clouded over and was quite cold, luckily we headed into the hills and warmed up, unluckily we were headed in the wrong direction. By the time we realized this we were too far off course to bother with backtracking so we forged our way through some unnecessary hills, by this point the sun was out and we were enjoying ourselves. We were rewarded with a surprise 5 mile downhill to town and reconvened with New York bicycle route 17. We also are camping on a spectacular lake and currently enjoying a campfire. We covered 82 miles and are just north of Almond , NY.-Lucas
- Joe
Water to the horizon was a very nice sight after 52 days of being land locked. We rode along the lake for the next thirty miles or so with grape fields to our right. The grapes turned out to be Concords (a family favorite from the Haney grandparents) these are the kind where you discard the skin and swallow the insides. Naturally we took a respite and ate a few pounds of these. Soon we crossed into Pennsylvania and had lunch on the lake in the city of Erie. Overall Erie was not astoundingly exciting so onward it was. We quickly found ourselves climbing out of the great lakes basin and back into the hills. It was nice to use some different muscles and the landscape was picturesque. Before we knew it we crossed into New York state, which I personally am thrilled about. It makes me feel quite close to home and riding through upstate New York with some Autumn foliage doesn't sound bad either. Rather then riding the two miles off route to our camp site Joe worked his Joe magic on the girl at a local restaurant so of course we are camping behind her parents house on our own private pond/ bonfire area. - Lucas
By this point the rain had ended and the sun was just beginning to show itself. We had a very leisurely but surprisingly quick paced ride through some amazing farmland. After sitting around for the past day it felt great to be back on a bike with cool fresh air rushing by your face. The last stage of this trip should be very enjoyable as we will pass through upstate New York below the finger-lakes and will hopefully be treated to some prime foliage. On that topic it is the first official day of fall and I am quite excited about the prospect of crisp mornings! - Lucas
After the misery of yesterday's congestion meeting up with a bike path feels like vacation. In fact this bike path runs all the way from Cincinnati to Columbus and we will savor every minute of it. Even more exciting is that this bike path brought us to our third and final rest day. It seems crazy that we have not taken a break since Colorado but it was well worth the wait as we will appreciate it more then ever. We are In the company of Paul and Missy and they could not be better hosts. This also means that we are next to the town of Piqua Oh, where my aunt Kim (who introduced me to cycling) grew up! All very exciting! More tomorrow as we are exhausted and trying to appreciate every moment of rest we can. -Lucas
Kentucky is also very nice and so far generally charming. We rode through bean and corn fields for 55miles before lunch in Owensboro.
Upon reaching Owensboro Joe was intrigued by what he perceived to be a festival down some road. I told him no I think that's just a church tag sale, I was right but we met a guy who pointed us in the direction of a bistro. At the bistro we began talking with a lady who called her friend who is in charge of the local cycling club. Twenty minutes later we were eating lunch with him and are now sitting on his porch overlooking a lake and spending the night here. Isn't it amazing how things work out. When we thanked the lady she replied, "well how else are you going to make it across country without nice people to help you". I couldn't sum it up any better myself. -Lucas
We had a quick lunch just on the other side and then followed a very rural road that was actually situated on top of the levee. We rode through quaint farmland that bordered the river for the next 30 miles. Once we realized the bike shop in Carbondale closed at 5 we raced the rest of the way, even though we walked in at 5:05 the owner was nice enough to go over our bikes. Apparently my light weight and riding style has allowed my bike to be in better shape then Joe's! It is quite comforting to finally have our bikes looked over. Having not slept that well and riding 100 miles we are both quite exhausted. -Lucas
Early morning rolling hills gave way to some more serious climbs as the day wore on. One hill in particular will forever be etched in my mind. Right at the moment I glimpsed it I heard the dogs barking. Joe was in the lead and four took off after him. I took a moment to compose myself and then charged towards them, this brave move was before another 12 burst out of the woods. I honestly have no idea what 16 of the most viscous dogs you can imagine are doing in the middle of nowhere, I am pretty sure they must just form packs and pass their days hunting cyclists. Needless to say I was terrified, luckily at some point during the 300ft climb they stopped snapping at my calves. When I reached the top I was trembling with adrenaline and more out of breath then at any other point in the trip. Looking back I surveyed a road strewn with dogs and had the satisfaction that we were better hill climbers then them. One other monster of a hill is worth mentioning, it rose just over 400 feet in .71 miles, very steep.
We ended the day by bathing in a perfectly cold river right outside of town and have just set up our tents on the court lawn. We rode 91 miles today for a total of just over 2,700 miles thus far and are currently in the town of Centerville, Mo.-Lucas
While on the topic of roller coasters my emotions experienced a similar swing of highs and lows. Unfortunately my kindle screen somehow cracked yesterday so when I spotted a Walmart I was ecstatic, by far the happiest I have ever been in such a circumstance. My plan was to purchase a book yet this was shattered when I realized they only carried "Walmart bestsellers", not exactly fine literature. I was choosing between the dictionary and a children's edition of Huckleberry Finn when I realized that they in fact sold kindles, all of a sudden everything was back on track.
We fell short of a 100 mile average and our 5 day average is now 99.5 miles (shucks). Every day we plan on taking it easier but we find we are no longer as fatigued at the end of the day and have an overwhelming urge to push on. - Lucas
Another welcome surprise for Joe S. T. Ruscito was a free bag of cinnamon buns, probably due to the fact that he told our waitress that he could eat cinnamon buns for every meal of the day. Less welcome was the fact that our rest day of 70 miles turned into a nice 105 when we were warned that if we stayed at a certain campsite we might end up in the news. Actually it wasn't that bad as Kansas is changing and I am throughly enjoying the rolling hills. It is quite exhilarating cresting hill after hill.
Another nice surprise was running into a group heading west, whenever we trade stories with other riders it stokes my enthusiasm for the rest of the trip. This group even promised impossible to finish $5 pancakes in the future and mountains in Missouri, all very exciting. Final surprise, 4 draft beers $2.50, not bad. -Lucas
