Two Wheeling West

Photos from Graduation at Union College

Posted by Andrew on June 30th, 2009 - 3 Comments...  

I took about 2 days off to attend graduation at Union College on June 13, 14.  I rode from Ticonderoga, NY to Brant Lake, NY, then straight down route 9 to Schenectady.  Great ride down route 9 then route 50 - there are designated bike lanes for almost all of it, and wide shoulders for the rest.

Congrats to Kara!  We’ve all made a lot of trips up to Union during the last 10 years - for me, then Gillian, and finally Kara.  3 graduation ceremonies, all great days, all great experiences.

View more photos from graduation on flickr…

Bike at Union
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Smile!
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Almost 1500 Miles: Things I’ve Learned

Posted by Andrew on June 27th, 2009 - 3 Comments...  

1. Bugs in the midwest appear to be tougher than east-coast bugs.  On a fairly regular basis, they manage to land on me and wander around while I’m riding.  Doing my part to get rid of a few - I must have inhaled about a dozen yesterday.
2. Don’t clip one foot into the pedals and push yourself on a wet street.  Your foot will slip on a manhole cover, and you will be sorry.
3. I am in John Deere country.  The signs, t-shirts, shorts, hats, flags, and bumperstickers tell me so every day.  I rode by a house with a Craftsman lawnmower (ride-on, of course), and a Case tractor outside - I would be willing to bet that he has no friends.
4. Don’t steer off the road when waving to tractors, old people, little kids, or critters on the side of the road.  I waved to a family of beavers back in OH; I had been waving to tractors all day long, and it seemed like a logical thing to do.  One of them hissed at me - I hope someone makes a hat out of him.
5. We grow an absolutely absurd amount of corn in this country.  The tallest I’ve seen is only only about 5 feet, so I can see that the fields go on forever.  First it was wheat, corn, and soybeans, then just corn and soybeans, now it’s almost all corn

Cruising on through Illinois today, and I’ll enter Iowa tomorrow.  As soon as I enter Iowa, I’ll turn north and head up to Minnesota.  I have some route changes in the works, which I’ll write more about tomorrow.  Does anyone have anything good to say about North Dakota?

Breakfast!

Posted by Andrew on June 27th, 2009 - 2 Comments...  

I’m really enjoying breakfast lately…  I stopped at “The Donut Shop” in Huron, OH for my 2nd breakfast and chatted with 6 older guys for a while.  Small shop, no tables, just one long looping counter with stools, half of which were occupied.  The questions started about 2 seconds after I sat down and came simultaneously from all directions.  I managed to hold conversations about saddles, bike frames, camping, and someone’s son-in-law from Cornell that rides a fancy Italian bike - and eat my large muffin at the same time.  While all of this was going on, I was promptly announced to anyone that walked in the door, “Hey Joe, this guy’s riding out to Oregon!” which, of course, kept the conversation moving along pretty well.  I left when the conversation switched to fenceposts - someone’s wife is very particular about the height of the fenceposts, apparently to within the half-inch.

Topped by breakfast a few days later in Monroeville, IN at the Pour House…  I met up with 2 other cross-country bikers, Jerry and Kris, also headed west, and we “camped” out at the pavillion in town.  Monroeville has a fantastic air-conditioned community builing with a shower, washer, dryer, and ample fridge space.  Great place to clean up, wash some clothes, and relax for an evening - thank you Monroeville!  On our way back from dinner, we asked everyone we passed for a breakfast recommendation.  The votes were split between the 3 restaurants in town (Kickin’ Chicken, Pour House, and White Dove), so we went back to the Pour House - dinner was good, so it was worth a try for breakfast. 

I arrived a few minutes late, just as Dan, the cook, brought out a plate of poached eggs for Jerry.  “I hope these are OK, I’ve never made poached eggs before, so I ran down the street to my Grandma’s house to ask her what to do.  She sent me back with her egg-poaching pan.”  Now that’s service!  Grandma stopped by a few minutes later to check on the eggs - I’ve got a picture of myself, Jerry, Kris, Dan, and Grandma, will post it next week sometime.  The pancakes were enormous (Dan made me an extra one because I looked hungry), and my side order of sausage turned out to be two quater-pound patties.  No real maple syrup around - the fake stuff has corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and I think it had plain old sugar too.

Heat, headwinds, bike’s holding up well!

Posted by Andrew on June 25th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Wow, it’s hot outside - I can feel the heat radiating off of the road.  The breeze helps, but it would help more if it wasn’t blowing straight at me.  I really can’t complain though, it’s the first steady headwind I’ve had so far, and it’s not horrible.  Takes my 16-17 mph cruising speed down to 11-12, and I’m certainly eating and drinking more.  It’s still flat, and I often ride 10+ miles in a straight line, so it’s easy to settle into a constant rhythm.

Notes about the bike: So far, so good.  Still on my first set of tires, only 1 flat, and no odd creaks, rattles, or parts falling off.  I cleaned my chain really well in Schenectady, NY, and I just wipe it off with a paper towel once a day, and oil it every few days to keep it nice and quiet.  I swapped saddles just before I left - I’m riding a Selle SMP Glider, and I love it, although it is very hard.  Still getting used to it, but I’m glad I chose it overall.  I’d rather deal with  sore tailbones than any other problems.

I’ve got plenty to write, but libraries are few and far between right now!  Will write more soon!

1,000 Miles, Rain, Suburbs, Glass

Posted by Andrew on June 22nd, 2009 - 2 Comments...  

1000 miles!  Finally out of the  suburbs of Cleveland, the weather is good, and the roads are excellent.

I was not having fun at all for a few days - it seemed like nothing went well.  After I left the Erie Canalway (very nice ride) the weather got nasty and just wouldn’t let up.  I missed seeing the Canadian side of Niagara falls because of the rain and fog and the Cycling Museum in Orchard Park was closed when I got there (slow going in the rain).  Oh yeah, first flat in the rain too, that was fun.  It let up for 15 mins while I took things apart, then promptly started to pour again.  Outside of Buffalo I got into wine country for a bit, which was nice, but then the suburbs started.  I had a feeling I wouldn’t like riding through the suburbs  and Cleveland itself.  I was right.  I stopped on the corner of 3rd and West Superior in Cleveland and thought, “why the hell am I riding my bike through Cleveland!@#%?  Of all of the places I could ride in this country, why am I here?”

I remember standing in front of the train station in Buffalo for a bit thinking about packing up and going somewhere else because of the weather.  Not home, just somewhere else.  In retrospect, I should have taken the train right through Cleveland to the other side and started again.  I’ve got more to stay about the start of the trip, but I’ll save that for later.  In short, things got off to a slow start because I am so familiar with the northeast.  I’m glad it’s out of the way.

So, goodbye Cleveland.  Excellent parks along the lake (most with ice cream), well done on that front.  Really awful roads around the city, but thumbs up to Avon Lake and Sheffield Lake for the outstanding bike path.

Side note: what’s the deal with the broken bottles on the side of the road?  To the asshole that launches bottles out of the car, uhh, you’re an asshole.  Topped only by whoever is dropping dirty diapers on the side of the road.  Come on.

Headed to Bowling Green, OH, about 70 miles for the day.  I’m excited to ride this part of the country - I don’t know where I am, I’m looking forward to rolling through little towns along the way, and the sun’s out!

NYS Bike Route 5

Posted by Andrew on June 16th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

You might have noticed that I’ve been well off my mapped route for a few days; I turned south at Ticonderoga, NY to get to my sisters graduation at Union College on Sunday.  It was a great time, a great break, and wonderful to see my family and Amy for the weekend.  After leaving Schenectady, I’ve been using the NYS DOT Bike Route 5 to get back to the mapped route in Rochester.  Almost there as of right now, I should pick it up in about 30 miles.

1. Outstanding signage for the bike route: occasional route signs, just like highways, and there are always signs at intersections.

2. Roads are in excellent shape, great shoulders, and fairly free of debris (aside from roadkill - I had no idea so many dead critters litter the road until you get up close and personal with the side of the road)

3. Can it be routed around larger highways?  Route 365 was interesting…  It’s not an interstate, and it’s posted at 55 mph, but it looks a lot like an interstate, so people treat it that way.  Big shoulder, but trucks blasting by at 70+ mph isn’t very much fun.

4. Great maps, time for an update though - the trail has been moved to route 69, which I only discovered after bailing on route 45 because of the speed/interstate-like traffic.

A friend told me that he spent almost an hour a day trying to figure out where to spend the night.  I thought, “nah, it can’t take that long.”  I still don’t know if it will, but I do know that I need to spend a little more time looking for somewhere to crash at the end of the day.  I assumed, incorrectly, that there would be a campground along the south shore of Oneida Lake.  Nope.  My 80 mile day turned into a 99.5  mile day.  I thought about riding that last .5, but the thought of a shower and soft bed squashed that idea quickly.

I spent last night in a brand new hotel in Cicero, NY.  I was the 2nd person to stay in the place, and they only opened on Sunday.  It’s a little creepy being in an empty hotel.  When I rolled my bike out of the room this morning, I had this odd urge to clean up, since everything is so new!

Port Byron, NY right now, headed to Rochester to stay with a friend from college tonight.  Lockport/Niagara Falls tomorrow, somewhere south of Buffalo on Thursday.

Regarding Day 1

Posted by Amy on June 14th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

This is Amy, Andrew’s girl-pal. This post is actually a bit of a backtrack and includes pictures from the launch out of Portland, ME on June 7th. Andrew and I traveled up to Portland that Saturday morning and enjoyed some fabulous food and drink courtesy of Kev, Jess and Jer to kick off his departure. The next morning a group of us saw him off down at the marina, where he dipped his wheels in the Atlantic before officially beginning the long haul. Many thanks to Kev, Jess, Jer, Jevan and Becky for their support!

A few photos - view more on flickr…

this is it
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Amy & Andrew
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go.
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Kampersville and VT Photos

Posted by Andrew on June 12th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Kampersville was amusing.  It was by far the most expensive tent site I’ve ever encountered at $29 for the night, very clean and well organized, but I try to avoid places like it when I can.  They tent to be very noisy…

I was in a far corner of the campground (as the tent sites normally are) between 2 families with kids and a very tent that appeared to be empty.  Things quieted down in the evening at a reasonable hour, but the morning was wild.  Turns out the empty tent’s owners came back late at night and their puppy and rabbit were up early to run around.  Yes, they brought a rabbit with them.

So, puppy gets up, barks, then the rabbit gets up.  The dog triggers the young children in the next site to wake up and cry.  Kids cry, then the dogs barks more - back and forth, back and forth.  When the kids emerge from the tent, they assume it’s a wild rabbit and follow it around for a while.  The rabbits owner pokes her head out of the tent and says, “oh, hi, that’s bugs bunny and he’s my pet.”  The kids run away, and the dog barks some more.

Then someone fires up a generator and someone is dumping something because the whole place stinks.  Anyway, not a bad campground, but I’ll try and avoid those when I can in the future.

A few photos - view more on flickr…

Kampersville, Salisbury, VT
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Moose
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My friends in VT
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NH Recap and Photos

Posted by Andrew on June 12th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Kancamagus Pass looks like a beast on the elevation profile, but I didn’t find riding it (from the east) to be too terrible.  The last few miles were rough, but not impossibly steep.  It was a nice day too, which certainly helped things out a bit.

NH Day 1: Fryeburg, ME to North Woodstock, NH. I stayed at Maple Haven Resort and Campground (emphasis on the campground, no emphasis on the “resort”), and tented under a tent.  A lot of hikers come through the area, so the owners set up a party tent near the road - works out well, it’s cheap, and you don’t have to deal with a wet tent if it rains, which was good…

NH Day 2: North Woodstock, NH to West Hartford, VT.  Woke up to intermittent rain, which changed to steady rain as soon as I got out of my tent (of course).  I have never been so cold in my entire life.  I rode up route 112 into Kinsman notch into more wind and rain, then down the other side at 45 mph with rain stinging my face the whole way.  Odd tradeoff: go faster which is painful, or draw out the cold misery.  The rain  finally let up in Haverhill, NH, and I eventually regained the feeling in my toes.

Had a great night in West Hartford, VT after visiting RSG in WRJ, VT; great end to an otherwise lousy day.  Staying in West Hartford was fun - I used to live out there and the house is right on the AT.  I don’t remember the house from my hike, but I do remember breakfast just down the road.  After a several year hiatus, the Village Store is open again, which made for a great 2nd breakfast.  Thatcher, Julie, Kev - the shower, dinner, and fire were fantastic, thanks!

me
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ME Photos

Posted by Andrew on June 11th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Nothing terribly interesting here - I only spent 1 night in Maine.  I rode from Portland to Fryeburg, then  entered NH early the next morning.  I’ll get some photos from the start from Amy and post those later - I didn’t take any with my camera, I was busy worrying about what I forgot (nothing so far!).

Swans Falls Campground is excellent if you’re ever in the area - easy to get to, very well maintained, and great access to the Saco River.

Chocolate Chip Cookie
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