Day 62. Bridgton to Georgetown,ME. 102 miles

Finished the ride yesterday. The stats are in:

112,793 vertical feet climbed

3,634 miles

4 centuries

2 1,600+ mile months

Seems like it just started. 

The last day was one to be remembered. I had no rear brakes when the ride started, but after a substantial amount of anguish was able to get started. Made a wrong turn, and went about 15 miles out of the way-another unintentional century ride. About half way through, the rear derailleur failed me. I could not get it to work properly, so I decided to LIMP to the end. All on the last day of a 62 day ride. But, I made it!

Day 61. N Woodstock,NH to Bridgton,ME. 68 miles.

N Woodstock is another of the quaint little towns I got to see. Up early. Breakfast. Got to "Climb the Kank". The Kankamangus Hwy is a climb of 2000 ft. All the big climbs are loaded in the beginning and end of the trip. The back roads that we rode in the afternoon were much harder. Old roads are paved on grade with little excavation. As a result they are generally steeper in the beginning and at the top. HARDER!

Only one more day to ride! 

Unbelieveable!

49 degrees when we started today!

Brrrrrrrrr!

I have had two 1,600+ mile months, and climbed over 107,000 vertical feet. 

Day 60. Bethel,VT to N Woodstock,NH. 75 miles.

Up early. The B&B was sort of a dump. The people running it were in way over their pay grade. We ate pizza in town for dinner. Another long day. Had no Internet service most of today, so if you tried to mail or call-SORRY!

We had a country band for entertainment after dinner at a park across the street. 

We did two big climbs today-1,000 and 1500 ft. The big and last one will be in the morning. It will be 2000 ft. 

Whoopee!

Day 59. Ticonderoga to Bethel,VT. 64 miles.

Well, the Odyssey is drawing to a close. I have a flight home next week. 

Up early, breakfast and then catch the 7 am ferry to Vermont. The roads in VT are terrible, maybe worse than Cleveland's. we got caught by rain twice. Nan had a flat tire. 

The climb up Bread Loaf was unbelieveable. The climbing was loaded in the bottom and top. The top was about a 12% grade for the last 1 1/12 miles. 

A band was playing both kinds of music on the square-Country and Western!

Think about it, ok?

I even got a little culture on the ride. 

Day 58. Ticonderoga to Ticonderoga. 0 miles

A sudden, but welcome REST DAY, also seldom. Rain forecast for all day. Temperature in the high 60's. am staying put. Staying at the Green Acres Motel. I keep looking for Eddie Albert and Zsa Zsa, and Arnold the pig. And don't forget Mr Peavey. 

Day 57. Blue Mountain Lake to Ticonderoga. 72 miles.

Up at 6 am. Needed to get a good start. The place where we stayed was great. It was called Blue Mountain Rest. I have been staying in hotels for a while-need rest. I have not taken a rest day since leaving Wisconsin. 

The terrain has gotten much tougher in the past few days-climbed 3,911 feet today-more coming this week. 

Those animals are bison. 

Day 56. Booneville to Blue Mountain Lake,NY. 60 miles

Late start today-10 am. The terrain picked up where it left off yesterday-very tough. The climbs were short but were 13-16% grades. We could not make good time. Found a real tourist trap in the Adirondack Mountains -Old Forge. Lunch was Almost $100. Can't wait to go back there. It was good however. 

Day 55. Fulton to Booneville,NY. 78 miles.

Good b'fast at the hotel. Then pedalling. I  have been so active that I can eat anything I want and still not gain weight. I have grown very fond of cherry pie after every meal, including b'fast. 

We have been doing that "GO HOME PUSH". I am tired, but we have been riding  about 70 miles per day. I have met so so many nice people. Bikers are a good breed. 

Stayed in a great campground with friends met along the way. Nice. 

That strange looking meal is oatmeal with blueberries, on a plate. Actually quite good. Will start working onto eating habits SOON!

Day 54. Palmyra to Fulton,NY. 67 miles.

Up very early-5:30. I needed to get to Pultneyville early. I got there at 8:30 and found a great deli. I ate b'fast and tried to find Bob and Nan. They arrived about an hour later. It was still  raining hard. We waited. The rain stopped about 11:30, we started for Fulton,NY. We were following the shoreline of Lake Ontario. We have seen three of the Great Lakes on this trip. 

We got rooms in Fulton. I needed to work on the Blog. I was behind because of the rain. 

Upstate New York is very pretty. 

Day 53. Medina to Palmyra,NY. 72 miles.

I tried to get am early start-but wait, another flat tire. Oh David. Got that fixed and started pedaling. Had to visit a bike shop in Brockport. Was a neat shop. Had a couple of things done to the ride and bought a pump.

Russell told me a good place to eat, Carleens. I love meatloaf sandwiches. She gave me a shirt with her rules on it. A lady bought some choc-chip cookies. They did not make it through the afternoon. Ride through Rochester on the Canal Trail. Rochester is not that impressive. It started raining about 5, and soaked me. I made it to Palmyra and was looking for a room. A couple, whom I asked for information , volunteered their spare bedroom. I accepted. They also bought my  dinner. It was a really good day-tshirt cookies, a place to stay and dinner. Wow!

Day 52. Dunkirk to Medina,NY. 79 miles.

Up quite early. Pedaling at 6:45. The place was a dum......photos in a moment. The light had no globe. There were too many problems to begin. 

Yes there is another drive in theatre in America. 

The Erie Canal is so cool. It looks very European. The bed and breakfast where I stayed in Medina was located on the bank of the canal, which is close to 200 years old. The house was awesome. I can't say enough good things about the place and the owners-$55/ night. They had some lamas for pets. I have had so much good food and still lost a little weight. 

It was so cool to be there and think about all the history of the area. 

The drawing is the first Tour de France. 

Day 51. Conneaut,OH to Dunkirk,NY. 76 miles

II slept in a little this am-7:00 saddle sores. Got medication and hit the trail. Am still following shore of Lake Erie. Had another flat today. I need David and Forrest. A very nice young lady stopped to offer assistance. She was doing a run and had a floor pump. They live on the shore of the lake-very nice digs, several million at least. Clare was her name. 

The flat put me behind schedule. I arrived at Dunkirk at 7. The only room I could get was a dump. I put a chair against the door so I could sleep. My bike was against the other door. 

That's me putting on my sunscreen war paint. 

There is a trail completely around Lake Erie-possibly a new adventure. 

There are vineyards and wineries everywhere. We could do lots of tastings there. 

Day 50. Mentor to Conneaut,OH. 65 miles.

On the road again-yea Willie Nelson. I continued following the shore of Lake Erie-all day again! The route was very convoluted, therefore slow today. I had a flat today. I could not find the leak-where is David Johnson when I need him. 

I have not had a rest day in a while, it's coming soon. Am developing a sore you know where!!

There have been so many little towns ing the way, many of which remind me of LaGrange and my cycling Buds. Guess I am getting ready to turn south. 

Day 49. Huron to Mentor. 75.5 miles.

My goal today was to get to the other side of Cleveland-60-70 miles. The ACA maps and directions were good. The street conditions were the worst I have ever experienced-pothole after pothole. Most of the time my speed was 8-10 mph. My butt is sore from all the hard bumps. 

Lake Erie looks like an ocean. Beautiful homes lined the shoreline. Marinas were everywhere. 

The car is a Moon. They were made from 1905-1929. I had read of them, but had never seen one. The two wheeled version of a Moonmobile is laying on the ground beside the auto. Maybe I should see if I am a long lost descendant/heir!