Marc’s Cross-Country
Bicycle Adventure
June 16 – August 5, 2001
By
Marc Konvisser
Copyright © 2001 by Marc
Konvisser
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am for myself alone, what am I?
If not now, when?
(Ethics of the Fathers 1:14, Hillel)
If not now, when? Fourteen years ago at age 17, my son Josh rode his bicycle cross-country. We trained together before he left and I have wanted to do my own cross-country adventure ever since. I realized that this would be a good year for my adventure. My asthma and diabetes have been under control and I was able to get time off from work. Moreover, I was in reasonably good biking shape.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? I have a kinesthetic personality. I get the most out of things when I am moving. Here was an opportunity to work my way from one end of the country to the other and inhale America.
If I am for myself alone, what am I? I wanted to meet people from all over the country to see how they lived and worked, and to see our friends and family who lived along the way. I looked forward to making new friends among the other riders on the trip and riding with my biking buddies Hadi and Harry as well as my most special biking partner, my son Josh.
This book is an edited version of the website I wrote in
daily installments as I rode my bicycle across the northern United States from
Astoria, Oregon to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the summer of 2001 with America by Bicycle’s (www.abbike.com or 888-797-7057) Across America North bicycling
adventure. I want to thank Doug
Torosian and the ABB staff for helping make this trip possible.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure............ 1
Day 1 (6/17/01) Astoria,OR to St.
Helens,OR -- 69 miles, 3250 feet of climbing:........... 6
Day 2 (6/18/01) St Helens,OR to
Welches,OR -- 74 miles, 3270 feet of climbing:.......... 7
Day 3 (6/19/01) Welches,OR to
Kah-Nee-Ta,OR -- 66 miles, 5200 feet climbing:........ 8
Day 4 (6/20/01) Kah-Nee-Ta,OR to
Prineville,OR -- 0 Miles for Marc (61 miles):........ 9
Day 5 (6/21/01) Prineville,OR to
John Day -- 116 miles, 5290 feet climbing::............... 10
Day 6 (6/22/01) John Day, OR to
Baker City, OR -- 81 miles, 5200 feet climbing::...... 11
Day 7 (6/23/01) Baker City, OR to
Ontario, OR -- 83 miles, 1720 feet climbing:......... 11
Day 8 (6/24/01) Ontario, OR to
Boise, ID -- 61 miles, 1570 feet climbing:................... 13
Day 10 (6/26/01) Boise, ID to
Mountain Home, ID -- 50 miles.................................... 15
Day 11 (6/27/01) Mountain Home, ID
to Twin Falls, ID -- 96 miles, 1750 feet climbing 15
Day 15 (7/1/01) Idaho Falls, ID to
Jackson, WY -- 89 miles....................................... 21
Day 16 (67/2/01) Jackson Hole, WY
to Dubois, WY – 88 miles................................. 24
Day 17 (7/3/01) Dubois, WY to
Riverton, WY – 79 miles........................................... 28
Day 18 (7/4/01) Riverton, WY to
Casper, WY -- 120 miles (Marc 90)....................... 29
Day 20 (7/6/01) Casper, WY to Lusk,
WY – 105 miles.............................................. 34
Day 21 (7/7/01) Lusk, WY to Hot
Springs, SD -- 91 miles, 2700 feet climbing............ 36
Day 22 (7/8/01) Hot Springs, SD to
Rapid City, SD -- 85 miles (Marc 65 miles), 6500 feet climbing 38
Day 24 (7/10/01) Wall, SD to Pierre
(rhymes with "beer"), SD -- 116 miles, 6500 feet climbing 42
Day 25 (7/11/01) Pierre, SD to
Chamberlain, SD -- 94 miles (Marc 74 miles)............. 44
Day 26 (7/12/01) Chamberlain, SD to
Mitchell, SD -- 71 miles.................................... 45
Day 29 (7/15/01) Sioux Falls, SD to
Worthington, MN – 64 miles............................... 53
Day 30 (7/16/01) Worthington, MN to
Mankato, MN – 95 miles................................ 54
Day 31 (7/17/01) Mankato, MN to
Rochester, MN-- 95............................................ 55
Day 32 (7/18/01) Rochester, MN to
La Crosse, WI – 82 miles................................... 57
Day 33 (7/19/01) La Crosse, WI to
The Dells, WI – 98 miles...................................... 60
Day 34 (7/19/01) The Dells, WI to
Fond du Lac, WI – 84 miles.................................. 64
Day 35 (7/20/01) Fond du Lac, WI to
Manitowoc, WI-- 57 miles (Marc 0)................ 65
Day 36 (7/22/01) Manitowoc, WI to
Ludington, MI -- 6 miles Ferry Crossing............. 67
Day 37 (7/23/01) Ludington, MI to
Mt. Pleasant, MI -- 112 miles............................... 68
Day 38 (7/24/01) Mt. Pleasant, MI
to Birch Run, MI -- 74 miles (Marc 90)................ 68
Day 39 (7/25/01) Birch Run, MI to
Port Huron, MI -- 87 miles................................... 70
Day 40 (7/26/01) Port Huron, MI to
London, Ontario -- 75 miles................................ 71
Day 41 (7/27/01) London, Ontario to
Brantford, Ontario-- 66 miles............................ 74
Day 42 (7/28/01) Brantford, Ontario
to Niagara Falls-- 79 miles.................................. 77
Day 44 (7/30/01) Niagara Falls, NY
to Rochester, NY -- 75 miles.............................. 80
Day 45 (7/30/01) Rochester, NY to
Syracuse, NY -- 89 miles.................................... 83
Day 46 (8/01/01) Syracuse, NY to
Utica, NY -- 64 miles........................................... 85
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle
Adventure in Vermont and New Hampshire.......................... 88
Day 48 (8/3/01) Albany, NY to
Brattleboro, VT -- 81 miles, 5180 feet of climbing...... 88
Day 49 (8/4/01) Brattleboro, VT to
Manchester, NH-- 86 miles (6200 feet of climbing) 91
Day 50 (8/4/01) Manchester, NH to
Portsmouth, NH -- 60 miles................................ 94
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in Oregon
Day 0 (6/16/01) Astoria,OR:
Astoria, Oregon. After a frenetic few weeks of packing my clothes, my bike and all my medicines for two months as well as finishing three major projects and one minor one at work, I am finally ready to start riding. My bike arrived in good shape and tomorrow we'll see if I did.
In addition to orientation, we did a short ride (18 miles) to dip our rear
wheels in the Pacific.
The day was cool and cloudy, but we were all excited and animated. I've met
many of the 60 riders and they seem very nice. There are three other recumbent
riders, about 1/3 of the riders are women and they range in age from the 15 to
75 with a number of O.F.’s like me. I am the only diabetic, but the staff has
gone out of its way to be helpful.
Tomorrow, we start the ride in earnest.
Day 1 (6/17/01) Astoria,OR to St. Helens,OR -- 69 miles, 3250 feet of climbing:
It was a good day. We rode 69 miles along and above the
Columbia River from its mouth at Astoria
to St. Helens.
The vegetation changed from beautiful pink foxglove at the beginning
to almost rain forest as we ascended the first ridge to large evergreens further
inland and then fields and paper farms (they grow a hybrid poplar tree that
matures in 5 years and then they grind the trees up for paper and replant).
I got a good workout. There were two long (3-4 mile) climbs that weren't too steep, but certainly got my blood flowing.
Day 2 (6/18/01) St Helens,OR to Welches,OR -- 74 miles, 3270 feet of climbing:
Today started out flat as we rode along the Columbia River
to Portland. Then we rode through Portland (the largest city on the trip) on
bike lanes and side streets with almost no traffic to worry about. As we left
Portland we climbed out of the Columbia River valley and toward Mt. Hood.
This beautiful snow-covered peak dominates the skyline of Portland and got
bigger and more impressive as we approached. I rode with some very nice people
and it made the day quite pleasant.
Day 3 (6/19/01) Welches,OR to Kah-Nee-Ta,OR -- 66 miles, 5200 feet climbing:
The day started with an 11 mile 2,500 foot climb on the slopes of Mt. Hood; it was very long but not too awfully steep. Then there was a fast descent (I was glad to have my new hydraulic disk brake) followed by two more 1000 foot climbs before we got around Mt. Hood. The slopes of Mt. Hood were covered with dense conifer forests with rhododendrons, blueberries and azaleas underneath. It was lush and beautiful.
Almost as soon as we passed Mt. Hood the landscape changed from forest to
desert. Tonight we are staying at Kah-Nee-Tah, an Indian gambling casino in
this high desert
.
Although we thought our climbing was over when we passed Mt. Hood, out steepest
(and most difficult for me) climbs were going out of the valleys and over mesas
on the Indian reservation.
I was really worried about whether I'd be able to do all the climbing today, but I did fine and my sugar stayed quite reasonable, all things considered.
Day 4 (6/20/01) Kah-Nee-Ta,OR to Prineville,OR -- 0 Miles for Marc (61 miles):
When I got ready to start riding, I found that my
(previously lauded) disk brake
didn't work. Apparently the brake was not properly bled when it was installed
and air bubbles got in where they shouldn't have been when the brakes got hot
on yesterday's descents. I spent the entire day with Brad, one of the
America-by-Bicycle mechanics, finding a bike store that had a "bleed
kit", driving to it, assisting while Brad fixed the brake and then driving
back to our next stop. Brad did a great job and the brake now works better than
ever.
Day 5 (6/21/01) Prineville,OR to John Day -- 116 miles, 5290 feet climbing::
This was a long hard hot day. I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it. Doug (the owner of the tour company) said it would be our hardest day.
I started a 6:30 AM riding in a headwind on a gentle upgrade through hay
fields and rangeland. After 15 miles we began to climb more steeply over 4000
foot Ochoco Pass where we came to some exquisite country with open forests of
100 foot pines punctuated with lovely green meadows and clear cool trout
streams. 
At Ochoco Pass (mile 30) we began a blazing descent into the desert and town of Mitchell where I ate lunch. Climbing out of Mitchell was the hardest climb yet, 1500 feet in 6 miles; it took me almost two hours and the temperature was in the 90's (today's high was 99). At mile 53 we began a delightful 25-mile descent from the mountains into the canyons of the John Day Fossil Beds. From there on, the ride was relatively flat with a moderate tailwind (I needed it).
Day 6 (6/22/01) John Day, OR to Baker City, OR -- 81 miles, 5200 feet climbing::
Yesterday was supposed to be our hardest day -- today was
harder. We had three
steep climbs of 2000, 1000 and 800 feet. The last climb was over newly
chip-sealed road (gravel over tar) that made the climb more difficult and the
descents more treacherous. They were tarring the final two miles and the van
ferried us through that part. When we started riding, we were in valley of lush
green hay fields with beautiful horses grazing nearby. The valley was
surrounded with sage covered hills. As we climbed we came through fir and pine
forests that remained for a good part of the day. We descended into Baker City
along the Powder River in a narrow canyon, which broadened out to large hay
fields, as we approached town.
Day 7 (6/23/01) Baker City, OR to Ontario, OR -- 83 miles, 1720 feet climbing:
The day started out great. After a bit of uphill we entered a canyon and descended for about 40 miles paralleling I-84 and, at times, riding on it (it's legal for bikes to ride on interstates in many western states). Not only was the ride mostly downhill, but we had a tailwind and the weather was pleasantly cool. After an overly slow lunch in Hutchison, OR we came out to find that it had gotten oppressively hot, the tailwind has become a 30 mph headwind and we had some steep climbing to do -- bummer. I got in about 5:00 (we lost an hour going from Western Time to Mountain Time) and then had to buy new insulin as well as an innumerable bunch of daily chores. It's now 10:00, my bedtime.
I had some nice encounters today. I stopped to watch while a farmer made huge
hay loaves (almost as big as a semi-truck). He stood in the field and shouted
instructions to the cab of a large truck that compressed the hay.
The only one I could see in the cab was a dog who moved around when the farmer
shouted commands. I thought that was cool. Later I saw that there was a man in
the cab to keep the dog company. The farmer was so impressed with my knowledge
of haymaking (I once read a book on it) that he offered me a job. I declined.
As the day progressed we began to come to lush irrigated fields of potatoes, onions, sugar beets and saw our first corn of the trip. Just before we came to Ontario, I stopped for fresh cherries ($1.00 per pound) and schmoozed with the farmer. I asked for 1/2 pound of cherries because I didn’t have much room in my bag and didn't want to carry too much extra weight. He thought I was being frugal and gave me a pound for 50 cents, I insisted he take the full dollar so he threw in a few extra cherries. I took the cherries and enjoyed them for breakfast the next day.
Day 8 (6/24/01) Ontario, OR to Boise, ID -- 61 miles, 1570 feet climbing:
This was a short easy day and we were all very glad because
those mountain passes of the past several days really beat us up. I rode with
Marty and Chris, two of the three other recumbent riders this morning and
enjoyed the company.
Chris left at the first SAG stop (I think I had to stop to pee too often for
him), but Marty and I rode the rest of the way together. About 10 miles outside
of Boise we stopped for a good and very leisurely Mexican lunch, and then rode
into downtown Boise.
CHORES: There seem to be no end of chores to do after I come in the evening and in the morning:
Evening: Get luggage, make sure insulin is refrigerated, check into hotel, take luggage and bike to room, take blood sugar, unpack bike bags, clean water bottles, shower, change infusion site (every 2 days), change insulin (every 3 - 5 days), lube bike chain (every 4 days), fix any mechanical problems or have mechanic fix them, call Zieva and check in, eat dinner, make sure I have a bottle of juice in case of an insulin attack during the night, download digital pictures to computer, write daily postcard, download pictures and postcards to internet, and finally brush my teeth and go to sleep.
Morning: Do stretching exercises (20 min), take four inhalers for asthma, check blood sugar, fill water bottles, get OJ or Gatorade, apply sunscreen, pump up tires, pack up my stuff, take luggage to truck, take insulin to truck driver, mount map/cue sheet on bike, put on sunscreen and leave.
Moral: If I don't update the website every day, don't worry;
sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I run out of time and sometimes I can't get a
connection to the internet.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in Idaho
Day 9 (6/25/01) Boise, ID -- REST DAY
Today I wandered around Boise and did some shopping. I'm in a really "chilled out" mood. Shopping was actually fun and I was in no hurry. I did some chores, but mostly relaxed.
I felt as if I had a personality transplant. I actually enjoyed shopping. When I passed by an art gallery, I decided to go in and browse (very unusual for me). As I was about to leave I saw a gorgeous necklace made by a local artist. I bought it for Zieva and then walked (I never rode my bike on rest days) two miles to the post office to send it to her.
Day 10 (6/26/01) Boise, ID to Mountain Home, ID -- 50 miles
The topography of Idaho is mostly mountainous except for an
arc of high desert running from west to east along the northern portion of the
southern third of the state. Today we rode through some of this desert. We
could see the mountains to the south and those to the north, but we rode
through boring almost flat sagebrush along I-84. Our one SAG stop was a truck
stop on I-84 where I refueled.
.
It was cool and calm when we left Boise this morning and the residential areas looked almost like New England. On leaving Boise we passed Micron Computer. That was pretty much all the excitement for today; after that we got onto I84 and into the sagebrush desert.
I have learned that no matter how nice the days begin in this desert country, the afternoons are brutally hot and windy (headwinds, of course). So I boogied into Mountain Home at 12:40 PM only to find that my room wasn't ready. I got lunch and did a bit of shopping at K-Mart (a phone card so I can update my website) and then got my room.
Day 11 (6/27/01) Mountain Home, ID to Twin Falls, ID -- 96 miles, 1750 feet climbing
This was another hard day. We started in cool weather on a
flat road with a 20 mph headwind for the first 15 miles. It was grueling work
and, even though we had no more wind problems, it really sapped a lot of my
energy. The first third of the day was through the same sagebrush desert as
yesterday, only we were off the Interstate. Gradually we came to more and more
irrigated fields. We paralleled the Snake River and went down and then back up
from the Snake River valley. The valley was lush green; mostly hay, with some
corn and a very few potato fields.
The most interesting part of the day came just as we arrived in Twin Falls when
we crossed a bridge over the Snake River 
.
The walls of the gorge are black (basalt?) and almost vertical. As I was
leaving the gorge, three college age kids were about to parachute off the edge
of the gorge into the river -- way too scary for me.
Day 12 (6/28/01) Twin Falls, ID to Burley, ID -- 39 miles
This was a short pleasant day through irrigated fields of
alfalfa hay, sugar beets, barley (for the local Coors Lite brewery), wheat and
one gorgeous field of yellow mustard (or maybe it was rapeseed for canola oil).
I got really curious as to how the irrigation systems worked, so I stopped a woman who was in front of her farm and asked. She said the most popular kind was called WheelLine (my spelling) -- they look like giant Tinker Toys and are made of 20 foot sections which have a 4-5 foot wheels in the center and a 10 foot axles of aluminum pipe projecting from each side. The farmers string these together with sprinklers at the joints and connect them to an irrigation standpipe in the field. They water for five days and then roll the whole line up the field with the help of a gasoline engine mounted at the center of the line.
The woman said she used to help move the WheelLines before she had kids; it
was hard work and very muddy.
Day 13 (6/29/01) Burley, ID to Blackfoot, ID -- 111 miles
As century (100 mile) rides go, this was an easy day. The
terrain was flat, we had tailwinds part of the way and the weather was warm,
but pleasant. We went through a bit of sagebrush, but mostly irrigated fields
of potatoes, hay and grain.
One interesting spot we passed was Register Rock where pioneers on the
Oregon and California Trails wrote their names as they passed through this part
of Idaho. Moral: When graffiti gets old it becomes history.
The trip is 1/4 over, so I thought I should say something about my asthma and diabetes. My asthma has been under control with the inhalers I take every morning and evening. I was concerned about how well I would be able to breathe under the taxing exercise I would be doing -- I had a bad flare-up (brought on by a bad cold) two weeks before I left. So far I have done very well.
My diabetes has been a bit more difficult to control, but all in all, it is not causing any problems other than being time-consuming and a constant consideration. I have erred on the side of high (rather than) low blood sugars and sometimes have gotten quite high (this makes me pee a lot and that slows me down). The insulin I brought from home died, so I got a new supply at Wal-Mart and it is working fine. The meals we get with the trip are often high in carbs, but low in protein, so I have to supplement. I also buy fruit almost every day, because I like it.
All in all, my health has been as good as I had hoped and better than I expected. I hope it continues for the rest of this adventure.
Day 14 (6/30/01) Blackfoot, ID to Idaho Falls, ID -- 35 miles
Riding was short and easy; even the fast riders (that is
definitely NOT me) relaxed. We are staying at a hotel overlooking the falls on
the Snake River. There is a park across the street and it's quite pretty.
I arrived about noon and attempted what I thought would be a simple adjustment -- it wasn't. I found that the bolts which connect my bike's frame to the bottom bracket (pedals) were stripped. I got a ride to a hardware store (the bike wasn't ridable), bought new bolts and got a ride back. The bolts didn't work. Again Brad the mechanic came to my rescue. We went to a bike store where he used their tools to repair the bike.
Day 15 (7/1/01) Idaho Falls, ID to Jackson, WY -- 89 miles
Today we climbed from the irrigated fields of eastern Idaho
into the forested high country of western Wyoming and then down a dizzying
descent into Jackson Hole. We crossed three passes. The first took us over a
divide and down to the North Fork of the Snake River, but was rather gradual
although we had a strong headwind for most of the climb.
The next took us over Pine Creek Summit and was considerably more difficult but
brought us into steep forested country.
The final climb was over Teton Pass. It brought us to 8,431 feet and included two miles of 12% grade (from my perspective, this is straight up), I walked up that part.
.
At the top we could look down into Jackson Hole and the town of Jackson that was 11 miles away. Since Aaron and Diana were in Jackson to see me, I took the SAG van in (I also did NOT want to come down the 12% grade on the other side).
I had dinner with my son Aaron and his fiancée Diana, saw Diana's engagement
ring for the first time. We had a delightful time.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in Wyoming
Day 16 (67/2/01) Jackson Hole, WY to Dubois, WY – 88 miles
This was my hardest day so far. Most of the other people didn't have as much difficulty. I think my problem was the altitude. We climbed over the Continental Divide at 9,658 feet. The good news is that I made the entire day under my own steam and this will be our highest climb.
This was a very nostalgic ride. Four miles outside of
Jackson I climbed a hill and saw the entire Teton Range before us.
We rode for 40 miles with the Tetons on our left and the sun illuminating them
from our right -- spectacular. Then we turned right and began ascending
Togwotee Pass. Fourteen years ago, when my son Josh rode his bicycle
cross-country, I met him coming up Togwotee Pass in the opposite direction. I
was determined to ride over this pass myself.
As we began, the Tetons were in my rear view mirror. After about an hour of
climbing I got glimpses of the Absoraka Mountains. I had backpacked in the mountains with my friends David Nordstrom
and Hadi Rabbani.
After considerable effort I reached the top of the pass and the continental
divide.
I was really tired and I still had 30 miles to go; but the entire way to Dubois was mostly downhill and we had a 30 mph tailwind. I got in at 5:00, showered and had a good dinner and blueberry pie. Now I feel pretty good.
Day 17 (7/3/01) Dubois, WY to Riverton, WY – 79 miles
The first half of this ride was through familiar territory
that I had driven through a number of times in my backpacking days. It was much
prettier by bike. When we left Dubois the temperature was about 60 degrees, but
it warmed up considerably -- it was 100 when we arrived in Riverton. We started
with a tailwind and 20 miles of downhill along the Wind River.
Our descent took us over and between bluffs and into technicolor canyons.
To our right were steep hills that almost completely obscured the beautiful
Wind River Mountains where I did my first backpacking trip and a number of
other great adventures.
After 43 miles we left the shadow of the Wind River Mountains and continued to follow the Wind River. The ground leveled out and then became hilly as we climbed butte after butte; the tailwind turned into a strong headwind. The countryside went from interesting to sagebrush with glimpses of the Wind River peaks in the distance. I got to Riverton quite early (1:45) but the last 20 miles were hard. We have a 120 mile day tomorrow through more of this country. All of us are concerned about the distance (our longest) and the heat and the winds.
Day 18 (7/4/01) Riverton, WY to Casper, WY -- 120 miles (Marc 90)
Although this was the longest mileage of the trip, it looked like it wouldn't be that difficult; we had already done 116 miles with several passes. Moreover, we expected tailwinds since we were going from west to east. We were wrong. This was a brutal day. We had almost 60 miles of strong headwinds and gradual climbing of 1200 feet. By the time we reached our second SAG stop and lunch at mile 62 the temperature was probably in the 90's. We were exhausted and had only gone half way. I and 7 other folks took the SAG van to the next SAG stop and then rode in from there. By then the wind had died down some and although there was some climbing, overall we were descending. Unfortunately, it got very hot (my guess is 105). Even after the 30 mile SAG, I still did 90 miles.
There was almost nothing to see along the way. There were no real towns or
even gas stations for the last 70 miles and the landscape was brown
sagebrush/grass country with an occasional herd of cattle.
The only interesting place was Hell's Half Acre, an eroded canyon that looks
like a miniature Badlands.
Day 19 (7/5/01) Casper, WY -- REST DAY
Casper is a good place to rest -- at least I haven't found much else to do here. I wandered around town hoping, but there wasn’t much there.
I was starting to get a respiratory infection, so I called my allergist who prescribed an antibiotic that I picked up at the local pharmacy. It worked and the infection went away very quickly.
Zieva suggested I write about some of the 64 other people on the trip:
Mal Kane is my roommate. He's a 68-year-old real estate lawyer from Maryland
and a great roommate; he puts up with my schticks and tells good stories. He
rides a heavy Raleigh bike with sneakers and a long sleeved old white shirt (as
opposed to biking shoes and multicolor jerseys) and is strong as can be. He's
not one of the fast riders, but rides faster than me.
Larry is the baggage truck driver. He's the last to leave the hotel and first to arrive the next day. He's my guardian angel taking my insulin from refrigerator to refrigerator and giving me a high five when I arrive each evening. For the first several days of the trip he would take me by the hand to show me to my luggage. Now he's confident that I can make it on my own.
Cathy and David Levy are fast young riders from Columbus, Ohio. They ride in
a perfect pace line and pass me every day. They met while working at Chemical
Abstracts (where Zieva got her first job after getting her masters degree).
When I was having an insulin attack while we were waiting for dinner at a
restaurant, Cathy got a waitress's attention and got me a Coke in record time.
Bill Rupert is a recumbent rider from Austin Texas who is in his late 60's.
He's a true gentleman and very nice to ride with.
Frank is an oilman from Pennsylvania, a great storyteller and has worked all around the world. His Vietnamese wife, her mother, sister and two of their nephews are following us in a trailer. He told me that when Aaron meets Diana's mother, he is supposed to offer her a cup of tea; if she accepts, then she accepts Aaron as her son-in-law.
Nancy Coe is from Memphis with a deep southern accent -- she was probably the most popular girl in her high school class. Her 23-year-old daughter just arrived to ride to Sioux Falls with us.
More profiles at our next rest stop...
Day 20 (7/6/01) Casper, WY to Lusk, WY – 105 miles
This was another long day. The first 30 miles were
relatively fast and easy. After we left Casper and it's oil and industrial
suburbs, the land got greener and sagebrush gave way to prairie. Between miles
30 and 44 we rode on I-25. I had expected great road conditions and gentle
climbs; but it was a relatively steep climb and the road surface was rough. We
ate lunch at a Subway in the town of Douglass and then began a gentle climb.
After 11 miles I thought we were done climbing, but it was only a brief
respite, we still had another 10 miles more to climb. For most of this section
of the ride the road paralleled a railroad with 1 1/2 mile long coal trains
passing in both directions. The countryside became a mile-high prairie and got
greener and more pleasant (there were even some trees) but the towns got
smaller and farther apart.
We passed some old farms and working old windmills. The ride took me 10 1/4
hours, but it was a good day.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in South Dakota
Day 21 (7/7/01) Lusk, WY to Hot Springs, SD -- 91 miles, 2700 feet climbing
It's a new development when I think a 91 mile day with two
stretches of 6% grade (4 miles, then 1 mile), some headwinds and a hot
afternoon is not too hard, but that's how today was. We started in Lusk, WY
(which felt like an old crossroads town from the days before Interstates) and
climbed into some very pretty country that actually had trees and little wild
sunflowers along the road edge. As I was riding, three horses decided to ride
along with me (on their side of the fence) and they rode with me for about 1/2
mile. It was really fun. We went up and down for about 67 miles with the Black
Hills in view at a distance. After lunch we began to climb into the hills. The
hills look black because the pine trees which cover them appear black.
The mountains are actually made of red sandstone which is used in many of the
old buildings in Hot Springs, SD.
The term "Hills" is definitely a misnomer -- they certainly seem like mountains to me.
As we climbed we got a great view of a thunderhead.
Fortunately, we didn't see the storm -- it remained hot and sunny all day long.
Day 22 (7/8/01) Hot Springs, SD to Rapid City, SD -- 85 miles (Marc 65 miles), 6500 feet climbing
Another challenging day. We began by climbing out of Hot Springs and climbed steadily until the first SAG stop at mile 35 in the dumpy town of Custer. We climbed through Wind Cave National Park where we saw a beautiful short-grass prairie with wildflowers mixed throughout the green grass.
We passed a prairie dog town where each prairie dog sat at
the entrance to its burrow and squealed and wagged its tail as I approached.
Just beyond the town of Custer we entered Custer State Park and came to
several lovely lakes surrounded by hills and forests of Ponderosa Pine. Then
the serious climbing began. We climbed up and over a divide and then another.
Finally we had a long descent; but not long enough. We began a huge climb -- I
had to walk some of it. We went up and up until mile 60 when we came to a small
tunnel carved in the rock. When we looked through the tunnel, we saw Mt.
Rushmore in the distance.
I thought I had finally reached the top and would be descending; no such luck.
The road began a series of hairpin switchbacks. When I was on the third
switchback, I could look down and see two switchbacks below and one above.
After the fourth hairpin turn we reached the top and began to descend. We came
through another tunnel and as we exited we came to a bridge that went over a
switchback in the road below.
These are called "Pigtail Bridges".
I remember these bridges from the first time I came to Custer State Park
with my friend Andy Marmorstein 40 years ago.
I was driving my 1961 SAAB and had to double-clutch to shift into first
gear to make it up this road; now I was riding (and walking) a bike over the
same road.
In addition to the steep and curving descent, the thunderstorms, which had been brewing for the past two days, finally struck. I stopped under another pigtail bridge until the hail subsided and continued in light rain down the mountain to the town of Keystone. I decided to eat at the cafe in town and while I was eating there was a huge downpour. When the rain subsided I decided to finish the last 20 miles of the day, but then the rain started again and Doug (trip leader) said "last chance for a SAG", and I decided to take the van into Rapid City.
We expected to see lots of wildlife, but only saw the prairie dogs and
several pronghorn antelopes -- no buffalo (bison) even though everyone told us we
would see them.
Day 23 (7/9/01) Rapid City, SD to Wall, SD -- 56 miles
Today was an easy riding day. The countryside was mixed
grass prairie cattle grazing country.
From a distance the land looks flat, but it's really pretty wrinkled with lots
of rolling hills; the biggest wrinkle was the Cheyenne River Valley that had a
9 mile climb after we crossed the river. The weather was hot and humid and I could
see dark clouds behind us (over the Rapid City area) as we approached Wall.
Wall, South Dakota is a tiny town that is famous for Wall Drug that advertises along the roads to Wall for thousands of miles in all directions. We saw our first Wall Drug sign on our Riverton to Casper day (Day 18) and have seen them every day since, especially on I-90 as we approached today. Wall Drug is a block long collection of little shops (Western, rocks, cafe, jewelry, Indian and Western art, drug store, etc.).
I had someone take my picture next to a painted wooden woman of the evening
on a bench in Wall Drug.
On a more mundane note, I used my extra time to go to the laundromat and wash my clothes. I have found that I can cut many corners when doing laundry. Since I'm always in a hurry, I wash all my clothes together in one load (warm wash/cold rinse). The first time I did this I thought my underwear would turn gray and I'd have lots of new colors on my biking shirts, but nothing changed. I dry everything in one load and take the Lycra biking stuff out before the cottons. So far it has worked well and I haven't shrunk or recolored anything. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Day 24 (7/10/01) Wall, SD to Pierre (rhymes with "beer"), SD -- 116 miles, 6500 feet climbing
I had expected flat or gently rolling farmland and a tailwind -- NOT. I started at 6:05 AM in a dismal downpour, but the terrain was easy and I outran the rain after about an hour.
Unfortunately, I also outran the easy section. After about
20 miles, the terrain went from gently rolling to one hill and valley after
another, many with 6% grades.
For the remaining 90 miles the hills continued, getting longer and a bit less
steep as we got farther east. Initially I thought of the countryside poetically
as sand dunes carpeted in green prairie -- as the day progressed my opinion of
the continuous hills became more profane.
Actually the prairie is very pretty with grasses and flowers on the hills and patches of trees in the draws and along stream banks. As we came further east, there was some cultivation that was not as pretty as the natural prairie. Even though this is the furthest east we've been, it's also the most like the "old west" with large herds of cattle and lots of horses. In one hamlet we passed the city park consisted of a rodeo ring and a baseball diamond.
South Dakota is very sparsely populated. In the 116 miles
there was only one town that had a cafe and two towns that had stores. One did
have an old time jail.
Day 25 (7/11/01) Pierre, SD to Chamberlain, SD -- 94 miles (Marc 74 miles)
Yet another hard day. This time it was an awful headwind that made my maximum speed 11 mph and normal speed 6 - 8 mph for the first 39 miles. At Mile 39 there was a 15 mile detour over dirt roads and I opted to SAG that portion (and a bit more). All in all I made it -- against the winds and up some long steep climbs.
The route started out along the Missouri River, which is really beautiful.
There were pastel buttes on both sides of the water and the water was a pale
blue with little whitecaps whipped up by our headwind. It was very exciting to
see the country much as Lewis and Clark had 200 years ago. Although the river
meandered in many directions the headwind followed the river valley and was
always in our faces.
We climbed out of the river valley and had hopes that the wind would abate a
bit, but no such luck. While making this climb I was passed by a house. Not
only are lots of people leaving South Dakota, but they're taking their houses
too.
Actually, this has been a lovely state, much prettier and more exciting than I had expected. Chamberlain is a charming western town with a cute main street as well as lovely views of the Missouri.
Day 26 (7/12/01) Chamberlain, SD to Mitchell, SD -- 71 miles
It wasn't too hard a day, but I did have quite a bit of headwind. If I'd have gotten up earlier, I could have avoided a lot of wind, but I decided to stay up late looking around Chamberlain last night. The day started out overcast and drizzly, but grew sunny and warm. There was only one hill -- climbing out of the Missouri River Valley this morning and the rest was flat.
About 20 miles outside Mitchell we came to the first wooded patches we've seen
in quite some time. It's beginning to feel more like the Michigan countryside
I'm used to. Mitchell is the home of the Corn Palace, so I decided to see what
it was. It reminded me of the onion-domed churches in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Actually, it's an auditorium/arena with the outer walls decorated in murals
made entirely of corn. Each year they remove the old murals and make a new
design.
While in town I also visited the Howe Museum to see a display of beautiful
Indian art. I got back about 4:30 and cleaned up and went to dinner.
People Stories: Two days ago Big Mike didn't want to throw away the gum he was chewing when he had a snack, so he put it on his bike seat -- he had trouble getting out of the saddle on the first hill.
Bob of Team DFL (Dead F..in Last) was really having a hard time with
yesterday's headwind. When the house they were moving passed him going about 15
mph, he "drafted" the house for several miles and got out of the
wind. 
On one of the first days of the trip 15 year old Willy was standing on the
sidewalk looking all distraught. A rider passed by and asked Willy if there was
a problem. Willy said that there certainly was, "The cue sheet said the
hotel was a mile 62.3 and it was mile 62.3 but there was no hotel." The
rider suggested they go a couple of blocks further, and, sure enough, there was
the hotel. Willy has grown up a lot since then.
On the day we went by Mt. Rushmore, my roommate Mal wanted to see Mt. Rushmore up close, but didn't want to make the climb with the 10% grade, so he hid his bike in the grass and hitchhiked up with some kids in a pickup. When he was done he started to hitchhike down and the same kids took him back.
Day 27 (7/13/01) Mitchell, SD to Sioux Falls, SD -- 73 miles
Finally an easy day. The wind shifted after about 40 miles
and we got a bit of a tailwind. It was a pleasure. The countryside was much
like yesterday with fields of corn and hay. Just a few points of interest. I
stopped by a farm where a woman was training a 9-week-old foal.
Later I got an answer to a question that has been on my mind for several
hundred miles. There are large strips (100 feet wide) of grass on either side
of the roads in South Dakota and farmers routinely cut hay on these strips. My
question was, does the state charge the farmers for the right to make hay, or
does the state pay the farmer to mow the roadsides? So I stopped a farmer
making hay today and found that the farmers just cut hay and nobody gets paid.
If the roadside isn't mowed, then the state mows it in the fall.
Tonight Zieva arrived to spend tonight and tomorrow with me exploring Sioux Falls. It is great to have her here. Three other wives came for the long weekend as well.
Day 28 (7/14/01) Sioux Falls, SD Rest Day-- 0 miles
Today, I (Zieva) get to write the update. We started the day by sleeping in as best we could. I had rented a car yesterday because when I called the hotel to be picked up at the airport they asked who I was then told me my husband said to rent a car since Sioux Falls (the biggest city in SD, population 125,000) was a little too big to get around on foot (unlike the rest of the towns of SD). So after breakfast, we drove across town (10 minutes) to the bike store to get Marc a new rear cassette (with 11-30 gear teeth) to replace the current 28 teeth cassette in anticipation of making it up the eastern mountain ranges (bike talk by a layperson for all of you riders out there).
Then we went to Sioux Falls Park to see the Sioux Falls - not quite Niagara
Falls but pretty nonetheless and the reason for a settlement here in the first
place.
After a very quick drive through downtown and lunch, we headed to Pipestone
National Monument over the border in Pipestone, MN (Anaruth, eat your heart out
- I was in two states today!). We expected to see massive stone columns looking
like organ pipes but instead saw the old quartzite and pipestone quarries where
the Indians mined (and still do) the pipestone rock to make peace pipes.
We bought a pipestone turtle carved by Native Americans using a traditional motif.
While walking the trail, we ran into
Marc's look-alike The Old Stone Face
and Zieva framed in a rock opening.
After returning to the motel, I babysat the laundry (major rest day activity) while Marc discovered and fixed a flat tire on his bike (better today than tomorrow). We went to dinner out-of-town (for us Detroiters, 10 miles wasn't a bad ride) to the Tea Steakhouse in Tea, SD ("Bring Your Sugar to Tea"). Marc's new roommate Mal joined us for a very pleasurable evening. Oh yes, Marc drove a car (10 miles) for the first time in a month - slightly more comfortable than a bike. Tomorrow, we're off again on our separate ways - Marc on his bike and me on my planes!
For those of you back home, there should be an article and photo of Marc in
tomorrow's (7/15/01) West Bloomfield Eccentric Newspaper.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in Minnesota and Wisconsin
Day 29 (7/15/01) Sioux Falls, SD to Worthington, MN – 64 miles
It was a pleasant easy day. We entered Minnesota at mile 18 and although there was no dramatic change from South Dakota, we are seeing bigger towns that are closer together as well as smaller "family" farms. We're also starting to see little orchards next to farmhouses.
We saw a pig farm with a cute concrete pig that I
"rode". I thought of my future daughter-in-law Diana who loves pigs.
When we got to Worthington we saw local produce (corn) for sale. This is also a
first. Many of us wished we had a microwave so we could cook up some fresh
corn; I've gotten very tired of the buffet veggies (overcooked corn, green
beans, carrots, etc.).
Day 30 (7/16/01) Worthington, MN to Mankato, MN – 95 miles
Although it was a 95 mile day, it was relatively easy. We started in light rain that let up after a mile or two and then reappeared around mile 30. The second rain lasted about 20 minutes and didn't cause any problems. For once we had a tailwind some of the time so I made good time. The countryside was almost entirely farms (corn and soybeans were the only crops I saw) and small towns. Each town had a grain elevator, and some grain elevators didn't have towns-- the bigger the town, the bigger the grain elevator. Mankato is the biggest town we saw today and has the biggest grain elevator.
I stopped and watched them fill a train with corn from a grain elevator in the town of Heron Lake. The corn poured out of giant dinosaur headed pipes. The train had a yellow engine, about the size of a small pickup truck that moved the train so that each boxcar could be filled.
At mile 60 I decided to stop for lunch and went to the town of St. James two miles off the route. When I got there I found seven other riders and a reporter sitting at a big round table in a restaurant; I joined them. When the owner of the restaurant saw all the bikers, she called the local paper that sent a reporter to cover the story. The story will run in the St. James Plain Dealer on 7/20/01. The restaurant owner also told us about a shortcut to get back to our route (without riding into a headwind) and we all took it. This was quite fortuitous since the road on the official route was full of dangerous cracks and several riders were injured on the stretch we bypassed.
Day 31 (7/17/01) Mankato, MN to Rochester, MN-- 95
Today was long, hot and humid. It started with a thick haze and a monster hill just outside our hotel. It may have been the steepest of the trip so far. In any case, I walked most of it. Then things flattened out a bit, but there were more hills than the past several days.
We got away form grain elevator towns and into towns with
cute little town halls. In the town of Concord there was a mural of the main
street as it had been in the 50's.
The farms were prosperous and still the only crops we saw were corn and
soybeans.
By about 10:00 the haze burned off and after lunch it was really got hot.
People at the McDonalds where I had lunch asked if this was the hottest weather
we'd seen; I said eastern Wyoming was hotter.
When we got to Rochester we went by some of the Mayo Clinic buildings and
through downtown. The best part of the day was a visit from Naomi Marmorstein
who drove town from Minneapolis to see me. She is the daughter of my original
biking buddy, Andy Marmorstein, who started riding with me in third grade. We
had Chinese food for dinner and caught up on our families. It was really nice.
Day 32 (7/18/01) Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI – 82 miles
Tonight we're in a motel on the east shore of the Mississippi in Wisconsin. It was a very hot (100 degrees when I arrived), humid and hilly day. Minnesota changed from gently rolling hills to Doug Torosian (he's the owner of America by Bike and trip leader) rolling hills. Doug Torosian rolling hills are hills one after another so that no matter what speed you go down one hill, you have to use your lowest gear to struggle up the next. We had lots of these. I rode most of the day with Marty, another recumbent rider. It was good to have company; it makes the day go much faster.
The countryside got much prettier, even though almost all we saw were fields
of corn and soybeans. There were many well-tended farm houses sprinkled around
as well as nice towns and lovely churches.
I stopped by a turkey farm where they raised 8500 turkeys feather-to-feather
in a turkey building -- turkeys turn corn into meat and turkey doo (I stayed on
the lee side of the turkey building).
I also had an adventure. Our waitress at lunch suggested we take a beautiful
new bike trail to the next town.
Initially we found that it was beautiful and new and, most importantly, much of
it was in the trees so we could get out of the oppressive heat, as advertised.
Unfortunately, it got a bit too much "in the trees" when we came upon
four large trees that had blown down in a storm, and we had to lift our bikes
over branch after branch to get through. In addition, this "shortcut"
was two miles longer than the official route.
Crossing the Mississippi was OK, but the traffic was miserable. However,
it's nice to be in the East.
Day 33 (7/19/01) La Crosse, WI to The Dells, WI – 98 miles
It was a nice long day -- nice because the scenery was great and because it was cloudy all day, which made it cooler than yesterday (although just as humid).
A former AbB rider spoke to us about the geology of Wisconsin last night at Route Rap. He said the western part of the state had not been glaciated during the last ice age and the eastern part had. This meant that the western part was cut with steep river valleys and the eastern part was more gently rolling since the glaciers had leveled things out. This was indeed the case.
We began the day with a long steep climb out of the biggest river valley --
the Mississippi.
Then we rode along a ridge for about twenty miles with lovely views to our left
and right.
The farms here use contour plantings of different crops making beautiful
patterns (like those of the rice paddies in Bali).
When we dropped down off the ridge we came to Amish country with horse drawn buggies, bearded men, and women in plain blue dresses. I passed a house selling baked goods and decided to buy something (mostly to meet some Amish folks). The baked goods weren't exciting, but I did buy a collapsible basked made of concentric oak pieces that collapse to a flat piece or open to a shallow basket.
After leaving this house I saw some "dogs" on the road. I'm always
wary of dogs, especially the strong country type that can really run fast. On
closer inspection, some of the "dogs" had horns; they were goats.
After we left the Amish country, we got to the more glaciated areas and the hills settled down and I got in "let's get through this hundred-mile day mode".
After I finished riding and got cleaned up, our old friends Madelyn Leopold
and Claude Kazanski (whom Zieva and I introduced) and their children Claire and
(Chris)Topher took me to dinner and we then drove out to the Shack and the farm
where Madelyn's famous grandfather Aldo Loepold restored a farmed out wasteland
into beautiful prairie, woodlands and savannahs. His book A Sand County Almanac describes his work. We had a great visit and
caught up on old times and our families (and realized that we hadn't seen each
other for 10 years).
Day 34 (7/19/01) The Dells, WI to Fond du Lac, WI – 84 miles
It was a rather boring day - almost. The countryside was not
as pretty as yesterday, it was beastly hot and humid, and I was tired from my
late night out with Claude and Madelyn. The only excitement was being passed by
huge tractor-trailers of string beans.
Then, just 4 blocks from the hotel in Fond du Lac, I was paying attention to everything but the road and a giant pothole came out and caught me. I fell down and landed on my elbow. I walked to the hotel and their courtesy van took me to the hospital where I got 3 stitches and antibiotics; then I came back to the hotel, showered and ate dinner. I feel quite good considering, but will probably not ride tomorrow, just to be safe. Everyone was very helpful -- the hotel manager brought my bike to my room, Larry, the baggage truck driver carried my luggage to my room and my roommate Mal came to the hospital to make sure I was OK -- I am.
Day 35 (7/20/01) Fond du Lac, WI to Manitowoc, WI-- 57 miles (Marc 0)
I decided to let my elbow heal today, so I rode in the baggage truck instead of on my bike. It was nice being with Larry (the truck driver) but not as much fun as biking and seeing things up close and personal.
Before leaving Fond du Lac I walked back to the place I fell and found the
pothole that had attacked me and found bits of "Marc juice" still on
the pavement.
This afternoon my brother Dan and my sister-in-law Mary came to visit and
tomorrow we'll take the carferry to Michigan together.
We spent the afternoon and evening together. In addition Dan (who is a really
good doctor) checked out my elbow and gave me some advice on how to care for
it. We went to a supermarket and bought Tofutti and I had my first ice cream
like desert in quite a while - yum.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in Michigan and Ontario
Day 36 (7/22/01) Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI -- 6 miles Ferry Crossing
Today I slept in and met Dan and Mary for breakfast. Then we went to the Maritime Museum and learned that Manitowoc was a submarine building center. In addition they make Mirro pots and pans here.
After much hurry up and wait, we got on the ferry and left at 1:00 for a four-hour crossing. The lake was completely calm and foggy with low clouds; not much to look at, but good for catching some z's on deck.
Mary, Danny and I schmoozed and snoozed. I felt nicely rested when we got to Michigan (at 6:00 PM after gaining an hour as we moved into Eastern time).
We picked up my buddies Hadi and Harry (see tomorrow for more detail) and had dinner together. Then it was off to bed to prepare for another long day of riding.
Day 37 (7/23/01) Ludington, MI to Mt. Pleasant, MI -- 112 miles
Today was a real pleasure. My friends Hadi Rabbani and Harry
Denman came to ride with me.
I have known Hadi for 25 years; he got me into serious biking many years ago.
Harry is a 76-year-old marvel and a wonderful friend. Every summer the three of
us have ridden up to Harry's cottage in northern Michigan, about 100+ miles
each way; and today was like old times. Hadi was in front, Harry staying back
to let me draft him, and me doing my best to keep up.
Hadi and Harry had spent the previous night in Mt. Pleasant and ridden 110 miles to Ludington to meet me, so they could turn around the next day and ride 112 miles back. Hadi had mapped out a route that was far superior to the America by Bicycle route and we followed Hadi's route for the first 65 miles. Everyone who went the other way was jealous.
We went on country roads through fields of ferny green asparagus, squash with bright yellow blossoms, corn, sugar beets and golden wheat fields being harvested. One of our best stops was to "inspect" some deliciously ripe tart cherries (and irrigate them too). Of course there were many rollers (hills) as we went over land that had been sand dunes long ago.
My elbow behaved well, did not hurt and seems to be healing nicely. Another bit of good news: This is our last century (100 mile) day of the trip.
Day 38 (7/24/01) Mt. Pleasant, MI to Birch Run, MI -- 74 miles (Marc 90)
This was an easy day. The terrain was flat, we had a tailwind a lot of the time and it's familiar country. I guess if I hadn't lived in Michigan so long I would find it exciting and new, but it was more like "old home week". There were amber fields of wheat that were freshly cut, soybeans hoping for some rain, corn of varying heights. The roads were nice and mostly traffic free and there was only one city, Alma. I bought a sandwich there (at 9:00 AM) and carried it with me until I was ready for lunch. I found a house with several tall cool maple trees and asked the people if I could sit there and eat. The asked me to sit on their porch and brought me ice water (very welcome). Afterwards, they showed me all their craft projects -- birdhouses covered in pebbles and varnished, trailers for cars and trucks, and other stuff. They even invited me to swim in their pool. I declined, but thanked them for their hospitality, and went on my way.
When I got to Birch Run (74 miles), I needed a refill on one of my
medications and had to continue on into Frankenmuth (another 8 miles each way)
to get it. Frankenmuth is a cutesy Bavarian town with a huge Christmas store
and two immense chicken-with-all-the-trimmings restaurants that we used to stop
at whenever we went up north when our kids were young. I should have eaten
there; our dinner was awful. But it was hot and I just wanted to shower and get
cool, so I went straight back to the motel after I got my medicine. I did stop
long enough to have my picture taken in front of the Bavarian Inn.
Day 39 (7/25/01) Birch Run, MI to Port Huron, MI -- 87 miles
RAIN, COLD RAIN. I know I have been complaining about the heat, but cold rain is pretty unpleasant. It started after lunch and wasn't very hard, just strong enough to make everything wet and all the road dirt get on me, my clothes and my bike. When I got to Port Huron, I had to wash and lube my bike, then wash myself, then my jacket. Now that I'm warm and dry, the rain has stopped (one of Murphy's Laws I think).
The countryside was more wheat, soybean and sugar beets, but there were a
few ups and downs (knuckles) as we crossed the bottom the of Thumb of
Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Once it started raining, I stopped looking at the
scenery and just tried to get done with the ride. Just as I came into Port
Huron, there was a park on Lake Huron. I decided that five more minutes in the
rain wasn't going to kill me so I went to the beach to look at the lake and a
passing ore boat.
Tonight I had dinner with some dear friends (Simcha Grouppers) Anaruth and
Sig Bernard, and Phyllis and Sheldon Schwartz. We went to the Edison Inn
overlooking the St. Clair River and watched the ships passing our window. As
always we had a delightful time with stories and humor; also a free dessert for
me after Sheldon told everyone in the restaurant of my adventures.
Day 40 (7/26/01) Port Huron, MI to London, Ontario -- 75 miles
Several days ago, Doug, out trip leader, told us we would
not be able to ride over the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron, MI to Sarnia,
Ontario. Several riders decided to see if this was really the case. So, after
dinner last night, they rode their bikes to the bridge and got permission to
ride to the other side (but not to enter Canada). Brian went even further. He
found the right person in the Bridge Authority and obtained permission for us
all to cross. Then he came back and convinced Doug to let us do it. This
morning we left as a group with Doug (on his bike) in the lead and rode over
the bridge. It's quite a spectacular bridge with blue Lake Huron on the north
and the St. Clair River on the south. There were two huge expansion joints
(kingpins) that we had to walk across, but otherwise it was no big deal since
we had a whole lane to ourselves.
When we got to Canada, we cleared customs en masse and we rode into Sarnia.
It was a cool sunny day with a very strong HEADWIND. It was constantly in our faces for the first 50 miles. For part of the time I rode with (Recumbent) Bill and we shared the pulling/drafting. It helped a lot. The last 25 miles were easier because the route wasn't always into the wind and the wind subsided a bit (or it's easier to ride into a headwind if you know there's only ten miles left to go).
The scenery was similar to that in Michigan, flat with small neat farms and
fields of corn, wheat and soybeans. There were tree-shaded old yellow brick
farmhouses with flowers all around and Canadian flags flying from their front
porches.
Tonight Sean and Jamie Parady, two charming and funny twenty-something brothers from California left the trip to bike to see their grandparents who live here in Ontario. I'm sure their grandparents will be thrilled to see them; if they were my grandchildren, I surely would be.
Day 41 (7/27/01) London, Ontario to Brantford, Ontario-- 66 miles
The day started like yesterday, sunny, cool and a headwind.
But within the first three miles I passed a strip of sunflowers in front of a
cornfield and that provided an "attitude adjustment".
From then on, I took it easy and enjoyed the blue skies and all the varieties
of plants around.
The fields throughout Ontario have been a quilt of various
shades of green and great squares of golden wheat.
One of my nicest stops was at a field where a mother and her four daughters
were picking sweet corn. They gave me an ear to try; the mother said she didn't
like it raw, but the daughters insisted I try it. So I ate the just-picked corn
right from the husk; it was good. They gave me another to take along for
tonight. While I was eating my corn, Deanna, a dancer and seamstress from
Seattle, and Al, a surveyor from Chicago who worked on the Alaska oil pipeline,
came by and Deanna joined me for a corn picture. Here is Deanna's recipe for
Motel Cooked Corn: Place one ear of corn with husk in microwave for 2 - 3
minutes. Then eat.
There were lots of interesting plants today. Tobacco and ginseng were two
unexpected crops.
Ginseng needs to be shaded so they grow it in fields covered in black mesh.
At about mile 50, I stopped at a
fruit stand for a gourmet lunch of fresh peas and peaches with two hot dogs and
a diet coke. I ate with Deanna and Al, two of the other fruitaholics in the
group. Al pulled (blocked the wind) for us from there into Brantford.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in New York State
Day 42 (7/28/01) Brantford, Ontario to Niagara Falls-- 79 miles
Another good day. The wind was not a problem and it was cool
and sunny. After about 8 miles I picked up a delightful paceline and rode with
them for about 45 miles. It made the going much easier and I had people to
schmooze with. On some of the bigger hills, I started to fall behind, but Rich
waited for me and "pulled me" (allowed me to draft him as he
accelerated) up to the pace line (Bill, Wilson, Van, Gunnel, Chris, Rich and
Julie).
Some of the rider groups have become very close knit and, although I have ridden with them for short distances, I have never felt welcomed as I did today by Rich, Chris, Gunnel and the others -- it was much appreciated.
We came to a bridge out and decided to "cross the plank" rather
than ride a two-mile detour. We walked down a shallow ravine to a stream, then
crossed the water on some 2x6's and climbed up the other side.
About 10 miles after lunch we came to some hillier country and I couldn't
keep up with the rest of the crew, so I slowed down and enjoyed the scenery
which had become much more interesting. We came to a few vineyards and a number
of orchards. Apricots were in season so I stopped to try some. Cherries were
also ripe and I sampled some of them as well.
After a few short, but very steep hills we came out of the orchard country
and into Niagara Falls, Canada. The falls were quite beautiful and spectacular;
we all took pictures and hung out for a little while.
We crossed the Rainbow Bridge to the US with no problem. At US Customs they asked us our citizenship and then waved us across the border. Then it was about 8 ugly miles through town to our motel.
Day 43 (7/29/01) Niagara Falls, NY -- Rest Day
I got a ride to Buffalo with my roommate Mal who was going
to see his sister and spent the day with cousins Kenny and Antoinette Dauber.
It was a lazy day of sitting in the shade and catching up -- a relaxing rest
day.
Day 44 (7/30/01) Niagara Falls, NY to Rochester, NY -- 75 miles
It was a nice day. I rode the whole day with
"recumbent" Bill and we didn't try to go fast, but made reasonable
time in any case. We got out of Niagara Falls pretty quickly and then into
small farm country. It was not nearly as prosperous as the Midwest or Ontario,
but there were interesting crops like cabbage (green and purple). Also there
were string beans scattered along the shoulder of the road; I assume they had
escaped from a string bean truck. I also saw a red fox in a wheat field. It was
cloudy and cool with no headwinds, the kind of weather we like.
We have 10 new riders (really 7 new and 3 returning). Among the returnees are Joe Donahue (whose father died in Jackson, WY) and Kathy, who had become friendly with Joe. Manuel, a friend of tall Chris (Loyd) from Mexico City and his daughter Mimi also started today.
We had another injury -- not a biking injury. Larry, our truck driver pulled a muscle in his calf and almost fainted from the pain. They took him to the hospital and found it was only a sprain (we worried about a blood clot). He’s not feeling very well, but the injury is not serious. Doug has gone to New Hampshire to be with the other America by Bicycle trip that is finishing tomorrow, so Mike and Barbara are our temporary leaders in his absence. It's good we have Barbara as an extra staff person, because she drove the truck and Larry SAGed.
I went to cousins Alan and Judy Wertheimer for dinner. Cousins Norma and
Freddy Silverstein, whom I haven't seen for many years, also came.
We discussed the usual old people topics, our kids and or trips. It was a
delightful evening.
Day 45 (7/30/01) Rochester, NY to Syracuse, NY -- 89 miles
It was a long day and more hilly than we've seen in a while,
but nice. We started by going to Pittsford, the town where cousins Alan and
Judy Wertheimer live. The old town cemetery had a marker that said that the man
who received the first patent in the US was buried there.
Alan had showed me around a bit when I went there for dinner last night and pointed out the Erie Canal. So when I got there on my bike I decided to go off the route 1/4 mile and take a picture of the canal. Jim (Padre Rider) had also gone to the canal, but he wanted to ride along the bicycle path that followed the old towpath along the side of the canal. Being a sucker for adventure I decided to join him. The problem was that our map didn't show the canal and the maps along the canal didn't show the roads, so we couldn't be sure if were going parallel to our route or not. Eventually we met a runner who assured us that if we followed the towpath, we could rejoin our route. So we followed the towpath for about 12 miles.
The canal has been restored and expanded to handle pleasure
craft, and the towpath is well used by bikers, walkers and runners. The locks
on the canal are operational, and we saw one lock being emptied so several
boats could go upstream.
The only problem with this adventure was that it added 4 miles to our route and we dawdled. This made us the last two riders to get to the first SAG stop. Jim is a fast rider and made up the time; I was the last one in today.
I also stopped for fresh veggies: a peach, a tomato and an ear of corn that I carried for 50 miles -- unfortunately, the corn was starchy and old.
Later in the day I passed parts of the old Erie Canal. I stopped at one of
its locks that was built in 1847. This part of the canal is not maintained as
an active waterway, and the lock was dry.
Day 46 (8/01/01) Syracuse, NY to Utica, NY -- 64 miles
It was a very pleasant day. I rode with (recumbent) Bill Ruppert and we took it easy and had a nice time. The weather was warm, but not much wind -- just a nice lazy summer day. It reminded me of the rides I took in Cleveland as a kid.
We're starting to get into much more wooded country. It's not New England, but we're certainly well out of the prairies. Yesterday we climbed over a number of ridges, none too steep, but I certainly felt the ups and downs. I expected that today would be more of the same. Surprisingly, the terrain was quite flat -- our steepest hill was right in Syracuse (disguised by the houses lining it as a gentle grade).
We rode beside the Old Erie Canal from time to time.
In fact, the canal went right through the center of one of the towns we passed.
As we entered Utica, we crossed New York's oldest canal, the Barge Canal.
Day 47 (8/01/01) Utica, NY to Albany, NY-- 92 miles
Another pleasant day. We left Utica in the Mohawk River Valley and rode along the Mohawk for about 76 miles. Although the countryside was quite hilly, we avoided the nasty hills (very unusual) and only had to climb several bluffs along the river. None was very hard. The weather was hot and humid, but not a problem.
Our first SAG was at Fort Klock, which was a restored farm (I didn't see any
fortifications), but was quite nice.
We also passed an old tavern from 1741.
I rode with (recumbent) Bill Rupert and we kept running into (Curious) George,
as usual. George is quite a fast rider, but so curious that he stops every few
minutes to examine something or pick up coins in the road, etc. The result is
that he comes in near last (as we do), and we pass each other several times a
day.
Much of he road was like a flashback to the highways I had been on as a kid
before freeways -- only 50 years more rundown. Of course there were MacDonald’s
and new gas stations as well, but also many old fashioned motels, junk shops
and auto repair/body shops, etc. In the town of Herkimer we passed an old
bridge that crossed a tributary to the Mohawk and had a tree growing in the
middle of it.
Marc's Cross-Country Bicycle Adventure in Vermont and New Hampshire
Day 48 (8/3/01) Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT -- 81 miles, 5180 feet of climbing
Today I had a very special companion, my son Josh.
He was worried that I would be too strong for him, but things haven't changed
since our last long ride 10 years ago. He's still stronger, faster and younger
than me. I rode first, except on the big hills (when he left me in the dust) so
that he wouldn't get too far ahead and we could schmooze. He hasn't adjusted as
well to the America by Bike ambience of all-you-can-eat buffets and budget
hotels as he has to the biking, but he can go back to New York City in two
days, so I think he'll survive.
The ride today was mostly on fairly busy roads, so we didn't really get to
enjoy rural Vermont. Although it was very humid, the sky was overcast and the
heat wasn't bad. There were two long climbs (about 9 miles each) and an awesome
descent into Brattleboro.
At the top of one climb, Hogback Mountain, they claimed we could see for 100
miles, but most of what we saw was green hills in the haze.
Day 49 (8/4/01) Brattleboro, VT to Manchester, NH-- 86 miles (6200 feet of climbing)
This was our hilliest and prettiest day since Custer State Park/Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.
Yesterday we came up out of the Hudson River Valley from Albany across the
Taconic Mountains in New York and Green Mountains in Vermont to the Connecticut
River Valley. Today we climbed through an early morning haze out of the
Connecticut River Valley
and over the White Mountains to the Merrimack River Valley. Yesterday the
climbs were long and moderately steep. Today the climbs and descents were both
much steeper. Some of the climbs required my 10-toe granny gear (walking), but
Josh just used his granny gear on those hills and had no problem.
We were in beautiful wooded country all day with meadows and old buildings
interspersed.
The tree-shaded roads were lined with the old stone walls dating from colonial
times. It reminded us both of our three years living in New England. We even
rode for two miles on one of our old routes (but neither of us recognized any
landmarks). We stayed off the main roads for most of the day so we didn't have
traffic to contend with and it was easier to schmooze.
We went through several quaint towns. In Francestown the SAG was across from
a beautiful flower covered house
and an old church where we posed for a picture.
The town of Greenfield had a lovely church/meeting house on the central square
that I had once passed on a ride during our Massachusetts days.
I remembered how tough it was to ride through New Hampshire from the rides Josh and I did 12 years ago when we lived in Boston, and was concerned about being able to complete the ride today. But I made it. So I'm proud and relieved.
Day 50 (8/4/01) Manchester, NH to Portsmouth, NH -- 60 miles
It was our last day, the day we would dip our front wheels in the Atlantic.
Every night I make sure to have a bottle of juice in the room in case of an insulin reaction. Last night I got a penny in change when buying the juice and was trying to think of what to do with the penny. Then I remembered that I had told Curious George that I would seed the roads with coins for him. So, as he was about to leave I this morning, I put the penny on the ground in front of his bike. He was thrilled. He picked up the penny and placed it in a special place for safekeeping. It will go in his trip scrapbook along with his other treasures like license plates from every state we crossed.
Last night Doug told us the ride would be relatively easy. It was typical
Doug. The first 35 miles were the same 3 mph uphills we had yesterday followed
by screaming downhills. My legs and psyche were not in the mood for this, but I
rode up every hill (of course Josh had passed me and was twiddling his thumbs
at the top). After 48 miles we picked up our police escort for the ride to the
coast and then along the Atlantic to Wallis Beach where we dipped our wheels.
It was exciting and a relief to be done.
After the wheel dipping, we rode another 3 miles into Portsmouth for lunch. We had images of exciting choices (like Chinese or Thai), but the interesting restaurants were either closed or didn't exist, so we had a mediocre lunch, rode to our hotel and showered.
Then it was time to deal with the bike. Doug had arranged that a local bike store would pack and ship bikes (for a fee). I decided that I really didn't want to spend all day Monday dealing with the bike (getting it on the airplane and through the terminal), so we brought the bike to the shop; I hope it gets home safely.
Our next adventure was to see the factory where they manufacture the
infusion sets for my Disetronic insulin pump. I had given an interview for the
Disetronic newsletter before leaving for the trip and the president of the
division that makes infusion sets e-mailed me and invited me to see the plant.
Jack McCaughey, the director of manufacturing, picked us up and gave us a tour
of the facility.
I have always been interested in seeing how things are made, so this was
special because I got to see how they make something I use every minute of the
day. We enjoyed meeting Jack and appreciate the time he took to show us around.
We still had a couple of hours before the final banquet so we asked Jack to drop us off at the foot of the bridge to Maine. We walked across to Maine, and, since there was no place to eat in Maine, we walked back to Portsmouth. We had a snack, visited an art gallery and then walked the 1.5 miles back to the hotel.
The final banquet was yet another hotel buffet. It was a bit fancier than most of our meals, but...
They gave out some cute awards. Frances who was always first to leave got a bag of gummy worms (early bird gets the worm). Nancy Gates, who is always smiling got a big plastic smile. I met my roommate Mal's wife and we sat with recumbent Bill, his wife and sister. It was good to meet them and see the other halves of people I had gotten to know and like.
When it was over, I said my goodbyes to these people I’d come to know and respect. It was a bittersweet moment; I was relieved to be done getting up every day and working with every bit of my strength to get over the miles and hills, and yet it meant leaving these new friends and going back to my "normal" life.
A new chapter begins.