We decided to get an early start this morning as we left Plattsburgh and headed into Canada. After riding for a little while, one of our trekkers had tire problems and we had to stop. We worked together to resolve the issues, and hoping the worst was behind us, we kept biking. We stopped to make sandwiches for lunch and got the last Stewart’s ice cream of the trip, then biked towards the Canadian border!!! We all made it past border patrol successfully and cruised through the last 15 miles of the day. We are now in Quebec and are hearing lots of French all around us. We ended the day with some water basketball at the campground and a big pasta dinner!
We woke up at our campsite on Block Island at 5:30 AM to pouring rain, so we slept in a little longer to wait it out. By 7 am the rain paused, so we packed up our tents and ate some oatmeal. We had a couple of hours on the island for some morning activities before our ferry left. We stopped at a famous donut stand and each had a warm cinnamon doughnut and coffee (Ben has now joined the leaders in having a cup of black coffee each morning, we told him it’s his first step into manhood.) After, we went to the Block Island Marine Institute and looked at local marine animals in tanks, and learned about challenges within the local ecosystem. Also, a woman tagging horseshoe crabs was there and she gave us a lot of information about these crabs and how they are used in the medical industry for testing vaccines, and because of that they are considered endangered. We missed some heavy rainfall by being inside the marine institute, but had to brave the wet weather as we biked to our ferry. We dried off on our ride to Point Judith and got to know two older woman sitting next to us from Pennsylvania who have been traveling together since they were kids. They were excited to hear about what we were doing. We pulled into Point Judith and saw lots of fishing boats and seals. The rain had stopped and we biked about 10 miles before stopping at the well-known, Bluebird Cafe in Wakefield to wait out an afternoon storm and eat catfish sandwiches. Finally the rain was behind us, so we continued another 30 miles to Mystic, CT. Everyone was excited to get to the hotel and have a shower and comfy bed for the night. The ride to Mystic was beautiful, lined with lush trees, passing ponds and river, with some rolling hills along the way. We checked into the hotel, took showers, took the gear off our bikes and biked into the historic downtown Mystic for dinner. We first had a slice of pizza at the famous Mystic Pizza, just to see what all the buzz was about. That’s where we met a friendly dog named Ty, and his mom who was also a bike tourist. We shared stories and took a picture with Ty for his Instagram page. Following a locals recommendation, we headed out to Sea Swirl to get some fried seafood, but we were stopped by an iconic draw bridge that was countered by two 230 ton cement blocks. Quite the visual. We ate fish tacos at Sea Swirl but everyone was still a bit hungry, so we biked back to town and got ice cream and walked around the bustling boardwalk full of shops and nightlife. We met many people, dogs and had many laughs along the way. We finally realized we were very tired and biked back to the hotel for a cozy night of sleep. Tomorrow we will go to the Mystic Seaport Museum and then bike to East Lyme, CT for another camping night.
We pegged another 102 onto our total today, landing in Sand Springs, MT, where we camped and enjoyed a delicious ramen. Another day on the bikes took us through our first rain shower, but gifted a beautiful double rainbow in return.
Crickets hopped at us in self defense as we scooted up surprisingly hilly terrain. Short detours into the sparse towns saw us rolling like tumbleweeds into oases of Wilcoxon’s ice cream and ice water. Locals were kind and gave us Skittles.
We are proud to have knocked out over two hundred miles in two days, and are going to shoot for a third tomorrow– the town of Circle. A round miles away, give or take a couple.
After a late start due to an exploded tire, our group set off on the detoured route around Lake Champlain. After a quick stop at a gas station for water we powered through the first half of our thirty six mile day and enjoyed a nice lunch at Sand Bar State park where we got to swim and enjoy the views. We then continued on a windy set of rolling hills until we reached the end of Vermont. To end our day we took the ferry into Plattsburgh and attempted to make grilled cheeses for dinner. Even though some had to be scrapped we got some time to relax and enjoy the campsite.
We woke up on Block Island to a sunny, hot morning. We biked into town and set up in a shady park to make coffee and oatmeal for breakfast. After that, we biked to a farm on the island and saw goats, kangaroos, alpacas and tortoises. Then we biked to the Southern Lighthouse built in 1873, which was on a hill and we could see the bluffs down to the ocean from the lighthouse. We hiked down the bluffs and walked along the ocean looking at cool marine life. We saw a starfish and lots of crabs. We also met a marine biologist who taught us a lot about the local marine life. Later, we floated on a banana boat and played king of the boat where we wrestled each other off and the last one on was the king. After a lot of time in the sun, we worked up some hunger so biked to a restaurant on the island and ate burgers and sandwiches. We were all a bit tired, so we boosted our energy with cold coffee and live music. There was a great band playing by the ocean and lots of people were dancing. After this, we played frisbee-jackpot in the ocean and then cooked dinner on a dock while the sun set. While sitting on the dock in the marina, we saw a big yellowfin tuna that someone had caught. It was a fun and filling day, so we biked back to the campground and went to sleep in our tents. Tomorrow we will leave the island and head to Mystic, CT.
One century and seven miles ago, we left the comfort of maple syrup and sausages marinated in hotel lobby muzak to file down the blackened finger of HWY 87. Well-timed stops at friendly local watering holes adorned with tasteful taxidermy had us busting down the road like Richard Petty. Flat ground and tailwinds didn’t hurt either, but our highest mileage day was ultimately a credit to our increasingly powerful hearts and minds. Most of the day was on the road but the laughs and mood were lifted like a Montana Chevy’s tires.
Today we’ll attempt to repeat the feat with 99 solid miles… After second breakfast
We started the day nice and early, arising from the Clariton Inn in Seekonk, MA at 6am for a quick and delicious continental breakfast. We feasted on waffles, eggs, potatoes, oatmeal and yogurt and then saddled up by 7am for a 35 mile ride to the Newport-Block Island Ferry. Shortly after our decent, we ran into another biker on the road who was from the area, his name was Ricky. He was so excited to meet us and told us all about his solo bike journey across the northern tier of the US and his new plan to bike the Southern Tier. We took a picture together and he sent us on our way with much advice for the road. The ride to Newport was very beautiful, as we road along the East Bay Bike Path which was a shady, windy, scenic path along the Bristol Harbor. We stopped at Colt State Park for a peek at the Bay and we chatted about previous fishing adventures while staring on a fishing dock. As we rode on, we made the miles enjoyable by talking about wildlife sighting experiences along the way. Then suddenly, right in front of us, we saw a poor bunny get swooped up off the ground by a hawk. It was ironic and a bit traumatizing, but nature is wild sometimes. As we got close to the ferry, we stopped at a grocery store for some sandwich ingredients for the ferry and our dinner and breakfast ingredients for later. At noon, we boarded the Hi-Speed Ferry to Block Island, ate our delicious turkey sandwiches and then stood on the top deck while the wind blasted in our face and stared out into the ocean looking for whales. As we arrived on the Island, the first thing we did, of course is jump in the ocean. We found a popular beachside spot with live music and lots of boats. We jumped off a dock, swam in the waves, kicked back to some live tunes, walked on the rocks and then Max caught a shrimp by hand. It was time for ice cream so we biked into town for some delicious cones, then biked on to another dock where we swam some more. On the way we met a donkey who we fed carrots to, and who tried to eat Katie’s converse shoes off her bike. As the sun started to fade, we biked over to a town beach and made some curry stir fry over noodles that hit the spot more than you could imagine. We battled each other in intense card games by the ocean, then pedaled home to our campsite. We pitched tents, stared at the stars, talked about science and NASA and all sorts of out of this world conversations before our eyes got too heavy and we settled into our tents and faded into the night. Tomorrow has many adventures on the itinerary, can’t wait to explore!
Today we rode about 36 miles around Lake Champlain in Vermont. We started the day a little slow. We left the campground past 8 even though we woke up at 6. But we quickly made up for it and then some with fast riding. By the time we stopped for lunch we had completed 2/3 of our daily mileage before 11. A new record! We stopped a little while for lunch, where we ate crackers, meats, cheeses, and fruit. Then we powered through our last 12 miles to our campsite in Burlington, Vermont. We arrived early and had plenty of time for a nice swim and a game of frisbee-jackpot at North Beach Park. We dropped off all of our heavy gear at the campsite and then rode back into Burlington to explore the town. We walked along the shops of Church Street and went to Ben and Jerry’s for delicious ice cream cones. While riding over a bump, one trekker’s tire popped suddenly and sliced open. We plan to fix it tomorrow morning. We watched the sunset over the water, then went back to our campsite and went to bed.
We awoke to the gradual crescendo of light which crept at our faces from beneath the beds’ respective curtains. After rolling out of bed, we went down to another floor to eat breakfast. Our breakfast exceeded our expectations in every way, from the food to the atmosphere of the floor we found ourselves on. With a newfound passion succeeding the exhausting day prior, we biked into the city of Paris on our way to Versailles. However, we found the journey to Versailles to be much more difficult than anticipated. We found ourselves at the mercy of the sun and the series of hills that drained our energy and water bottles. By the time we reached Versailles, we were exhausted and in desperate need of water. Luckily, a semicircle of street vendors stood tall stationed afoot the grand palace. The counselors purchased water bottles for the group, and we were at last ready to enter the palace gates. When we entered the courtyard, we were absolutely amazed. The immense palace had gilded roofs and hallways of paintings, furniture, and statues. Almost every room was incredibly detailed, from the decorated floors and walls to the painting-covered ceilings. We passed by the bedrooms of the kings, queens, and others who lived in the palace from the day the Sun King (Louis XIV) moved in until the removal of his grandson. Once we left the palace we were very hungry, and finally found a sandwich shop in the commercial district of Versailles. After leaving, we were full of energy once again and ready to take on the hilly terrain. This time, however, the wind rushed through our hair as we took on steep downhills hitting speeds upwards of 30 MPH. The ride back to the hostel was far quicker than its counterpart and we enjoyed a late spaghetti dinner before finally settling into bed.
Rest days always seem to fly by, and today was no different. After a nice oatmeal and bagel breakfast with our host Joe, we bid adieu and cruised down to our hotel to begin the official day of recuperation. Not long after arrival, we headed for a nearby restaurant to share a goodbye meal with Sachin, the first of our party to depart. We will miss him out at the front of the pack, tracking down water refills from locals, and his easy going way which seemed to always find the right time and place to step in and lend a hand.
After saying our goodbyes, we settled in like grizzlies for a night’s hibernation, stirred only by the dinner call for burgers and shakes, and prepared for a big Hilton breakfast to line our caloric coffers before doling out our joules to the roadway once more. 85 miles is our next daily goal… Will we hit it? Find out tomorrow!
miles away, give or take a couple.
