Day 48 - Done. I have arrived in Boston and swam in The Atlantic Ocean.

Day 48
Burlington, MA to Revere Beach, Boston MA
18 Miles  - A victory lap to the ocean.

As we rounded the final corner and crested the last rise to the beach I saw about 50 "Ride for Kid's Sake" towels being waved by friends and family of the riders and that's when my tears started to flow.

The Atlantic Ocean felt great, 3,415 miles from L.A to Boston on my bike was the goal and Ruby Jean and I rode every fantastic inch.

Team EFI - Adrianne, Dave, Me, Penny & Chris. The "Gang of 5" rode together for most of the trip and became a tight bunch.

I wish Vinny & Tracy were in this picture.

                                    

I will be updating the blog in the next few days but now what I really want to do is take a nap.
The crossing was 3,415 miles with 147,350 ft of elevation gain. We crossed 15 state lines and climbed 4 mountain ranges.
I will write an update of the last 2 days and a "wrap up" next week when I can spend some time and collect my thoughts.
This was a fantastic experience and something that I will never ever do again, once is enough.

Thanks for following along and for helping out Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Much more to follow, and remember......
Dream BIG, Jeff

Day 47 - Brattleboro, VT to Burlington, MA - 3 States in 1 Day

Day 47
Brattlesboro, VY to Burlington, MA
92 Miles, Big Hills - Big Rain
9 Hours on the bike.

This page will be updated later today.
By the time I got off the bike I had barely had time to shower before dinner.
Friday we cross the finish line.

More to follow....no time to blog tonight.

Day 46 - Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT - Miserable Rainy Day

Day 46
Albany, NY to Brattleboro, VT
79 Miles. First 10 miles overcast, Next 69 miles or hard pounding rain and 6,200 ft of climbing.
A great day to NOT ride a bike.

I really wanted to have some funny stories to share with you today. Rain isn't funny and heavy rain really isn't funny so today your stuck with a unfunny posting.

Well, the good news is I crossed another state line. Today's ride is best described as the wet ride from hell.
The roads during much of the ride we terrible, potholes, ruts, cracks and little or no shoulder. When the first heavy rains began the holes, cracks & ruts would fill with water and with all the rain it was very difficult to see and we had to ride very slow and still we were bouncing in and out of holes.

At one point the rain was coming so hard that we couldn't see enough to continue so we pulled into a restaurant that was closed and waited for about 15 minutes and realized that it wasn't going to let up so we pressed on.

                                               Rain bouncing off the picnic tables

                                              Crossing over The Hudson River

I really wish that the weather would have cooperated with us today, I'm sure that some of the viewpoints that we had while riding over the mountains were really great but with the thick low clouds and rain there was nothing to see.

The "Gang of 5" decided after a couple hours of fighting the roads and the rain that we would keep a safe distance between bikes allowing extra distance due to limited visibility. These last couple days we have been extra careful knowing that the only thing that could stop us from our goal of EFI would be an accident. Above is a picture of a late day "flat party", I hope that this is the last one of the trip. For those keeping score, my flat total is 6 for the ride.

Ruby Jean was really tired after today's ride. It took 30 minutes to get her cleaned up and ready for tomorrow. I don't have the heart to tell her that the rain looks like it might still be here in full force tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last full ride day. We ride 91 miles through VT & NH and end the day in Burlington, MA.
I also get to see Stephanie and my buddy Mike tomorrow who are going to be at the beach on Friday as we ride into Boston and end the ride at Revere Beach at 9:00am.
As I finish writing this tonight it is still pouring outside. I'm crossing my fingers that the roads will be rideable tomorrow, we have come 3,315 miles on the bike and have ridden Every Fantastic Inch, we have no intention of reaching Revere Beach in any way other than on the bikes.

Thanks for following along.
Dream BIG, Jeff

Day 45 - Little Falls, NY to Albany, NY - Ruby Jean gets rattled.

Day 45
Little Falls, NY to Albany, NY
72 Miles, Great weather, Crappy Roads.
The donation link is open...give it a try.

Boston.....that a' way.

This morning we opted to get a later start since we were only riding 72 miles and the climbing was minimal. The route today was a mix of some beautiful countryside and some not so beautiful run down parts of town.

                                                        Beautiful Countryside

                                            .....not so beautiful, run down parts of town

The Mohawk River along with The Erie Canal were off our right side for 20 miles of today's ride.

The Gang of 5 are all that is left for EFI and today we became very protective of our group. We only have 2 full days of riding remaining and keeping the bikes upright is the #1 concern. We have ridden 3,000 miles together and we know each others moves and habits. To toss a new rider in the mix could upset the apple cart regardless of how good the rider is and the only thing that will stop us from EFI is a wreck. Dave, Adrianne, Chris, Penny and myself will stick together until we reach the beach in Boston.

The road today was a mix of good and bad and the bad was really pretty bad. We were shouting "Hole", "Glass", "Bump" etc to let the rider behind to know to be careful. Ruby Jean took a beating today with all the bumps and holes that couldn't be avoided. As soon as we arrived to the hotel she wanted a hot shower to loosen those tight carbon muscles.

I suggested that she might want to take bath but she really likes to feel the hot water run through the spokes.

Tomorrow is a good climbing day in Vermont.
We only have 2 days and 3 states remaining.

Dream BIG, Jeff


Day 44 - Syracuse, NY to Little Falls, NY... Picture Perfect

Day 44
Syracuse, NY to Little Falls, NY
78 Miles, Blue Sky - Picture Perfect

Today was a good day on the bike but to not mention how the morning started would be like trying to ignore the 800lb gorilla in the room. Let me preface this by saying that the staff of Crossroads, the our company that takes care of our logistics, has been great. Tracy is the owner and she along with the staff have done a great job. In 7 weeks and 3,000 miles it is impossible for everything to be perfect and there have been a couple things that could have been handled better but if you were to give Crossroads a grade it would have to be an A.
This morning as we were leaving the hotel we were told that 2 staff members had left the tour. This was quite a shock and of course it fueled speculation as to what could have happened, Both people who left were very nice and always came across to the riders in a professional manner. After spending so much time with the 15-20 riders and 5 (now 3) crew you really become somewhat of a family and it is painful when something like this happens that upsets the balance. I don't know what caused the exodus but I do know that I wish everyone the very best. Boston awaits us in 4 days and that is all I can focus on at this point.

 Cross Island Chapel, what a great way to brighten up a ride. The Chapel is in the middle of this pond which itself is in the middle of nowhere.

The other males in "The Gang of 5" are Chris ( England ) and Dave (Vermont). Chris took a tumble on the bike today but luckily the only thing hurt was his pride. He had a issue with unclipping while coming to a stop while making a turn and.....kerplunk.We have all done it at some point but with only a few hundred miles remaining we are trying to make sure that we keep the rubber side down.

More great little towns in this area. Canastota runs along the Canal and has a great deal of character and charm.

                                 The "Falls" of Little Falls NY are....Little.

The Mohawk river runs along the back side of Little Falls and still uses a lock system for large barges going up and down the river.

So after arriving in Little Falls I decided to take a walk up the hill to the main street to see what was going on. Little falls on a Monday afternoon isn't exactly hopping. I walked the 5 blocks from one side of town to the other and found 1 place open that looked like it had food. As I entered the "Bar & Grill" I realized that food wasn't going to be the strong point. I sat down and "Moose", yes, that is the bartenders name, asked me if I intended to have a drink. I assured him that a cold beer had been calling to me and so he obliged me. There were 6 other people in the establishment, all sitting at the rail so I was able to get the latest on the local politics and miscreants in town. For some odd reason they knew that I wasn't a local so they asked me where I was from and after I told them "Portland Oregon" one fella said "hell son, from what I hear you might just come from the one place in the country that is goofier than New York". I really couldn't argue with him so instead I agreed and we shared a beer and stories of stupid politicians doing stupid things and being praised and rewarded by those who prosper by their folly. It was a great end to a odd day.

Tomorrow we ride to Albany, NY and then on Wednesday we cross New Hampshire and Vermont and will end up in Massachusetts. (3 state lines in 1 day)

Maybe it's just my imagination but I think I'm beginning to smell the ocean:)

Dream BIG, Jeff

Day 43 - New York's Finger Lakes and towns on way to Syracuse.

Day 43
Fathers Day
Canandaigua, NY to Syracuse, NY
70 Miles. Mild temps with manageable headwinds.

I was able to talk to all the kid's today and call my dad from the road so it made for a good day. I would prefer to be home and having a BBQ but being 3,000 miles from home made the phone calls special.
I'm looking forward to having our get together back home.

The Finger Lakes region of upstate NY is really a very nice area with it's many big lakes and attractive small towns like Geneva, Seneca Falls,Camillus and Liverpool. These town all have well kept historic homes and nice looking Main Streets.

Today's route sheet showed that we had a relatively calm climbing day, maybe they need to measure that elevation gain again. It seemed like we were climbing all day long but the weather was mild and it is the last week so as long as I can keep the rubber on the road for another 5 days, I'm happy.

Outside Camillus we passed a park on the Erie Canal that was really interesting with some of the old barges and tow paths.

You can tell that the ride is getting close to the end, "The Gang" a name given to us by George which now includes Chris, Penny, Dave, Adrianne and myself are the remaining "EFI" (every fantastic inch) riders and we don't want anything to happen to screw it up. We ride as a group but not in a tight pace line, just as group to help each other when we need it. Making it across the country is the goal, making it EFI across the country is the dream and we are really getting close.

Last nights hotel (Super 8) wasn't really so super. Sometimes towns don't have much to offer and I guess as long as I have a bed and a shower everything will be fine but I have found that the nicer places have made for a better sleep. Our tour director puts a good amount of work into the hotels but last nights might be off the list for next year.

Tomorrow we ride 78 miles to Little Falls, NY where we have been promised a "not great" hotel but they serve free beer and have a movie theatre....sounds like a fair trade to me.

Happy Fathers Day.

Dream BIG, Jeff

Day 42 - Hamburg, NY to Canandaigua, NY. 3,000 Miles and counting

Day 42
Hamburg, NY to Canandaigua, NY
95 Miles with perfect weather. Everything felt great today.

Today's route started in the nice little town of Hamburg and we had rolling climbs all the way to Canandaigua.
At mile 27 we reached another milestone.

                                               3,000 miles down and 400 remaining.

When we hit these mileage markers it really gives me a positive boost. I remember how great I felt at 1,000 and 2,000 but 3,000......that feels GREAT.

Our "Human 3,000" The part of the 3 is played by Penny & Chris, Debbie is the comma and Dave, Adrianne and myself are the zero's

After posting this picture I can see how this might not look so great but let me assure the this $8.99 Denny's Lumberjack Slam breakfast was heavenly this morning. Fried eggs, links, bacon, ham, hash browns, pancakes toast and coffee was the perfect way to start the day. I think tomorrow morning might be a Denny's breakfast treat again. If I never eat another hotel waffle of fake hotel eggs it will be to soon.

The New York countryside was quite pretty today. More wheat & corn with a measure of vineyards and strawberries. The sweet smell of early summer filled the air and brought smile to our faces until....

                                            .......The Truck of Stink crossed our path.
Call it whatever you like but this big tanker truck was filled with prime grade A liquefied poop and it was spraying it out at a rapid pace much to close to the shoulder of the road. I'm grateful that we were not experiencing a side wind at this time. 

Sometimes the routes that we ride have small problems like we had today. Bridge "closed" is no big deal.

                                                   Bridge GONE causes a little bit bigger issue

So, Ruby Jean gets a shoulder ride around and over through the mud until we reach the other side.

                                            I have yet to come up with a great caption......

About 30 miles from the end of the day we had a drink stop in Avon, NY. This was a very nice town with well kept homes and a nice old town center.

                            The Avon Fire Dept opened their doors (and restrooms) to us.

Lake Canandaigua was our stop for the day. Sunshine and blue waters were really and nice way to begin our after ride cool down.

We were joined by our new local friends Jim, John and the 2 Robins with our post ride recovery drinks. Whenever someone asks "where did you ride from" it usually starts a good conversation.

Dinner tonight was at the grocery store....Wegmans grocery is very nice and along with having a large grocery they also have a fine selection dinner selections. Caribbean Jerk Chicken and corn of the cob with a local micro brew was the perfect end to the day.

Three great things happen tomorrow.
1. We have a nice ride to Syracuse
2. I don't have to say or spell Canandiagua any longer.
3. Fathers Day, Happy Father's Day Dad....I love you.

Dream BIG, Jeff

Day 41 -Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY - Riding along Lake Erie to New York

Day 41
Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY
80 Miles, slight wind to our backs and cool temps

Today was a great launch to the last week of the ride, the winds were favorable and the temperatures were mild.

When leaving the harbour I noticed this boarder patrol boat, 4 - 300HP outboards. The boat was only about 25 ft and very light. I wonder how fast this 1,200HP monster will go.

                                                                 New York !!  There are milestones along the ride that really feel great to reach. Crossing the Mojave, Flagstaff, Texas, 1,000 mile mark, 2,000 mile mark and today crossing into New York.

The ride along the lake had some great views, it is really amazing to think about the size of this lake.

The Sea Wolf

Mechanic Rick & Dandy Driver Debbie

Part of the crew getting in a good day of riding

We rode past miles and miles of grapes



The Aero Bars on Ruby Jean are designed to allow me to get into a tuck position to reduce wind resistance and they also work perfect to carry a 12 pack to the hotel for a group happy hour..one each.

The next 7 days will have some great scenery, big climbs and long distances. I can't begin to tell you how excited I'm getting about reaching the goal of the Atlantic Ocean.

Thanks again for following along and remember that this ride is to help Big Brothers Big Sisters. I really appreciate the donations and remember that 100% of the money raised goes directly to Big Brothers Big Sisters via the First Giving link above.

Tomorrow - 3,000 Mile Crossing to Canandigua, NY.

Dream BIG, Jeff