September 25, 2011

Windsor Locks, CT to Fishkill, NY

93 miles - 6100 feet of elevation

We headed out at the usual 7:30 a.m. start...cloudy skies and very humid. As the day progressed the clouds disappeared and the sun actually shined through for part of the ride. The temperature hit 81 degrees - 20 degrees above normal. All in all, very, very pleasant! Hurray!

We rode lots of back roads today...with fairly heavy traffic. There were only fair bike lanes - so we did alot of hugging the proverbial solid white line on the right side of the road. But hear this, five days of riding and no "jerk" drivers have pulled up beside us , blowing their horn and yelling at us...another nice thing about beautiful New England.

I love antiques...especially original Currier and Ives lithographs. (I did buy one while we were up in Maine). We passed a dozen or so great looking shops. The bike wanted to pull into a couple but the rider showed great restraint and kept on peddling.

So after one flat tire on day two, two on day three and three flat tires yesterday guess what I woke up to this morning? Yep, another flat! Mac, our mechanic, put new tape on the inside of the wheel rim, put on another new tire and tube and I made it though the day with no flats!

Five days of riding and we're in our fifth state. Pretty cool, huh?

Okay, this is hard to tell you. As you can see I'm saving it for last. I took a "bump" from the second SAG stop (mile 64) all the way to the motel. The hills were steep and long. The toughest I've seen since the Rocky Mountains two years ago. My legs just didn't feel like riding the last 30 miles. I did about 4600 feet of elevation so I don't feel too bad. Those of you that know me, know how hard this was for my A++ very competitive personality. But with over a 1000 miles to go I want to enjoy the rest of the ride. Our four kids might even say that the "old man" is finally using some good judgement (wonders never cease)! We have dinner on our own tonight - not with the whole group. We can chose our own fare and I'm thinking there may be a glass of wine on the menu.

Carol has had a very long hard day. Up at 5 a.m., two SAG stops, picking up worn out folks like me, shopping for tomorrows SAG stop goodies and restocking the vans. She didn't get back to the room until 6:00 p.m. and still has more to do. Both Carol and Robin are doing a GREAT job and it's their first tour!

There are 25 of us on this ride. All but one did a cross country ride with this same tour company (CrossRoads Cycling Adventures). There's 8 from my 2009 ride and we're getting acquainted with the other 17 folks. A great group!

Above is a picture of yours truly standing in front of some of the SAG stop goodies. I think that's it for today. Tomorrow we have a short 53 mile, but very hilly ride to Suffern, NY. (No new state)! Stay well - and thanks for your interest and support.