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Day 155 - Monday 6-17-02 - mileage today 67.0 - climbed today ??? – MILEAGE TO DATE=6,069.35
From Alna to Bucksfield

PHONE TAG
We got a phone message from Myron saying he was ok and on the way. I fell asleep and never heard a word. At 4:30 in the morning Chuck woke me up and said Myron wasn’t there, but that Myron had called and said he was here. The landmark was one of a kind, so he did find it but he never came into camp. Chuck went at 4:30 to have a look around to see if he can find him. No sign of Myron. The cell phone reception was really bad so most of what you hear is static. We played phone tag all day telling Myron where we were and where we were going. We never did talk person to person. We never did reunite. We did get a message from him saying that some good Samaritans took him in and fed him and that they would drive him to catch up with us tomorrow morning.

Day 156 - Tuesday 6-18-02 - mileage today 68.3 - climbed today 4,326' – MILEAGE TO DATE=6,137.65
From Buckfield, Maine to Jackson, New Hampshire

Blue skies, rainbows and sunbeams from heaven. We awoke to a beautiful morning after a rainy night. The skyway a brilliant blue. With cotton clouds a rainbow in the distance. The sun shining down on us for the first time in days. Chuck and I slept in a clearing of woods behind the Buckfield high school. We decided to just ride and hopefully see Myron somewhere along the way. We had a beautiful ride up and over Streaked Mountain. It was a steep climb but with the beautiful weather who cares. We rode into Norway, ME at the precise moment that Myron had arrived with his new friends, Linda and Pat from Fayette, Me. Pat was at a cafe in Augusta, ME Pat insisted that Myron come home with him. Myron hadn’t eaten for 24 hours and was not sure where we were. Pat and Linda took Myron in and fed and housed him as if he were the prodigal son. They took Myron sightseeing and told him of some local history. There home for instance is over 200 years old. It is a beautiful Cape Cod styled home tucked away in the rolling hills overlooking a lake. Chuck and I met Pat and Linda. We thought they were a very nice and easygoing couple. After reuniting we stayed pretty close together for the rest of the day. We have plans to meet Bob in Conway, New Hampshire.

IT'S A LONG WAY TO PIOLETS KNOB

Bob was the leader of our Trans America ride two years ago. He had just finished building a beautiful log house in Jackson, ME. It sits on top of a hill with open fields of wildflowers bordered by Birch, Oaks, and Maple trees. His front porch looks over Mt. Washington, which still has patches of snow on it. We plan to stay with Bob until Thursday. It is great to visit with old trans-Am friends and talk about shared experiences.  


Day 157 - wed. 6-19-02 - mileage today 0 - climbed today 0 – MILEAGE TO DATE=6,137.65
Layover in Jackson

We had a great evening with Bob. He cooked us a salmon dinner and we washed it down with a locally brewed beer. We spent the day working on our bikes and helping Bob install a new kitchen sink. We went to a bike shop so Myron can get some work done. We had dinner at a local Irish Pub. We had a great time.

Day 158 - Thurs. 6-20-02 - mileage today 0 - climbed today 0 - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,137.65

We stayed one more day with Bob while Myron waited for some packages to arrive. I think we were all happy that the packages were a little late. It was a good excuse to stay with Bob one more day. We spent the day relaxing and reorganizing our equipment. We also helped Bob install a new kitchen sink in his new log house.

Day 159 - Friday 6-21-02 - mileage today 69.8 - climbed today 4,973' - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,207.45
FIRST DAY OF SUMMER

Last night Myron took all of us out to dinner at an Irish Pub. We stayed for several hours enjoying the live music and each other’s company.  We really enjoy the hospitality and company of Bob. We got an early start. We stopped about 10 miles from Bobs for a bagel breakfast to fuel our way up the White Mountains. The views along the way were breathtaking. Today was the second day of sunshine in a row, a welcome change from all the rain. Today is the first day of summer. Now that summer is here, spring finally sprung. With all the rain we have had recently and two days of sunshine. Spring sprung with an explosion of colors. The wild flowers came alive in reds, yellows, whites, and purples. The daisies, lupine and daffodils are in full bloom. The hillsides are alive with acres of color. It got a little warm with all the hill climbing. I reached North Haverhill before Chuck and Myron. I tried to find a place to sleep Chuck arrived about an hour after me and without Myron. I asked if he had seen Myron. Chuck said yes he last saw him about 20 miles back asleep at a McDonalds. Chuck and I went around town trying to find a place to camp when we saw Officer Todd Eck of the Haverhill Police Dept. Todd went way out of his way to help us. He finally found us a place at a Nazarene Church a few miles out of town. George Hemway the pastor was very kind and aloud us to clean up using the bathrooms and kitchen facilities.

Day 160 - Sat. 6-22-02 - mileage today 64.6 - climbed today ??? - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,272.05
From N. Haverhill, NH to Gayville, VT
THIS ONES FOR YOU MR. RICHMOND

We entered Vermont today. We rode from New Hampshire over the Connecticut River into Vermont. For many, many years I've wanted to visit Vermont. Let me tell you why it is so important. As a little boy growing up in south San Jose we lived in a neighborhood where an old man lived two houses down from us. His name was Mr. Richmond. Mr. Richmond was in his 70's. To a ten-year-old boy that was ancient. But, he was the coolest old man I ever met; he rode around on a Honda 750 motorcycle. He gave all us kids in the neighborhood miniature Baby Ruth candy bars everyday after school. And he could wiggle his ears, how cool is that. He would sometimes take me out to dinner on Sundays on his motorcycle. To a ten year old kid, that ride was more fun than dinner.  Mr. Richmond used to spend the summers in Vermont. He was originally from Vermont and talked often about how beautiful it was. During the summers I would take care of his yard while he was gone. I really liked him so I would always try hard to do a good job for him. I watered often and always weeded. He would send me post cards occasionally. This went on for several summers. When I was 13 I was taking care of his yard and the post cards stopped coming. It was getting late in the summer. In fact I was back in school and he hadn't returned yet. I asked about why he was still gone but nobody would say. I thought he was just having a long vacation. One day I was down the street playing with a friend.  I happened to ask his mom about Mr. Richmond. She took me out to the side yard and told me that Mr. Richmond had died. He was sick before he left. And he didn't want to tell me that he wasn’t coming back. He went back to his beloved Vermont to die. I was devastated. I had no idea. Since then, I have always wanted to see; Mr. Richmond’s beloved Vermont. Now I'm here. It is beautiful. Rolling hills with farms scattered here and there. Big red barns with white trim and roofs, adorn the green countryside. We wind our way along the ribbon of road thru covered bridges that give passage over cool rushing waters. It is easy to see why Mr. Richmond loved this land. We cycled past Joseph Smiths birthplace today. It is marked with the largest single piece of polished granite in the world, 38' tall. We were also within a 20-minute drive of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory. I would have loved to gone there. It would have been a two-day trip by bike. We camped behind the Gaysville post office on a small patch of grass.

Joseph Smith’s birthplace

Day 161 - Sun. 6-23-02 - mileage today 51.2 - climbed today ??? - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,323.25
From Gaysville, VT - to Chimney Point, Vt

We had a beautiful day cycling thru Mr. Richmond’s Vermont. The romance of cycling past these dairy farms with their big red barns and huge silos seems surreal. But as beautiful as they are; to a city boy, they stink. I mean the smell is awful. We cycled past one of Robert Frost’s homes today. I can see where the inspiration for such beautiful poetry comes from. We stopped in another beautiful little community called Middlebury. This is where John Deere apprentices as a blacksmith before he went on to building farm equipment. I had a rear tire blow out the day before so, I stopped at the bike shop to get a new rear tire and tube. Chuck and I stopped in to the park cafe to have pancakes and rear maple syrup. The owners of the cafe make their own syrup. I just had to have real Vermont maple syrup while n Vermont. I also just had to have some Ben and Jerry's ice cream while here. Their factory isn’t too far from here. After spending several hours in town we continued on but on a different route that we previously discussed with Myron. We waited in town a long time for him but daylight was fading. We left message for him in hopes that he would get the change of route, but he didn't. We ended up in Chimney rock, Vt. and he ended up in Ticonderoga, NY.

Day 162 - Mon. 6-24-02 - mileage today 58.3 - climbed today ??? - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,381.55
From Chimney Point, VT to Newcome, New York

We slept on the banks of Lake Champlain last night. It rained on and off, but it was clear and warm when we woke up. We cycled over Lake Champlain into New York on beautiful morning. The scenery is simply beautiful. We stopped to try to reach Myron on the phone to make plans to meet. When we talked he said he wanted to ride on his own for the rest of the trip. He is tired of pressing for miles only.  We have had a numerous times when we've been separated lately and he was getting tired of me pressing him to make miles. I have been on a real mileage kick lately. I want to get over the cascades before the snow closes the pass. There has been an underline tension building between us for about a month now. We have had talks and short blow-ups. But it looks like this is the end of our ride together. I have been upset with his attitude of I get there when I get there. He doesn't care if it takes one year or two. I do care and I want to get home. I have been homesick and I'm ready to make a B- line home. I frankly have been getting fed up with him and he with me. He is not to blame, nor am I.  I kind of figured this day might come. Anyway it was a beautiful day. We asked how far to North Hudson and two people said its just up the road about 6-8 miles. It was 20 miles. We often add in a margin of error when we ask mileages. Most people don't have any concept of mileage when they drive but being 13 miles off is quite bad. We also had a lot of hills and road work to travel over. We hit an area that had nothing but torn up dirt roads. We finally hit North Hudson and stopped for lunch. We still had a long day of hills ahead. Although the scenery was beautiful. We even saw a moose. We finally made it to Newcome before setting up camp in the woods just about 10 miles out of Newcome.


Crossed into NY - beautiful lake Champlain - clear warm day - saw a moose - riding thru the Adirondacks

Day 163 - Tue 6-25-02 - mileage today 47.6 - climbed today - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,429.15
From Newcome to Inlet

We slept in a clearing in the woods. We decided to cycle up to the next town and have breakfast and talk about splitting up the group. None of us really wants to split. After all we are more than half way done. It would be a shame to break it up now. We talked about different options. What we decided was to follow the adventure cycling’s northern tier route. Rather than me daily mapping out a route. We are not strictly on the perimeter but we are close. We will also try very hard to make 55 to 60 miles a day. I conceded not to press to make 70 miles to try and catch up. Myron agreed to do 55 to 60 miles. I do have to say that Myron does have a better approach to touring than I do. I can't meet the people or see the scenery I'd like to by pounding the miles out. But we do have to be conscious of time. I want to be home for Christmas. We believe that such differences would be common for people traveling so closely for so long. We are away from all that is comfortable and familiar to us for a year. We are always together. Even though we have had differences we really like each other as traveling partners. We want the same thing in a trip. Myron is much more stable than I am. I get emotional and want to get home. But at the same time I want to continue and finish the trip. Myron had bike troubles and will not be able to ride his bike until parts arrive on Thursday. Myron said for us to continue and he would catch up. I said we started this trip together and we will finish it together. I took the opportunity to do bike maintenance.

Day 164 - wed. 6-26-02 - mileage today 14.3 - climbed ?? today - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,443.45
Lay over in Inlet, NY

We just kicked back in Inlet for the day. We stayed at Clayton's Cottages. Dave the owner was very kind to us if your ever in Inlet, NY be sure to stay at Clayton's Cottages. While in town I met Don the superintendent of the parks and J.R. the city manager. Both of them welcomed me to their city. Inlet is a growing resort town with plenty of summer and winter activities. It is set in the Adirondacks on a lake. There is skiing and snowmobiling in the winter and hiking and boating in the summer.  

Day 165 - Thurs. 6-27-02 - mileage today 5.6 - climbed today - MILEAGE TO DATE=6,449.05
From Inlet to just outside Inlet 5 miles

It thunder stormed on and off last night and today. It was really nice to be inside. I really miss being a real person. Staying inside, watching TV. Taking a shower and sitting on a couch. Myron's parts came in today and his bike fixed. Myron and I are very pleased with the craftsman like work that Ted at Pedals and Petals in Inlet did on our bikes. We are camped of the side of the road in a clearing.