Old Forge, NY (2)

"Still I wonder, who'll stop the rain?"  (CCR)  Well, it seems our luck with the weather has run out.  For the past 6 days we have been riding in warm, muggy, threatening weather, but we always managed to avoid the big rains.  Sometimes the rains would hit when we were inside a restaurant eating, sometimes they would hit when we were in our tents at night.  No more.  The rains have unloaded on us the past 2 days, and today in north central New York they have been heavy for hours.  Everything we own is soaked.  We are currently sitting out the rains in the lobby of the Old Forge Best Western Motel and have taken this opportunity to update our blog.  It's been awhile.

So here are the numbers:  After 45 days we have cycled a total of 3223 miles, an average of just over 71 miles a day.  The past days through New York have slowed us down due to weather and hills and flat tires.  We are optimistically hoping to be in Bar Harbor by Friday August 1, but may be delayed by a day if the weather doesn't soon improve.

We owe a debt of gratitude to: the Macedon, NY, volunteer fire department who let us camp for free in their pavilion and use their showers; Brandon Furber and Jana House in Fair Haven, NY, who let us pitch our tents in their back yard and fed us dinner; Joe Sarcone and Kim Burch in Osceola, NY, who let us tent camp and eat in their restaurant even though they were closed (Mondays and Tuesdays, as Pat mentions in his blog); and Elaine, the manager here at the Best Western Motel who is letting us use her computer and use their lobby for shelter.  People continue to be very helpful and friendly.

I might also mention that we cycled through Niagara Falls last weekend and, even though the falls were a spectacular sight, we did not enjoy the crowds of tourists and the urban blight around the city.  We were glad to be out of the area and glad to get past Rochester, another rough large population center.  Suffice it to say that we are now much happier being away from population centers and up in the remoteness of the Adirondack Mountains.  Now if the rains would just stop.......

Bill Jenkins

Old Forge, NY

We just found out that we don't have a ride home, since our cat is ill and my mom (who was going to pick us up) has to attend to him.  We are currently in the shelter of a Best Western using Elaine's (a hotel worker) laptop to arrange our ride home.  The last five days have been slow going since we have been dodging rain.  Luckily it looks as if the rains may let up soon (tomorrow).  

We forgot to mention that in Port Glasgow, Darlene and Mary Kay graciously gave us some of their beer.  One was a country singer, and unfortunately we were unable to make her concert before it started raining.  

In Fairhaven we stopped at the "cookie ladies" house and bought some cookies afterwards we were sitting at the side of the road and Brandon, a fellow cyclist, offered to put us up for the night and feed us.  We had a great time talking bikes with Brandon while eating the meal prepared by his wife Jana.  

The following night we stayed next to the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame at Cedar Pines campground.  In upstate New York restaurants are closed at random times.  We were in Fairhaven on monday where their restaurants are closed on mondays, and on tuesday every restaurant we saw was closed on tuesday.  Luckily, Joe (the owner of Cedar Pines) opened the restaurant just for us.  Joe and Kim prepared us dinner and then started giving us all of the leftovers in their fridge.  We had a good time talking with Joe about his business and how strange and illogical people can be. 

Yesterday we avoided the storms, but today we will probably not be able to avoid them.  We may have to hunker down , or just deal with epic rainstorms.  

We have solved our problem of how to get  home.  We should be getting a rental car home and buying a bike rack to carry our bikes with us.  

Wildlife Report

Salamanders

--Patrick Henneghan

Port Dover, ON

"When you're there I sleep lengthwise,
and when you're gone I sleep diagonal in my bed"
--Phish

I win for random music quotes. I don't think this has anything to do with our trip. In fact, I always sleep lengthwise, but usually on the floor or ground. I don't even believe this is relevant or a true statement.

UPDATE: Trek paniers = falilure

We replaced my paniers that failed just two days ago. We got the same pair (maybe a bad idea, but that is insignificant) They broke again. Now I have my left panier bungee corded to the top of my rack with a tent, and an extremely large dry bag. I feel lopsided. DO NOT BUY TREK PANIERS.

Other than that our last two days have been great. We love Canada and Canadians. Canadians remind me a lot of midwesterners in that they are really friendly, except that they have a Canadian accent. I still really enjoy that accent.

The farmland has much more varied crops here than we have seen yet. We are seeing orchards with cherries, apples, peaches, etc. as well as fields of asparagus, tobacco, wheat, corn. We even saw an elk farm.

Roadkill Report:

fish (only Canada, eh?)
badger
cat
porcupine
possum
racoon (so many they are boring)
coyote
bat (this has not been confirmed)
mice
mole

--Patrick Henneghan

Port Dover, Ontario (2)

What incredible luck we continue to have.  We are tonight staying at the home of Tom and Bernie Shuttleworth who, with their daughter Emily, live on Emily Street in Port Dover.  We had never met the Shuttleworths before today.  This is how it came to be.  We rode into Dover today after 100 miles and 10 hours on a 90 degree day, very exhausted and unsure of where we would be staying.  We spotted a group of runners warming up in front of a runners store, so decided to stop and ask for local information and directions.  After the group heard about our trip, Bernie volunteered her backyard for our tents.  So she rode her bike with us to her house where Tom and Emily met us along with their black lab Larry.  We have had nice conversation with the Shuttleworths, who have graciously allowed us to set up our tents, use their pool, take showers, use the computer to post this blog, and generally make ourselves at home.  In return, we bought them ice cream downtown!  Doesn't seem like a fair trade, does it?  The kindness of the Shuttleworths is so typical of the people we have met on this trip.  In spite of all the negative news in the papers and on TV, we continue to be amazed, impressed, and heartened by how very nice people are wherever we go.  Thank you Tom and Bernie!

We have been lucky also with the weather.  Even though it has been hot the past 2 days, we have had tailwinds and good roads.  Just a little rain fell on us last night as we slept in our tents.  We have also found good towns along the way for eating and getting liquid refreshment.  As you can imagine, we are really going through the water, orange juice, and Pepsi (except for Pat who doesn't trip soda).  

The numbers:  we have now cycled a total of 2834 miles in 39 days, about 72 miles a day.  We have a little over 2 weeks left in our epic journey.  We still have lots of exciting things ahead of us, including Niagara Falls tomorrow.  

Bill Jenkins

Grosse Pointe, MI

"Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America"

So far, Bill has had all the music quotes and it just didn't seem right. Ever since we rode through Bay City, just north of Saginaw, I have had Simon and Garfunkel going through my head.

We certainly have found the best of small town America. We were taking a break in a front yard just east of Memphis, MI today when the owner, Jeff Roberts, came out and gave us each a cold water bottle. In many areas, we would have been yelled at and escorted off the property. Jeff gave us cold water. I love small town America.

Last night, we had dinner with my friends from medical school, Randy and Jean Hicks. We had a great time, and they don't look any different that they did in med school. Tonight we are staying with my friends from college, Kurt and Polly Tech. They opened up their house to us and we are having a relaxed evening. Kurt, Randy and Jean are all radiologists. What are the odds of that?

We have been knocking off some serious miles- the last 4 days were 125, 93, 95, and 90 miles. Today we were riding into a headwind most of the day. We are getting a little tired. Pat had his brand new pannier break today. Kurt was able to get us into a Trek store to replace it though, so it shouldn't slow us down.

Hopefully Bill and Pat will be able to post soon.

See ya.

Dave Henneghan

Stevens Point, WI (3)

By the way, here is the article from Princeton, MN from earlier this week: http://unioneagle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1338&Itemid=1

Dave Henneghan

Stevens Point, WI (2)

As Bill mentioned, we are here in our hometown. He nicely detailed the last few days in his post.

We have been extremely busy today, trying to tie up loose ends and running errands. We had the good fortune to arrive here during Crazy Days. For those of you who do not live here, that means Dave Marie's Island Chicken. What a great treat for lunch.

We have been busy making changes on our bikes. Pat is trying to get rid of the BOB trailer, which he has come to dislike intensely. I share those feelings for obvious reasons. I stopped by the Hostel Shoppe and had an unnder seat rack installed to increase my carrying capacity and to repair some of the damage to the bike from the crash.

The thing that has surprised me the most on this trip is how inspiring this is to many people. The young man in Melrose, MN who wanted our autograph just because he was so excited that we are doing this was quite an eye opener. I hope some people get excited enough to dust off the old bike and take it for a spin around the Green Circle or some favorite roads.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our good friends Karen and Carl Knuese while they deal with all that has come their way.

If anyone wants to contribute to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, here is the link: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=158934&supid=193018522

Dave Henneghan

Stevens Point, WI

Hello race fans. We are now in our hometown of Stevens Point, Wisconsin (or Plover for the Henneghans). We arrived yesterday (Thursday July 10) just before a major storm system hit. We have now cycled a total of 2278 miles over the past 32 days, an average of 71 miles a day. Today is a rest day in our hometown with a chance to see family and friends and get caught up on bills and paperwork. We planned this right, since today is the hottest day of the year here and big storms hit this AM and are due again tonight. This is a good day to not be riding. Tomorrow we leave for Manitowoc (135 miles east) to take the SS Badger across Lake Michigan, where we will continue our journey east toward Maine.

We had a wonderful time in North Branch, MN with Pat's St. Olaf friend Dan Mork and his family. They were very nice to let us stay with them and they fed us well. After we left North Branch on Tuesday July 8, we cycled 60 miles to Afton, MN (via Stillwater for a nice lunch) to stay with my cousin George Frost and his wife Kim. We had a delightful time there eating barbeque ribs and chicken, drinking quality beer, talking about chemistry, and playing cribbage. The next day (Wed July 9) was officially our second month on the road and was a tough one. We cycled 105 miles to Osseo, Wisconsin; the first 60 miles were over never-ending hills in the Coulee region of western Wisconsin/eastern Minnesota, along the Mississippi River. The reward at the end of that day was dinner at the world-famous Norske Nook restaurant. Thursday was an 82 mile ride to Rudolph, WI before we were interrupted by an intense thunderstorm just 15 miles from our hometown. We caught rides from family/friends into town. Earlier in the day my wife Teri and our 2 children Bill and Jill met us in Neillsville where we loaded our panniers/trailer in the van and rode unencumbered the last 50 miles of the day; what a feeling to fly along 2-3 miles faster. There is an advantage to planning a cross-country trek through one's hometown.

Tomorrow we leave bright and early, headed east. We have about 1400 more miles to Bar Harbor, Maine. We are in good spirits and good shape, so I expect we will have a nice month of riding ahead of us.

Bill Jenkins

North Branch, MN

We have safely arrived in North Branch, Minnesota, at the home of Steve and Barb Mork, whose son Dan shares a suite of rooms with Pat at St. Olaf. They are graciously hosting us for the evening as we recover from the past 3 days trip from Fargo. Since leaving Fargo we have had the best of days and the worst of days.

The worst of days: On Saturday July 5 we fought 25-30 mph headwinds before giving up just 43 miles into the ride. We stayed at Rothsay, MN, where the locals were very helpful. We found the city park to camp, took showers at the truck stop, and had a nice meal at the local tavern.

The best of days: On Sunday July 6 we cycled 112 miles to Albany, MN, with a nice tailwind and warm temps. What a great day. We had a nice lunch in Alexandria overlooking Lake Agnes. We arrived late in Albany (7 PM) but managed to find a sports bar where we could watch the Tour de France while eating pizza and drinking Leini's beer. We then camped at the local Lion's Park. During the day Dave and Pat had a super market employee ask for their autographs after he heard about the trek.

Today: Monday July 7 was the first day of week 5 in our epic journaey. Today we cycled 85 miles to North Branch and are being graciously hosted by the Mork family. It was a nice ride, not too strenuous. We stopped in Princeton for lunch. We were joined at our lunch table by a local lawyer who was interested in our ride. A local newspaper reporter also stopped by to interview us for his weekly paper. We then cycled on to Cambridge where Pat's friend Dan met us and cycled with us the last 12 miles to his home. While in Cambridge we stopped at the local bicycle shop to make minor repairs to my bike; Casey and Shawn were very helpful in getting those repairs done. The last 10 miles of our ride today was done in a nice moderate rain that felt good, even if lightning and thunder were all around.

So it's been a good trip and we are still in good spirits. We have now cycled roughly 2010 miles for an average of about 70 miles a day. We look forward to being home in Stevens Point on Thursday for a rest day before continuing on to the east coast.

Bill Jenkins

North Branch, MN

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25889797@N07/ -Photos

First, we forgot to mention Russel in our last post. We were at a gas station somewhere in North Dakota after a hard days riding. I can't remember where or exactly how long ago it was. At this gas station we met Russel, one of the most outgoing and friendliest people who we met thus far. He knew all of our names and said goodbye to each of us personally after showing much interest in our trip. Russel and people like him are why we enjoyed North Dakota, and are enjoying our ride so much. (Sorry if I misspelled the name)

Highlights:
Fargo to Rothsay- On one of our breaks we stopped at an abandoned grain elevator, which I took the liberty to explore. It smelled musty/moldy, was covered in dust and had birds living in it. It was awesome. It was one of the best places to explore. I believe that it was abandoned around 2000, since I saw a calander from around then. It still had all sorts of paperwork and random things scattered all over. Then we left and battled 30 mph headwinds (this may or may not be accurate).

Rothsay to Albany- Fruit. We stopped at a fruit stand in Fergis Falls, the most attractive fruit stand we have seen yet, where we bought a large bag of peaches and another bag of cherries. When we were about to leave one of the workers approached us with a watermelon, which they gave us for free. I packed all of the fruit on my bike and we left. About 70 miles later we ate the watermelon. It was very juicy and very messy.

Albany to North Branch- The torrential downpours today caused me to put on my sunglasses to protect my eyes from the water that was getting in them. When I reached into my pocket to get my sunglasses I realized that I had a snickers in that pocket and was slightly hungry, so I started eating. About that same time my dad recieved a rush of water and sunscreen in his eyes and was prompted to stop. I was riding closely behind Dan Mork (a friend of mine from St. Olaf) who was closely behind my dad. When I heard the sound of screaching brakes I had just unwrapped my snickers. I quickly slammed on my brakes with the other hand. I avoided hitting both Dan and my dad, but not the ground. I flew a couple of feet off the bike, snickers still in hand, and landed on my left elbow. I hardly even got a scrape. I then ate my snickers while admiring the gracefulness of my fall. Perhaps I should become a professional faller.

--Patrick Henneghan

Fargo (2)

"The long and winding road..." I'm a Beatles fan. So we have crossed North Dakota in 5 days and will cross into Minnesota tomorrow. We are staying with Cindy and Brad Gray in Fargo, whose son Beau is a suitemate of Pat's at St. Olaf. We have been blessed to have so many helpful, gracious folks take us into their homes along our route. Leroy Anseth in Williston was most gracious in letting us stay in his home on a hot, mosquito-plagued day. Yes, I must admit that the mosquitos in western North Dakota are worse than they are in Wisconsin.

Over the past 5 days in North Dakota, we have seen the best of days and the worst of days. Monday the 80 mile ride from Williston to Newtown was absolutely the worst of days, with non-stop hills along the Lewis and Clark Trail on a day with temps in the high 80's and tons of mosquitos. Thursday was the best of days as we flew, with cool temps and light wind, 100 miles from Goodrich to Cooperstown. We have been eating well and are having no major physical or mechanical problems.

After 26 days we have cycled roughly 1785 miles, averaging about 69 miles a day. We are 2 days ahead of the itinerary that Dave set up before we started our trek. If we keep up this pace and have favorable weather, we expect to pull into our hometown, Stevens Point, by Thursday July 10. After a day at home to see family and take care of business we will continue our trek east.

Bill Jenkins

Fargo, ND

Since our last post, we have crossed the state of North Dakota. We have stayed in New Town, Garrison, Goodrich, Cooperstown, and tonight, Fargo.

Leroy was an incredible host in Williston. He drove out on his motorcycle to check on us about an hour from New town, bringing us cold water. We loved it. However, we did not love the ride in to New Town. If anuone ever tells you that North Dakota is "flat as a postage stamp", that person has never been in western or central ND on a bicycle. The ride between Williston and New Town was very challenging with LOTS of climbing.

We stayed in a beautiful state park in Garrison, right on Lake Sakakawea. Goodrich (pop. 163) was an interesting town. It was very small, with non-paved streets. After setting up camp in the city park, we went on a walk, looking for a store. There was no store, but Chip and I struck up a conversation with Butch who was out working on his yard. Before we knew it, he had invited us into his basement to show us his shrine to the New York Yankees. He even gave us his last beer. Other cyclists had told us how incredible the people in North Dakota are. I believe it.

Cooperstown was another delightful town. We went to an all you can eat pizza restaraunt and camped in a the city park. A local derelict asked Pat to buy him beer. With that exception Cooperstown was great.

Tonight we are staying with a friend of Pat's from college. The Gray's have been very nice hosts. We have a forecast for fierce heaedwinds tomorrow, so we may not make the kind of distance that we have been riding.

Dave Henneghan