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The Tour Winds Down

Thursday June 27, 2019.                     Brattleboro, VT to Burlington, MA.                          91 miles Ascent/Descent= 4,518/3684 feet.                                                              Cumulative= 3,579 miles Friday June 29, 2019.                          Burlington, MA to Revere Beach, MA.                    18 miles Ascent/Descent= 473/620.                                                                          Cumulative= 2,599 miles Thursday morning we learned that our hospitalized tour member was answering texts and email.  His physical injuries are substantial, but it is clear that that the emotional pain of not being able to finish with the rest of us after being so close was his bigger problem. We all thought about him as we went about tackling the last big day of biking, and one of the harder days at that.  Perceptions as to how hard this day would actually be seemed to vary from rider to rider.  The stats on our cue sheets (written route instructi
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The Hardest Day

Wednesday June 26, 2019.                    Troy, NY to Brattleboro, VT.                              76 miles Ascent/Descent= 5,287/5,002 feet.                                                         Cumulative= 3,488 miles We enjoyed a warmer start than usual start, somewhere around 70 degrees, but excessive heat was not an issue even though we had a "Mile high Day", with more than a mile of climbing over the official 73.7 miles. We were primarily on NY Rt. 7 and VT Rt 9 all day, with varying grades of climbing through most of the day with a few longer descents, particularly one at the end of the day, which is always welcome.  Once we got out of Troy, it was all rural with a few towns and small cities, which seem to be having better economic times than many municipalities we have seen along the tour.  The scenery was beautiful all day. Most of us held something back during the seemingly endless ascent in the morning because of Hogback Mountain, approximately 75% into t
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Mohawk Valley to the Hudson Valley

Tuesday June 25, 2019.         Herkimer, NY to Troy, NY.                                          85 miles Ascent/Descent= 2,223/2,597.                                                         Cumulative= 3,412 miles First thing, I need to acknowledge that my posted cumulative mileages are more than 100 miles greater than the official cumulative posted on the CrossRoads and Big Dream websites. Some of this is explained by little side trips or the few occasions when I was briefly off course due to navigation error, but the difference seems too large to explain by these relatively small variances.  I have looked back over my own data for the last 12-14 days or so and cannot find a math error. Someday maybe I'll check my addition for the entire trip, but in the meantime I stand by my figures. Rain was the forecast for today and we had light rain right up to the only SAG stop when it really let loose. CrossRoads had set up a small canopy over the food and drinks, and we all crowded
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The Days Dwindle Down to a Precious Few

Monday June 24, 2019.           Syracuse, NY to Herkimer, NY.                   73 miles Ascent/Desent= 1,492/1,527 feet.                                     Cumulative=  3,327 miles First of all, let me answer the question on everyone's mind: NO, I did not have any flats today. The sun was shining and there was no rain, so how could it not be a great day? Mostly it was. We pedaled along the Barge Canal and remnants of the old Erie Canal and the Mohawk River.  We had very little climbing and a lot of nice rural roads, with occasional busy streets or bad surfaces. Unfortunately, one of our riders hit a pothole and was thrown over his handle bars, only a few miles from our motel.  He was x-rayed and has no broken bones, and has to be very sore. But he is tenacious and wants to bike the rest of the way. He was out this afternoon shopping for a new bike, as his frame was cracked in 3 places in the fall. We are all aware that although we are nearing the end of our trip, there are
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Almost Home Then On to Boston

Saturday June 22, 2019.              Hamburg, NY to Victor, NY.                  90 miles Ascent/Descent= 3,448/3,636 feet.                                  Cumulative= 3,168 miles Sunday June 23, 2019.                 Victor, NY to Syracuse, NY.                  86 miles Ascent/Descent= 2,587/2,720 feet.                                  Cumulative= 3,254 miles The past two days have been a sort of homecoming without really getting home. We enjoyed nearly ideal cycling weather both days, leaving in the mornings with temps in the low 60's, but with clear sunny skies so that only a biking jersey and bike shorts were needed, and never becoming oppressively hot. Both days,biking into Victor which is very near my home in Canandaigua, and biking on to Syracuse, I was joined by members of my biking club, the Thursday Night Men's Club.  Saturday Jeff Thomas and Steve Simpson, were delivered to our hotel in Hamburg by Steve's wife, Patty, who had to get up before 5:00 AM to
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The Home Stretch

Friday June 21, 2019.                 Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY.                         81 miles Ascent/Descent= 1,943/1,768.                                           Cumulative= 3,078 miles Yesterday was our last rest day and I slept longer than I have on the whole trip.  It rained most of the day, but that's OK on a rest day. Kathy drove me and some of my biking buddies around to get some things we needed at a bike shop and a pharmacy.  We enjoyed the beautiful view from our hotel. I had no idea that the lakefront in Erie is as nice as it is. Kathy left this morning,but will see us tomorrow night in Victor, which is only about 15 miles from our house.  She had brought homemade cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and molasses, three of my favorite kinds.  I tested a couple of each kind over the rest day and as expected they were delicious.  The rest went into the fan for today's SAG stop and they were a big hit with everybody, as was the strawberry short cake tha
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A Tale of Two Centuries; Trials and Tribulations of the Bike Tour

Sunday June 17, 2019.           Richmond, IN to Marysville, OH.                         107 miles Ascent/Descent= 2,182/2,252 feet                                               Cumulative= 2,708 miles Monday June 18, 2019.         Marysville, OH to Wooster, OH.                            105 miles Ascent/Descent= 4,470/4,567 feet.                                              Cumulative= 2,813 miles Tuesday June 19, 2019.          Wooster,OH to Niles, OH.                                      94 miles Ascent/Decent= 3,347/3,283 feet.                                               Cumulative= 2,907 miles Wednesday June19, 2019.          Niles, OH to Erie, A.                                              90 miles Ascent/Descent= 1,634/2,005 feet.                                             Cumulative= 2,997 miles Thursday June20, 2019.                   Last of 5 rest days I apologize that I neglected to hit the publish button after I wrote my "most recent" post, &q
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