The Eagle Has Landed

This marvelous, epic, challenging, and unimaginably fun adventure has drawn to a close. We rolled onto Revere Beach yesterday, an 18 mile epilogue, full of joy and pride. Maybe a little relief as well. OK, a few tears on top of that.


We couldn't go all the way to the Atlantic and not go for a little swim. I'm in the middle of this picture, forgetting to take my helmet off. The water was warmer than the Pacific but still plenty chilly.


Here is the final group photo with all the riders that made it to Boston. This was a wonderful group of people -- friendly, funny, encouraging, and helpful. We became a family over the last 7 weeks. I've made friendships that I hope to maintain for the rest of my life. Saying goodbye (for now) has proven to be difficult.The bond we made on the open roads of America was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Fighting hailstorms and desert heat and 50 MPH crosswinds brings people together in ways that normal daily life just can't. I cherish the memories I've created with these folks.


My 2-wheeled temptress is now in a cardboard box on her way back home. It seems quite strange that I won't be riding every day. I've grown accustomed to this adventurous lifestyle. But new adventures await. Laurie and I are off for 2 weeks of what most people would consider a "real" vacation, sightseeing in New England.

I'd like to thank all of you who have encouraged my writing. This is the first time I've actually tried to write every day and I've enjoyed it immensely. It's been very rewarding. I plan to continue writing in some capacity. I don't know what form that will take just yet. Figuring that out is a part of my life's journey.

I'll be making another movie with the pictures I took on the second half of the trip. Give me 2-3 weeks to get it all worked out and I'll post it here. I may also make a few more posts over the next weeks as memories come back or thoughts feel the need to express themselves.

Thanks for reading. It's been a blast.

Tom

The Final Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/bostonma.kmz
Zoom way in on the beach and you can see the actual track the bike made into the ocean!

one request

I'd like to ask a favor from you. As most of you know, I am using this ride to raise money for a local charity called CARH. There are two links on the right side of the page - one that takes you to the homepage for CARH, and the other takes you to a donation page they have set up for people who would like to contribute.

So here is my request. I'd like you to take a minute and look at the links. If you've enjoyed reading the blog these last 7 weeks, and if the cause seems worthy to you, please make a donation in whatever amount feels comfortable. The contribution is 100% tax deductible, and doesn't offset my costs in any way. Your donation is completely anonymous. I don't know who has donated or how much. The only information I will receive is the total amount raised.

For each of you who have already made a donation, please accept my personal thanks and be assured that your donation is much needed and will be put to good use.

The Penultimate Ride

Amazing new diet plan! Discovered on the backroads of the United States.

Comes with a money-back guarantee.*

For 7 weeks you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want.*

Guaranteed to lose weight and inches!*

This plan has been tried by countless people with verified results. Act Now!

*Must cycle 80 miles a day

The hard work is now complete. We have a leisurely 18 mile spin to the beach tomorrow morning where we will dip our wheels into the Atlantic Ocean. I've ridden Every Freakin (ridable) Inch. Wow, what a feeling.

We didn't have an easy spin to get to Burlington though. 88 miles and 4000 feet of climbing. It wasn't as hot as yesterday, but the humidity was still up there.

We crossed into New Hampshire at the start of the day. Most of the climbing was during our 40 miles in this state. Perhaps the steepest climb of the trip as well. I saw a 13% grade on the Garmin at one point.

After grinding through those hills we crossed into Massachusetts, our final destination. Jim and I rode together all day today. We put some serious effort into today's ride. It wasn't a pleasure cruise. Storm clouds threatened all day long, and were supposed to get worse as the day wore on. In the end we stayed dry all day, but we weren't going to take any chances.


We had our final SAG stop as well, a corn dog and a coke 26 miles from the finish. What great riding food.
After 7 weeks apart, Laurie was waiting for me in the lobby at the end of the ride. She had her own marathon getting here yesterday. After leaving the west coast in the morning she didn't get to the hotel until 4:00 a.m. Delayed flights, re-routed flights, plane running out of fuel, lines at the rental car, etc. A true "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" type experience. I'm glad she made it though. My life seems complete once more.

18 more miles and I can put on the official t-shirt!

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/burlingtonma.kmz

New England

This is a ski resort. Ski resorts are typically located at the tops of mountain passes. Guess what we did today?

If you guessed "climb" you'd be correct. Today's ride had over 6000 feet of climbing, the single biggest climbing day of the tour. We also has a bit of a "warming spell", shall we say. I saw a thermometer in Brattleboro that read 100 degrees, and no, that's not a dry heat. The air was warm and sticky at 7:00 a.m. Funny thing about biking in humidity though, you don't notice the heat as much as you might think. I was completely soaked in sweat, but the breeze actually felt pretty cool. Once we stopped riding then we would really notice the heat.

The big challenge is staying hydrated. The volume of perspiration has to be replaced, or else bad things happen. I went through 6 bottles of Gatorade plus a coke, and still bonked when I got to the hotel room.

Here's a picture of Jerry, our 80 year old rider, making his way up to the top of Prospect Mountain. Age is truly a state of mind. He's a daily inspiration to me.


Every uphill has a corresponding downhill. These were great descents, rarely steep enough to be scary, but fast enough to hold 30+ MPH for long periods of time. It makes all the uphill grunting worthwhile.

We crossed into Vermont about 30 miles into the ride. Vermont is actually an old Indian word meaning "Subaru". It has to be. Why else would every 3rd car on the road be one? The state is unbelievably green. And hilly. I think I mentioned that already.

What would a day be without a little adventure. Some fresh tar had been poured in a little seam crack in the asphalt. I went rolling through it in slow motion and managed to coat both tires. After the gravel stuck to the wet tar I now was riding on knobby tires.
A cop saw me stopped by the side of the road and pulled over. He was actually a really nice guy. We chatted about the trip and Vermont and all sorts of stuff. He loaned me his pocket knife so I could scrape off some of the rocks and get back on the road. When I got back to the hotel, and finished my bonk session, I had another 30 minutes of work to get the rest of the tar off the tires.


Family members are starting to show up at the hotel. We have several spouses here in Brattleboro. Ray's cycling club, the Cyclonauts, rode out and met him at the 2nd SAG today. and I joined them for lunch after the ride. My lovely wife is currently in transit and will be waiting for me at the hotel after tomorrow's ride. Seven weeks is a long time without my best girl. I can't wait to see her.

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/brattleboroVT.kmz

Playing along the Mohawk

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/AlbanyNY.kmz


Today's ride followed along the Mohawk River from Syracuse to Albany. Other than the trips through the cities, the ride was a natural delight of trees and water.

With only 69 miles to cover today, a group of us took the opportunity to goof off. We slept in for an extra hour. Terry and I took a look at an 18th century fort. I took extra pictures. We actually stopped for a sit-down lunch at an Irish pub in Scotia.


The highlight of the day was a completely unscheduled swimming stop. Terry scouted out a swimming hole in the Mohawk River, and Ray, Terry and I took a little dip. Today was another hot one, humid with a high temperature of 92 degrees. The cool water got us ready to finish off the ride.

What made the detour extra cool was that it was completely unscheduled. Terry just decided that swimming in the river was a good idea, so he scouted out a spot. It felt a little like breaking the rules, although there weren't any "no swimming" signs.


I've been meaning to spend some time writing about some of my fellow riders. Everyone has a story to tell, but there's only so much time I can spend on the blog. One group in partcular deserves mention though.

We have a group of riders affectionately known as The Captain and the Turtles, a little play on the Captain and Tenneile I've been told. From left to right, Jac, Fran (the Captain), Dave, and Richard.

These are the riders at the back of the pack. Each day we have a fixed number of miles to ride. The fast riders sometimes get to the hotel before the rooms are even ready. The Turtles works every bit as hard as the fast riders, but they do it for a much longer period of time each day, including more hours in the heat. The day into Wooster last week was just a killer for me. You saw the look on my face at the end of that ride. I looked like a puddle of goo. Richard was out in the 90 degree heat for 2 hours and 20 minutes longer than I was, and finished with a smile on his face. That's completely normal for these folks. They work harder than anyone else out here, and always with smiles on their faces. They're a wonderful group of riders. I'm in awe of their determination and of what they've accomplished on this trip.

Little Falls

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/littlefallsNY.kmz

The group seems to sense that our time together is growing shorter. People take a lot more pictures of each other. Meals tend to last a little longer than normal. Some of the intense competitiveness at the front of the pack has diminished. Summer camp still has a few days left to run, and we seem to want it to last as long as possible. One of my friends asked me how I felt about the trip coming to an end. The fact is that I have mixed feelings. I really want to see Laurie, and I have some nagging injuries I want to let heal up. At the same time I don't want the adventure to end.


We had another easy day today, although our sense of "easy" has certainly changed since the trip began. I covered 78 miles and finished before 12:30 p.m. The weather was wonderful once again, but it got hot towards the end of the day. We went walk-about in Little Falls after the ride and it was East-Coast hot and humid. More of that expected for tomorrow.

I took advantage of the more relaxed attitude today. I rode with the fast kids for the first 30 miles. I let them do all the work and then ran over to the van at the SAG stop and signed in first. I know it's cheesy, and I don't actually care who gets anywhere first, but I figured it would be my only opportunity to add my John Hancock to a blank sign-in sheet. Notice the #1 next to my name.


Little Falls is an interesting town with some colorful history. There is an amazing lock on the canal that runs alongside the Mohawk river. It's one of the largest river locks in the world. This photo shows a boat that had been at the watermark just a few minutes earlier. It's quite an impressive operation to watch. The volume of water pouring out of the gates is amazing. I have a series of photos in the Google Earth file that show how it operates. Pretty cool stuff.


The town itself used to be a major industrial center. Factories produced all sorts of things, including bicycles interestingly enough. That's all gone now. A lot of the riverside buildings have been converted into lofts. We see a lot of towns out here that have seen better days, but the scenery through all of upstate New York has been wonderful, and the roads continue to be a delight to ride on.

Navigatin' the Erie Canal

Today was a rarity -- A vacation day of riding. We only had 68 miles to cover, so we got an extra hour of sleep. The hotel wasn't going to be ready until 2:00, so there was absolutely no reason to rush.

I made the most of it. I made an unscheduled stop at Seneca Lake, another one of the Finger Lakes. This area of New York is really beautiful. I'd never heard of the Finger Lakes, but apparently it's well known out here. I can see why it's a popular summertime destination.

A group of us made a stop at the Camillus Landing along the former Erie Canal. They were closed when we showed up, but Terry shook the door until someone opened up for us. We ended up staying there for an hour, and then hopped on a $3 boat tour that took us along a restored section of the canal. We learned all about the history of the canal. I found out what an aqueduct does. Pretty interesting.


Terry apparently didn't find it quite as interesting as I did.


After dinner tonight I walked down to a local watering hole and just had a beer by myself. Being back in the "real world" without anyone associated with the trip and with no discussions of biking was a little disorienting. There is an actual world outside of our bike tour. I tend to forget that. For good or bad, that world draws closer each day.

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/SyracuseNY.kmz

3000 miles

Three...Thousand...Miles...

I have to say, that's a BIG number. Like a lot of things in life, numbers like that happen from doing the right thing day after day. I'm really proud of this group of riders. We've accomplished something pretty amazing. I'm feeling some of the effects of that mileage (a twang in my hamstring, numbness in my fingers, a consistent cramp in my shoulder, blah, blah, blah...), but it'll take a tornado inside a hurricane to keep me from making it all the way.

This was the last high mileage day of the trip. I covered 97 miles today, with 4000 feet of climbing, and averaged over 17 MPH. We had a delightful wind at our backs most of the day. I am SUCH a strong rider when the wind is at my back. I RULE! Of course when the wind doesn't cooperate, or doesn't blow at all, reality comes back and slaps me in the face.

I had a nice surprise waiting for me at the second SAG stop in Avon. I pulled in and saw this gentleman wearing a Penfield Fire Department shirt. I said, "hey, I have a good friend who used to live in Penfield". He replied "that's my son Tim". Tim Reynolds is the guy who is responsible for figuring out all the Google Earth magic, and a friend of mine for the last 19 years. His Dad George lives in Penfield, the purported "center" of the universe, or so Tim has told me about a thousand times. George drove down here just to say hi and wish me well. Thanks George!


This section of New York is known as the "Finger Lakes". If you look at the Google Earth file you'll see why. We're staying right across from Lake Canadaugia. It's really a beautiful region. So far I have to give New York credit. They have the best roads in the nation. No other state is even close, at least with the roads we've been on so far.


Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/CanandaugiaNY.kmz

Lake Erie

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/HamburgNY.kmz

Greetings from New Yawk! We were treated to a truly spectacular day today. We followed the coastline of Lake Erie pretty much the entire day. There were vineyards on the right and beach houses on the left for large portions of the day. The skies were sunny and blue with a nice breeze blowing off the lake keeping things cool all day. It was a really delightful day of riding, with probably the best scenery since New Mexico.

We crossed into New York fairly early in the day. The road along the shore was built with bikers in mind. There is a full lane of shoulder pretty much the whole way up the coast.



Jim wanted to have lunch someone on the water. That wasn't really easy when lunchtime came around. We asked around a little and heard about a place, but finding it took a couple of attempts. In the end it was well worth the effort. We ate outdoors right on the beach, watched the waves crash and people relaxing on the sand, and listened to the music. This was probably our best lunch stop of the trip. Made extra special because we sniffed it out ourselves.


We tempted fate a little bit by doing a premature wheel-dip in the lake. It just seemed like a fun thing to do. Hopefully we haven't hacked-off the Karma forces. After so many weeks of wheat and corn I think we just wanted to celebrate being at the Great Lakes and starting the home stretch of the trip. A really wonderful day.

Jet Radio 1400

I'm walking down State Street here in Erie yesterday on my way to the laundromat. I pass by the Boston Building and see that it's actually a radio station. 3 Stations actually. You can see the broadcast booths from the street. "How interesting" I think as I walk on by.

After finishing my laundry I walk back by the building. I think "Hmmm, I wonder if anyone would be interested in our story?" But I don't stop.

This morning I'm going to breakfast and walk by again. I think I should really go talk to someone at the station, but I don't.

This afternoon I'm going to Starbucks and decide that this time I'm really going to do it. I'm going to go talk to someone at the radio station. And I chicken out.

I really hate myself when I get an idea like this and don't have the guts to act on it. So I'm walking back to the hotel and this time I actually go inside. The receptionist says "can I help you". I reply "well, maybe" and then I tell what I've been up to for the last 6 weeks. She gets one of the on-air staff to come and talk to me. He thinks I'd be a great guest for the 5-7 afternoon talk show. He gets my contact info and off I go.

So now I'm nervous. I can write all day long, but it's not every day I get interviewed on the radio. My phone rings right before 5:00 and they actually want me to come down and be interviewed on the air!

I go down to the lobby and Lisa is standing there. I tell her what I'm about to do and invite her along. She thinks she's just going to take pictures while I'm being interviewed but it doesn't work out that way.



They bring us into the booth and put microphones in front of both of us. After finishing the stock report he introduces both of us and starts asking about our trip. We were both interviewed live on the air for an entire segment! After about oh 30 seconds I wasn't nervous any more. We just had a really nice conversation about adventures on the road, and how we handle logistics, and our own personal motivations for wanting to do this. What a great experience. Next time you're in Erie, PA. check out the James R, and Red show on Jet Radio 1400!

A day in the life

Yesterday's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/EriePA.kmz

I've read that it takes 3 weeks for a new behavior to become a habit. That seems about right. The first couple of weeks out here felt like summer vacation. After six weeks on tour it just seems perfectly natural to ride for 6-8 hours a day. I get up each day and ride my bike for several hours. It's what I do. It seems like this is what I've always done.

I know that we reach Boston in about a week. I've heard that "re-entry" into the real world can be difficult. I completely believe it. I enjoy my shrinking gut and increasing fitness. Each turn in the road every day out here brings sights I've never seen before and likely will never see again. Giving that up is going to be painful.

I've had several people ask me to write about what an "average" day is like on tour. Here's a sample.

5:40 – Cell phone alarm goes up. I’ve been awake for 20 minutes already so I get out of bed.

5:42 – Check nether-regions for tender spots. Liberally apply A+D ointment.

5:50 – Apply Sunscreen everywhere I can think of. Forget “glove spot” on hands

6:00 – Join the horde of locusts around the breakfast buffet. For the 30^th consecutive day make a waffle and have a plateful of a scrambled-egg like substance. Eat more than I would have thought humanly possible before starting a bike ride.

6:30 – Back to the room. Slather on Chamois Butter to tender bits. Can’t be too careful.

6:40 – Make first attempt to close zippers on my 2 duffel bags. Re-arrange items. Put knee on bag and force zipper to close. Wonder in amazement that the zipper still holds.

6:50 – Bring bags to hotel lobby. Stand in line waiting for one of 2 yellow bike pumps. 4 grey pumps go unused.

7:00 – Tracy brings truck around to the front of the hotel. Claw my way into line hoping to sign out early and not miss the Peleton’s exit.

7:05 – Yayyy! I’m going for a bike ride!

7:05:30 – Remember to turn on Garmin bike computer.

7:10 – Paceline takes off at ungodly speed. Hold on for dear life.

7:50 – Stop to take a picture of a cactus. Watch peleton speed off into the distance.

7:52 – Begin solo riding.

10:00 – Reach the first SAG stop. Grab 3 energy gels. Eat none of them during the day.

11:30 – Stop for lunch when I see orange flags outside a restaurant. My feet, hands, and shoulders instantly stop hurting.

12:00 – Violate the “don’t eat a heavy lunch” rule.

12:30 – Reach the 2^nd Sag stop. I’m still full from lunch but I force myself to eat two energy bars. Just because.

2:00 – Get to the hotel. Check in.

2:01 – Carry bike upstairs and open my door. Feel the rush of air-conditioned coolness and see my bags on the bed. Silently thank Zack.

2:02 – Take off the Spandex Petri dish I’ve been wearing for the last 7 hours and lay down on the bed. My favorite moment of the day. Strange that my favorite moment of the day is when I get to stop doing what I came here to do.

2:05 – Fight the urge to take a nap

2:10 – try to decide which of the 4 things I’m supposed to do in the first ½ hour after a ride will actually get accomplished. Brush teeth, shower, eat, stretch… Hmmm.

2:12 – Put on grubby clothes and walk to Dairy Queen. Get burger, fries, and coke as post-ride recovery meal. Re-fill the coke. Wash that all down with a Blizzard.

2:40 – Hit the shower. Shave my face and my head. ( Hi Laurie, I forgot to mention that little detail…)

2:50 – Fill up the tub with the hottest water I can stand. Stay in until nicely pruned.

3:10 – Start thinking about tomorrow’s ride and today’s blog entry. Use my finely honed organizational skills to maximize efficiency.

4:00 Get finished with pictures and Google Earth stuff. Check the blog and my email for comments. Make a stab at an idea for blog post. Delete it and wait until later.

5:00 Start milling around in the lobby, sharing war stories from the day and hopefully bumming a beer from someone.

5:45 Route Rap. Tracy gives us the low-down on tomorrow’s ride. Lots of railroad tracks.

6:00 Head next door for buffet at local restaurant. Notice the stares from the locals. Most of them have bowel movements bigger than me. Large folks in corn country.

7:30 – Organize stuff for tomorrow. Sniff the dirty clothes trying to decide what is wearable for tomorrow.

8:00 – OK, now I really have to finish this blog entry…After reading some dopey article on MSN.com

8:45 – Hit the “post” button, check for spelling errors.

9:15 – Goodnight now!

So there you have it. A fairly typical day in the fairly typical life of a fairly typical cross-country cyclist.

Pennsylvania

We crossed into Pennsylvania today, and made it to Lake Erie. The terrain and vegetation changed as we got closer to the lake. After many, many, days of wheat and corn we saw vineyards and strawberry fields. It was quite a welcome change. Last night's storm killed the heatwave. It barely hit 70 degrees today. We were actually cool while riding, which hasn't happened in a very long time.

The highlight of the ride today was our stop at the White Turkey Drive-in, a 1950's style outdoor burger joint. The specialty was root beer floats and shredded turkey sandwiches. A little heavy for mid-day riding food, but we couldn't help ourselves. Pretty much everyone stopped and had something.


Late in the day we came across Michael, a rider from France. He's in the final stages of a two-year around the world bike ride. He had stories that blew us away. Breaking his arm in Egpyt. Catching Malaria. Getting robbed in Argentina. It makes our adventures seem pretty tame by comparison. He's meeting us for dinner tonight, so I'll likely have some more stories to share tomorrow.



In the meantime my rest day has started. Tomorrow I'm having breakfast and then going back to bed. After that, who knows? I'll put the google earth stuff for today in tomorrow's post.

Ohio redeems itself

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/NilesOH.kmz

I knew yesterday had to be an aberation. The good folks of Ohio came through today in a couple of ways.

We started off this morning under the threat of morning and afternoon thunderstorms. What we actually got this morning was our daily dose of mayflies. They fly around in huge swarms and stick to you all over your body. I decided to take Jerry's advice. I ate some just to get even.

We've put in a lot of tough miles over the last couple of days. 5 straight days of riding, with back-to-back centuries in 90 degree heat and humidity left us feeling a little ragged this morning. I heard a lot of complaints about dead legs. Most of them were coming from me. I had no "push" left. After figthing the inevitable for awhile I just accepted the fact that today was going to be a day to spin easy gears and stop a lot. So be it, that's all the gas I had left in the tank.

Late in the day I was cruising down the road when I came across an odd little building advertising itself as an Ohio Indian Museum. I turned the bike around and decided to take a little break and check it out. I met Joe, the owner. He's an artist who has dedicated himself to producing artwork reflecting the history of the Ohio Indian tribes. I hung out for about half an hour hearing stories about the various tribes and looking at his pieces. He paints, sculpts, creates maps and silkscreens, and researches the history of this area. This is his passion, and it shows.


As I was entering the main parts of Niles, an offshoot of Youngstown, I missed a turn on the cue sheet. I figured it out about 1/2 a mile up the road, but I didn't feel like backtracking. I was only a couple of miles from the hotel. Instead I decided to see if I could find my own way back to the main road. Of course I got completely lost and decided that I ought to actually ask for directions. Negative "man points" for that move.

I saw what looked like a school and a couple of parked cars and decided to knock on the door and ask for help. This gentleman in the picture, who's name I forgot to get, stopped what he was doing, got me a bottle of water, busted out the local map and hand-wrote me directions to get to the hotel in the shortest way possible. While he was working on that I talked to the two ladies behind the counter about the trip and some of my adventures along the way. They were all really nice and supportive of what I was doing, and wished me a safe journey along the way.



Here's one final story from the day. The threatened afternoon thunderstorm came on in a hurry. I was in my hotel room watching the sideways rain coming down in sheets and listening to the thunder. Jac got caught riding in it. He had to stop. He literally couldn't see where he was going, and figured the cars couldn't see him either. A guy in a pickup truck saw him by the side of the road, made a U-turn, picked Jac up, and gave him a ride to the hotel. This was a total stranger who just saw somebody in need of help. Kind of reaffirms your faith in humanity.

What a strange day

Don't let your kids see this picture. Unless you want them to have nightmares. This is what riding 100 miles looks like in Midwest humidity, with goat hills and bad asphalt.


What a strange day I had today. Strong cycling, pretty scenery, barking dogs running loose, angry semi drivers, bizarre grumpy locals, blazing heat and humidity, and the steepest hills of the trip so far. It was an action packed day.

I've made a habit of chatting up the local folks I meet along the way. It's typically the highlight of my day. Apparently the folks in Central Ohio didn't get the memo. Normally all it takes is a glance or a "hello" to start a conversation. Not out here. I got a lot of icy stares. The message was pretty clear: " You're not from around here, are you boy? We don't take kindly to STRANGERS". Especially strangers wearing spandex pants and purty colored shirts. Yesterday I had several delightful encounters. I was 85 miles into the ride today before I found my first friendly person.

I did however have some encounters with the local canines. I got barked at and chased by more dogs today than in the entire trip combined to this point. A good solid NO, followed by some choice profanities seems to be all it takes to change their mind, but it still gets the adrenaline flowing.

This sign probably explains a lot of the issues today. The core of appleseed country indeed. I didn't hear any banjos, and nobody asked me to squeal like a pig, but then again I didn't actually talk to many people today.


At one point during the day I heard hound dogs howling, then a guy yelling at the top of his lungs. 50 yards up the road I saw "bikers go home" spray painted on the street. I'll give the guy bonus points for having spelled everything correctly. I thought about circling back to take a picture, but I was afraid I'd get a fanny full of buckshot.

I rode pretty hard all day today. I finished the 100 miles by 2:20 p.m., because there wasn't a lot of reason to dawdle. The last 25 miles was the tough section of the day. Big up-and-down rollers, not the fun kind you can muscle up, more the long exhausting kind, with 10-12% grades. We had fresh chip seal and a lot of loose gravel for awhile, so I took the descents really slowly. Once we got to the end of the chip seal I thought "OK, now I can let the wheels fly". Well, no. It was like riding on the surface of the moon. Craters in the road. Hidden seams. Bumps everywhere. A really inexcusably bad road. By the end I was sore from absorbing all the shocks.

I had one final adventure for the day. The main bridge through town has been demolished. This little metal plank is what the workers use to cross from one side to the other. I had to carry my bike across this thing while wearing bike cleats. Hey, whatever it takes to get to Boston.



Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/WoosterOH.kml

Happy Father's Day

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/MarysvilleOH.kmz

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads doing the ride, reading the blog, or most importantly, who raised me. Well, to me too as well. My Dad and I have spent every Father's Day for as far back as I can remember in front of the TV watching the U.S. Open. We kick back and the ladies bring us beers and snacks and make a wonderful dinner. It's one of my favorite days of the year. I'm sorry I had to miss it this year. Next year nothing will get in the way.

We rode our 6th and final century ride today. It was actually 107 miles because of a wrong turn I made. Virtually everyone got lost at some point today, and for the most part all in different places. It was just the nature of the ride. We wound around and through rural farmland and rolling hills all across Western Ohio. It's really beautiful country. You had to pay close attention to the cue sheet though.

The heat and humidity kick into high gear around 10:00, so I try to cover as many miles early as possible. Fortunately I seem to tolerate the heat pretty well, and Mother Nature cooperated again today with the winds, so it was actually a really pleasant day.

We crossed into Ohio early in the day. We have this little ritual at each state line crossing where we sprinkle some Pacific Ocean sand at the state line sign. Supposedly little elves and fairies will bring us good luck. One of our troup had a little fun this morning and posted this sign. The perpetrator is still at large (no, it's not me). Click the picture to enlarge it.

Shortly after the first SAG stop I came across a family with two junior cyclists. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to chat them up a little bit. These two are a little young to join our troup, but hey, maybe someday.

I've been remiss in not mentioning Margaret and the amazing job she does at her SAG stops. Each day we have some special unexpected treat. Yesterday was flag day, so there were red, white, and blue goodies. Today, in honor of Father's Day, we had watermelon, chips and salsa, and slim jims. She made a special point wishing each of us Dads a happy Father's Day. She's a special lady.

At last, a nice day to ride

Isn't that just the most beautiful sight you've ever seen? Old Glory hanging limply from a flagpole in the late morning sun. It almost brought a tear to my eye. The only flags I've seen for the last week have all been pointed directly at me. At least until I passed them.

We had a lovely day for riding today, for the first time in a really long time. I've been having a great time on the trip regardless of the conditions. To be perfectly honest though, the actual "riding" part of the day had started to feel like...I don't normally use profanity on the blog, so if you're sensitive you might want to skip to the next paragraph... The riding had started to feel like a "Job".

6-8 hours a day of hard physical labor had taken some of the joy out of riding. I wasn't waking up every morning thinking "oh boy, I get to ride my bike today". Today brought the passion back to my love affair with my 2-wheeler. She and I had a lovely time traversing the roads of rural Indiana. All was forgiven.

I spent the day riding with Don and Peggy. We cruised along at a nice, comfortable pace, fast enough that we felt like we were really riding, but not the grunt-fest that we'd all been forced into the last few days. Ray met up with us shortly before we stopped for lunch. The four of us rode in the rest of the way. Here's a picture outside the Bookmark Cafe, a combination used book store and coffee shop.


We have a tough stretch of days in front of us: 103, 98, 92, and 89 miles until our next break in Erie, PA. We'll see if my two-wheeled temptress and I have any more lovers quarrels.

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/RichmondIN.kmz

Riding around in circles

Deep Thought for the day: "Life is short. It's up to you to make it sweet".

I saw that on a t-shirt in a Subway sandwich place yesterday. I'm not usually a big fan of t-shirt philosophy, but that one rung a bell.

We had a nice relaxing day today, 64 mandatory miles, plus an optional side trip to a bike velodrome. The velodrome is an oval bike racing track like you've seen in the Olympics. Indianapolis has an outdoor track that we got to use today.


This picture is actually of the flat section. The big banked section at the next corner is pretty intimidating. It's sloped at probably a 40 degree angle. Staying upright seems physically impossible. Somehow the tires maintain their grip though. You don't actually slide down the track.

We spent quite a bit of time racing around the track and taking pictures and movies. It was just great fun.

Earlier in the day we had out SAG stop at Gentry Farms, an honest-to-goodness small farm. They do still exist. Suburbia is creeping out that way though. The owner is retiring and selling the farm. It may well get converted into housing. These folks let Crossroads use the farm every year. They hang out with us and trade stories. If someone needs the facilities they just send them into their home. Bike cleats and all.


Allegedly, and I repeat, allegedly, the wind is supposed to change direction and be in our favor tomorrow. We've had nothing but headwinds for 5 consecutive days now. Not even a crosswind. Just in our face every day. We're all really hoping that weather.com got it right this time.

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/IndianapolisIN.kmz

Zoom way in on the velodrome picture and you can actually see the laps I took around the track. That's geeky coolness at its finest.

One final note for the day. Elizabeth, I'm glad you're enjoying the blog. It's good to see Ray back on the road again.

Eastern Daylight Time

Today's Google Earth file: http://tomerceg.googlepages.com/CrawfordsvilleIN.kmz

Illinois Day 4 ...

Hmmm, Illinois blog ideas... I got nuthin'.

Corn -- Check. Wind -- Check. Flat -- Check. Corn -- Check.

Greetings from Indiana!



Meet my boy Russell. I sw his orange flag waving in the breeze and thought he was one of our riders. Once I caught up to him I realized he probably wasn't riding cross country. So we stopped and had a little chat. Once he found out what I was doing he got a look on his face that said this was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.


I asked him "is Boston that way?" and pointed down the road we were on. It's one of my little gags. He pointed over his shoulder and said "Boston thataway". I figured he was just confused.

Just to make sure, I asked him if this was the road to Crawfordsville, tonight's destination. He pointed over his shoulder again and said "Crawfordville thataway".

Hmm, Maybe I'm confused. So I look at my route sheet and see that Veetersburg is the next town. "Well, my next stop is Veetersburg." I tell him. "Veeterburg thataway" comes back. Turns out I had missed a turn back a little bit. I was headed down an old country road that was going to dead-end at a creek about 8 miles away. Country bumpkin Russell saved me a lot of sweating in the heat.

Today was helmet decorating day on tour. We had some pretty creative ideas. They'll likely show up in the final movie I make. Here's the group photo at the start of today's ride.


And here's my entry. After my travails the last few days it seemed only appropriate.