Redemption. I'll start with the end of the day and work backwards. Word was out that the motel at the end of today's ride had gotten horrible reviews, so the ABB Handlers made a quick switch to a different one, which according to Terry was "incredible, sublime, plush and with enormous rooms". Wow. The riders are all in the "executive wing" and having a ball, with the plush bar and gazebo, fabulous carrot cake desserts, and fast service. I don't know if the Handlers were planning the redemptive switch or just made a last minute decision, but I'm sure they're getting lots of thank-yous tonight. Good move!!
Still jumping out of chronological order, I'll revisit the T-shirt swap from last night. Turns out, this is the "greedy grab-bag" game that we did at the holiday parties at my job in Philadelphia (Susan J--I know you remember!). Everyone contributed a T-shirt to the pool and picked a number out of a hat, 1-30 (or however many riders there are). Each person gives a brief background on the T. Then, Barbara MC'd and called out the numbers. That person got to pick the T-shirt they wanted from the pool. After the first T-shirts were in circulation, then when you're number was called, you could pick from the pool or take one from someone who already had one. It gets really fun after a while, as people are taking shirts from someone who really doesn't want to give it up.
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| Montreal Mike Says Something To Crack Up Barbara |
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| How Do You Really Feel, Karina? |
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| Hmmm, Which One Should I Pick??? |
After 3 "takes", the last owner gets to keep the one they have. Terry had contributed a Tucson Festival of Books T-shirt (he volunteered there one year). The problem for him was that 99% of the T-shirts were large or Xtra large. Very few were small or medium. Of those, he picked one with a Canadian logo, and after losing it twice, had it on the 3rd round, and got to keep it. Colin first picked his Tucson Book Festival T-shirt, but Travis ended up with it. The most coveted one that kept getting taken was Led Zeppelin. It was a fun night, including a glass of wine, which once again made for a slightly unzippy Zippy for today's ride.
The route continued along the Erie Canal and went through the Mohawk Valley, along the Mohawk river, often on a nice bike trail, and by all accounts got prettier and the towns seemed a bit more successful. They rode through Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Latham.
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| One Of The Towns---Don't Know Which |
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| Terry Rolling to Latham |
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| A Working Lock On Erie Canal |
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| Erie Canal Bike Path |
The riders are really feeling the population density of the east, having come through really empty lands for so much of this tour. Now, there's people, cars, commercial activities & vehicles (i.e. trucks) everywhere, so although today was a more scenic ride, there was still lousy traffic & bad drivers. In fact, three riders were run off the road the other day by someone speeding up the shoulder in the left-turn lane. Only jumping off the road saved them from getting hit. Not nice!
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| Barely Room For Both |
The morning was very foggy and misty at first, but that cleared and the sun was out for the remainder.
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| Riders In The Fog |
The terrain was rollers---steep ups, then down, then up, then down, and so on. The difference between East and West rollers is that now the steep doesn't go on for very long. It's actually more tiring than the long climbs back west. It's just a hint of what happens tomorrow as they have to cross over the Green Mountains in Vermont and the next day in New Hampshire to get to the Atlantic Ocean, and some people are getting nervous. It's funny to think that the toughest climb of the trip is basically on the last day, and in the east. Unfortunately, Barry (originally from Australia, now California, and 2nd oldest on trip) had a bad crash today and was taken to the hospital for a nasty gash on his head which required 16 stitches. He'll sit out tomorrow and hopefully finish the final two days of tour. I hope so, after all this effort!
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| Please Have A Speedy Recovery, Barry! |
The ABB Handlers are getting into frenetic endgame activities and planning. After the arrival at the beach on Monday, they have to ferry people to the bike shop in Portsmouth that will ship their bikes back home, take some people to trains & planes at different schedules, and wrap things up. It will be controlled chaos. The actual farewell banquet will be held the night before, on Sunday. I'm sure it will be a very emotional time for everyone.
Tour Stats To Date: 3,472 miles. 94,645 ft climb. 8 States, 1 Canadian Province....and rolling......
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