Almost Done ... (September 15, 2010)

Three more days of riding and I will be in Cape Cod. Three more days!!

Having been on this trek since June 1, I am ready to put the bike aside and travel via cars, buses, and planes ... whatever it takes to get home.

I have decided to not head north for "leaf viewing". Arizona is on my mind a good part of each day of late. Time to go home.

After having enjoyed the relative flatness of the route near Lake Erie and along the Erie Canal, the last few days have been a real shock to my legs. I remember talking with a cyclist along the Erie Canal, and mentioning that I was heading to Cape Cod. His remark was, "Oh, that means you will be going through the Berkshire Mountains ... but if you rode through the Rocky Mountains, then you shouldn't have a problem." Wrong. The Rocky Mountain climbs were long, but at a steady pace. The Berkshires are a constant up-and-down, with no repetition of grade nor length of climb. It is impossible to find a comfortable cadence. Lots of slow-going "ups" followed by short blasts downhill.

The difficulty of yesterday's ride was compounded by my faith in Google Bicycle mapping. I have had good luck in using Google for directions, but yesterday was not a lucky day. As I was following the directions, and heading up a fairly steep paved road, I passed a lady who was putting her trash along side her driveway. As I passed her she said, "You're going over the mountain????" Filled with innocence, pride and lack of knowledge I answered in the affirmative ... she just stared and shook her head. Shortly thereafter, the pavement turned to dirt. Not a bad dirt road, but dirt none-the-less. It was not the first time Google had put me on a dirt road, so I continued. After a couple of miles of reasonably good dirt, the quality of the surface began to deteriorate. According to the directions, there was a junction coming up in a mile or two, so I continued on. Welllllll, continuing on led me onto an extremely steep and rocky road ... a road I would hesitate to drive a two-wheel drive vehicle on. After dismounting and pushing several times, and after guessing at junction road directions, I was becoming quite concerned. The thoughts of serious injury and/or getting lost began to seep into my consciousness. I knew how to backtrack if needed, so I set a time limit on this path. Fortunately, I eventually came to an intersection where I talked with a local guy in a car ... he assured me I was on the right road ... the quality of the road had returned to smooth dirt and was heading downhill. I was greatly relieved (under statement). It had taken me two hours to travel six miles. It turns out the map had sent me through the October Mountain State Park Wilderness area. Worst two hours of this whole trip.

Anyway, three more days to Cape Cod. Life, while not great, is getting better. And meeting up with long-time friend Nancy McCarthy in Cape Cod will be a joy. What is really putting a smile on my face is the thought of being off the bike and back in Arizona by this time next week.

Bike touring is great, but sixteen weeks is too long for me.