The first mountain of the trip

Brattleboro to Dorset, VT

Today would have been a 50 mile day, but I missed the bike shop where I wanted to stop, so I had to backtrack. What's two more miles in the overall scheme of things? It turned out to be a beautiful riding day. It was pretty cool to start, and the sky was very gray. Mark said it was fog, but it sure looked like clouds to me. The sky finally cleared at noon, turned into a bright sunny day, then faded to clouds again at the end of the day. Based on the weather report, it's very likely that I'm going to get wet in the next day or two. It took me a while to get my butt in gear this morning, but once I got rolling the riding felt really good. The morning was flat to rolling uphills.Then there were two serious hills this afternoon - a two mile climb out of Jamaica, and a 4 to 5 mile climb up Bromley Mountain. The climb out of Jamaica seemed harder to me with the grade ranging from 5 to 10% with a good deal of it at 8%, but the climb up Bromley was what concerned me this morning. It also had steep parts, but it seemed to be steep followed by a flatter stretch so I could rest. And it had a screaming downhill on the other side, a nice reward for the climb. I'm happy - my first mountain of the trip is behind me. And considering the uphills, I think my average speed of 9 miles per hour was pretty good.







I saw my first wildlife of the trip today - other than chipmunks and birds, that is. I saw two deer bounding across a field just outside of Brattleboro. Beautiful.

Mark and Griff told me that what worked well for them last year was to eat a light breakfast in camp and then eat a second bigger breakfast on the road after riding about 20 miles. I think I'm going to try that. I'm still trying to figure out food on this trip so I have enough energy and so I don't lose weight. Didn't do the second breakfast today because when I stopped for Gatorade after 12 miles, the store had some great looking - and great tasting - chocolate swirl pound cake. After my pound cake snack, I didn't want another breakfast when I passed a diner - but I did stop at the general store in Jamaica for a sandwich. That worked OK. Weight - before I forget - when I left home I weighed 115 pounds, and according to my scale I am at 18% body fat. I don't know if the body fat percentage is accurate, but it will do for a comparison point when I get home. It's going to be interesting checking both weight and body fat at the end of this trip. I really don't want to lose weight on this trip, but I certainly didn't figure out how not to burn so many calories (or how to eat more!) on either of my previous self-contained tours. Hopefully I'll figure it out this time. We'll see.

Today also felt more like I expected this trip to feel. Whenever I stopped for food, I ended up talking with people about my trip and about where they lived and what they did in the area. That was very different from the first day when I was still fairly close to Boston. I had some people give me funny looks, but they didn't want to talk. I think part of the magic of bicycle touring is meeting and learning about people.

I feel so lucky that I was able to stay in Brattleboro yesterday. The weather was a huge contrast from Tuesday when it was in the 90s. Yesterday it was in the 50s, raw and rainy, so it was a good day to kick back and do not much of anything. It reminded me of the first week of my Pacific Northwest tour in 1999 - not pleasant riding conditions. Mark, Griff, and Zoe shared a lot of tips from their Transamerica ride last summer. That should help me to decide on good places to stay once I join the Transamerica route in Missouri. We also spent a bit of time looking at my route through Vermont. I changed my plans to ride a route that they did back in 2000 - backwards, since I'm heading north and they were heading south. Mark was able to tell me where to find 2 good campgrounds, which was a nice security blanket for me. I'm staying at the Dorset RV Park tonight. There's a beautiful tenting area, and they play country music in the bathrooms.Very funny. There apparently is a swampy area near here filled with frogs - so I hear frog noises interspersed with all of the birds. With the change in route, I'll be joining up with the Northern Tier route on the ferry across Lake Champlain going into Ticonderoga, NY. I'm hoping to make it to Andy's Campground in (near?) Sudbury tomorrow, which means I should get to New York state on Saturday.

And we ended my rest day yesterday by going to see Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. A good movie..

I stopped at the Battenkill Bike Shop in Manchester this afternoon. I wanted to double-check that the headset on the bike was tight. Things seemed loose this morning (rocking feeling to the handlebars). I tightened the stem and handlebar bolts and that seemed to take care of it, but I figured I'd better check the headset out too. It turned out that it was fine. But by the time I made it down Bromley Mountain I had lost the taillight I had mounted to my rack. I suspect it shook loose on the downhill. So - I needed a new light. I picked one up, and one of the mechanics helped me mount it to the rack. Instead of using the hardware that came with the light (probably my problem the first time), he used a super long bolt. And he put Locktite on it. I had checked the bolt on the old light this morning, and it was tight. But the bolt was much shorter. Hopefully it will take longer for this one to work it's way out, and if I remember to double-check it every couple of days, maybe I'll hold onto the new light for a bit longer! While I was at the bike shop a couple came over to look at my Air Glide. Turns out that they are planning to buy Bike Friday Pocket Rockets. It was fun to talk with them about the bikes - and since my other Bike Friday is a Pocket Rocket I was able to talk to them about the differences between the bikes.

It's really a small world. I'm sitting in the rec room at the campground writing my journal - I thought I'd take advantage of electricity, and more importantly the lack of bugs. Just talked to another person camping here - and she and I both graduated from the same college. Eight years apart, but still...

Forgot to mention yesterday - even though I'm still trying to figure out what I have with me that I don't need so I can lighten my load - I picked up a companion / mascot for the trip. Rover is a mini-Beanie Baby, a bright red dog with flying ears. I have his big brother at home. When I was walking by the drugstore in downtown Brattleboro and saw him in the window, I knew he was asking to come on my trip. (OK, so I'm a little crazy. But I wonder how many of my fellow touring cyclists have similar "companions" with them?)

An early rest day with friends

What a change a day makes in the weather! Yesterday was hot, hot, hot. As we rode through New Hampshire someone told us that severe thunderstorms were expected at 6PM. They didn't happen on schedule, but sometime last night there was a big downpour, and the temperature dropped quite a bit. It feels like it could be in the 50s. I was very glad I decided to stay here another day when I woke up this morning to the sound of another serious downpour. The forecast is for showers and thunderstorms all day today, and a nice day tomorrow. Good timing.

My plans for today - resting, eating, and catching up on my journal. A walk to the food co-op to stock up for the next couple of days, and to get some lunch. A walk to the hardware store to pick up some spare cotter pins for the trailer and some bungie cords (Mark is going to show me a good way to use the bungies to dry laundry on the top of the trailer while I'm riding.) And a nap or two...

The hills begin, a 3-state day

Ashby, MA to Brattleboro, VT

How many days on this trip will I touch 3 states? Today was the first, and it's quite possible it will be the only one. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont...

Today started with a bang. It could have been a disaster, but I was lucky to be in just the right place. As I was leaving the campground I hit a hole, and the trailer went flying off of the bike, and in the process stripped the threads from the braze-on. The problem was caused by two things. If I screwed the trailer hitch all the way in, I couldn't attach the trailer to the bike because there wasn't enough clearance. I backed off the connector just enough to allow me to attach the trailer. Unfortunately, this created some wiggle room, and when I hit the hole the hitch just popped off of the bike. What I should have done was get an additional connector, but I didn't know that. I do now. I had assumed that the connector was straight - but it was slightly tapered, just enough to allow some movement. But - I was definitely in the right place. I owe many thanks to the folks at the Pines Campground in Ashby, Masschusetts. They rethreaded the braze-on, plus made me an additional piece that connects to the trailer hitch. The extra piece allows the trailer hitch to be properly attached to the frame with enough clearance to attach the trailer.I don't think there are too many campgrounds where they have the tools and the know-how to accomplish a task like this one. But when it happened my first instinct was to ask the campground owner for help - they are fixing and restoring a 1959 tractor, so I was hoping there was some overlap there. As the editorial in the latest Adventure Cycling magazine noted, one of the magic things about touring by bicycle is the kindness of strangers.



The ride today was hard and hot - but it was also beautiful. The hills came early.In fact, there really were hills at the end of the day yesterday. It wasn't just that I was tired. I expected hills in New Hampshire. I just didn't expect them to start in Massachusetts! The temperature was in the 90s all day, and it seemed pretty humid too. Definitely a big Gatorade day. I think I set a record (for me) for the longest elapsed time for 30 miles. My average speed today dropped to 8.5 miles per hour - that in addition to lots of rest stops contributed to my lack of speed. Mark Goehring rode out to meet me and rode with me for the last 20 miles. That was a really nice treat. I don't know if the hills disappeared, or if the company made them easier. I think there was a section after Mark joined me where the terrain moderated for a bit. It seems like the first 10 miles was really hard, then I had a respite for a bit, then the hills started again. And then that pattern repeated. Yesterday I saw more farmland. Today it seemed either just empty, or there were houses. And as I'm sure I'll see all summer, there wasn't much in the towns that I passed through!

Second problem of the day - Mark & I stopped to take pictures of a really pretty covered bridge in New Hampshire. As I was moving the bike to get started again, I caught the trailer wheel and pulled out the cotter pin. Hmmm - a spare part I didn't realize I needed. I'll pick some up in Brattleboro.







We stopped at Mark's favorite bike shop so I could have my rear cluster checked out. There is one cog that doesn't feel as smooth as the others. Odd, just a slight vibration that I can feel through my feet. The first thought was that it might be the chain, but after checking it probably isn't. It sounds like something I can and should ignore. But I was told that the chain would probably need to be replaced within the next 1000 miles. Apparently 9-speed chains wear really fast. I guess I'll just need to plan a bike shop stop within the next month. That's definitely not a problem - I hate shopping in general, but I can happily spend time browsing through bike shops and chatting with the people there. Must be part of this whole bicycling addiction.

I'm spending the night with Mark, Griff, and Zoe - and I've decided to stay here an extra day and rest. (What - a rest day after only 2 days on the road? Yes, it feels like the right thing to do.) Mark made a delicious pasta dinner, and we had a nice relaxing evening. It's fun talking about biking and touring with someone else who has done it. It's an added plus that they did the Transamerica trail last summer, so they have a lot of good ideas for me.

First day on the road

North Andover, MA to Ashby, MA

My first traveling day is over - I can't believe it!

I spent most of yesterday doing final organizing, but I had plenty of time to speak with friends and family. Barb and I had lunch at Legal Seafood. I needed to get a final fix of New England shellfish before I headed out. A Maine crab roll really hit the spot. I spoke to a lot of folks on the phone - my thanks to all who called to wish me well! My sister called to tell me she felt scared and excited for me. She said she started getting scared when she saw the picture of my bike and trailer in my journal. It's really OK Suze - my bike tells me it will treat me well on this trip!

It took a little longer than expected to get out of the house this morning - between running to the bathroom with a last minute case of nerves, cleaning out the refrigerator, and last minute organization, packing, and re-packing. I really shouldn't be surprised. I had hoped to leave between 9 and 10, but it was 10:30 before I made it out the door. And it was very weird leaving directly from my front door with no long plane trip to start my biking trip.

I made a couple of last minute changes. Last night Bruce convinced me to take a second pannier. That way I would have 2 partially full bags with a lot of extra space, and no lopsided balance issues. I know the panniers are there, but there isn't really enough weight in them to alter the handling of the bike. Thank you Bruce - I think in the long run I'll be happy to have the extra space - even though I have no intention of filling it up. I'm using my front panniers on the rear, so they are not too big. I also took out the long-sleeved long underwear shirt and replaced it with a second long underwear tank top. I think I'll get more use out of that, and if I made a mistake I'll just have to pick up another shirt! I think part of my clothing indecision is because the two other self-supported trips I took were so different from each other. The first had very very hot weather - even at elevations in the Rockies where it is normally cool - and very little rain. The second was very wet and very cool. I hope that this trip is a combination of the previous two from a weather standpoint.

It was a good first day, with nice weather all day. It was sunny this morning with totally blue skies, and the afternoon had some high, thin clouds coming in. It's likely that I'll get rained on later in the week, but it was nice to have a good weather day to start the trip. Of course if it had been pouring rain this morning, I probably would have been a baby and delayed my trip start by a day!

I had to stop and ask for directions twice - both times at T intersections with absolutely no signs. Oh the joy of Massachusetts road signs - it's a guessing game if you are not familiar with the area.

I started by cycling through Lawrence and Lowell, both old mill towns along the Merrimack River. Once I got through there, the terrain changed to gently rolling, with widely spread out tiny towns and farmland interspersed with trees. It's really pretty in this area of the state, and it's a place where I've never ridden before. I tend to head north, east, and south from my house because it's faster to get to pretty roads from there. I'll have to start doing some of the bike club rides in this area after I get home.











First day out, and what did I remember about loaded touring? First and most obvious is that I travel more slowly. I averaged 10.5 miles per hour today, and it was relatively flat. Toward the end of the day there were more hills - or at least it seemed like there were more hills, although it could have been because I was tired. I'm sure there will be some slower hillier days to come. Hopefully as I get into better touring shape I will be able to maintain that speed, or even get a little faster. But when I think about it - the only thing I need to do every day is bike - and eat, and sleep! Second, a loaded bike likes to fall over when you lean it up against something. I leaned the bike against a post, turned to walk away for a minute, and CRASH! It was down on the ground. No damage, but hopefully enough of a reminder for me to be more careful about how I lean it against things! Third - and I realized this last week, probably never really forgot it - I definitely notice the extra weight going up hills.No real surprises there.

I ended the day at a quiet campground north of Ashby. It may be quiet because it's a Monday night; there don't seem to be too many people in residence. Nice hot showers, and my tent is near a babbling stream - a sound that I find very soothing. I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight, something that I didn't really get last night. Somehow I didn't get to bed until 1AM, definitely not my normal sleep time. But I was still up early this morning... probably from the excitement of finally starting my trip.

Last minute preparations & packing, packing, packing

Wow - it's Saturday night, and I have only one more day at home. Monday is the start of my great adventure! It's hard to believe that it has only been a month since I decided I was going to do this trip.

I was still working at getting last minute things done this week. I started the week with my official ride to the Atlantic Ocean, and I'm finishing by packing. In between I spent time with friends, and I got my pre-trip haircut. I usually get my hair cut every 4 to 5 weeks. I wear my hair very short normally, but Alan gave me a super-short haircut this time in the hopes that it will last me a little longer. He thinks I should come back with long hair (long for me, that is) - but I think I'll have to do something with it partway across the country. I did promise him that I'd upload some pictures of me with a good case of helmet-head. That will have to wait a few weeks though, because right now it's too short to have my helmet create ridges in my hair!

My house has pretty much looked like a cyclone hit it all week, but that's all changed now. The trailer is packed. Or maybe I should say it's in the first version of packed. Space is a bit tighter than I'd hoped. Bruce was right when he told me that the trailer was both too big and not big enough... Tomorrow's task is to take everything out and do a little reorganizing.

I'm carrying the stove, fuel, cookware, and food in a single pannier, and everything else in the trailer. At least that's what I'm planning right now - it could change tomorrow. Based on the way everything fits in the trailer (tight), I may take the tent out of the trailer and strap it to the rack. I guess it's a good thing that I decided to get a rack for the bike so that I could carry the stove along with the (smelly) fuel in a pannier instead of in the trailer, because there is no way the cooking gear would fit in the trailer with everything else!

Update on Sunday morning
I just repacked the trailer. I was carrying packing materials for the bike - felt bags and assorted tubes to slip over bike components to minimize (prevent) damage from packing. That was pretty silly, since I don't need the materials until I come home, probably in September. I removed that package, and now the fit in the trailer is much more reasonable. I'll give the packing materials to my friend Barb and ask her to ship them to me at the end of my trip. (Or I'll just buy some cheap towels or fabric and wrap the bike with that...) I also moved the spare tires to the bottom of the case - instead of taping them to the lid. I've packed my emergency materials (spare bike parts, etc.) - stuff I hope not to need to often - in and around the tires. That seems to work well.

I feel much better now. Everything seems to fit, and I shouldn't have any problems repacking each day. I know the first attempt at packing is usually not the last one!



This looks like a lot of stuff - is it going to fit in the trailer? And no, the Concept 2 rower is NOT going on this trip!

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Packed in the trailer... it's tight, but it seems to fit, and it is possible to close the case. The pile of stuff in the trailer seemed to get smaller as the trip went on. I sent a few things home, and maybe everything else compressed!

To the ocean

North Andover, MA to Plum Island and back again

Let's see, I said I was going to start this trip on June 10th. So I guess today's ride could be classified as day 0 of my trip - or should that be day "-7"? Last week I decided to do an out and back ride to the Atlantic Ocean sometime this week to start my trip. Then on the 10th, I'll have the trek from the ocean to my house under my wheels, and I'll be able to leave my house heading west instead of starting east to head west.

When I looked at the week's weather forecast last night, it looked like today was going to be the best day of the week. I woke up to find an absolutely gorgeous day to ride to the ocean - so I guess my trip is officially started! I figured that I should take advantage of the opportunity to choose my weather for the official start of my trip, especially since I'll have to take whatever comes for the rest of the trip. It was sunny all day, with a bit of wind, and temperatures in the low 70s. In fact, I can't remember the last day I rode when it wasn't windy. The wind is probably good practice for what is apt to come!

I headed to Newburyport, and then out to Plum Island. I had to stop at the visitor information center in Newburyport for directions. I had a good biking map that showed Water Street and Plum Island Turnpike going right to the beach, but in typical eastern Massachusetts fashion, the roads weren't marked. I've lived in this area since 1985, and I still don't understand why the road signs here are so bad. Well, maybe I do understand - it's cheaper if you don't put signs up! What you find here is that if you are on what is considered to be a major road (and these roads can be just 2-lane country roads...), that the assumption is that you know what the road is. Typical.

While I was at the information center I spent some time talking to Bill from Harbortours. When he asked how long I thought my trip would take I told him it would probably be 3 months. That's when he told me he did a cross-country driving trip with his family and it took him 7 weeks. Hmmm... I wonder if that was one direction or round trip.







I asked someone I met on the beach to take this picture of me and my bike - I knew I needed an official start of the trip photo!











Of course, cleaning the bike yesterday seemed a little wacky today as I pushed it across the sand and into the water. Hmmm... salt water and sand. Guess I need to clean the bike again, although once the sand dried it dropped right off of the wheels.

As I left Plum Island I saw a fish market, so I stopped for a lobster roll for lunch. Yum. It was a good eating day - I stopped at one of my favorite ice cream places too as I got closer to home. The ice cream at Benson's is great - I was craving chocolate, so I had chocolate walnut fudge with chocolate jimmies. The only problem I have with the ice cream there is that the smallest portion is huge, so I always end up throwing some of it out. I hate wasting food, but I wouldn't have been able to move if I'd finished it!

Riding in a downpour

...I hope this isn't practice for my trip!

My trip is getting closer and closer - and it definitely feels real! And my "to do" list is finally getting smaller instead of larger.

I took my first ride pulling the trailer this week. It handled exactly as I expected. It slowed me down on uphills - which is the same thing panniers do - but it didn't change the handling of the bike once I got it rolling. I only got a couple of strange looks as I rode around here on bike and trailer. The one thing I noticed is that I do have to be careful in traffic, since the trailer is further into the lane than the bike is. I can't fit through as small a space as I can without the trailer... A couple of times I actually had to look back to make sure it was still there!



Today was to be a short ride followed by a big bike-cleaning - I wanted to clean and re-lube the bike that I'm taking on this trip, plus the others that I've been riding all spring. I'll start with a clean bike, and I'll leave my other bikes clean at home - waiting for me to return to ride them again. It's a good thing I planned to clean bikes, because at a minimum I had to clean the Air Glide. I left for my ride in bright sunshine. A windy day, but no hint of what was to come. About half-way through my ride, the skies turned dark gray and then just opened up. I was riding with lakes in my shoes within a couple of minutes. I've done my share of riding in the rain - both while training for trips, and during trips. Here's hoping this wasn't practice for my trip.

As soon as I got home it stopped - which gave me an opportunity to clean one bike before it started pouring again. Since I was cleaning bikes outside, I had to wait an hour before I could get to the other two. All done!