Revere Beach - 48 days from LA to Boston!

Our ceremonial dip in the Atlantic!

Chris, Janie and Jan - The 3 women on XC2010 Team for the long haul!

Our XC2010 Team at Revere Beach

Tour Map/Route downloaded from a Garmin

Wow! How can one describe the feelings and emotions of ending a trip like this? We just can't. It seems like a dream that we rode the whole way across the US. But then we can see the tan lines on our legs and we, of course, still have those sore muscles, so we must believe that we actually did this.

We are thankful for a safe journey and good weather. We've been told that we were extremely lucky to have had cooler temperatures in the desert and a minimal amount of rain. We were fortunate to have such wonderful staff and support. We have thoroughly enjoyed learning to know the other riders and hope to continue our friendships in some way.

We had a short ride to Revere Beach this morning -- only about 20 miles. The skies were beautiful and the temperatures were good for our short ride. The last 5 miles we were escorted by CrossRoads staff and we could roll through stop signs. We did our tire dip in the Atlantic, remembering back to May 9 (Mother's Day) when we began this journey. Our son, Steve and daughter-in-law, Krista are planning to join us this evening for the banquet.

I think that it will be easy to forget those very hard days of centuries back to back and the riding on the Interstates. But the scenery through each state was beautiful and helped us to forget those hard days. Each state had something different to offer. We enjoyed the west with the awesome scenery through areas like Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon and New Mexico. Kansas had lots of straight, flat roads with miles of wheat fields. Then the corn fields appeared in the mid-west. NY was a great ride and we climbed up the mountains in the New England states.

Our trip was memorable. How will this trip impact our lives? We certainly have had lots of time for reflection each and every day on our bike. Perhaps in a week or so, we'll add some reflections to our blog.

Again, thanks for your support and encouragement! We enjoyed your notes and look forward to seeing our friends and family when we return home tomorrow. Thanks also for our followers that we did not know personally. Your encouragement and comments were very much appreciated.

Crossing New Hampshire into Massachusetts

Janie's family saw us off as we left the hotel this morning at 6:45 a.m. It was mostly sunny today during our ride. The first 35 miles of the 92 mile ride had lots of climbing. After that the terrain was rolling but not as difficult. When there were berms, they tended to be narrow and the traffic seemed determined not to be slowed down by a few cyclists.

At this stage of the tour, we have become even more safety conscious. We'd like to avoid any mishaps that would keep us from finishing.

We entered New Hampshire just several miles from our hotel in Brattleboro. After riding approximately 40 miles in New Hampshire we crossed into Massachusetts, our final state. We saw lots of stone fences and white church buildings.

Since this was a longer ride with lots of hills, it seemed like a major hurdle that had to be overcome before the short day

tomorrow. It was a hard 6.5 hour ride.

The thunderstorms held off until all of us finished. There is a big storm approaching now at 5:00 p.m. We have been very fortunate to have remarkably good weather for a seven week trip across the country.

Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m. for the 15 mile ride to Revere Beach, just north of Boston. This evening each of the riders reflected on their experience and the relationships that have developed. We will miss our CrossRoads family.

Crossing Vermont

The skies were overcast this morning when we began our ride and the temperatures were cool. When we finished our ride around 2:00, it was quite warm.

We had 6100 feet of elevation gain including several long climbs. One was a 7 mile climb just east of Bennington and the other was over Hogback Mountain. The benefit of the climbs was a very nice downhill ride into Brattleboro.

We entered Vermont about 30 miles into the 80 mile ride. The scenery included old New England homes and scenic views of mountains, valleys and rivers. We rode all the way across the southern part of Vermont to within several miles of New Hampshire.

Janie's two sisters and brother and their spouses met us again in Brattleboro after our ride. We enjoyed a barbecue dinner with them on the deck of the restaurant which overlooked the Vermont countryside. They are headed back to Lancaster County tomorrow.

Our last big day of riding is tomorrow before finishing with a short ride on Friday morning. Tomorrow we have ninety plus miles with very warm temps and thundershowers likely. Of course, we'd like to skirt those storms again tomorrow.

Surprise in Albany

We had a beautiful ride through the Mohawk Valley today. The day was partly sunny and relatively cool for the 72 mile ride. There was a headwind which slowed us down a bit. This area was is beautiful and the first time we traveled through this area.

When we arrived in Albany we were very surprised by some of Janie's family who came to see us. Bud and Carol, Vernon and Barb and Wilmer and Gladys drove to New York to spend the evening with us. They will also be with us tomorrow evening in Brattleboro, Vermont. It is very nice to have their company and interest in our trip.

We still have two big climbing days coming up. We are still very focused on taking this one day at a time. Some persons are dealing with pressure sores and are trying to stay ahead of them. Our friend who had the fall yesterday cracked three ribs. He finished the ride yesterday in pain. His determination is amazing.

Little Falls, NY

In Syracuse last evening we walked back to our motel after dinner and saw the Turkey Hill cow in the parking lot of our motel. A few days ago, we had seen a Turkey Hill billboard as well.

Each rider has all of their belongings in two duffel bags. In the picture all of our duffel bags are waiting to be loaded onto the truck.

Today we were gifted with another very nice day for riding. In the morning, the sky was overcast but got sunny as the day went by. We got to our room around 1:00 after riding 79 miles. We did not have much climbing today.

In Oneida, New York, we came across what is described as the smallest church building in the world. It seats two persons and is in the middle of an algae covered lake. The last 12-15 miles we biked along the Mohawk River and has a slight downhill grade.

We are staying in Little Falls, NY. Little Falls is nestled in the deep gorge of the Mohawk Valley with beautiful views in all directions. After some refreshment, we spent some time walking the streets. There is a lock which is still being used on the Erie Canal. They have some very beautiful old buildings with very nice architecture. The earliest settlers in this area were involved in river trade. In the late 1800's, Little Falls was the "cheese capital" with many cheese factories in the valley. At one point, Little Falls had a population of over 20,000. Now there are less than 6,000 people living here.

Today one of our group hit the back wheel of another bicycle and had a hard fall. He was checked out at the hospital and appeared okay. While he was being checked out, he arranged by cell phone to have a new helmet delivered to him and also to have his bike repaired by a bike shop. He truly wants to ride every bit of the route. He was taken back to the site of his mishap and is now riding into the motel. We are wondering how he will feel in the morning! We certainly try to be cautious at all times, but this was another reminder to be careful. I think this was the fifth helmet that was broken on this trip.

Father's Day in the Finger Lakes Region

Father's Day here in the Finger Lake region was partly sunny. It was a beautiful day for a 70 mile bike ride. We rode through Geneva which sits on the shore of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. We recalled riding in this area with our friends from the North Hall Bike Club from Akron several years ago.

Just outside of Syracuse, we stopped at the Erie Canal Park. Of course, Janie had to think (and sing) the song from grade school:

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal,

Fif-teen years on the Er-ie canal,

She's a good ol' worker and a good ol' pal;

Fif-teen years on the Er-ie canal...

Low Bridge, ev'ry bod-y down...

We left Los Angeles six weeks ago this morning. It is hard to fathom that we have ridden all of the way to Syracuse since then. We still have several days of riding and need to focus on that before we think too much of home and whatever we may find there! Thanks to some good neighbors, we think our place will be in good shape.

3,000 Miles

The weather was sunny and humid when we left Hamburg, New York this morning. The route to Canandaigua was rolling with some long hills. The elevation gain today was 5,100 feet and the distance was 95.7 miles. So, it was a hard ride and by the end of our ride it was hot.

We passed the 3,000 mile mark today. We have now been biking for six weeks. There are just five riding days remain before the last 15 mile ride to the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, one of which will be a long ride with climbing. It's interesting to hear some of our riders reflections on this journey and how it will change their lives.

We knew there was a chance of storms in the afternoon but did not realize they were so close. Within 30 minutes of our arrival at the hotel a strong thunderstorm went through. Although it did not last long, the rain came down very hard for 10 minutes or so.

We are in Canandaigua which is in the Finger Lakes region. There is a Wegman's grocery store across the street from our motel. Tonight, for dinner we are going there to choose our own food from the Food Market.