Portland-to-Portland Post Trip Reflections (updated 12/9/15)

Portland-to-Portland was a wonderful and challenging journey - the perfect way to celebrate my 70th birthday! I feel so fortunate that I could even attempt a second cross-country cycling trip and, frankly, somewhat amazed that I was able to fulfill the goal of "riding every mile".  I was not only fortunate - I was very lucky. A visit to an emergency room after my crash on the 2nd day of the trip would have revealed a broken left collar bone and, almost certainly, brought my trip to a premature end. Luckily I didn't make that visit and didn't find out about the break until after the trip was completed.

I'm often asked what motivated me to bicycle across the country at age 67 and again at age 70.  I do enjoy the physical challenge, particularly the tough climbs - but what I most enjoy is the serenity of mind and sense of calmness that comes over me as I pedal through nature and the small towns of America.  Bicycling forces me to stay in the moment and to stay present - something that's very hard to do in today's connected world where it seems that everybody is always electronically somewhere else instead of where they actually are.

I enjoyed getting to know my fellow cyclists and certainly appreciated their unfailing support and encouragement. Whether it was helping me up after my crash, pulling me through the worst of the headwinds, letting me loiter at the back of pace lines, or simply respecting my preference to solo they were always there to help in any way they could. 

As on any journey, this one had its highs and lows - but mostly highs.  Several of the most memorable highlights were soloing along side the beautiful Lochsa River through the wilderness of Idaho; the solo  climbs over the Bighorn Mountains and up Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills; and pedaling up to our summer home on Littlejohn Island in Yarmouth ME to finish the trip. I hit my emotional low point as we fought unfriendly winds through the never changing landscape of South Dakota - but quickly snapped out of it as I soloed into the very nice town of Sioux Falls SD. Besides Sioux Falls, I really enjoyed Walla Walla WA and Missoula MT - all examples of wonderfully livable mid-size American towns.  When you start feeling down about the future of our country, go spend a few days in one of these towns - it will boost your spirits.

Physically the entire trip was a highpoint - even the days immediately following my crash.   Although I sucked at walking and had trouble using my left arm, the fact that I could pedal with only moderate discomfort was actually both physically and mentally encouraging. As the trip progressed, I just kept getting stronger with none of the leg cramping and muscle soreness that I had experienced on the 2012 cross-country trip.  I credit most of my success to the fact that this time I rode my own ride.  By soloing most of the time I was able to listen to my body and adjust my pace accordingly. Soloing is not for everyone, but it certainly works for me - both physically and emotionally.

Having done both the southern and northern routes, I am now being asked which one I liked best.  Both trips were great, but I would give a slight edge to the one just completed.  The western portion of this trip was more interesting and scenic than on the southern route. However, on the southern route, the ride through Tennessee and the Carolina's was superb - better than the northeast. My physical condition was certainly better on this trip. And the fact that I rode every mile makes this trip much more satisfying than the southern route where I missed about 10% of the miles due to leg cramping, weather, and a board meeting. And, of course, being able to end this northern trip by dipping my bike wheel into the Atlantic from my own dock was the "icing on the cake" - my 70th birthday cake!

This likely brings an end to my x-country cycling adventures. However, my love of cycling is definitely not diminished. I plan to continue cycling about 5000 miles/year - it's enjoyable and a great way to stay in shape.  I am intrigued by the thought of doing some self-supported, self-guided multi-day cycling trips of 50-70 miles/day with overnight hotel stays - either solo or with a few others.  And for a change of pace, there is always ultra-light backpacking (my son Matt is into this) on the John Muir and/or Appalachian Trails.  It's too early to set my 75th birthday adventure goal, but I'm starting to think about one. Call me crazy, but it's important to me to always have a big, audacious goal which will test the outer limits of my physical capabilities.

As I write this final posting from our home in Scottsdale AZ in early December, my collar bone has pretty much healed (without surgery) and I am attempting to rescue my golf game while enjoying about 120 miles/week on my bike. Cycling in the high Sonoron Desert of Arizona during the late Fall and Winter is just about as good as it gets!

Thanks to all of you for following my blog.  I hope you found it interesting.  Over the coming weeks I will be adding more pictures and doing some clean-up of the daily posts from both trips in preparation for self-publishing the entire blog in book form for my kids and grandkids.

Signing off,

Steve 

Day 44: North Conway to Portland

These pictures say it all - a wonderful ending to a great adventure.

Greetings from Jan at the lunch restaurant in Portland.  Also joining Jan were son-in-law Tim, Don & Regina Lucas, and Bev & Jon Holt.   

Jan and daughter Deb at the East End Beach in Portland.  

Wheel dipping at the East End Beach in Portland

The group at East End Beach

Arriving at my home in Yarmouth

Walking out our dock

Wheel dipping from our dock

With a wonderful Maine sunset to welcome me home

I'll provide some post-ride thoughts later this week plus a whole lot more pictures

Steve

Day 43: Fairlee to North Conway NH

Today's ride went pretty much as expected.  Beautiful and peaceful in the morning, but spoiled by heavy traffic in the afternoon.  We started out in a cold fog and crossed into New Hampshire (our 15th state) after about a mile.  The fog soon lifted and we pedaled the rest of the day under a bright sun through beautiful mountain scenery. We had 3 tough climbs during our 51 miles before lunch, with the third one going over the Kancamagus Pass at 2855 ft elevation.  I had no problem with the climbs, but almost everyone, including me, was cold and tired at our roadside lunch stop at the top of the pass.

We descended most of the 26 miles after lunch under less than ideal conditions - heavy traffic, rough road, and little or no shoulder.  Normally I would never ride under these conditions - but the "ride-every-mile" goal is a powerful (maybe too powerful) motivator. The Holiday Inn Express at our destination in North Conway was definitely a welcome sight. 

Tomorrow is our final ride of the trip as we pedal 64 miles to Portland.  We'll stop at a restaurant on the edge of town for lunch and then pedal a few miles to the ocean to dip our wheels in the Atlantic.  Jan and our friends Don and Regina Lucas will join me for lunch and the wheel dipping.  We will then cycle along a bike path into downtown Portland where the destination hotel is located.

After arriving at the hotel, it is still my plan to pedal another 15 miles to our home in Yarmouth and do my own wheel dipping celebration off the end of our dock.  I've been carrying the image of this moment in my mind as a motivator throughout the trip so, unless I am totally worn out, it will happen.

Look for a Day 44 post and a final post summarizing the entire trip later this week.  Now that I will have access to my computer (instead of just an iPad) I'll also incorporate pictures taken by others into many of the previous daily posts.

Steve

Day 42: Ticonderoga to Fairlee VT

One of the best rides of the entire trip! After a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain we began our 90 mile journey across the beautiful state of Vermont.  Although the fall foliage is not yet at peak, the mountain sides were still alive with color and everything looked the way Vermont is supposed to look.  The weather cooperated with cool temperatures and partly sunny skys - and of course, our ever present headwind. The big morning climb over the Green Mountains was definitely challenging, with grades up to 15% over the 5.5 mile ascent. Throughout the morning I tried to stay "in the moment" to absorb everything around me knowing that this is a ride I will always remember.

After lunch, the scenery continued to be lovely, but heavy "leaf peeper" traffic and rough roads made it difficult to enjoy. We had another big climb in the afternoon followed by some smaller "bumps" which in combination really sapped my energy over the final 10 miles.  

We are staying at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee which is right at the border of Vermont and New Hampshire.  My room looks our over Lake Morey with mountains in the distance.  Too bad I won't be here long enough to enjoy it.

Tomorrow is another day of climbing as we make our way across New Hampshire. Although the ride is only 78 miles there are 3 large climbs which, we are told, make it nearly as challenging as today's ride. We are also assured of encountering heavy Sunday "leaf peeper" traffic on the famous Kancamagus Highway. So my guess is that the morning will be delightful, but the afternoon will be much less enjoyable.  Hopefully we can get an early start so that we arrive in North Conway by early afternoon.

Steve

Day 41: Speculator to Ticonderoga NY

I had a very enjoyable morning of easy pedaling as we made our way through the beautiful Adirondacks.  As predicted, temperatures were in the low 30's with moderate northerly winds.  I used my full kit of cold weather cycling gear and it turned out to be almost perfect.  It consists of 4 layers plus a warm cycling hat that covers my ears.  I had expected to remove some layers as the day went on, but I never did - temps stayed in the 40's and the northerly headwinds persisted.  I remained comfortable by adjusting the zippers at the the neckline of my two outer layers.

I had planned to take it easy for the 30 miles after lunch, but a big climb required substantial effort and then as we turned north at Hague for the final 10 miles along the western shore of Lake George the headwinds increased to 15-20mph.  It was still a nice ride, but I would have liked to leave more fuel in the tank for tomorrow's big day of climbing.

The town of Ticonderoga sits between the north end of Lake George and the south end of Lake Champlain.  Because of this strategic position, the area played an important role in the French and Indian War of the 1750's and again in the Revolutionary War.  Fort Ticonderoga, which was built by the French in the 1750's is a popular tourist attraction, but I didn't feel like taking another bike ride to go see it.

There are now only 3 days of riding left, but in the spirit of taking it one day at a time, I am only thinking about tomorrow.  With 6500 feet of climbing it is the second biggest climbing day of the trip.  We begin the day with a short ferry ride across the lake to enter Vermont and then begin our day of climbing.  The big 5 mile climb to cross the Green Mountains at Brandon Gap begins at mile 26.  Temperatures in the 40's and a moderate easterly headwind are forecast - but no rain. It will be a challenging day, but since I like to climb, I expect it to be a good day.

Steve

Day 40: Cazenovia to Speculator NY

Today's 104 mile ride through the Adirondacks was very nice - and dry.  My legs felt tired this morning so I started off at an easy pace and kept it that way until lunch.  After a large carbohydrate loaded lunch my energy level rebounded and I rode at an aggressive pace for the remaining 50 miles.  The fall foliage was brilliant, but still not at its peak.  With freezing temperatures forecast for tonight, we should see the colors intensify over the next couple of days.

We are staying at two different "inns" tonight in Speculator. The Melody Lodge where I am staying is very "rustic". I would not recommend staying here, but would recommend eating here - the dinner tonight was excellent. We were also treated to a great sunset during dinner.

Tomorrow is a relatively short 72 mile day so we will not start riding until after 8am.  Even then, temperatures are expected to be in the low 30's so everyone will get a chance to try out their cold weather gear.  My gear was tested down to these temperatures when I did the southern route 3 years ago so I should not have any problems.  

Sorry for the short post, but the excellent dinner was also a long dinner and I need to get my sleep.

Steve

Day 39: Corning to Cazenovia NY

My enjoyment of 100+ mile rides in the rain came to an end today.  A combination of persistant light rain, stong northerly winds and cool temperatures made for a very unpleasant day of riding.  I did ok until about 20 miles to go and then started feeling mentally and physically fatigued - more so than any other ride on the entire trip.  To make matters worse, we had a tough climb just before reaching our destination in Cazenovia.  However, I did get it done and kept my "ride-every'mile" goal intact.

Our ride took us directly through Ithaca, home of Cornell University.  We didn't pass by the campus, but did see enough of this very hilly city to give it a big thumbs up for beauty.  It's definitely a city that I would like to come back to visit - hopefully on a warm, sunny day.

I stayed relatively dry today, but still looked like a drowned rat when I finished.  Here are several photos of me yesterday just after I got off the bike.  I looked pretty much the same today, but with somewhat different rain attire.

Here's the front view

Here's the back view:

Cazenovia is a small, affluent town of about 7,000 people located about 40 miles south of Syracuse. We are staying tonight at the Brewster Inn located on Lake Cazenovia.  It's a lovely old inn in a nice setting overlooking the lake.  Unfortunately the weather is so crappy that we can't really enjoy the setting.  They did serve us an excellent dinner in a lovely private room - one of the best meals of the trip.

Tomorrow we have our 5th consecutive 100+ mile day since our rest day in Cleveland as we pedal our way to Spectulator NY.  The very good news is that it is forecast to be dry with early AM temperatures around 40 degrees raising to the mid-50's by afternoon - perfect cycling conditions.  This will be our 19th and final century ride of the trip - and could be the last one I ever do.  Hopefully the combination of it potentially being my last century ride and the dry weather will re-engergize me from my very worn-out condition this evening.

Steve