L.A. to Boston - May 10 to June 28 - 3415 Miles

Friday, June 27, 2008

Day 48 - Thursday, June 26 - Brattleborro, VT, to Burlington, MA - 87 miles - 5600 climbing feet


Our 87 mile ride to Burlington, MA, involved almost as much climbing as yesterday. However, today's climbing was much different. Yesterday, we had a few long climbs - up to 7 miles at a time. Today we had many shorter, steeper, rolling hills.

We rode in a light rain much of the morning and several chose to ride in the sag van - at least until it quit raining. Up until today, most riders had agreed that Ohio had the worst roads - lots of holes, rough areas, and poor shoulders. Today, we tended to agree that maybe Massachusetts had the worst roads. The roads were rough with lots of holes to dodge, mostly no shoulders on which to ride, heavy traffic, and the drivers were very rude. Miraculously, all riders arrived at the motel without accidents although several riders spoke of very close calls.


Preparing for the day's ride - waiting to load luggage in the truck and sign out.


Our first state line of the day - New Hampshire.


A New Hampshire license plate.


We passed through this covered bridge on today's ride.


A bicycle repair shop if needed - maybe two centuries ago, though.



Most of our route, today, was along tree-lined roads. However we were unable to enjoy the scenery as much as we would have liked because of the rain and rough shoulders. We had to keep our eyes on the road. This shoulder is one of the better on today's route.


Our second state line today - Massachusetts. Two state lines in one day by bicycle!


After our evening group meal, our tour leader, Tracy, instilled in us the magnitude of the journey that we had just accomplished and how it would affect our personal and professional goals for the rest of our lives - namely in persistence in pursuing them. Obstacles would not seem so impossible and goals not so unattainable. Each rider then tried to relate what the tour had meant to himself although many admitted that they were not, yet, able to comprehend what they had accomplished. There were some very eloquent speeches.

In the above photo, six riders were presented "Top Dog" t-shirts for having ridden "every fantiastic inch" (EFI) of the tour. As I related in earlier posts (Days 18 & 19) , about one-third of the riders, including myself, were stricken with food poisoning which took us off the road for at least a couple of days. The food poisoning related to the national tomato salmonella fiasco. Other riders also missed days of riding for various reasons. The six riders riding every inch were Janie (NJ); father & son, Achim and Alex (Germany) on a tandem bicycle; Damien (Ireland); Don (NY); and Daryl (UT). Daryl was not present to receive his award.


This photo shows a group of riders singing a song to the tune of "She'll be coming around the Mountain" with a somewhat humorous verse for each state. The skit was organized by Linda (MI).

Don (NY) sang a-capella solo of verses that he had written to the Porgy and Bess tune, "Summertime".

The evening was very joyous as riders reminisced about the last seven weeks. Rider guests were present as family and friends were beginning to arrive to greet the riders at the end of their journey.

Tomorrow, will be an 18 mile ceremonial ride to Revere Beech in Boston with only 700 feet of climbing!

Bye for now and thanks for the comments,
Bob