August 11 - Escort Home

Four days after the trip, I'm still on a high, viewing my photos over and over, and anxious to see friends and family to talk to them about this extraordinary experience this summer.

I flew home from Manchester late August 12th after spending the day with my cousins Carol and David at the Kennedy Library in Boston. The day before I was picked up from my hotel by my two oldest grandchildren, Adina and Ryan. We browsed and lunched in Harvard Square before heading to Windham, New Hampshire, to spend the rest of the day with Yael.  The next morning the grandkids were off to Camp Hadar.  What a great way to celebrate the end of this adventure!

The Finale

In 2010 I cycled 3,000 miles from Seattle to Niagara Falls, Canada, in eight weeks. At that time I was unable to complete the last eight days of the trip across country because I had to be in New York for work. I had waited three years for Ken and Nancy to organize another cross country trip and decided not just to complete the ride from Niagara, which would have been 400 miles to Vermont from Niagara,  but to cycle 1600 from Minneapolis to Cambridge. Today I completed my dream with cyclists from 2008, 2010, and 2012. The end of the evening was a celebration of this accomplishment with new friends. This incredible journey on a bicycle has bonded us for a lifetime.

These photographs picture the joy we are feeling in our hearts in our faces. There is Cindy with "her boys" from Team Magellan.

By the way, we finally named our team "The Corner Gang". The reason for the team name is that we wait at every turn for each other, so that we are always together as we follow our cue sheet and no one gets lost. Today we had 105 directions for a 59 mile ride so you can imagine how many turns were part of this day and how many times we checked on each other.

Thanks again to Ken and Nancy for helping me make my dream come true. I only hope that I can inspire others to follow their dream, whatever it might be, either by bike, by car, by boat, by foot, or by plane.

August 10 - On the way to Cambridge, MA

Minuteman Statue

North Bridge

Incredible weather, beautiful scenery, historic sites and paved and tree-lined bike paths marked our last day of riding.

Traveling through Concord was a history lesson. We cycled into Minuteman Park and stood on the old North Bridge where the "shot heard round the world" started the Revolutionary War.

A vivid remembrance of my childhood is The Little Woman series of books which I read again and again as I fell in love with the characters. Can you image my surprise when I found the Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott wrote these books? Unfortunately, the tour was an hour and with 20 miles left to cycle, we had no time. I loved the phrase on one of the shirts in the store, "Little Women grow up to be Great Women".

I was slightly worried about cycling into Cambridge but Minuteman Commuter Bikeway led us almost all the way to the city and then a sidewalk trail following the Charles River led us to our final destination.

Mark from the U. K.

One of the bonuses of this trip is the bond that we develop among the riders when we are together for such a long period of time. Some of us have cycled together before, some are new. Our riders come from near and far - Oregon, Arizona, Michigan, D.C., Maryland, Vermont, Texas, and the United Kingdom.

I cycled from D.C. to Vermont two years ago with Mark from the United Kingdom and he took me to a diner in New York City for his favorite desert, blueberry pie and ice cream. On this trip I enjoyed documenting his "pie and ice cream" snacks on our ride. Mark always had a special twinkle in his eye as he indulged in his well deserved treat of the day.

August 9 - Mural in Northampton, MA

When Margaret parked her car, our eyes were in disbelief. We viewed another mural, the best one of the entire trip.

The mural is titled "The History of Women in Northampton from 1600 to 1980". The mural depicts women of all walks of life who made contributions to the history of the town. The figure on the first photo is Susanne Larhrop, a painter who along with her sisters opened the first art studio in Northampton in 1886. Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women's rights activist is in the last photo. In between are women from the past, both known and unknown. If you look carefully you can recognize Helen Keller as a little girl with her teacher Ann Sullivan.

The Hestia Art Collective created this 3216 square foot mural in 2003. In 1980 additional figures were added. These figures include peace activist Frances Crowe, former Northampton Mayor Mary Ford, current Mayor Clare Higgins, domestic activist Yoko Kato, coach Agnes Valenta, former Smith College President Ruth Simmons, and Jessie Benoit, a friend to the homeless and needy.

August 9 - Downpour in Amherst

Ken waiting to ride

Rain, rain go away

Serotta in the Truck

The decision not to cycle was difficult. I have never seen a drenching downpour like the one we experienced today. The rain lasted all day with flash flood warnings. Our bikes were placed in the van, we changed into street clothing, and spent the day with Ken's wife, Margaret.

A total of five did not ride, two gave up after lunch, and eleven cycled the entire route. The stories about their day made me realize that we had made the correct choice.  Two of our best riders told horrid stories of how they felt when they could not break on a steep downhill.  Both thought their lives were in jeopardy. I love to cycle but the risk of an accident outweighed the odds.

What would three women do while waiting? You guessed it. We went shopping in the downpour to second hand stores, saw Northampton from a car instead of a bike, and enjoyed hot vegetarian chili at The Green Bean until we drove to Westminster to meet the group at our hotel.

August 8 - To Amherst, MA

Morning threading sky

Donation Box

After the hill

Art in Northampton

With a 70 percent chance of rain we hoped to start early and outride the storm. Fortunately, the rain never arrived. However, the unexpected hills were extremely steep and went on for miles. The total climbing was 5200 feet as compared to yesterday's climb of 4200 feet. I should have realized this was not going to be an easy day when I saw the sign "Welcome to the Berkshires". The only reward was the downhills and I clocked my top speed at 34 miles per hour.

Before the dreadful hills on MA143, we enjoyed a ten mile rail to trails bike path, the Ashuwilltiook Rail Trail. The beauty of the trail and the perfect riding surface made us vote this trail number one for the trip. I added a donation to the scenic painted donation box at the trailhead.

Usually we cycle through lots of small towns but today was different. The only towns were major, Northampton and Amherst. Unfortunately, we had no time to stop and enjoy the unique stores and food establishments in either town.  I did stop to photograph the metal sculpture across a bridge in Northampton before entering another trail. Remember, I'm the bike fanatic photographer!

Our 70 mile day ended with 77 miles on my bike computer after getting lost twice. The extra miles did not matter because it did not rain and the extra miles were not on hills.

August 7 - Arrival in Williamstown, MA

Let the celebration begin! "The Girls" cycled into town by 2:30 and enjoyed ice cream at Sweets and Beans. We didn't order lollipops but the assortment was very tempting. Instead, I photographed the hanging lollipops.

August 7 - To Williamstown, MA

Waiting for lunch

The Reservoir

Early start at 6:30 this morning with threatening rain and an 80 mile ride. We are at the southern tip of the Adirondack Mountains and we were climbing all day. Leaving New York State, we were excited to enter Vermont. However, we were only in Vermont for six miles before entering Massachusetts.

Our first major climb was 15 miles into the ride at Swart Hill Road. On the top we chuckled at the "Drink Milk" sign on the side of the barn.

To our amazement, we pedaled into lunch by 10:15 and our support van had not yet arrived. Four of the guys waited but we decided to purchase our own lunch at The Ugly Rooster Cafe. Take a look at the poster of photographs on the "Wall of Shame" in the cafe. Huge portions served contribute to the obesity problem in this country.

We found a lovely spot overlooking the reservoir and enjoyed our take out veggie burgers in the quiet of nature.

August 6 - Continuing onto Johnstown, NY

Mohawk River

The Mohawk River was on our right as we traveled on our first trail today. This photo was taken as I climbed the fence to have a better view of the river and the sumac trees.

Small town USA was part of our path - Frankfort, Ilion, Mohawk, Little Falls, Ephrata, and St. Johnsville - before we joined the Erie Canal Trail. A major section of the trail was under water from Hurricane Irene and difficult to navigate safely. We walked the bike for some time through the mud and ruts.

Along the way Margaret found a horse tied to a tree and the Amish buggy driverless. Of course, we took advantage of the situation and posed in the buggy.

I loved the sign on the path titled "Miracle Mile and a Half Bike Trail". Underneath the quote was "To reflect on a man's ride through life is a memory not to be forgotten."

August 6 - Leaving Utica College

While eating breakfast at Utica College this morning, I realized that the eating area was surrounded by glass art.

On the way out of the campus, we passed a sculpture titled "Traveling Runner" created by Christopher Sudetlin. The painting on fiberglass of the runner was inspired by the cultural diversity of our world. The sculpture was the result of a community-pride project inspired by Break Through Central New York. I could not help but think about Claire and Eric when I passed the marathon runner.

Twelve miles out of town we stopped in Frankfort at The Friendly Bakery. The bakers are fourth generation and the pastry excellent.

August 5 - In Utica, NY

Entering a metropolitan area is somewhat difficult on bikes, but we used the A. Rayhill Recreational Trail that parallels the main road. Along the trail we stopped to explore the marsh lands that we had seen from a distance.

Less than a quarter of a mile from our destination, all the riders stopped for an ice cream treat after climbing up the last hill to the college.

Our final chore was to clean our bicycles and oil the chains before entering the dorms at Utica College.

August 5 - On the way to Utica, NY

Leaving Baldwinsville was difficult.  For the first ten miles we cycled with the morning sun in our eyes, in traffic, and on a route with cars entering and exiting major roads. After this dangerous start, the same Route 31 became pleasant and almost traffic free. By mile 25 we were delighted to discover this unique roadside bike shop, get off our bikes, and just have fun.

The used bikes were in the front yard of the owners home. His wife told us that her husband started to go to auctions as a hobby, purchased old bikes, and began repairing and selling the bikes.

Another detour added five miles to our day, increasing our total mileage to 70. On the detour we spotted more wheels, but on farm machinery, not bikes.