Eastbound Day 2

67 Miles

Cute little squirrel statue.

I managed to get up and ready by 6:30. This would prove a much better start than the first day. I was off before any church goers were even awake. I took a few minutes to explore Olean. It wasn't very far from where I grew up but I don't ever recall visiting the small city. The city had a theme of squirrels that it would decorate. Lots of cities and towns do this.Warren PA has bears. Erie has frogs.I have seen places with other things. Some were cute. But I didn't quite get the Ronald McDonald squirrel in the park in the center of town. I would have understood if the local McDonald's was nearby, but it wasn't. 

I just don't get it. 

I set off after a terrible convenience store sandwich. Along the way I had to stop to adjust the front racks. I was missing several parts and the eyelet was stripped. I think I had done a fabulous job at rigging it up with random nuts and bolts as spacers and zip ties instead of screws. The only problem of course is that this would require frequent adjusting and possibly replacing the zip ties periodically. It was still holding up astoundingly well despite the regular adjustments. I also oiled the bike's chain. Sadly, and neglectfully on my part, I had forgotten to oil Upstate's chain prior to the first day. The squeak and rack issues were fixed and I carried on.

high winds

The hills were easy and rolling. That may have been partially due to the early start. I had 20 miles in well before 9:30. My goal was only 53 miles so this was an excellent start. My next stop
I forced myself to eat and drank a soda. I liked the town I was in. It looked historic. It apparently had an oil history to the area. I tried to read the historic markers as I came to them.

The next section of hills were rough. The wind was at my back but I still couldn't seem to climb the hills with any speed. The road barely had any shoulder. I couldn't understand why they chose this road to be part of a bike route. Almost an hour into this and 4.5 miles out of town I stopped to eat and hydrate. It was then that I pulled out my map and realized that they hadn't chosen this road to be part of their bike route. I had gone up the wrong road. The roads out there were scarce and I really only had the option of turning around and backtracking. At least the ride would be downhill, albeit in very high winds. Even with the winds I breezed back into town at a third of the time it had taken me to get the 4.5 miles out. I believe that was testament to the kind of hills I was riding up. 

Finally I was back on my way. I made it to the next town by 12:30 and took a break. I was laying in the grass next to a shopping center when I hear someone yelling 'hey'. I sit up to see a woman in a red truck motioning me to come over. She asks me a little about my trip and then hands me a few dollars and insists I go get something off of Burger King or McDonald's value menu. She told me her uncle went coast to coast on his bike. I told her I was fine and didn't need the money but she insisted that she wanted to help. I thanked her and she drove off while urging me to stay hydrated. The sun was getting very hot. I did need to fill up on water. I went to McDonald's and ate a sandwich and had a nice icy drink. It was hard to eat, as I had anticipated, but the cola went down smoothly. I looked through my maps and decided where I would stay. Then I reapplied my sunscreen, filled my water and headed back out.

The hills and the sun made me very warm and I started to feel very sick. My body just didn't seem to be able to keep cool. Perhaps it was the jelly-like mix of sweat and sunscreen that glazed my skin. My sweat couldn't very well evaporate in a gelatin-like state. I laid in the shade for a good 45 minutes hoping it would help. It barely did. I even bought a bottle of cold water in hopes that it would bring my temperature down. It made little difference. I still felt sick. Finally I opted to do something that I prefer to avoid. I took my helmet off while riding. It offered some relief. I wet my head with some water and the heat and nausea subsided some. I continued riding without a helmet. I figured my chances of heat stroke were much higher than my odds of getting into a crash.

small town? yes, I think so.

I didn't get this either. But to some people,
this is a dream day at the lake.

 I made it to a state recreation area, Kanakadea Park. Camping was $15 dollars but I fancied a shower and a nice walk by the lake. I set up camp and ate. Then I headed to the showers. They weren't too bad. I had seen much worse. I lotioned up my sunburn with aloe and took a walk down to the lake. There was an original Charger down by the water. I'm not sure why. Maybe there had been some kind of cruise-in prior to my arrival and it was the only car still there. It was a really nice car. I sat on a bench and recorded my days miles into my log book. I enjoy the sounds of the water and the breeze on my face. I went to bed before it was dark. I had some difficulty sleeping but eventually succumbed.

Eastbound Day 1

58 Miles

I struggled to wake up despite some excitement about the day and week ahead. I got into Jamestown pretty late the night before. I still had to finish getting Upstate ready for the ride.
I got a shower before loading Upstate with all my gear. I ate breakfast and said my goodbyes shortly before 10. And then I was off.
I had ridden the first ten or so miles prior to this on random outings on the bike. It was an easy start.I stopped very early into the ride for some groceries and a snack. I didn't really feel like eating but knew I needed to eat anyway. I was anticipating the loss of appetite. My last excursion left me without appetite for nearly a week. I am not entirely sure why it occurs.Maybe my body just needs time to adjust. Maybe it is the heat. Whatever it was that was stealing my appetite, I didn't like it.
I buzzed through Randolph which was having some sort of community days. I would have investigated  if I hadn't started so late. Shortly after that I encountered one the larger hills on my anticipated journey.I had an awesome tailwind pushing me up the hill but the hill was still winning. It wasn't just winning. It was kicking my ass.I took it slow and was unafraid to stop and breathe.
I took a break in the shade outside of Salamanca and talked to a nice guy named Johnny. He showed me pictures of his brother and all the celebrities his brother met as he crossed the country in his wheel chair.He was friendly and I enjoyed the chat. I was happy to see my travel personality was instantly back. Its amazing how personable I become when I roll into some place with a fully loaded bike.
The scenery was lovely and green. I may have actually been taking it for granted. The hills with green trees and rolling heights cut with fields and meadows were what I grew up seeing every day. It was still beautiful but I found myself more amused by the random things I would see. I saw a man in a chicken suit outside of a reservation smoke shop.I saw a fellow touring cyclist traveling West. He and I waved and smiled. I wish I had talked to him. Nevertheless, seeing a fellow cyclist made me really happy. I was almost overcome with emotion for a moment. Despite all the hardships the cycling can be and cause, I truly love it. When I am bike touring I can be whoever I want to be. On the road I am brave. I am not a coward. I am self-sufficient.I am strong. Out here, I can do anything, be anything. I was at home on the road and closer to myself than any other time. I think that is the only part of my adventures that would qualify as being brave. It takes a certain amount of bravery to be alone with yourself day after day. I knew I would be spending the next few days looking inward.
I had a rough idea of where I would end up. When I rolled into Olean I didn't bother looking for campgrounds. Instead my plan was to find an out of the way church and set up my tent. I managed this easily. The church had a big yard and was mostly secluded. I pitched my tent at dusk. I was tired and sunburned and passed out quickly despite the sound of a nearby party. I would wake early in the morning and head out before the church goers arrived.

Eastbound Intro

The idea was always there that I would ride from Jamestown New York to the East coast. This would mean I would cross the entire country, the entire continent using my own power. I looked up possible end sites. I decided that somewhere along the Connecticut coast line would fit my needs well. In addition to I never being in Connecticut, it was the shortest distance to coastline at roughly 450 miles. It was also close enough to Jamestown that I knew I could convince someone to pick me up along the Atlantic coast.

My gear prior to being packed

I ordered NYS bike route 17 maps. They are free from New York State Department of Transportation. The map would prove very helpful along my journey across the state. 

I set the dates for my trip and requested the time off of work. I would leave 2 years and 1 day after leaving for my original trip. 

June 16 rolled around quickly. I was not physically or mentally prepared, but I was willing to jump right in anyway. I made sure Upstate was ready though. He was tuned up and fitted with new grips and tires. I set up (with some difficulty) the front racks and panniers. I also gathered my gear and aired out my tent and sleeping bag. I was as ready as I could be.

My gear all paced up ready to load on to the bike

I packed up all my gear and caught a ride from home in Pittsburgh to Jamestown the night before I left. I got into Jamestown late and crashed out late at a friends.

Days 63 & 64

The days before I flew home were spent exploring Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. I found a shuttle to the airport (thanks for taking care of that for me, Karissa. You're awesome.) and a bike shop willing to ship my bike.
I met some really great women whom I ended up camping with my last night. Barbara and Donna gave me a ride to my shuttle. Barbara fed me and paid my fare for a ferry ride. Donna accompanied me on the ferry boat ride and we explored Friday Harbor together. She also drove me and my bike to the bike shop.
When I was leaving Friday Harbor I again ran into someone I knew. Lily was awaiting her ferry to British Columbia. We hugged. She commented on how clean I looked. I laughed. It warmed me to see her again. I was so glad. It felt right.
While spending time at Washington Park I ran into Joe. He hugged me and congratulated me. It was great to see him. I also got to see my Dutch friends again. They didn't recognize me all cleaned up either. It was nice to tell them goodbye as well.
I mostly relaxed and reflected. It was a good ending to my summer. Back to work and reality soon. I was going to miss riding every day.
I caught my late night shuttle to Seattle and caught my flight home to Pittsburgh.
The End.

Washington Park where my journey ended

from the ferry

from the ferry boat

Day 62

85 Miles

Lily and I both decided we would say goodbye to each other in the morning and ride our separate ways the last 80 or so miles to the coast. So that is what we did. We got up, packed up, hugged and said our goodbyes. I said goodbye to Han, Hans, and Robert on my way out of the park.

The ride was easy. My start was early. It was going to be a hot day. I approached my first stop for the morning I passed Juno resting outside a coffee shop. Lily was probably enjoying a nice cup of coffee. That didn't interest me anyway. I moved on to a convenience store. I got some snacks for breakfast and the day. I was sitting outside just relaxing. I was watching the rafting company next door to the gas station get their rafts ready for the day. While sitting there a cyclist rolled up. His trailer was fully loaded. He was talking to the operator of the rafting company. They both struck up conversation with me. They were trying to get me to go on a rafting ride. It was an hour long and free. It actually took a bit of convincing. Finally I said okay. When Lily came by I asked if she wanted to as well. She took some convincing too. Before long Lily, the newly met cyclist, Garret, and I were in a van heading up river. We picked up a family of three along the way.

Our guide was a nice guy. We took a slow leisurely ride down the river. There wasn't much for rapids, but it was nice to see the mountains from another perspective. It was beautiful. The water was so clear and cold. The change of pace was relaxing. One set of waterfalls could be followed from the glacier capped mountaintop cascading all the way to the river forming hundreds of falls. It was incredible. 

The ride took about an hour. We all tipped our guide and prepared for more riding. Garrett was riding the around the North Cascades and wherever else suited his fancy. He was riding up to Rainy Pass and Washington Pass that afternoon. He was facing a tough very hot ride. I wished him well. I said goodbye to Lily again. She set off. I set out shortly after.

The sun was hot and riding wasn't always easy. The wind offered little cooling effect and much resistance. I made a couple small stops, mostly just for water. I did stop for an hour outside a senior center. It was closed but it had several outlets on the outside of the building. I sat in the shade and let my phone charge while I ate some lunch.

I didn't have a map but had a general idea of where I was going. My last rest for the night was about 20 miles from Anacortes. I ate a hot dog and a cheeseburger at a gas station. I doubled checked Google maps. It was early evening. I should be hitting Anacortes shortly before the sunset.

The last leg of my journey was mostly flat. The weekend roads were busy. I was tired but nothing could have stopped me from pedaling. I was a little confused by the roads. I followed the main road, which turns out to be one of the only ways into town. I crossed a huge bridge that made me a little nervous even though I was on the sidewalk. It was high and the wind blew across it. It provided an amazing view though. There was water, wooded islands, boats, and snow capped mountains all in the same picturesque view. On the other side of bridge I found a bike route. I followed it even though I was unsure of where it went. I deducted that as long as I was going West, I couldn't really go wrong at this point. The path lead through the back side of the town and went across a bike/walk way. It was another visual treat. 

As I rolled into the actual town I got a little disoreiented and didn't know where to go. Eventually, I decided to head toward the ferry terminal. I needed to look into a way to Seattle anyway. I arrived at the ferry terminal and walked inside. It was almost time for the last ferry to depart to Friday Harbor on the island of San Juan. There was only a handle of people in the terminal. Oddly, enough I knew one. Lily was waiting for the last ferry. We high-fived and told each other how awesome each other were. Then I hugged her again and said my goodbyes again. I grabbed some information on the ferry schedule and headed toward a local park.

Washington park sat on the water. As I rolled toward the beach the sun hung low over the water. It was ready to set. I wanted to take a picture but my phone had died before I made it to the park. I walked to the water's edge with my bike. I dipped Upstate's tires in first before dipping my toes into the water.

I did it! 3,525 miles (give or take a few), 11 states, Countless flats, Dozens of hardships, Hundreds of smiles, Exactly 2 months to the day, and here I was touching the salty waters of the Pacific. I have crossed a continent. I wanted to talk to my loved ones. I wanted to shout, to brag, to cry, to smile.

I found an outlet and plugged my phone in. I called my friends and family. The time change meant it was almost midnight there. Everyone was sleeping, but I left messages. 

I found a campsite and set up my tent. It was dark in the wooded campground of the park. I went to bed feeling pretty amazing.  

Day 61

  

69 Miles
My alarm went off at 4:30 am. It was still dark and it was decided that the 5:30 might be better. I looked at the stars for a moment before closing my eyes for another hour. When the alarm went off again we got and ate and packed. This took a little longer than usual for some reason. But I was a little excited. The bike barn had provided a full charge to my electronics. This meant that I could ride up this mountain with music in my ears. I was pumped for this challenge. I was so ready for this. This would be my last big challenge.
We set out. Just before Lily pulled too far ahead of me I noticed it. My tire, my front tire, was a wobbly flat mess. Ha. What were the chances? I hollered out to Lily. Luckily she heard me, or she would have been up the mountain wondering why it took me six hours to climb the mountain.
I took my tire off after cutting it free from my zip tie jungle. I tried the scab patches. No luck. Lily gave me her spare tube. This made both of us nervous. We had no patches or spares between the two of us. Lily rode ahead while I reassembled my zip tie jungle and put my tire back on.
Lily had run into our Dutch friends. They gave her an extra patch. Thank goodness. We rode to a little store/cafe. It was a cute place. I couldn't resist a chocolate turnover. I treated Lily to one too. Despite the flat, it was a pretty good way to start the day.
We set out again.  It was a Saturday afternoon. The mountain was very busy. I was passed by numerous Spandex Road Jockeys. I must say I was proud of myself for keep up a pace with a few of the road cyclist, and I was fully loaded. Oh yeah! All the people coming down the mountain were smiling. There were so many cars. I had some sluggishness and muscle soreness a few miles in. I took some Tylenol. I carried on. It was mostly wooded at first. With some really great music in my ears I just kept pedaling. I was beginning to wonder why I was pedaling so hard and wasn't even going uphill yet. This is when I pulled over for a quick snack of crackers. I looked down the road I had been pedaling up. I really was pedaling up. I had been climbing very steadily. I hadn't even noticed. I stood under one of the waterfalls along the road to cool down. I kept riding. My legs were getting tired. Right around 25 miles into my days ride I approached the king of all switchbacks. That was one heck of a curve. It was also steeper than the grade I had been riding. I rested briefly before tackling this. It wasn't too bad. I stopped at the top of that part to take some pictures. A man riding his bicycle up stopped to talk to me. He talked about touring. And he gave me more good news. The pass was just up around the next bend, less than a mile. Excellent news! I rode up.
As I reached the pass Michael Franti's "Say Hey" was in my ears. I had the biggest grin. I felt so amazing.
Lily was riding up from an overlook near the sign. She had been down there for a little bit but not too long. We hung out there for a little while. There were numerous cyclists reaching the pass from the other direction. It was something like 50-70 people in the staggered group. They were riding from Seattle or some such place. We were talking to driver of one of the group's support van. They gave us cold bottled water. That was a nice treat.
The next pass was 3-4 miles away. This involved about 2.5 miles of downhill. This would be a piece of cake. I put my headphones back in my ears and off we zoomed. The stop at Rainy Pass was brief. From here on out, it was all downhill. I would be dropping from almost 5000 ft of elevation to sea level over the next day and a half. Even uphills should be fairly short and easy.
I'll describe the ride down the mountain momentarily.
Lily and I ran into the Han, Hans, and Robert on the way down the mountain. It would be a leap frog with them all the way down. They bought Lily and I ice cream when we reached the end of our day.
As for lodging for the night, it was a Saturday night. This meant all the campgrounds were full. We were contemplating wild camping. Our Dutch friends decided to take a campsite that was closed and take it up with the Ranger whenever they came through. Lily and I scoped the taken sites for non-family campers in small numbers. We approached two guys that seemed pretty cool. They were camping at a fairly large site and it was just the two of them. We straight up asked if we could camp there. They were really cool and said of course. The guys were rock climbers. Really great guys. We ate dinner with them and socialized. Lily patched my inner tube from my morning tire and I replaced it with the spare one she had given me. She got to have her spare tube back. After hanging out with the climbers I went to bed early. I was filled with accomplishment.
Okay. Now back to the ride down the mountain...
I stopped frequently. I was filled with so much adrenaline and confidence. I really felt I could accomplish anything. The view was so gorgeous. Everyone the entire trip had been telling me I should be traveling West to East. The reasons were always about traveling with the winds. Well, I don't care what anyone else says. The East coast is beautiful, especially in the autumn, but I just don't think that the beauty could match what I was seeing. It was the perfect climax to my trip. The mountains were snow capped and the run off created hundreds of waterfalls. As I zoomed down the mountain I could feel the waterfalls before i could see them. The cool air wafting from the crevices pushed against my skin and I knew the glacier waterfalls were close. Then I would see them and hear them. The sun was bright, but I rode mostly in the shade of the mountain. I took a shower beneath one of the roadside waterfalls. The lakes were a spectacular green color. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for my entire journey. Again, words cannot describe the beauty I saw. Pictures still barely capture a portion of it. Here are some pictures to fill in some of the words...

Lily!

The water really was this color.

Day 60

50 Miles
The morning came at just the right time. It wasn't hard getting up. Today's mountain was a lower elevation than the Wauconda Pass of the day before. And today's pass was fun to say, Loup Loup. I was pumped for my ride.
After a quick stop at the local gas station for some chocolate milk and other breakfastness, I set out. Lily, feeling much better pulled out far ahead of me early on.
The ride started out fine. The sun was shining and I could tell it'd be a hot day. This mountain was not as easy as I had hoped. Some of the grade was the worst I had encountered in some time. It was much harder than I wanted it to be. I made several stops on the way up.
I saw the three Dutchmen slowly gaining on me as I climbed. They were encouraging when they eventually passed. Robert stopped briefly to show me how much more I had to ride. We were about a mile or two from the top. With another word of confidence he rode on. I pushed on, steady and sometimes very slow. But eventually I made it to the pass. It was definitely the biggest challenge of the mountains so far.
Han, Hans, Robert and Lily were all chatting and resting when I arrived. We hung out there for awhile. I actually ate twice. We all chatted and got to know more about each other. We also talked to some people on horseback. This added even more to the cowboy old west feel I'd encountered repeatedly in Washington.
The ride down the mountain was leisurely and uneventful. This western side of the mountain had more trees. The road we were following followed a river. Lily and I were looking for a place to swim. We didn't find anywhere. I imagined the water was freezing anyway.
Lily and I stopped at a grocery store in the very touristy town. The town had an Old West store front facade. To me, it felt very faked. I preferred a more authentic look. We rode on toward the next town. We were even considering pedaling a portion up the next mountain. I was of course further behind Lily. I found her talking with some other cyclists outside of a camp specifically for cyclists. It was still early but we decided this would be a good place to camp. The Bike Barn was a great little set up. Jim and Jan greeted us and told us about some of the amenities. There was an outdoor solar heated shower. The barn house a fridge and sitting area. Oh, and there were outlets galore! I immediately started charging all my devices. Lily and I set up camp behind the barn. The couple who we had been talking to decided to stay elsewhere. The privacy and promise of a clear sky at night meant that we both opted to go without the rainfly. I took a nice shower in the well enclosed solar shower. It was still light out and I went to sleep. It had been a tough ride. Tomorrow was the last mountain. I was pumped, but ready for sleep. At dusk I heard another cyclist arrive. It was Joe. I was too close to sleep to get up and socialize. I enjoy seeing the stars when I did wake up in the night. It was cold throughout the night. I donned my wooly hat and cuddled far into my sleeping bag.