Day 45 / Tuesday, July 21st / Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY / 85 miles

Today we left Pennsylvania for New York. Today's ride was along routes 5 and 20 along Lake Erie. Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy the scenery on a clear sunny day. This was only our second day on the tour with rain from start to finish. I tryed to focus on the name of our trip "the cross challenge" and realize that rain is part of that challenge. It is important to take adversity like this and turn it into something positive so I kept a smile on my face knowing how much the vineyards were enjoying the rain.

Apparently along the banks of the Erie the soil is ideal for the vineyards. We went by many vineyards offering tours and samplings. Some of our group took advantage of the tours, however; I continued to pedal and enjoy the many small towns on the waterfront.

As we entered New York I realized I forgot to bring my "Red Sox" to hold up in front of the sign. Probably a good thing, I felt a lot safer on the NY roads without those red sox hanging out of my pocket.

I had an invitation by Homer Simpson for lunch but it was 10:00 am when I rode by his restaurant which was a little to early for me. I wish my brother-in-law, James, was here because I know he would have stopped in to chat with one of his favorite cartoon characters.

Had to take a picture of this water fall on the left. Haven't seen to many of these and I do have a love for running water. The hot shower at the end of the ride was even more enjoyable.

Day 44 / Monday, July 20th / Rest Day in Erie, PA


Today was a rest day. Got a replacement seat for my bike which was cracking after only 2 months of riding (although that has been over 3,000 miles). Serfas biking company honored their warranty and the exchange went hassle free.
Spent another great day at the Plunkett's. Had a swim in the pool, played with Maureen's 4 grandchildren, had a delicious barbecue and saw another spectacular sunset over Lake Erie.


The final 8 days are ahead of us and It's time to let friends and relatives know of plans for the big final day.
On Monday, July 27th we will be staying at the Comfort Inn, 298 Queen City Ave., Manchester, NH 03102 (603-668-2600).
On Tuesday, July 28th we will depart the hotel around 7:00am for a 62 mile ride to Wallis Sands Beach in Rye, NH.
All the riders will meet at a Junior HS about 2 miles from the beach around 11:30 then we will have a police escort to the beach.
This is an estimated time and the projection of us getting to the beach is probably going to be sometime just after 12:00 noon.
My uncle Bob, who has already completed a cross country tour, is planning on riding with me the final day as well as a long time friend, Jack Styles. I couldn't ask for a better way to finish the journey.

Day 43 / Sunday, July 19th / Youngstown, OH to Erie, OH / 101 mile

Today I was on a mission since tomorrow is a rest day.

The mission was to get to the hotel first. The motivating factor was to see my wife Donna who I hadn't seen since June 3rd. I'd be lying if I left out the fact that getting to the hotel before Tom (CA) gave me a little added incentive as well. I was chasing Tom and Sean (UK) slowly closing the gap until they overshot a turn. I jumped on the opportunity and took a 100 yard lead into a lead where they were no longer in sight. There was a road closed due to construction that our sag support told us we could cross by carrying our bikes on a dirt mound on each side of a bridge under construction. What the support team didn't know was that 3 miles further down the road was another bridge under construction that had water all around. After about 5 minutes debating if I could get over it alone I found a section that looked passable. Just at that time Tom pulls up and takes advantage of my plan as well. We crossed together, tested each others strength the next 30 miles on our pulls and had a fun ride to the hotel together.

The only thing that slowed Tom and I today were these baby kittens on the road. They were to young and didn't realize how dangerous the road could be so we moved them off.

Right before we crossed the state line we stopped at this little outdoor root beer stand called Richardson's Root beer. Probably the best root beer drink I have ever had. I passed on the float with fear that it could keep me from obtaining my goals for the day. The sag was suppose to be here, however; Tom and I were moving to fast for the sags today and missed both.

A few miles down the road we arrived in Pennsylvania. I feel that I am getting back to my roots growing up in New England where we spent a lot of time visiting relatives in PA.



When we arrived at the hotel at 12:50 (after departing at 7:15am) we found out that check in wasn't until 3:00. there was a big motorcycle party in town and all the rooms had to be cleaned. Not to long after Tom and I had arrived came Sean, and Steve so I called my wife and good friend from Erie and they recommended that we get lunch at the Plymouth bar and grill. Had a good meal there but the best part was when I was interrupted from the table to greet my wife and Maureen. They meet several of the riders then off to the hotel we went to get my luggage and see Maureen's beautiful house that her son Sean, an architect designed.

What more could I ask for than to have a rest day in Erie, see my wife, be pampered with hospitality by longtime friends in a beautiful house on the cliff overlooking Lake Erie.

Day 42 / Saturday, July 18th / Wooster, OH to Youngstown, OH / 115 miles

Today is our last full day in Ohio and we are on the final 10 days of pedaling until we get to our final destination which is Wallis Sands Beach in Portsmouth NH on July 28th. The weather was ideal for riding, 66 and overcast. I don't think the temperatures ever went above 72. I rode on my own enjoying the countryside and some music. The road conditions were awful. Bumpy with lots of pot holes and chewed up roads. The roads were so chewed up on the side I had to ride in the center line when ever traffic allowed.

The climbs were not as bad as yesterday, however; it was hard to generate any speed on the downhills due to the danger that poor roads present.

The last 6 miles we were on a very nice bike path. I am on the overpass of the trail and behind me (zoom) you can see a nice wooded trail. The mileage for today's ride was 92 but since the trail was so nice I went back for an additional 23 miles. Tomorrows a big day as we get into Erie, PA. Not only am I excited to see Erie, I also get a chance to see my wife, Donna, who I haven't seen since June 3rd and our good friends the Plunkett's.

Day 41 / Friday, July 17th / Marysville , OH to Wooster, OH / 103 miles

Rain was in the forecast for today. The first 75 miles was overcast and cool. I rode with the back of the pack for the beginning of the ride trying to recover from a hard ride yesterday. After the first sag stop Leigh from Seattle and I picked up the pace and caught up to Rick and Jack Boyle (brothers) and enjoyed a few miles on the flats until we hit a set of steep hills with a 14-15 % grade. Going up was tough but the ride down was fast and thrilling. We finally made it to the next sag at mile 75 to take a short rest. The clouds were building up so we grabbed a P&J sandwich, filled up our water bottles and off we went. We didn't get very far and the clouds opened up and the rain came pouring down. We found a house with a wrap around porch to stay dry. Mrs. Strafford, who has lived in the house for 59 years with her husband, came out and greeted us. We chatted for a while and told

them about our journey. She welcomed us in for cookies, however; we told her we had just eaten at the sag stop two miles back. We gave our thanks and gratitude for their hospitality then got back on the wet roads into a mild rain.

After departing at 7:00 am we finally arrived at the hotel at 2:45 pm. Long day but tomorrow will only be 97 miles.

Day 40 / Thursday, July 16th / Richmond, VA to Marysville, OH / 105 miles

Another great sunny mild day for the summer with the temperatures in the 80s. After 2 miles we were out of Indiana and into Ohio. Ohio (Columbus) is the home state of Chris on the left. We have been riding together for most of the trip. Jim from CA is the other rider in the picture. The three of us hammered pretty hard for most of today's ride hitting 26 mph on some of the flats.

At about mile 64 we stopped in at a place called Bradons in the small town of St Paris. The mayor owns and manages the store. Had one of the best smoothies ever. Strawberry-banana mixed with ice cream with whip cream on top.

Still looking at a lot of corn fields.

We got to the first sag stop so fast that the sag van hadn't gotten there yet. It was at a park with a path down to a river that had some running water. We all enjoyed the peaceful sound of the river flowing over the rock as we waited for the sag to get there.

Had some rolling hills today but nothing like Missouri.

Day 39 / Wednesday, July 15th / Indianapolis, IN to Richmond, IN / 74 miles

Today's ride was rather uneventful. The weather was cool and we hit some light rain for about a five mile stretch. I rode with Jim from CA and Jack from FL for the first 34 miles. Jim is back after having to leave us for some medical reasons and has returned back very strong.

Jack and I stoped in to check out the gym where the movie Hoosiers was filmed. The town and school was called Knightstown. They keep the gym open most the time with several basketballs for the visitors to recapture the moment.

After we left the gym we stopped shortly at the sag then hopped on our bikes and away we went to the hotel. Took an ice bath and a nap while I waited for our luggage to arrive, then had a nice six course meal at the Golden Corral.