The End, Part II: CT and beyond

Well, I've been in one place for a week now. There's a lot to say about the Big Trip, and here's just a little bit of it.

My "elcome" to Connecticut. Holy Connecticut - it sounded so far away when I started. I could barely even peek at my whole US map. It was very daunting to see all those states strung together. I had to concentrate only on the next day's ride. 60 miles? I can do that. It turns out you get pretty far if you just point your bike in a direction and go a little bit every day.



Or almost every day. Of the 90 day trip, I think I took almost two weeks off(!). That's about 5178 miles total in 77 days of riding, averaging out to 67 mi/day. I slept outside on 40 nights. It got below freezing on at least three or four of those.

Here's some CT scenery. I knew I was getting close to the end of the trip when I saw this billboard. This fantastic shop is owned by our friends in Westerly, RI.






I had the best welcome to my sister's house. I think the whole King family showed up and waved flags and cheered. What fun!
My niece is the smallest one in the photo, my brother in law is next to me, and I think my sister's taking the photo. Thanks to those of you who wrote congratulatory notes - they made great flags.



Speaking of thanks, there are really too many to mention everyone by name here. It's funny, I started out this trip with the mindset that I was going to ride across the country all by myself. That's laughable now. Not that I didn't personally pedal every inch of the way. (Er, except for the 3 or 4 miles of construction in Wyoming where they insisted on putting me and Wanda in a truck.) But pedaling is only part of the story. I wasn't at all alone in accomplishing my goal because I had so much help along the way. Support came in many forms, including the 29 sets of hosts that took me in, others that connected me with potential hosts, the folks who stopped to ask if I needed anything when I was changing a flat tire, the hotel owner who cooked me dinner, my friends and family who offered equipment, encouragement and blogomments.

My especial and particular thanks to my sister Ba[rb], the 'media liaison' who updated the blog every day and my brother-in-law Dan who provided tech support. Yeah, and for providing me with a welcoming home.

So a sincere and heartfelt thanks everybody. f you ever want to feel very far from being alone in the world, just go out on a trek and ask for help. You'll find generous, friendly people everywhere. It's wonderful.

Now to address just a few of the most popular questions.
#22 'Did it change your opinion about the USA? How?'One of the reasons I wanted to ride through Kansas was to find something redeeming about it. I found interesting, generous, educated people who were happy to live where they did and I found subtle beauty. I guess the same could be said about the whole middle of the country. I stayed with folks who shared my political beliefs and those who didn't, but they were all good hearted. People were kind to me without exception. It makes me want to go out and find people to be nice to.

M.P.Q. #8 'What will you do when you get to Connecticut?'
I'll tell you just the highlights: spending time with my amazing 3.5 year old niece and looking for a job. Hey, if anyone knows of a job opening in an environmental field (and in a bike-friendly location), give me a ring.

Meanwhile I am also contemplating my next adventure. I'd like to explore New England, the maritime provinces of Canada, France of course, and so many other places. Perhaps I will also include some alternative forms of transportation ...














By the way, to check out a wider selection of pictures from my trip, try clicking here. York Photo will probably make you sign in, so I created a fake account for just such a purpose.
Login: ilove2bike@junkmail.com
password: ilove2bike




And if you ever want to hear more about my trip, let me know. (And if you want me to talk about something else, let me know that too.) Thanks all!

The End, Part I: Winter in NY

First up, some notes about my trek across NY.

My parents, Gordon and Ginger, were very happy to have me home for the weekend.







This photo pretty much summarizes my journey through New York: mostly sunny, wintry and hilly.







I've pedaled through so many pretty places, but I happen to especially like the hilly farm country in western/upstate NY. Maybe it has something to do with the preconditioning of my brain's beauty receptors.





Frosty morning. There were a lot of those.








You know, people talk about the WalMartification of the country, but does anyone ever mention Dollar Generalization? These things are everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.






To continue the theme of seemingly random photos... This is my favorite sign. Not this one in particular, but this sentiment. Speed Zone Ahead means I'm getting somewhere. Making progress. And there may very well be bathrooms ahead. And who knows what else! I'm excited when I reach civilization and I'm glad when I leave it, too. What can I say? I'm easy to please.






Once again, I managed to photograph only a few of my wonderful hosts. I enjoyed an evening of conversation about birds and traveling with Roger and Pat in Canisteo.
I spent Halloween in Ithaca with Lars (3rd from left as John Steed from the Avengers - his partner Mrs. Emma Peel is to his left / your right) and Kate (2nd from right). The rest of the crowd is post-apocalyptic... and I just have scary hair. Really scary hair. They're a fun crowd, in or out of costume, pre and post apocalypse.


Back to normal and a lovely evening with Arlene and Clare Price in scenic Greene.











A delicious time was had by all in Stamford. From left: Bob, Peg, Becky and Mike. My delightful host Peg invited some cycling enthusiasts to join us for dinner. Bob rode part way with me that day - my first cycling partner since Colorado! Mike rode across the country via the northern route this summer. He also lent me his booties, which kept my feet toasty for the remainder of the trip. Fantastic.

Did I mention there were some frosty mornings? This is outside Peg's family farmhouse. I made it through the Catskills that day to visit relatives in Kingston: Lee, Didi, Tom, Andrew and Ethan. The latter were particularly fun conversationalists. And I spent my last night on the road - no in a warm and welcoming house - with family friends Alicia, Russ, Jacob and Caleb in Winsted, CT.



Part II -- wherein the blogger finishes her trip and ruminates upon it -- is forthcoming.

By the way, happy election day! For all of you who were concerned about my disenfranchisement - an absentee ballot awaited me when I reached CT, so I filled it up and sent it in. Yay democracy.