Well, it would be hard to beat today's ride as far as a combination of beautiful scenery, weather and road terrain. The ride was 79 miles with some nice sustained climbs totally 5500 feet, which I really prefer to the 'rollers' of MO, and some rewarding long high speed descents. This day was very much like the training rides I'm used to in SoCal in the Anaheim Hills, Santiago Canyon, Corona areas. I really enjoyed the ride.
The only small off-sides today were that there was a bit of traffic on the narrow roads in the small towns and today I got my first, undeniable, must-fix-on-the-road flat. I was two miles from the hotel in Brattleboro when I hit some debris and heard the hiss-hiss-hiss sound of the rear tire deflating. Oh well, I must consider myself extremely lucky after-all; Nick my friend from the UK, holds the tour record for 'punctures' at 19!!!. Previously, I've only had two soft tires in the evening that were small leaks that needed a quick tube change before the next morning.
Anyway, as I said the road scenery was beautiful. Departing Albany, we crossed the Hudson River and then we were forced to walk thru a construction project for about 1/4 mile but it gave us a chance to talk to the many construction workers. They just couldn't believe that we had come all the way from LA.
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| Hudson flowing to NY City |
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| Mike and Chuck showing perfect detour style. |
I'll let the following photos speak for themselves. Imaging just cruising along on a country road, in the relative silence of a bicycle and being in the middle of this. Fantastic!!
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| Cruising down the country road..... |
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| What's not to like with the Green Hills, blue sky and white clouds of VT |
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| Our 13th State on the Life Ride 2012 tour. |
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Our climbing today consisted of ups and downs but there were two sustained climbs as I mentioned above. Here is the reward of the second summit; Hogback Mountain. Fantastic view of the VT countryside.
Believe it or not, tomorrow is the LAST of our real rides for the cross country tour. This 90 miles (and 5000 feet of climbing) will take us into and then out of New Hampshire, into Massachusetts and within 18 miles of Boston. Michele and I are both a little stunned that our great adventure is almost over.
Well, off to dinner and some rest.
Talk to you in tomorrow's posting.
Click here to see details of today's ride: Note - don't worry about the heart rate at the beginning. Apparently it was not making good contact.
Day 47: Albany NY to Brattleboro VT by xctom2012 at Garmin Connect - Details
5 comments:
A FL@T? You got a FL@T? Not bad for over 3,000 miles. I'm glad you went with the tire liners.
An early hats-off to completing your adventure. Oh, and thanks for your blog.
RSRO,
Jim
hi professor Tom,
I've been following you from the start. It's just great. I have caught up with you finally. I like to pledge a penny a mile ($34.15). We will celebrate on your great achievement when you return to California. I wish you a safe return and congratulations. Say hi to Michele for me.
Best regards,
Joe Yang from Granny's Deli
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 NIV
It unbelievable to me that you are "already" on the East coast and almost there! Enjoy the victory before the victory on this last long day of riding. What an amazing journey! I'm looking forward to celebrating with you soon.
Love you lots!
-Lisa
Hi Tom & Michelle
It's been fantastic following you across this Beautiful USA! Your pictures are fabulous.. I can just smell the freshness in the air.
God Bless you and keep you all safe!
Joanie Mayberry
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