TravelStream™ news feed for member bicycle_affair on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bicycle_affair en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:37:02 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1220837640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1220837640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1220837640/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:37:02 -0400 Burlington to Rochester...EN BICICLETA!

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Pittsford, New York, United States

We actually had to get Alexis rolling Sunday morning in order to take her shopping for last minute dorm supplies so we could get on the road for the 6-7 hour drive back to Burlington. Check out Emily in the morning...hee hee.I bought Alexis some half vanilla and half chocolate cookies because earlier in the trip she said she felt like one because of her tan lines from riding in the sun. In the group shot, Alexis is helping Emily smile because she is too tired to do it herself!!
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Pittsford, New York, United States

Since Alexis abandoned us, we headed to the Inn for Dave and Emily to clean up. As you can see from the picture, it took Emily awhile to make it to the shower. Later that night we went to one of Al's favorite places to eat...the girls ate like crazy and then started to crash.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219620000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219620000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219620000/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:08:15 -0400 Burlington to Rochester...EN BICICLETA!

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Pittsford, New York, United States

We finally made it yesterday, and it was such a relief. This has honestly been the most intense six days of my life. I am so proud of myself and Dave and Emily for doing this. We don't have the exact mile count yet, but it's looking to be well over 300 miles in six days. Our last day we biked 75 miles between 7am and just before 5:30pm. The last 20+ miles were taken at a sprinting pace. We thought it would only be 15 miles and I really wanted to be there because we were so close and had worked so hard. I'm not sure if Dave and Emily have forgiven me for setting that pace yet. Along the way on our final day there were many truly TERRIBLE hills. There were two that were so steep that between each stroke of my pedals my bike was literally standing dead still. I only managed to crest one particular hill by concentrating on screaming the rock song "Black Betty" by Ram Jam at the top of my voice (which was sometimes a whisper). I discovered that Emily didn't know the words to the song "Bicycle Race" by Queen so I shouted the parts I know as we were screaming down a hill at 35-40mph. It was crazy, we were FLYING and I was shouting "I like to ride my bicycle! I like to ride my bike! I like to ride my BICYCLE! BICYCLE! BICYCLE!"It's been such an enormous culture shock to be around big groups of people around campus and the noise of so-called civilization. It's been hard to adjust, but that just means I have to go out on another trip soon ;). I actually did ride my bike today. I missed the sounds of bicycles and the wind in my face so I went out for a short ride. It has been nice to have a bed that will be there every night and a shower every day and SOAP. Much to my delight, I discovered that in my dining hall's drink fountain there is now one spout that is GATORADE! I AM SO EXCITED! I'd better get going. I have lots of unpacking to do and a mandatory floor meeting in less than an hour. Last thought:NEVER underestimate what you can do. Maybe it sounds crazy, maybe no one else has been able to before, but as long as you know you can and you try you cannot fail. You may not get the result you were looking for, but you will have learned something and you will have grown and found reasons to try even bigger things. No matter what it is, you can do it.
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Pittsford, New York, United States

Note from Madre- My bikers cruised up to me on the bikepath at the Erie Canal @ 5:23, stopped long enough to each give me a hug and took off again for Nazareth. I had to run to my car, call Tasha and peal out of the parking lot to try and beat them to the college. There was no stopping Alexis, no time for any photo ops -- of the pictures I have, most are a blur -- the girl just would not stop. I think the official time passing the Naz gate was 5:25 pm. I'll post a few pictures (most are still on that camera whose cable got left in VT), and let Alexis finish her story herself. Don't forget to click on the individual pictures to see a little sentence or so.
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Palmyra, New York, United States

Update from Madre:I arrived @ Naz around 2:20 and with the help of Tasha we unloaded all of Alexis' stuff into her room (BTW- great room). Tasha no sooner left me and I heard from Alexis & Dave @ 2:52, they are almost to the bikepath in Palymyra which we think is a 15 mile trek on the bikepath. He says they are toast. Alexis sounds like toast.
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Oswego, New York, United States

I heard from Dave @ 6:06 a.m. this morning, they were getting ready to head to the hotel breakfast and were hoping to hit the road soon after. The really want to make it to Naz during check in today, we shall see.....
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Oswego, New York, United States

It was a long, hot day for our bikers. I heard from them around 9 pm tonight. Actually, I first heard from Dave who said he was fed and showered, Emily was in the shower and Alexis was kersplatt on the bed. Here's what I heard. /MadreI really wanted to spend what I hope is our last night on the road, camping outside but we are tired, tired, tired and I feel sooooooo disgusting. At one point I was so sweaty my hands were slipping off my handlebars. We were about a mile into Oswego going up yet another hill and there it was............the Scottish Inn........showers......windows.......A/C.......beds......and I bet they have soap too! We had yummy sandwiches for dinner -- no cooking on the tiny stove -- no unrolling the tent -- no unloading the bicycles (although we brought them in our room). While talking with Madre she mentioned a mosquito was bothering her and I said 'Don't talk to me about mosquitos...I have no sympathy for your one mosquito'. When we left Watertown we biked through clouds of mini flies. We look like pincushions from all the bites. Speaking of what we look like, you know those cookies that have a chocolate biscuit on one side and vanilla on the other? Well that's what I look like. My back has baked in the sun and my front is pale. Madre called me with interesting news today. Naz has put the link to my blog on their Facebook page and is interested in doing a story about our trip. I guess some of the local media is interested too. Very cool but I just want to get to my Naz home, see my friends and get some sleep before classes on Monday. So my plan is to call the media contact about an hour before our arrival and talk with them a little bit before actually arriving on campus. Here's a good one. When we were coming into Oswego I saw a car with what I thought was a bunch of my friends, I sped up and screamed at them 'What are you doing here?' Well it turns out they weren't my friends and I practically scared the pants them. Mwa ha haToday we got chased by a dog that we were positive was going to bite us but enter Dave with one of his many talents.....he can do such a loud, realistic bark that I think it scared the dog. Go Dave.We have met so many nice, helpful people on this trip. Folks have helped direct us on the best routes or routes to avoid. We had two offers for free places to stay although we ended up only accepting one of them. I guess it's like the trail angels that hikers talk about. It's really different travelling by bicycle.We started bantering a little today about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of this trip, here are some of our thoughts-The Ugly: Bicycle chasing dogs, scarified pavement, headwinds, heat, and BIG hillsThe Bad: Over zealous lifeguards (Dave's been teaching me a little about not always following the rules), fresh oil sprayed on loose stone roads, mosquitos, thunderstorms and leaking tentsThe Good: Helpful people, dogs on chains, drivers who slow down for cyclists, downhills, tailwinds, cool weather, Gaterade, showers, soap, screened windows, peaceful woods and swimming holesHey, I never mentioned my bike. I decided early over summer break I wanted to get a road bike. So at the end of May, during Move-Out Week for the University of Vermont students, Madre and I started cruising where the Groovy UVs live. We picked up all kinds of stuff the students were leaving behind and then there is was....an old, beater roadbike that someone had obviously put some time into -- and it was red! This bike looks like its been run over a few times and maybe even squished between two cars, but someone had lovingly put on brand new brakes and lines and there was new tape on the handlebars. Dave has been teaching me all about working on bikes this summer. We gave it a tune-up, did all kinds of wheel and tire work and just before leaving on this trip we replaced the pedals because one of them was bent and causing my knee to hurt. I've left my nice mountain bike home and I'll be 'beatering' around Naz this year. Dave and Emily have been riding a semi-recumbant tandem that's quite unique. Here's a link to the company they bought it from:http://www.bilenky.com/viewpnt.htmlWell, Emily has finally finished her 'Hollywood shower' and it's my turn to commune with the shower and soap then off to bed. We have 70 miles to go.......
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Port Ontario, New York, United States

Heard from Alexis a few times today. They are all sounding very tired. The heat is really getting to them and tomorrow is supposed to be worse. There were a flurry of calls and much passing of the phone so I hope I've gotten this straight. /Madre2pm @ South Sandy Creek-We are sooo hot. We tried to stop and cool off in the shade but the mosquitos are killing us and there isn't a breeze so off we go again. I love gaterade. I'm too hot and tired to think. I'll check in later tonight. We swam earlier today and even though it felt good I found I was a bit uncomfortable as there were crowds of people in a small area to swim. I think I've really gotten used to the quiet of the woods and the road. 5pm @ Port Ontario45 Miles down! We are still very hot but plugging along. Since we know tomorrow is going to be hot again, if we are up to it and the roads are good, we may bike some tonight with our lights while it is cool. We are again hopeful we might actually make Naz sometime Saturday. We want showers and screened windows We're happy without A/C or beds -- just give us showers and screens!! Our goal is Oswego or even further. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Right now the plan is for Madre to arrive on Saturday with all my stuff and unload the car without us (what a deal!). I've called my friend, Tasha, and they are going to try and make contact so she can help.Gotta go.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219441140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219441140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219441140/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:41:57 -0400 Burlington to Rochester...EN BICICLETA!

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Sandy Creek, New York, United States

Went for a cool, refreshing swim here.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219368420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219368420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bicycle_affair/1/1219368420/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:01:45 -0400 Burlington to Rochester...EN BICICLETA!

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Watertown, New York, United States

Alexis called in around 8:30 tonight and they are pumped. They finally put in a 60+ mile day and as best as I can figure out on Google Maps, they've put in a total of 185 miles. They are a little over half-way there and moving much faster now that they are out of the Adirondack Park!! /MadreSo here is what she had to say-I've gotten really good at drafting behind the tandem. To draft, I get really close to the tandem's back tire (like 1-2 inches) and take advantage of the slipstream which helps pull me along. This has really helped me a lot the last couple of days. I've only bumped them a couple of times but so lightly they didn't even notice and I was able to move away and keep my balance. Today we ate 3/4 of a jar of fluff and while we were just talking to Madre we guzzled a quart of whole milk and I wish we had more. Tonight we took it easy and bought pre-made sandwiches from a Stewart's. While it's nice not having to cook and clean up, they really aren't that good. Can't wait for breakfast. See what I mean? All I think about is food. We took about an hour break when we got to Natural Bridge to eat, (of course) and take a dip in the water. The water was cold but really refreshing. We had a couple of really grueling hills today one was when we left Carthage and another was when we were leaving Champion. While in the Champion area I couldn't get that Queen song 'We are the Champions' out of my head. Can you hear it? Huh? Huh? I gt a little nosebleed today going up one of the hills. Must be all that heavy breathing. Ha haWe flew into Watertown today down a big hill. Hey, you know those things the police put on the side of the road to clock your speed? Well today we passed one and it recorded 18mph which is really cool because we've gone much faster!We started giving group massages which feels really nice but gets some stares from the people who pass by. Hee hee. Tonight we a camped between two roads and we can hear traffic. :(We passed the Mother House of the Sister's of St. Joseph which was pretty neat because this is the Order that founded Nazareth College. I'm going to sign off and try to call a friend then crawl into my bag. Good Night! :)
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