Tuesday July 23:  Manchester, New Hampshire to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Distance:  62.2 miles
Total time:  6 hours 2 minutes
Riding time:  4 hours 40 minutes

It's done, finished.  52 days, 13 states, 3,860 miles, 47 hotel rooms, 52 hotel breakfasts, 15 punctures, 18 great new friends, and the adventure of a lifetime.  I'm sitting in my own bed in my own house and finding it hard to believe that I don't have to get up tomorrow and cycle 90 miles.  But I can if I want to.

I started the ride never having ridden farther than 64 miles, and really not knowing if I'd be able to manage day 4, climbing over 8,000 feet over the Sierras.  My friends helped me up and over that crucible and the many that followed.  By the end, we thought 80 miles was a day off.

More tomorrow after a good night's sleep.  Here are two pictures that tell the story.

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Monday July 22:  Brattleboro, Vermont to Manchester, New Hampshire
Distance:  78.4 miles
Total time:  6 hours 15 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours 43 minutes

Today may have been our most efficient riding day of the whole trip.  The Three Amigos were all business.  It was a combination of the fact that we're so close to the end, and everyone can smell the  barn; and that Mother Nature threw everything she had at us today, including hills, rain and the occasional headwind.  We rode very hard, attacked the hills, and took very short water and rest breaks.

The day started like the previous 50 days.  We had the same breakfast - cereal, eggs, yogurt, bagels, pancakes - that we've had 50 times before.  You can sense the lack of enthusiasm as we inhale the necessary anonymous calories to sustain us through the ride.

Then it was out the door for the penultimate time.  Here are Leonard and Ray, first off the mark as they've been almost every day.

At a little over one mile from the hotel, we left Vermont behind and I at least came home.  We crossed the mighty Connecticut River and entered the Granite State.  That's me to the left and Michael to the right, headed east into the rising sun.

Here's the mandatory Amigos Welcome to New Hampshire picture.  Live free or die, baby.

And that's me touching New Hampshire soil again after 51 days on the road.

While yesterday's 6,000-plus feet of climbing were our most in one day since the Donner Pass, today was no slouch at 4,500 feet.  There were three stinker climbs in the first 30 miles, and after that it was up and down to the bitter end.  I have to say that low-tax New Hampshire's road shoulders were better than Ben & Jerry & Bernie's Vermont shoulders, and we were able to scream down the descents.  I hit over 40 miles an hour for the first time in my life on one of them.  And then the rains came.

It started raining at about the 30 mile mark, and steadily at 39 miles.  It rained until the end, it's still raining, and it's supposed to rain on our parade on tomorrow's final run to the Atlantic Ocean.  I guess this is part of the punishment for our glorious Run in the Sun earlier in the ride.

Tonight we had the traditional last night banquet.  Each of us got up and spoke about what the experience meant to us.  Some were funny, some very serious and emotional.  Jamie had written a very funny song about the ride, to the tune of Yankee Doodle, so the Amigos led everyone in a rousing rendition.

It was a great opportunity to thank the staff - Mike, Jake, Jim and Mark - who were truly outstanding and provided great support so that all we had to do was ride.

Tomorrow is a short day, just a little over 60 miles.  I'm lucky that the route actually passes two blocks from our house in Exeter New Hampshire, so I'll stop off and see my wife Kristin and daughter Katie before continuing on to the wheel dip in the ocean.  I'm looking forward to completing the journey and looking forward to being home.  But Nietzsche talked about "the melancholy of everything completed."  I'm curious to see how I react to not having to get up and cycle a great distance.

Sunday July 21:  Latham, New York to Brattleboro, Vermont
Distance:  79 miles
Total time:  6 hours 51 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours 44 minutes

Today was another hot and humid day as we rode through upstate New York and into Vermont.  I kept getting heat alerts on my Garmin.  It was indeed very humid and we felt it especially on the long climbs.  Today was our second highest climbing day of the entire tour - over 6,000 feet.  We started the day climbing and we climbed all day, punctuated with a couple of terminal velocity screaming yellow zonker descents.  On one descent I was going 38 miles an hour, the fastest I've ever gone on a bike.  I came around a bend and got hit by a crosswind that almost knocked me over.  I throttled back after that.

Before we left New York, Zach from Spokane had a very unfortunate incident.  Miraculously, he's ok and was able to finish the ride.  An oncoming truck crossed into his lane and aimed right at him.  Zach swerved to get out of the way and put up his hand, which knocked the guy's mirror off.  He turned around, came back, drove alongside Zach and pulled him off the bike.  When the police came they blamed Zach and ordered him to pay for the broken mirror.  Pathetic "justice" in the State of New York.  Again, Zach is ok and will finish the tour.

With that incident casting a very somber note on the day, we were delighted to leave New York and enter slightly more bike friendly Vermont.  Here's the mandatory welcome to Vermont picture.

As soon as we entered the Green Mountain State, we started seeing Vermont-y things - a VW bus covered with Bernie bumper stickers, and lots of roadside kitsch.  Here's Michael in front of a typical Vermont roadside stop.

Not long after entering Vermont, the Green Mountain State began to earn it's name.  Here we are gradually working our way uphill, with the big climb of the day looming in the distance.

I mistakenly thought the big climb was 10 miles long.  I stopped at the van for water at the six mile mark and asked Fearless Leader Jim "how much further?"  He said, "you're there."  Oh.  Well, almost.  It turned out to be a six mile climb followed by four miles of mostly up but some down.  The descent was hair-raising but fun.  I've gotten much better at managing the downhills.  I remember our first long descent in the Sierras I was terrified to go over 25 miles an hour.  Today I hit 38.7 and was over 30 most of the way down.

But I hadn't read the fine print on the route map this morning.  There was a second tough climb that closely followed the first - Hogback Mountain if you know your Vermont geography.  It was over two miles at a steep grade.  The view from the top was beautiful, and you can see Massachusetts far in the distance.  Green Mountains indeed.

After the climb we stopped for lunch in the charming town of Wilmington, at the Village Roost.  Smoothies and healthy sandwiches, as we begin to prepare for re-entry to real life.  In spite of the heat there was a nice breeze in Wilmington and we ate outside.  That's the Brits sitting beside us.

And these are the smoothies in question.

Wilmington is indeed charming but it also has its share of New England kitsch.

I think today's difficult climbs came at the right time.  Yesterday I was thinking that it was sad to see the adventure come to an end.  Today, especially in the middle of the second unexpected climb, I thought to myself ok, I'm done, let's get to the ocean and get home.  That's a good way to end.  This is what I looked like at the end of the day.

Tomorrow we leave puny Vermont and enter puny New Hampshire on the way to Manchester and our last night on the road.  It's another climbing day - probably one of the top five climbing days of the tour, but not as much elevation gain as today as we trade Green Mountains for White.  We'll cross over the 3,800 mile mark and pick up our 13th and final state.  Is that salt water I smell?  Hmm, no, it's my biking shorts.

Saturday July 20:  Little Falls, New York to Latham, New York
Distance:  76.8 miles
Total time:  6 hours 55 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours 24 minutes

Today was another pleasant ride through upstate New York.  The weather was sweltering, probably the most humid day we've encountered thus far, but again overcast skies most of the day kept us from really feeling the heat.  It was probably in the mid-90s when we pulled into Latham, but it could have been worse.

We got off to a very slow start today, and in fact covered only seven miles in the first hour.  We normally get 13 or 14 miles in the first hour, but today we had puncture issues, a long slow climb, and we stopped for awhile to look at Lock 17 of the Erie Canal, supposedly the highest lock in the world.  It is indeed high.

Here's Jamie atop the lock so you get a sense of the scale.

We cycled along this bike path along the Canal off and on during the day.  We often remark on how few cyclists we've seen over 3,600 miles, but we saw a lot more today, including long-distance cyclists.

One of our running jokes is that we always hope to see some little kids running a lemonade stand, but we never do.  But today we found something better - two Amish girls had parked their buggy by the side of the road and were selling homemade maple ice cream.  Needless to say stopping there was the highlight of the day.  The price was right - two dollars for a large, full cup.  Homemade donuts and pastries were a dollar each.

While we photographed the buggy with their permission, we were careful not to photograph the young ladies themselves.  That's me in green being a big spender and paying for ice cream for my teammates.  Here we are relaxing and enjoying the moment.

The bikes took a much-needed rest as well, but no ice cream for them.

We rode again for much of the day with Sean.  There's no doubt we ride faster when we ride with him.  Here he is enjoying the ice cream.

It was a pleasant ride but there's no doubt the heat, and especially the humidity, took a toll on us.  You can sense the heat and fatigue in this picture taken at the second SAG stop.  That's Allan in the middle with two water bottles.

Jamie, Michael and I sought refuge from the heat in an air-conditioned diner in Scotia, New York.

Jamie took this picture in the diner of two American icons.

For much of the day we rode along the Mohawk River.  The Mohawk Valley is beautiful countryside.

And on various occasions we were able to ride for significant distances on bike paths, for the first time since Utah.  We probably rode for close to 30 miles today on paved and shaded bike paths, that looked like this.

We joined back up with the Brits for a nice ride along this path.  That's me in the green jersey chatting with Allan.

Dinner this evening was at times a solemn affair as everyone contemplates the end of the ride.  We have three days of cycling remaining.  Tomorrow is the second highest day of climbing of the entire trip as we face a 10 mile uphill into Vermont.  The Green Mountain State may be tiny on a two-dimensional map, but it's that third dimension that exacts the toll.  We're about 250 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and the end of the road.

Friday July 19:  Syracuse, New York to Little Falls, New York
Distance:  79.9 miles
Total time:  6 hours 29 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours 15 minutes

Today's was another sweet and glorious ride through upstate New York.  We heard the dire reports of temperatures in the high 90s and heat index in the 100s.  While it was warm and humid to be sure, the sky was overcast most of the day which kept things more comfortable.  The route was scenic, the roads were mostly well-surfaced, and we enjoyed the Tailwind of Mild Yet Consistent Gratification for most of the day.  We rode with Sean and Andy from the UK early on, but soon joined the larger UK peloton and for most of the day we rode in a nine-man pace line.  I strategically stayed near the rear, meaning I had seven or eight guys breaking the wind that I could draft behind.  It's amazing how much easier it is to cycle like this.  We were barreling along at 18 to 22 miles an hour much of the day.  The pace line looked like this.  That's me at the back, enjoying the draft.

Our hotel was full of "car guys" - Syracuse was the fourth city we've stayed in that was hosting a classic car show.  Most of the car guys fit our demographic, and the cars are mostly our age or older.  Here's a classic Pontiac GTO.

And I'm not sure exactly what this is, but it's early '30s.

Early in the ride we came upon this - the purported smallest chapel in the world.  This is the third or fourth smallest chapel in the world that I've seen.  But this one is the undisputed smallest chapel in the scummiest pond in the world.  None other is even close.

And as the sign indicates, you can arrange to visit the chapel if the spirit moves you.  The spirit did not move us today.

In our ongoing efforts to take in the necessary calories to sustain our mileage, we find ourselves eating things we wouldn't normally eat.  Here's Jamie attacking a very large chocolate covered donut, without a hint of defensiveness or guilt.  That's chocolate milk in the other hand.

And here we are, not much later, at Dunkin' Donuts.  They didn't have root beer floats so Michael's consecutive day string came to a sad end.  But he managed to wolf down a frapuccino and a sandwich.

Today was a another day for milestones.  We passed the 3,500 mile mark on our 43rd day of cycling.  Here's the traditional milestone photo.

 300-odd miles to go in our remaining four days on the bikes.  Tomorrow looks to be another relatively mild day - 77 miles and not too hilly - before we hit two big climbing days as we cycle through Vermont and into New Hampshire.  Everyone is affected by the "looming tour-end blues", the mixed feelings that accompany the end of an adventure like this.  Everyone is ready to get home - I most certainly am - but I'm not sure anyone is really ready for this to end.  It's truly the adventure of a lifetime.

Thursday July 18:  Canandaigua, New York to Syracuse, New York
Distance:  70.2 miles
Total time:  6 hours 51 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours 13 minutes

If yesterday was the Pain in the Rain, today was the Run for the Roses.  As in smelling the roses.  It was a short day, the weather was nice, it was hilly but not Missouri hilly, and so we took our time and enjoyed the ride.

Yesterday I mentioned that Ned from Charleston had joined us in Buffalo and will ride with us to New Hampshire.  This is Ned.  He's a former colonel in the French Foreign Legion.  Well, not really.  He's a medical doctor in Charleston.  But I love the hat.

About 12 miles into the ride we came to Geneva on the Lake.  That's Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.  I remember my grandmother telling me that Geneva was a destination for her family and others from Ohio back in the day.  This is my grandfather on the left, his sister and his parents at Geneva in about 1914.

And here I am 105 years later at the Lake.

The Finger Lakes region is charming and has a 1950s resort feel to it.  Lots of roadside motels and cabins, very quaint towns, and the lakes are beautiful.  In Lake Seneca I could see rainbow trout from the shore.  Take note Pat Nealon and Richard Rodriguez.

Soon after Geneva we entered the village of Waterloo and screeched on the brakes when we saw Coach's Diner.  Good call.  Coach is the world's biggest New York Yankee fan.  Check the decor.  Each table is dedicated to a famous Yankee player.  We sat at the Reggie Jackson table, next to the Mickey Mantle table.

I asked if he had any Red Sox memorabilia and he said just the door mat you walked on when you came in.  Nice.

I had the strawberry shortcake, which was another good call.

The next town after Waterloo was Seneca Falls, site of the famous conference that launched the women's rights movement in the United States.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton's home still stands there.  You historians of women's undergarments will also recall that the Amelia Bloomer home is also in Seneca Falls.  Ms. Bloomer gave her name to, uh, bloomers.

After yesterday's record five punctures, I was worried that today might bring more of the same.  As I mentioned yesterday, sharp little rocks get into the tire and eventually work their way into the tube and pop it.  I had one flat at 30 miles, but that was it.  Here I am "helping" Fearless Leader Jim fix the flat.

The Three Amigos were pleased to be joined today by Sean from the UK, who cycled with us all day.  Sean is a better cyclist than we are, especially on hills, but he kept the lid on all day and we enjoyed riding with him.  Here he is as we wait for a rare traffic jam to clear up.

We also got stopped by a train for the third time in 3,400 miles.  Not bad considering we've crossed many hundreds of railroad tracks during that time.

We cycled alongside the Erie Canal at various times during the ride.  Here we are posing in front of it.

The day wouldn't have been complete if Michael hadn't had a root beer float, and he didn't disappoint.  This was the fifth straight day that he's had a float, which is a personal best.  Well done Michael.

As sometimes happens, Sean got a flat less than a mile from the hotel.  Nothing to do but take the time to fix it.  I got a flat in Buffalo a half mile from the hotel and walked my bike in.

So only five cycling days left.  Two of them will be among the toughest we've faced so far, but at this point we're ready to cycle through the Empty Quarter or up K2.  Nothing can stop us.   Tomorrow we pass the 3,500 mile mark and we'll be about 300 miles from the Atlantic when the day is done.

Wednesday July 17:  Buffalo, New York to Canandaigua, New York
Distance:  89.8 miles
Total time:  8 hours 30 minutes
Riding time:  6 hours 34 minutes

Remember all those days when I talked about the glorious weather, the Run in the Sun, and an hour of rain over 40 cycling days?  And I always prefaced my remarks by saying that I knew we'd eventually be punished.  Today we were punished.

The day started dark and dreary, and there was a certain sense of foreboding as we got ready to leave the hotel.  The sky looked like this.

Everyone went about their morning preparations silently, and paying close attention to stowing rain gear.  Here are Jamie, Leonard and Michael as they prepare to roll out.

Here is Jake putting air in Doug's tires.

And here is Ray pumping up his tires.  Hey Ray, that flower arrangement is beautiful but it's going to be very awkward to cycle with it.

Sure enough the rains came at about the 20 mile mark, and lingered off and on, but mostly on, until about 70 miles.  The rain itself is one thing.  It makes the road slippery, and more dangerous; it limits visibility of both cyclists and motorists, making cycling more dangerous; and it's uncomfortable.  We had to decide whether to wear rain gear or not.  If you don't, you're soaked through with the rain.  If you do, the rain gear makes you sweat profusely.  I chose to wear the gear and sweat.

But the worst part of the rain on this day is that it caused a profusion of punctures.  The group had about 30 - more than double our previous record - and I had five.  Zach from Spokane was the day's leader with six.  How does rain cause flat tires?  Normally as you bike down a dry road, most rocks, pebbles and other small obstacles don't stick to your tires.  But when the tire is wet, and the small obstacles are wet, they stick to the tire.  As the tire rotates over the road, the small objects work their nefarious way into the tire and eventually through the tire and into the tube.  Puncture.

Each group suffered about equally from flat tires today.  We Three Amigos had eight, including my five.  Stopping to fix them probably cost us about 75 minutes.  In addition I had chain issues and gearing issues, and others also had minor mechanical problems.  All in all, probably our most frustrating day on the road, if not the most challenging physically.   This picture gives you an idea of what it was like out there.  Note the wet road, stream of water, soaked rider, and prostrate bicycles.  That was our day today.

As usual, the high point of the day was stopping for a civilized lunch.  Here is Michael in his signature pose, holding a root beer float.  This was his first of the day, at least that I'm aware of.   That's Zach in green - Zach of the six punctures, and Jamie to the left of the picture.

We picked up a new rider in Buffalo - Ned from Charleston, South Carolina.  Tomorrow I'll rub his helmet for luck - on his first ride today he was one of only three riders who didn't get a single flat tire.  Well begun Ned.

We passed another important milestone today.  We've covered about 3,380 miles so far, meaning that we  have fewer than 500 miles to go.  Six more days of cycling until we dip our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean.  Tomorrow is a relatively short day, about 70 miles, so if the weather cooperates it will be a good day to recovery from today's rain and puncture pain.