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Week 5: 26 May through 31 May, 2002
Click
www.bamacyclist.com and navigate to "Where's Mike", then to "2002Fast" to see our ride leader's site
(complete with lots of photos!).
Beyond Day 32 -
Connecting back to the thread of the trip; leaving the banquet to drive out the
Mass Pike in car comfort, peering at sites more familiar all the time even while
the blossoming summer greenery obscured. I arrived at my house about 11PM,
to find everything fine and in order, buried beneath a blanket of oak and maple
seeds. Car started, hot water kicked on, plants (thanks Rich!) and lawn (thanks Kevin!)
looking well TLC'd. Turned on Celtics last minute pounding while I unpacked into
laundry basket.
4:20AM wake-up sans alarm. Hmm. Check the Merlin for basement flats..., all OK. Log on.
Stay quiet, sort through 'things' until 7AM call to dog sitter; and take-off in the car. Hey,
I guess driving in breakdown at 20-25mph might be an option, but I found myself more
tempted to do a "laser lock/accelerate/on your Left/passing" behavior with the traffic.
As I wound my way down less busy roads toward 'dog camp', I glanced at my watch and
thought "8AM, and NO MILES. It's 8AM and I have ..., NO MILES"..., then I got my first
'pang' of missing the ride, missing everyone, the incredible pace and rhythm of the mornings,
how much got accomplished so early. I found myself unwinding into the emotion very clearly
being that "tears of joy". Such overwhelming satisfaction, the world still very intensely green, the
road very inviting..., I filled into the void with thoughts of seeing my beagle-pups again after an
absence so long. Our reunion was fine....gentle, furry, uncertainty like small children, followed
by quick acceptance of habits re-established. Bailey and Smudge were 'looking good' and off
to explore every corner of yard and house, coupled with checking up on my whereabouts every
few minutes.
I decided making the lunchtime ride at work was a good thing to do, so 11:30AM found me in the
Shrewsbury, MA, Hewlett-Packard/Intel parking lot where a few of 'boys' soon showed..., and, yes, of
course I had to go 'rip their legs off'..., or at least make a reasonable attempt..., ( and it
looked to be pretty
successful..., and for only 21.3 miles..., why not!?!). Into work then with a lot of greetings and clawing
my way back into status on the many things forgotten...
I dropped down to fitness center to check wt and body fat. Some stats on my ride are:
| Before Ride Weight | ~111.5 lbs. | Before Ride Body Fat | ~17% |
| After Ride Weight | ~104.5 lbs. | After Ride Body Fat | ~9.5% |
| Weight Loss | ~6.3% | Body Fat Loss | ~44% |
I guess that means I dropped from about 19 lbs. of fat to about 10 lbs. of fat; and since I only lost
7 lbs. total, I figure I certainly swapped significant lbs. of fat for some muscle. Certainly the last week
gave me many moments of on-road amazement at just how strong I could feel...
Work day ended with food shop, meal of brown rice/broccoli/tofu/tomatoes with dessert of
strawberries and yogurt. My evening dog walk seemed the near equivalent of a Mt Everest
climb as I ran into numerous neighbors asking 'how was it'..., I SAG'd into the house to
try and put words to that same question on the phone..., 9PM..., the Giro came on to the last
mountain stage (now THERE is some FAST riding). I could *finally* feel the post-ride running-on-
fumes feeling slide over toward true need for rest and slower pace.
One call I fielded was from my brother Dan; when I tried to explain how I still was feeling many
things about "the ride" all at once; he (being a HUGE reader) almost immediately directed me
to a passage from Bill Bryson's book about walking the Appalachian Trail. Since the writing so
well captures how I feel about our extraordinary trip, I included it below:
"I had come to realize I didn't have any feelings toward the AT (Appalachian Trail)that weren't
confused and contradictory. I was weary of the trail, but still strangely in its thrall; found the
endless long slog tedious but irresistible; grew tired of the boundless woods but admired their
boundlessness; enjoyed the escape from civilization and ached for its comforts. I wanted to
quit and do this forever, sleep in a bed and in a tent, see what was over the next hill and
never see a hill again. All of this all at once, every moment, on the trail or off."
Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods.
I will end my X-Country Webpage with this posting. To cross the country on such a well-run
trip, with such a great group of people and have EVERYBODY make it ..., this will be a
significant part of me, always. I feel very satisfied, very amazed at the complete and wonderful
enjoyment to be gained by simply riding a bike and "being in the world"..., by seeing America coast-to-coast, by
being part of a small group making our challenging daily adventure come true again and again
around the bend.
10-4,
Marion G
aka The Pocket Rocket
Day 32, Wednesday, May 29, Greenfield, MA to Boston, MA 114.3 miles.
I know I slept some because I can remember waking up to the birds in the back field. It
was awhile before it was light enough to check the weather..., that was partly due to the
pre-5AM time, but also because of continued overcast sky. A walk across the wet parking lot
pavement to our last 5:30 breakfast at Friendlies looked particularly 'uniform' this AM, since
everyone was sporting our ABBIKE red-white-blue jerseys and the weather, humid and warm,
didn't demand extra layers. No oatmeal option, so one last time I started the day by inhaling 'cakes&
eggs', feeling that rushing sugary sensation of squeezing syrup between my teeth and sipping weak coffee
in an effort to 'get pumped'..., well, at least pumped enough to make early AM conversation. Last day...,
reminders to be especially careful sent us off even a little extra early at about 6:30AM. We'd been
prepared for a 'gut-buster' climb to Wendell State Forest from mile 10 to 17, so the warm-up through
Greenfield was welcomed but brief. The day was an 'evaporation-free' one, and I could feel my hands slippery
on the bars as the starting climb demanded standing position. Parts of the road started to become more
familiar as various western MA rides I've done became part of the route. Although a tad 'blasted' in the
legs, the morning was a smooth start for me and I found myself reflecting on various 'last day' types of
topics and feelings while enjoying descents and miles accumulating. First SAG was in Gardner at mile 47,
so it was certainly long enough to collect a bike full of wet road grit, along with clothes to match.
Looking around as the group collected there, our red-white'n-blues were already looking pretty speckled.
Martina and I took off together from the SAG, and thinking this was really one part of the trip where I could
easily lead (hey, I live w/in 15-30 miles!), I almost
begin by missing a turn and launching myself out to RT2. (Luckily Martina saves me from merging out with the
semis by yelling, "Hey Marion, shouldn't that be 2A????). Things improved after that, but there's really
nothing like teamwork! So we worked our way pretty quickly through Shirley, Ayer, Littleton, and Acton. Arriving where
LUNCH SAG should be, we were greeted not by red van, but by an unknown biker in an ABB jersey sitting by
the river on the stone wall with a plate of brownies! This was John, from year past, and he'd come out to
help ride us in on his way back to work (work!!!) in Lexington. Well, Martina called the red van, who, of
course, was only 'nanoseconds' away, the 'a-bit-lost' A-Team showed up, so all was 'right' with the
world. People poured in during lunch, including Peter in an inside out red-T-shirt yelling, "The British
are coming!"..., yes, quite likely it is MORE FUN at the "backer" parts of the pack. Brownie-John, A-Team
and I left this 80 mile lunch SAG for our remaining
35 into Beantown. Our maps were 'at the ready', but gee what a route we were taken on! Oh, you are from
Boston, so you happen to know where the Avenue of Memories is in Waltham? well, NEITHER DO I!, or more
exactly, I could likely NEVER find it again! We did find a 10-12% 0.6 mile HILL that was on the
route?!?... isn't Rt20, or the Bikeway kinda-more-flat? The skies looked really threatening in my
rearview-mirror as we continued to take a turn at nearly every corner, inventory on one hand the
number of intersections marked, and make A LOT of use of the school crossing guards to help keep us
pointed more-or-less toward Revere. Every once in awhile, we would get cheered..., either by someone
leaning out of a car, or from an apartment window..., I guess we did actually sort of look "like
something" finishing a big event! When we got within double digits, the 10K, I was really getting
pumped. The ocean fog socked us in even more as we (finally..., after 2.5 hrs to go 35 miles!)
turned onto Ocean drive. It's a divided highway, and we were looking for the MGH Pavilion on the
far side. Once again, the 'leg odometer' saved us as the ocean, much less the pavilion, were
pretty obscured by fog. The final turn was made, and we swept up onto the beach! High 5's, hugs, small
cluster of fleece-and-gortex clad family and friends to cheer..., was that the 'other ocean' finally
before my eyes?!? My friend Jan was there with a sack of cookies, and a comment that I had all but
disappeared (down to "fightin' weight' for sure), and it was great of her to drive down from NH.
Listening to her, and the other people around, I really started to get even more of a sense of
how the riders were already 'known' to people through internet access. (Either that or my mind
is really shot, and I should have 'known-them-back'!). Anyway, time on the beach was swell..., at
least for me who had fanny-packed in extra clothes. It was probably not much more that ~57' or so,
and Kentucky-Mike was starting to look
a tad blue ("Oh, the concrete is kinda warm," he tells me, through lips that are greying up...).
It was sprinkling and/or some might term it raining, but we stood under shelter as the riders started
to feed in! So exciting, such cheering for each! Green van, then red van arrived. Joel scooted down
the sidewalk to drag up a group we realized had just stopped short of MGH at pavilion near by..., pretty
soon we were all there and the 'down-to-the-beach' ceremony commenced! Peter emptied the bottle of
Pacific Ocean water we'd carried all this way, into the 'eastern' sea, bikes were dipped, people
were dipped, many photos clicked..., but no media could really capture or hold the instantaneously
fleeting quality of that pent-up joy earned by so many single crank turns all strung together by
the FAST 2002 group day-after-day. We had made it and the moment was ours!
A finishing group photo was taken (who would believe the change!); then we..., guess what?..., got
on our bikes for 4 mile ride to the Airport Holiday Inn. It actually wasn't raining at that moment,
although many people had
gotten (nailed) by hard rain as part of coming in. Barb, in the Red Van, once again helped my group
make (another)
un-street-signed turn and we were there! My friend Bill, who'd captured the beach scene, also managed
the traffic to motel to be right there, so my transition was very neat and easy. Bike, assorted gear,
one bag into..., a CAR!!! Upstairs to K-Mike's room for shower generously shared, clean(ish) banquet
attire (ABB Bike T-shirted, with the mileage on the back, what else!). Bill'd brought projector and
we helped Fearless (should be Tiredless) leader Mike set up his laptop where he'd created a scrolling
"Trip-Montage" to run during dinner. People hung around the lobby area unwinding and exhalting in the
hard hard rains outside, while we were inside! Dinner began at 7, with an agenda of
Intro-Food-Presentations-Food-Awards-Food. Every rider has a chance to talk..., just like we started with a
'round circle' way-back in LA. The moments were revealing, touching, and full of comments that somehow
help us come together and grapple with the concept of closure. Our route map, which was pinned and
marked every night on the board to track our progress, was presented to Peter, our international rider.
We all signed it at various points of meaning to us. I found myself telling ABB Staff, YEAH, I'd
consider another ride..., and this after less than 4 hrs off the bike..., a good measure, I think, of
just how much and in how many ways the FAST 2002 rocketed beyond anything I had imagined.
Riding home was sweetly comfortable, even with the Celtics getting hammered in the background.
Everything at home appeared 'in order' and A-OK.
I'm writing this Thurs AM, after having woken up at 4:20 (gee..., wonder why...). The coffee was
especially good this AM, just the way I like it! The back yard has emerged (very green! with
a bumper crop of weeds...) as day
brightens. My bike spent the night in the basement OK, and (real) soon, I'm off to get the dogs!
All for now; I'll do one last posting after a bit more 're-entry'.
Thanks for reading!
Day 31 - Tuesday, May 28, Amsterdam, NY to Greenfield, MA. 113.4 miles.
Had trouble falling asleep again last PM..., am I somehow NOT tired enough to
rack at 9PM..., or perhaps, the trains running 5 stories below, or just
maybe..... I'm already getting excited about an adventure winding down. In any
event the 5AM alarm came soon enough for 'the drill' to repeat. We awoke to
looking down on rainwet roof tops, but not actual rain. It was warm, and dry
enough to spin off a bit before 7 without booties or windbreaker. I felt pretty
excellent 'out of the blocks' as we climbed through Amsterdam and off to NY's
pretty rural landscape. The world awoke to go back to work and school after
Memorial Day, and so we pedaled past the busses and commuters. The route was
rolling, on RT67E all AM made navigation a breeze. Today was another 3-state
day, and if anything could surpass the early AM scenery, it was entering into
Vermont at mile 63, on rural route 346. The mountains, farms, small towns,
and lilacs were all to be admired as the day struggled to almost clear into
mugginess with the road surface dry. Very quickly our 'corner clip' through VT was
complete, and the ride came into Williamstown, then North Adams, as the 'much
discussed' RT2 climb near Greylock started at about mile 76. My legs weren't
really overly fresh today. I'd d eaten at the Vermont border, yet nonetheless felt my
stomach-and-spine meeting as the climb began 'in earnest'. Well, hey, it wasn't
all that bad..., 10% grade? One hairpin; 4-5K total on the day. I was
(relieved) to always have one gear in reserve, i.e., I climbed in 39-26,
standing, with the 28 as a 'fall back'. The top was already populated with Red Van
(i.e., Lunch SAG), the A-Team, and Norm and Val LaFleur to cheer me in! Luckily
it was still warm enough to hang out and chow on a sandwich and (many) of Val's
cookies without cooling down too much in my saturated clothes. We cheered in
others as they arrived. Pretty soon, Norm and I took off to enjoy the
incredible "Green Descent" (..thats all I could think of after this many
miles zoom down new pavement encased in trees..., as compared to the
switchback "Red Descent" off Mingus Mt in NM). My computer max, checked
later, was 38.9, partly as there was actually a headwind blowing up the
valley. The scenery was a tremendous view of a small town stretched below in
the valley. Eventually RT2 flattened, and we rode mostly side-by-side talking
into the turn-off to Shelburn Falls. We traversed the Flower Bridge (HUGE
purple tulips, and too many flowers to mention all across the old RR bridge
that is now a sanded walking path across the Deerfield River), on foot just
as thunder started to rumble. Quickly we scooted over to see the Glacial
Potholes (!), while sprinkles started. Norm said..., 2 choices..., wait it out in
town, or 'race for it'..., well, my legs were not up for racing..., NOR waiting,
so I said let's go.
We had about 10 miles to go. I drafted Norm until the first uphill, when rain
sprinkles got a little harder, then I kicked into standing climb overdrive
mode and we booked off toward Greenfield. Luckily there was a screaming
downhill for the last two miles, before a quick right into the Candlelight
Resort Inn right at the rotary. Almost immediately the rain showers
increased, and pretty soon the Green Van pulled in full of riders picked off the
downside of Summit Hill climb in hard rain and hail (!). I was very glad to
have missed 99% of another soak-down. This motel is ..., very 50's style..., with
small notes taped everywhere about what to do or rather NOT do. We have a row
of rooms 'out back'..., all pine paneled with ancient maple furniture. Best part
is the huge field out back with the mountain sloping away..., NO train tracks, off
the road, a green, wet meadow. Val and Norm left after dropping Peter and me
over at Brickers for chow and saving us a rain walk. Dinner was an excellent
veggie pocket and people talking of the trip ending. We had route rap at 6:30PM
sitting around on the 'veranda' looking at the meadow and our 4 pages of
directions for how to ride 114 miles and, hopefully, end up on Revere Beach.
Mike, Martina, Bryan and I went for our evening stroll. The excitement level
is very high. Maybe I will be watching part of that late night
Lakers/Sacramento game after all..., but I do hope to sleep well too before Day
Last. OK; now to see if the ancient phone can find the web... Reminder: posting
for Day 32; and Day 1 HOME might be as late as Monday, June 3.
Day 30 - Monday, May 27, Syracuse, NY to Amsterdam, NY 131.1 miles.
Today was the first start I can remember where a near frost didn't seem to be in
the air. We left about 6:50 after a buffet breakfast and route rap in
the conference room basement restaurant at the Holiday Inn. We have 3 new riders with
us, all from Boston, riding home. The early AM holiday had Syracuse
streets very quiet, however, there were a large number of turns to leave town.
We were not simply taking RT5E, but actually stayed on other roads through
mile 61. For some reason my computer was off by about 1 mile early on, and I
compounded that further by missing a quick R-L to first SAG. I was riding
with Kentucky Mike and we came out on a RT #; not checking directions carefully
again (I can easily miss a line from a major stain across bottom of my map
carrier, we cranked up a near 2 mile hill before going..., oops, where are
we? So, at that point I pulled into the 50 mile SAG with a bonus 5.8 miles on my
odometer, meaning 'more math' as I could only use the delta column between turns,
but not the total distance without math..., I felt like when Mike told us today
was a good day to ride easy before the Berkshires..., I kinda put my brain on EZ, and
that wasn't too helpful. I was very grateful when (finally) at mile 61, the
next queue was "21.7 Miles RT5E to Herkimer". But the day was great..., 77',
sunny, almost no wind. We wound along the North side of the Erie Canal and
river system, through the Mohawk Valley. Many times there were glances on
the NY Thruway on the opposite bank. I have driven that road so many
times..., and now I had a chance to experience the 'other side'. We saw several
parades forming up, and passed through a lot of scenic small towns with brick
and Victorian buildings in various states of occupation and repair. We had
2k of climbing today, so the road was rolling. I actually felt my
'cliombing/standing' leg muscles were more fresh than some of my more
spinning/seating, uh, areas..., so I found myself standing a fair amount and
it was comfortable. The lunch SAG wasn't until 100 miles for me. I downed Mt
Dew + Cranberry juice with lunch for that last 30 mile caffeine assist. It took
me 6 hrs to do the 100 toady with traffic/turning and no helpful wind. Coming
into Amsterdam, we got into about 2 miles of 'scarified' pavement right
around the motel turns..., what a jarring way to end the day! Until the van
arrived, I cleaned the Merlin with provided rags. We are on the 5th floor tonight,
overlooking the Mohawk Valley. After eating in the motel, I walked up a steep hill
to the town center for some dessert. It was really nice warm evening. Caught
the final minutes of the Celtic's loss. Trying to get a good rest tonight. At breakfast,
Fearless Leader Mike gave a brief word about wisdom on starting to 'wind down'
our eating habits a bit now as the trip comes to a close... By Thursday NOT
TOO MANY of us will be sitting on a bike seat for our daily 8 hrs. His
suggestion was to continue to eat enough on the road, but back off at dinner
a bit, in prep for 'return to the world'. The way I understand the mechanism,
is the stomach, and hence hunger, kind of stretch with all we've been
eating/'burning'..., and it takes a while for hunger to ramp back down to a more
normal/appropriate level. Yeah, return to 'the world'..., what to do with the
energy? ...My guess I might find sitting still kind of a challenge for
a while. 10-4 for now. I hope everyone had nice memorial Day wend. As an FYI:
I plan on posting Tues PM, after I ride and eat with Norm LaFleur (meeting me
in western, MA); and then post again (maybe) Thursday, but by Friday..., about
the last day and first day 'back'. That message(s) might now get posted until a
week from today, Monday Jun 3, ..., so stay tuned for last chapters if you want to
follow the ABBIKE Fast 2002 trip to its close.
Day 29 - Sunday, May 26, Batavia, NY to Syracuse, NY 114.4 miles.
A point-to-point ride on a tailwind day is certainly a thing of beauty!
Today's 'tail-gale' let me cruise 100 miles in 5hrs 22 minutes..., spinning my
legs in a way (that after 28 days of riding), I would describe as..., restful.
We left the Bob Evans (yes, some of us have renamed the Fast 2002 Ride the
'Bob Evans Tour') in the cold, through the broad downtown wet streets of
Batavia, but it wasn't raining. Pretty soon the 'Clysdale' paceline formed,
and under direction of Kentucky Mike..., those guys actually started to work
TOGETHER (after only 3K miles!) and rotate through a (massive) paceline.
They pulled away from me some, but before too long 'something'
('triangular stones' was the theory heard most often) started to attack the
peleton with flats..., whatever it was hit a lot of riders today..., some section of
RT5 with something hard to see and sharp. Of course a lot of us are squeezing
pretty high mileage out of some of these tires now. Before lunch we cruised
through Waterloo, which had a banner claiming 'Home of Memorial Day' and a
large car show all along a flag hung Main Street. It was also just west of
Waterloo (my Waterloo?) where an old guy in a Lincoln Continental is driving
out of a gravel road on the right; I wave and make eye contact, he keeps
coming, very slowly but steadily, I dodge around him, and watch in my
rearview as he continues to drive out in front of a trailing car (who honks),
then the Lincoln waivers over to the west bound breakdown lane and continues.
Just East of town, a pickup truck put his right hand mirror right over my
ear, but hey, it keeps you awake..., and I made it into lunch at Seneca Falls,
the home of feminism, OK. A temp sign said 59', but skies were brightening so
I ditched the booties and continued to ride pretty 'warm'. Post lunch cruising
went fine. We had a beautiful view of Lake Seneca from RT5, and a nice detour
onto Turnpike Rd that passed an Erie Canal Museum by a remaining section of
canal, complete with a short boat tour. I was just debating a stop there (at 105
miles) when I noticed a car at the turn with a very blonde woman in the
passenger seat..., hmm, I thought..., Martina's parents? and sure enough, it was!
So we introduced ourselves and in a few moments Martina and Kentucky Mike
rode into view. After that the 3 of us 'noodled' onto the Holiday Inn, where
Martina's folks proceeded to set out a wonderful post-ride 'spread' by the
pool with about everything a hungry biker could want. The sun was out and it
made for a great rendezvous to sit around warming and chowing. Later, a few of
us went out to the Olive Garden in their car (it felt like a high speed roller
coaster from my rear middle seat). The food and conversation was excellent.
Ended the day working a few cell phone logistics for the last two days by
walking around the parking lot as the sun set. Now the Red Sox are ahead of
the Yankees..., probably a good time to ship this off and crash. Tomorrow is a 4:45
wake-up for 126 miles into Amsterdam, NY. Said to have some hills, better pump
my tires.
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