Ride for Change

ON MY OWN...

2004-10-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

Well, Mei Mei had to unexpectedly return home, so Oudes and Lou came in from Philly to ride with us for a day and then whisk her back to the increasingly chilly north. After a near 100 mile day of riding that ended in Jekyll's Island, GA, our paths split and I (Raphael) headed alone to Florida to carry the Ride for Change banner through to its completion.

The first day I rode 80 miles through beautiful countryside and bird sanctuary as I passed over into Florida and made my camp on the terrific Huguenaut campground on Little Talbot Island. When I stopped at the camp office to register, I made sure to ask the ranger if there was anywhere nearby where I could watch the second presidential debate.
"Well," she responded, "another couple of cyclists just came through here to camp and asked the same thing!"

I was elated! Only a few short hours away from having left Mei Mei and already the way was filling up with wonderful folk. I met the couple, Jeremy and Catherine, who are ferociously cool and thoughtful, and are riding from NYC to Key West and then on, possibly to Alaska via San Diego.

To make a long story short, we have been travelling together ever since. On certain occasions I have said my goodbyes and headed off on my own. Like gluons (the discovery of which was just awarded in the Nobel Prize) as the distance between us increased, the power attracting us grew, and we have run into each other time and time again, spending the nights together at campgrounds, and most recently, a hotel.

I was able to show them a few bicycle tips and tricks and in return Jeremy has taught me about the amazing trick of dumpster diving. It turns out that good fresh food is thrown into dumpsters every day by grocery stores, donut shops, etc. And all you have to do is go to the dumpster and grab it out. Now I know that this seems sick, and I was only willing to try it once. But the food is often untouched, sealed, or kept clean in garbage abgs (which are like giant ziplock bags). Now with the slow hours of cycling, I have had sufficient pause to ruminate on the subject of dumpster diving and I have decided, for a certainty, that the only thing disgusting about dumpster diving is that we live in so wasteful a society. I have no qualms going through the food there, and it is both fun and rewarding.

Now I certainly could go more in depth on this topic, but I am both tired and behind on my miles for the day, so I will leave this topic with only the suggestion that whoever reads this check out a dumpster at some point and form your own judgements.

Now today we left Daytona beach which has been wracked by hurricaines. As we came in yesterday we were warned by nearly everyone that Daytona is a "whacked-out place", that is is "sketchville" and filled with "weirdos and sketchy people". It turns out, this is exactly true. The people of Daytona are fairly unfriendly and decidedly cold and stare rather than wave. A lot of them are down on their luck and have moved to Daytona for its reputation and have fallen into trouble there. Or as one fellow put it, "they come on vacation and leave on probation".

Today I will pass Cape Canaveral and points south and I am still in the process of amending my route as a great deal of the barrier islands, dunes and roads were wiped out by the storms.

-Raphael

DAYS 27-28: DEAR OLD SAVANNAH

2004-10-07T14:15:00.000-04:00

I can't get enough of the squares. Practically every other block, there is a beautiful square where one may rest, reflect, and catch up on some American history.

DAYS 24-26: CHARLESTON - SAVANNAH

2004-10-05T13:58:00.000-04:00

We have just gotten word that support is coming. Our old friends from Philadelphia are to meet us in Savannah and ride down into Florida to help get out the vote. It will be nice to see familiar faces (for me at least) again and at the same time, I can't wait to get to Savannah, GA. Charleston and Savannah are considered sister towns of sorts, and strangely enough, the locals here swear by the superiority of their Georgian neighbor.

Charleston, by the way, is a beautiful, vibrant town and it's a little sad to leave it behind, especially as we mistakenly take a huge series of concrete overpasses to get out of the city. Nevertheless, we manage to fix up Raph's bike (remember the broken rear rack) and head along the coast into Georgia.

Allow me to describe our next couple of days like this: we had 100 miles to cover in three days and we had been averaging over 60 prior. Needless to say, we took our time, enjoying the warm breeze and exploring little points on the map like Beaufort, SC. Incidentally, we made it into the Beaufort Gazette and ended up spending the night at Jason's house, our reporter.

DAY 23: GEORGETOWN - CHARLESTON

2004-10-02T10:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday started out kind of lousy, as I discovered that my rear rack (what holds my panniers) had snapped from the stress of loaded touring after too many miles. I am happy to note that I am apparently made of sterner stuff than aluminum alloy.

I went around Georgetown, which is not a particularly beautiful place, on a fruitless mission to replace the rack. I eventually took it to a metalworker in order to get the rack welded, but as it would have taken considerable money, and worse, time, Mei Mei courageously agreed to carry half of the weight that it normally supported.

So we took off from Georgetown, now quite late, and traversed the 60 plus miles to Charleston. The ride was monotonous with a good deal of traffic, and it seemed far longer than 60 miles.

Lady Fortune smiled upon me, however, and suggested that I lay in for a stock of good malt liquor by which to fortify my constitution for the rigors of the open road. Verily indeed, my friend, did said malted hops gird me with the Strength and Attitude to overcome the weary ennui of sober locomotion.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Charleston, we pulled up before what has got to be one of the tallest, longest and narrowest bridges I have ever seen. No room for bikes, tiny lanes, rush hour traffic, and nowhere else to go. Yes, my friends, we were staring at our certain doom. Mei Mei and I shared a long and loaded look and decided that there was no better way to end it then on the open road when--

A truck pulled up and offered us a ride. Helen, the driver, turned out to be an angel that had been sent to rescue us. She took us back to her place where we showered and locked up our bikes and then she took us out for some fine Southern vegan cuisine. This morning, after sleeping at her house, we went with her to an early morning meditation session that was both interesting and relaxing. Helen, thank you so much for all of your fascinating conversations and your kind help.

Today we will most likely finish with our voter registration efforts, as today is the last day to register in many states and begin out get-out-the-vote efforts.

DAY 23: CAPTAIN ANDY'S CAMPGROUND - GEORGETOWN

2004-09-30T20:16:00.000-04:00

Last night, we camped out behind Captain Andy's truck, in the company of his many cats, and next to more than a dozen Airstream motor homes. We got a tour of his pepper garden, and in particular, the "little boy pepper". Check out the pictures when they upload and you'll understand where the name comes from.

This morning started with a visit to the famous Myrtle Beach, consisting of rows and rows of block apartments some call beach condos. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast and so not optimal for playing on the beach.

By the way, this weekend, Myrtle Beach is hosting a giant biker gathering and so all day long, we were being passed by roaring motorcycles and solicitied by roadside biker girls.

Now settled into a room at the Hampton Inn (thanks for the employee discount) and preparing for the debates...

DAY 22: WILMINGTON - SOMEPLACE ALONG THE COAST

2004-09-29T14:26:00.000-04:00

Sitting next to Mei Mei right now in South Port, NC on a beautiful day. Made even more beautiful relative to yesterday's physics-defying headwinds as Hurricaine Jeanne passed through NC.

Two nights ago, to avoid Jeanne, we stayed at a hotel in Jacksonville, NC. This friendly sounding little ville is an adorable cluster of malls, strip malls, and franchise restaurants, situated on rolling fields of asphalt lots. We got a special rate at an Innkeeper Inn, $25, which seemed to be a great bargain until I discovered, in the middle of the night, that the bed was piss-soaked.
Stop-- I know what you're thinking.

It turns out that someone urinated in the bed before we got the room but, as it was a big bed, I didn't discover that until I drifted over towards the far edge of the bed around 6 am. (really, it wasn't me. I checked)

Upon discovering the source of the rank funk, I sprang to alert the staff that their hotel was, in fact, a big stinking piece of crap. The room was comped.

Last night we rolled into Wilmington after registering voters at the beautiful campus of UNC-Wilmington. We called Billy, who we met on the ferry ride from Ocracoke. Billy took us around Wilmington and we had an absolutely terrific night. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We registered voters at some bars and went to onerly cool spot called The Soapbox for a poetry reading. Wilmington, and Billy, get big ups for a great night. And today, sunny and windless Wednesday, we hope to pass into South Carolina after taking in some fine East Carolina bbq.

-Raphael

DAY 21: OUTERBANKS - JACKSONVILLE

2004-09-28T20:57:00.000-04:00

Rain, rain, and more rain. That is the forecast for the day as Hurricane Jeanne approaches and that is the reality out of the motel window. After much debating, Raph decides that it's time to ride and hide out in the next city, Jacksonville NC. I go ahead and after riding around miles and miles of strip malls, find the only internet place in the city - Schlotzky's Deli. Let me explain a little bit about this "city" now. There is no main street. There is only one coffee shop that is basically in the next town. When I asked about where to go for good caffeine, the guy behind the counter directed me to Dunkin Donuts. There is nowhere to go if you want to get dressed up, ever. Every restaurant is a chain restaurant. The only place where people can congregate is the mall.

So that's where we went. As we checked into the Inn Keeper Inn and prepared for the wrath of the hurricane, we decided that there would be nothing better on a rainy day than a movie...and that required a trip to the mall. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - great movie.

DAY 20: OUTER BANKS

2004-09-27T20:16:00.000-04:00

Day 2 of the Outer Banks and the skies are not as cooperative as they were before. Raph, Kalle and I each slept outside and I, being the bug magnet that I am, woke up with the left half of my face swollen from bites. I did manage to make it to the beach for sunrise and was alone except for a dog that had wandered over from across the dunes.

We spent much of the morning getting to Hatteras, where we ascended the old Hatteras Lighthouse. It had been moved on railway tracks 800 ft inland several years ago to protect it from the eroding shoreline. 12 flights of steps up, you could see miles of banks and the closing hurricane. This was the hideout for many of the pirates back in the day and nicknamed "Graveyard of the Atlantic" due to the shallow shoals and sandbars.

After a nice ferry ride to Ocracoke, we visited yet another lighthouse, this time the oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina; stopped for a giant $3 double scoop of ice cream which realistically amounted to more than a pint of cream; and lunched on the docks. Sprinkles led us to move quickly off the island and find shelter. The Morehead Motor Inn was the lucky place - filled with smells of Indian food, faux wood wallpaper, $0.25 buckets of ice, and nearby Papa John's Pizza. Needless to say, we had a slumber party.

Quote of the day: So Kalle and I went into a K-Mart to get some Claritin and when I asked the cashier if she was registered to vote, she replied, "Only God can make peace in this world, not man."

DAY 19: ELIZABETH CITY - OUTER BANKS

2004-09-25T01:16:00.000-04:00

We arrived in Elizabeth City at 7 am. Mei Mei and Raphael had spent the night camped not far from Elizabeth City State University. Her directions included phrases like, “we’re out behind the prefab houses” and after you “catch a glimpse of the J.C. Penney, take a right.” Sure enough, Sara and I drove down a small street, bereft of trees, which curved around an empty lot. At the end of the houses she stopped the car and I was about to get out and go look for them, then Sara pointed out that someone was running up behind us. Good morning!

We brought possibly too much stuff: an egg-crate mattress pad, a camp stove with two burners, towels, suitcases, and way too many CDs in stocky plastic cases. With a bit of maneuvering however we were able to get both of the bikes, all the gear, and all four passengers into the Jeep. Only the person sitting in the middle seat in the back had it not so good: they sat up against the bikes, and Mei Mei’s handlebars are right in front of their forehead.

We made it to the beach by 11 am after eating blueberry scones that were more like slices of blueberry pizza. Then I fell asleep, hogged the towel, and karma caught up to me with a nasty sunburn up both my legs. Raph fasted all day for Yom Kippur and observed as we snarfed some yummy seafood at Tortuga Lie. For sunset we raced up the hundred-foot dunes at Jockey Ridge State Park – winded and tired by the top but excited about the Yuenglings we had hidden in paper bags.

So… camping. Setting up camp we discovered that what we had thought was a tent we had brought from Charlotte was in fact a fold-up lounge chair. Raph’s tent could hold two people, but by the end of the night three of us ended up sleeping under the moon. I treated my sunburn with some spray-on aloe and lidocaine gel, standing around in my underwear to let the air cool my burns while ten-year-old boys swarmed in the near darkness playing some game. We cooked up some burritos with our canned goods and drank more beer by the light of our headlamps. I slept under the picnic table to ward off the dew.

-Kalle Thompson

DAY 18: LAKE BUTLER - ELIZABETH CITY

2004-09-24T20:06:00.000-04:00

Allow me to take back what I said about Lake Butler campground last night. The mornings there are beautiful. Or maybe it's the mornings in general that are beautiful. At any rate, watching the sun rise over the dew made me forget about all the new mosquito bites I had over my body.

We learned a big lesson today: riding for an hour before breakfast is the way to go. Since we didn't have any food, we were forced to ride into Suffolk (12 miles) for grub. It's amazing how light your body is when you first wake up and what a difference it makes when cycling. We stopped by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper and spoke with a reporter but apparently a big government story about race inequality was breaking that day and so we were shuffled to the back pages. Oh well.

We cooked burritos for lunch behind a Red & White supermarket and then rolled into Elizabeth City to find students in need of registering. There were plenty at Elizabeth City State University, but unfortunately, many of them were waiting to register the following night at a Registration Party where they would get in free if they registered to vote. Regardless, we managed to sign up a couple dozen of new voters before the sun went down.

For shelter, I followed Raph down a residential street to a new development complex, where we pitched a tent behind a row of unfinished prefab houses. I can't say that I got a great night's sleep but at least I can say that I camped on a construction site now.

DAY 17: WILLIAMSBURG - LAKE BUTLER CAMPGROUND

2004-09-23T22:36:00.000-04:00

Yet another beautiful morning, perfect for peddling around Colonial Williamsburg. We are in the land of horse carriages, wind mills, palaces, old taverns, and quasi-Elizabethan accents. Through the main street, students from W&M jog by shirtless and tour guides explain why babies weren't taken into churches back in the 1800's. We pose with two colonial ushers and show them the modern marvel called the bicycle.

The Atlantic Coast cycling book isn't quite as up-to-date as it should be, and as a result, we got lost and found ourselves 4 miles off the route. To get us back on track, we hailed a Virginia deputy on the road and I rode with an authentic Southern cop in a car that looked to be from the 70's, straight up from a child's drawing with a box light on top and everything. It justified our necessary backtracking.

Some pleasant riding today takes us to a miserable place called Lake Butler campground. We have no dinner as the market that the cycling book indicated is no longer there; the campsite is surrounded by three different stagnant bodies of water which means tons and tons of mosquitos; and we are many extra miles from our route.

DAY 16: RICHMOND - WILLIAMSBURG

2004-09-23T00:30:00.000-04:00

We stopped in the Richmond Times-Dispatch office and actually got a reporter to come down and listen to our story. We will be in the newspaper tomorrow with a full-size picture on th efront of the Virginia section.

Just so you get an idea of how it feels to be on a fully-loaded bike, remember Bowser from Super Mario Kart years ago? That's exactly what it's like...slow out of the gate, but when he gets going, not only does he have great speed but there's very little you can do to stop him.

We pull into William and Mary and try to register some voters. Not sure whether this is good or bad for us but almost everyone we ask is already registered. We settle into a Days Inn motel (where I negotiated an employee rate with the front desk) and sneak into the Deli Restaurant for $1 Corona Night!

DAY 15: KOA - RICHMOND

2004-09-22T00:09:00.000-04:00

Like I said, the KOA was situated at the bottom of a big hill. That meant that our morning treat was a heart-pumping climb to start off the ride. It turns out that was just a prelude to the twelve miles of continuous hills leading into Ashland, still 15 miles from Richmond. 51.5 miles later, we found ourselves on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. There, we set up a table, brought out our Register to Vote sign, and had the most successful voter registration drive to date. It was mind-boggling how many students weren't registered, and how many who didn't know how to begin to register even if they wanted to.

We had the special treat of staying at Paul and Roni Gerber's home outside Richmond, where we had a delicious home-cooked dinner and all the luxuries of a house. It turns out Raphael is connected to the Gerber's two daughters through camp, dinner at U. of Delaware, community projects, and a host of other crazy lines of relation. And on top of that, Rebecca - the oldest daughter - is at med school with Goretti at Brown. What a small world.

Only downside of the night: the Red Sox squeezed by with a ninth-inning win over the Orioles. Argh,

DAY 14: DALE CITY - KOA SOMEPLACE BET FREDERICKSBURG AND RICHMOND

2004-09-20T23:13:00.000-04:00

After a hearty bagel at the Bartlett's household, we head off in the direction of Richmond and early afternoon are in the heart of Fredericksburg. On our way there, we stop at Aden Grocery (where Raph ends up leaving his helmut resulting in a 6 mile backtrack), pose with a gnome on the side of the road, and sing songs to keep ourselves entertained. For lunch, we went to the local Chinese restaurant where I chatted up CoCo (a 21 year old from Fujian, China) and her family. She was so excited to see a fellow Chinese in Fredericksburg that she offered to drive us to the local Wal-Mart so that Raph could pick up a pair of sweatpants for the evening. Afterwards, she insisted that we shower and take advantage of her laundry facilities, but alas, we had to hit the road and cover a few more miles.

At the bottom of yet another big hill, we found a KOA (Kampgrounds of America) and set up tent for the first time together. I had the most satisfying nalgene full of hot cocoa that evening.

Some other items of note: Riding along on a bike, one notices the obscene amounts of litter on the side of the road along with roadkill. Not only that, but one can also fully appreciate when families use monster truck tires as plant potters in their front yard - a phenomenon that occurs with quite some regularity in Northern Virginia apparently.

DAY 13: DC - DALE CITY

2004-09-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

So this is actually the first day that Raphael and I will be riding alongside each other. I am apprehensive about riding fully loaded as it is a little bit like peddling around a 200lb man but I manage to get over it. The bike trail to Mt Vernon is breathtaking, though heavily trafficked with pedestrians and fellow bikers. A minor detour takes us into the heart of historic Alexandria and back onto Rte 1.

On the indistinguishable stretch of Rte 1 (strip mall after strip mall, one cannot know whether it's Maryland or New Jersey or anywhere really), I spot good old Walmart and can't help but go in to pick up a watch. I'm proud to say I am now the owner of a brand new Casio. Cost: $14.97.

It's Sunday, so surely we need to watch some football. An hour and a half later - and maybe twenty minutes too late - we leave DAK's Grill and try to find the campground. The sun is setting and we are probably still 10 miles away when a woman hollers at us and asks how far we've been riding. We tell her and ask if there's some public land nearby to pitch a tent. She invites us to her house.

There on Photo Drive in Dale City, Yurri and Chrissie let us into their home, offer us each our own bedroom and a hot shower, and save our lives for the night. Thanks again.

DAY 12: WASHINGTON DC

2004-09-18T17:31:00.000-04:00

For those of you who have never been, Georgetown and DC are absolutely beautiful. I eye the trolley tracks along the lettered streets of Georgetown and make a mental note not to take those roads.

Soiree of the week: A book opening party with the Princess Michael of Kent at Nick Mele's grandmother's house. Lots of wine, cheese, sweet bacon and of course, royalty. Enough said.

DAY 11: NEWARK - BALTIMORE

2004-09-17T21:28:00.000-04:00

It's raining and the hills are many. To put it in a nutshell, it's pretty miserable. Luckily for me, I am riding down with Eudes to DC and we meet Raphael along the way, take some of his bags, and watch him race off into Maryland.

That night, Eudes and I pull into Georgetown and go out with Theo to an open bar birthday party and a "disorientation" event. Man, do I miss college.

DAY 11: PHILADELPHIA - NEWARK/BALTIMORE?

2004-09-16T21:00:00.000-04:00

We decided to ditch the support wagon last night since we lost our driver to DC and go fully-loaded.

Raphael rides ahead to Wilmington, DE to work the town as I have to wait for my bike to be tuned up at Trophy Bikes. We're planning to meet around lunchtime and bike together towards Baltimore.

To load up my ride, I borrow two rear panniers from Lou and actually manage to fit one month's worth of clothes, computer, sleeping bag, and misc goods into the available bags. When it's all latched on, it looks like a disaster waiting to happen - the rear is loaded with over 40 lbs of equipment while the front has only a handlebar bag that not only raises the center of gravity of the set-up but also presses against the brake wire, depressing the front brakes. I am apprehensive, but determined, to ride.

Less than three blocks out, a car honks for me to get out of the way, and as I move to the side of the road, my wheel lodges into a trolley track and I am no longer able to control it. My right side slides across the pavement and all of my anti-W paraphenilia lands in the middle of the road. So now, not only am I a clumsy rider, but I'm a crazy woman too.

DAY 10: PHILADELPHIA

2004-09-16T02:49:00.000-04:00

I just gotta say it: I love Philadelphia. I was unable to fully appreciate the city until my last year at Penn but now, I get it. It's one big neighborhood filled with history and cheap 40s. The rent is reasonable, the food is plentiful, and the people are friendly and edgy at the same time.

Much of the day was spent wandering around West Philadelphia. I caught up on some office work - funny, considering I'm living off of a bicycle - and searched out old friends. Everyone did something different for dinner, but we came together later for drinks and legendary mussels & fries at Monk's in Center City.

Oh, and at the Last Drop coffee shop by our old loft, Raphael chatted up a Temple U student who wanted to do a story on Ride for Change in their school newspaper. We finally get road press coverage...did I tell you that I love Philly?

DAY 9: PRINCETON - PHILADELPHIA

2004-09-14T23:52:00.000-04:00

It's my turn to ride and I havae quite a ways to go. Anxious to get back into my old city, I pedal like a mad woman through the outskirts of Trenton and into North Philadelphia, making it to Penn's campus in around 3 hours. I had called Lou and told him I'd be in around 1:30. I arrived in front of his frat house at 1:33. Even on a bike, I'm on time.

Lots of registering of students in this swing city of this swing state. I'm excited and the city is getting us even more energized. We decide to spend an extra day to work on West Philly and crash with Christina Wood, an old friend from the Andover days.

DAY 8: NYC - PRINCETON

2004-09-13T11:45:00.000-04:00

The morning was a little hectic as most of the riders left back for Philly and I had to do a car swap with Chrissie. Raphael came up to meet us, fully loaded for touring and as he started for Princeton, I headed back to Long Island to drop off my car. The new SAG wagon was to be a hot 1987 Mercedes S-class that Chrissie had purchased off Ebay. The windows and locks work by chance, but the engine is solid (knock on wood) and the cruiser has made it many of thousands of miles without fail so far this summer. What's 2,000 more?

Six hours later, I pull into Princeton after tons of traffic. Raphael is only minutes behind me. We figure that the bicycle is the most efficient mode of transportation for a mile distance. But today, it didn't lag far behind in the 35 mile range either.

Sleeping arrangements: while watching the Packers-Panthers game at the Annex, we met a visiting professor from Barnard who ended up offering us his living room for the night. Thanks again Joel.

DAY 7: NYC

2004-09-12T23:43:00.000-04:00

Just a beautiful day in New York.

DAY 6: GREENWICH - NYC

2004-09-12T02:16:00.000-04:00

We met our first new rider this morning as he rolled up to meet us off of Rte 1. Don Bickford, a retired NYC DOT man, had found us on the internet and wanted to join in the ride that morning. So of course, we welcomed him with a giant hill on Westchester Ave. Yonkers is notoriously a hilly place, but somehow we managed to hit only one or two big hills on our way into Manhattan. While on the Hudson River Greenway, Don showed us a little known landmark right under the George Washington bridge, a wonderful red lighthouse.

As I rode into the intersection of 110th and Broadway, I couldn't help but hear someone screaming my name. There across the street was Grace greeting us as we came into Columbia U. We all headed to the Heights for some grub. Two mimosas and one margarita later, Ashton had had more to drink than ever before and was now well sauced. Needless to say, he was a trooper and even registered some voters that afternoon.

That evening, Ashton, Eudes and Lou went to watch the Alabama football game at Brother Jimmy's with Matt Butler and John Hetzel. When I finally arrived with Alonso, a huge brawl broke out in the main area. Just to give you an idea of how packed and crazy this place was...the rest of our group thirty feet away had no idea that there was any sort of fight whatsoever.

DAY 5: NEW HAVEN - GREENWICH

2004-09-11T11:03:00.000-04:00

Chrissie unfortunately had to leave this morning for the weekend, but we managed to find our way out of New Haven anyway. The route took us along the coast for quite a while but Ashton and I ran into a bit of construction during the first leg. I got a free butt massage as we rode over bumpy terrain all morning.

For lunch, we stopped at a deli in Norwalk right next to Rowan St. and registered everyone in the store. By this point, we had the riding down...and only 20 more miles to Greenwich. Lou and I went ahead to meet Marisa at her home on the border of New York and Connecticut and munched on chips and salsa as we waited for the other boys to arrive. The "Drive for Change" support role wasn't such a bad deal afterall.

We had arranged to pitch tent in a friend's yard right across the state border but, at the last minute, Ashton was convinced that the whole proposition was too ghetto for his blood. No comment. So instead, he found us a motel and off we went to the nearby HoJo's.

DAY 4: NEW HAVEN

2004-09-09T14:09:00.000-04:00

We pushed it the night before and now, we have an extra rest day. What to do, what to do...register voters and laundry. Our day consisted of finding a laundromat to take care of our wet, dirty clothes and roaming campus and local dining establishments with voter registration forms.

For dinner, we went to Mory's, the birthplace of the American hamburger and gathering place for Yale singing groups (Thanks Chrissie). So as we munched down on steaks, the Dukesmen serenaded us with their tunes.

DAY 3: NORTH STONINGTON - NEW HAVEN

2004-09-09T00:39:00.000-04:00

So we got hit by the overflow from the hurricane last night, and it wasn't pretty. The cozy tent Chrissie and I had set up was floating in the middle of a giant puddle by morning. For three solid hours, we had the pleasure of sleeping on a natural water bed. The boys, on the other hand, were not as lucky. They had rigged two tarps to nearby trees and rocks in anticipation of protecting against a "light dew". They ended up holding the structure together in the middle of the night to prevent a full-on waterfall from coming down.

The good news was that the storm forced us to get up early and, as a result, we were off and riding by 10am. The first two legs led us to Old Saybrook, a charming town only ten miles away from the beach campsite. Connecticut is a tough place to ride - narrow roads, lots of hills, and even more roadkill. We arrived at Hammonasset State Beach Park early, checked out the water, played with some collies, and decided to push onwards to New Haven that evening.

By this time, the clouds are threatening with a sequel to the night before. Eudes, Ashton and Lou are first to try their way towards New Haven but halfway there, Chrissie jumps into Lou's place as she is the Yale graduate of the group. There are a couple hairy points (particularly the construction zone along Route 1) but everyone makes it safely to the Quad gates. Chrissie's cousin Mike and friend Janine are there to greet us in the dark as we pack to go to Tom's house for the night.

DAY 2: PROVIDENCE - NORTH STONINGTON, CT

2004-09-07T22:55:00.000-04:00

After spending a raucous night with But Ho and Brian, we had a little trouble getting out of Providence. First, we had to get Lou's bike fixed - there went an hour. Then, we had to make an EMS stop for sleeping bags and tent. Chrissie, never known to be practical, had only one criteria for her tent: was it attractive enough?

The boys - Ashton, Eudes, and Lou - took the first leg of the ride to Nooseneck, RI where we stopped to have a late lunch at The Middle of Nowhere Diner. After a couple of grilled cheeses, we set back out again towards Happy Orchards Resort Park for RVs and campers. A happy camper, the woman at the front desk was not. At any rate, we managed to get settled in and promptly went in search for food at the Mystic Pizza shop. And of course, late night smores materials.

Final note: Ashton has his first trip injury - a blister. Only it's not from all the riding, but rather from chopping wood.

DAY 1: BOSTON - PROVIDENCE

2004-09-06T22:41:00.000-04:00

It's finally departure day! Everyone's made it to Boston with their bike, even though Amtrak tried to provide a minor hurdle by no longer allowing bicycles onboard their trains. As a result, Lou drove up his truck from Philly and now we have not one, but two support vehicles.

It was a sunny 72 degrees when we began in front of the State Capitol in Boston Common, also known as the beginning of the Freedom Trail. The first few miles were full of coordination and confusion - Ashton got lost and did two loops of the Charles River and Lou's front derailer got tempermental - but things quickly settled into place.

Lunch time meant a rendez-vous with our support crew (thanks Theo and Rowan) and some encouragement from Lou, Susan, and Katie Reese on the road. Even though it was Labor Day, good old Bertucci's came through.

Final note: road kill is more frequent an occurence than you think. I mean really, do these guys try to get points for hitting out furry friends? That said, we gotta keep riding.