May 22 -- Syracuse NY to Amsterdam NY

It's morning. We are loading early today at 6:15 and eating before then at ... Dennys. The original plan was to eat breakfast at a place 2.5 miles from here in the opposite direction to the route, i.e. adding 5 miles, but Mike is concerned with the traffic and would like to get us out of here as soon as possible. He doesn't like city traffic.

We had dinner last night close by at the Colorado Mine Shaft or something like that. Finally we are getting "real" food -- salmon, stir fried veggies (for me) along with their soup ... and then ice cream on the way home. I think that it's time to start cutting back on the ice cream -- the dinner was almost my normal menu.

Believe it or not we passed a sign yesterday that proclaimed May to be "milkshake month" -- of course it was on an ice cream joint -- that must be the reason for my craving !

We follow route 5 again today, 120 miles. The weather is almost the same today -- same temps -- and the winds are predicted to be "light and variable" according to weather.com, both here and at the destination.

Sandy was still at Sheryl's yesterday -- it was Victoria Day in Canada. She drives to the Boston area today to stay with Nancy Standring until I get down there -- day after tomorrow. That phrase "day after tomorrow" really brings home how close we are to the end of the ride.

The profile today shows some real spikes, looking like 15% grades, 400 feet high -- but Mike assures us that must be a church steeple because there is nothing along today's route to be worried about. Thursday, however, is a different story -- he keeps on saying that to keep us in suspense. Since the route into Amesbury is a new one this year we cannot even look back at last time's blog to verify.

Mike's computer is down so his blogs are not being updated. We are all hoping that he can recover the data on his hard drive because that is where his pictures are stored. Jud has been trying to help, but the hard drive may be toast.

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ok, another day is done. In a couple of days you won't have to read about milkshakes, ice cream cones, elapsed time and rolling time. Life will go on and be more varied. No more Dennys.

Today was beautiful. Everything is green; the hills were easy; the temperature was perfect (well, there was frost in the a.m., but it warmed up later).

As with any day though, things happen -- otherwise I'd have nothing to write about ...

Breakfast was at Dennys, and this one was amazingly efficient. Since there was no set time, we could wander over whenever we wanted to (of course load was at 6:15) -- so I wandered over at 5:15. The waitress rattled off the options and made me sign in. I got my usual oatmeal and toast. Steve wanted milk, which was not an option, but we teased her enough over the next 15 minutes (eg. what if I wanted a larger glass of milk for my oatmeal ...) -- that she finally, laughingly, gave him a glass of milk.

Prior to the first SAG stop, I started to hear an annoying clicking -- annoying because new sounds are not good -- it usually means that something is failing -- in this case it turned out to be me -- so, I played around as I rode to try and isolate the source of the sound. I changed gears, changed chainrings, whatever, but it always clicked when my right leg was at the bottom of the stroke. The sound disappeared when I was standing. hmm. Is it the crankset/bottom bracket ? is it one of my shoes ? pedals ? cleats ? I stopped and checked everything out and could not create the sound without riding nor could I find any significant play / looseness. I got back on the bike and the clicking resumed. Then it started to get louder -- ah ha -- I have isolated the source of the sound -- the bottle of ibuprofen in my jacket left pocket .... duh. It started making the sound because as it got warmer I opened the jacket slightly and it was moving as my left knee hit the top of its stroke -- it got louder because I opened the jacket a lot more and it really started rattling. -- ps, the ibuprofen was just in case, because my shoulder has been giving me some grief -- the one that I injured during training.

I'll tell you, if the mechanics van had happened by at that point I would have pulled the crankset -- I was sure that the sound was coming from the bottom bracket area. Thank goodness that I found the source of the noise before I had done major surgery on my bike !

I had to stop to take a telepone call about 25 miles before the end of the ride so I told Geoff and Jerry to go on ahead of me -- unfair to make them wait. I rode the last miles on my own, getting to the hotel just after they had checked in. We stashed our stuff and then rode 2.5 miles uphill to the ice cream shop -- and then of course rode 2.5 miles downhill. Amsterdam is not scenic. Jerry commented that Amsterdam needs to learn from the Great Chicago Fire ...

Kasper had some troubles today. His wife and son were coming over from Amsterdam (Netherlands) and the airline refused them boarding because the son (9 years old) did not have his own passport. It seems that the Americans would not have allowed him in the country -- he was on both his mother's and Kasper's passport. Kasper did sort it out by going to a police station, presumably verifying that the son was also on his passport ... and then he rode with Shane, like the wind, to catch up to the rest of the group.

The Shimano chain vs the Wipperman chain ? -- I won't buy another Wipperman chain. The Shimano chain is smoother shifting, no question.

We just got back from dinner here at the hotel. There are no other restaurants downtown -- and for once, we are in the middle of town. Amsterdam downtown is a ghost town in the evening. Our only other choice is a McDonalds a few blocks away or a Dominos pizza. Food was ok -- I had a portobello burger, fries and their salad bar.

Breakfast is at 6:30 tomorrow, including RAP, then we load and go. There are apparently some hills, but nothing too severe -- contrast that to Friday that has some 12% & 13% grades -- Bill Reenstra got an advance copy of the route sheet.

that's almost all folks ....

How am I feeling ? Tired. I think that it's partly psycological because we're almost finished. The rest is physical -- it is a real strain on the body to keep on pushing day after day. My thighs always hurt. I'm stiff standing up. The stiffness is because the exercise is all of one type. We don't walk. We don't run. We don't climb. We use one set of muscles only, and everything else wonders what is going on. We don't use the muscle between our ears either ... other than updating blogs. Life is a narrow swath across the country and cities are 3-5 blocks around our hotel. Teachers complain about wanting adult company ... I have lots of adult company but the topics of conversation are restricted.

Am I bored ? not really, too busy to be bored in a way ... but in a way bored with the routine. At dinner tonight there was an extensive menu, but I'm bored with eating out -- breakfast, lunch, dinner -- too many choices -- it's routine and yet it's not. Also, you get bored with eating -- so much volume.

The other issue is that we are dancing to someone else's tune. When do we eat; when do we RAP; when do we SAG -- you name it, someone else makes all the rules. Perhaps this is what the armed forces are like ... good think I never partook. I like making my own rules, setting my own schedule, my own menu.

This is the hardest thing that I've ever done. It is demanding physically and mentally, all day long. It is what I expected -- I expected the extreme. In that sense there were no surprises. The surprises are all good, in a way. I've done better than I expected. I was better prepared than I expected. The weather has been better than I expected. The riding companions are all easy going. I was joking with Jeff Dodd-o about the 4 bananas poking out of his pockets and he said "as long as you are laughing with me ..." -- and yes, everyone gets along. No one is made fun of; everyone does their best and is accepted as doing their best.

Having said that, though -- this is a very competitive group -- not in the sense that there is one race and one winner -- it takes competiveness and a burning desire to "win" just to make it around the course. "Winning" is meeting the challenge, making it across the country. You don't have to ride every mile if you're not able; bodies and equipment do break down; time marches on; we are all winners.

The achievement is a personal one --I'm very happy that I undertook this. It means a lot to me -- however, it won't be noted in any history books. I'm only competing with myself. When I'm gone my children and grandchildren won't remember my ride across the country because I'm here alone, not with them. This blog is the only link between this narrow life and the real world that starts the day after tomorrow. My father lives on in my memory and in the physical things left behind -- pictures, things that he built -- concrete stairs, docks etc. I'll live on the same way in my children's memories and in the physical things that I leave behind -- eg. the barn that I built !!

We're not finished yet -- stats for today ? -- elapsed time 8 hours; mileage 121; rolling time 7:30

I'm looking forward to Friday. I enjoy our busy and varied life. When I was training, I said -- boy, I'll be happy when I can ride with a destination. Now -- I'm looking forward to a ride without a destination, without a goal, other than to stay in good shape and enjoy the world around me -- both of which are "destinations" and "goals" ... I suppose, but of a different sort.

Cheers and good night !