Scott: The enormity of what we’ve accomplished has not quite hit home yet. For us, our lifestyle became a knitted string of individual ride days that inched us across the U.S. Yes, we held onto the goal of getting cross country to Bar Harbor but our vision rarely strayed beyond 1 to 2 days ahead. … Continue reading Final thoughts
Category: 2012 Northern Tier tour
One last story, 9/28
Karla: This is not our final blog, but I wanted to share this story. The Augustus Bove House was a great B&B: beautiful old house/hotel built in the 1850’s with period decor; delicious, full breakfast and coffee available 24/7; quintessential Maine setting on a tree lined lake(or pond as it is known down east) and … Continue reading One last story, 9/28
9/26 – Bar Harbor
Scott: As most of you have guessed by now, we have arrived in Bar Harbor. Woohoo! I, for one, am really glad to be done. These last 2 weeks in New England have been really, really tough. Lots and lots of climbing on really steep hills.We’ve been in Bar Harbor for 2 days. Yesterday, we … Continue reading 9/26 – Bar Harbor
Precious Few Days, September 21
Karla: It’s paradoxical. I want to get this ride done and to make it last. We are so near completion, so close to reaching the goal, there’s a strong drive to get it done; but I wish time would slow down. I remember saying to Dave Klug as he was driving us to the start … Continue reading Precious Few Days, September 21
Sept 18, Bethel, VT
Scott: We sent our home-away-from-home home yesterday. We packed up all of our camping gear and shipped all 40 pounds of it back to Portland, OR. Can you believe that, 40 pounds? Karla came up with the idea after 2 mornings of below freezing temps, 5 days of steep hills after leaving the Erie Canal … Continue reading Sept 18, Bethel, VT
The End of Ennui, September 15
Karla: Is it possible to get bored with continuous beauty? Can you become inured to constant paradise? Can you lose interest in something that you once loved after experiencing it for days on end? Well, Zen-girl here is going to answer yes! The reason I know this is because the tandem team was beginning to … Continue reading The End of Ennui, September 15
Sept 7 Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Scott: We have become celebrities. You can imagine the pose we strike to rural folk when a tandem and trailer carrying 2 lycra clad oldsters wearing helmets and shoes with cleats blow into town, arrive at a store, stop at a cafe, ride through a campground and so on. We must look like people from … Continue reading Sept 7 Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Michigan, September 2
Karla: There is one thing I am definitely going to miss when this is over and that is early morning in a lakeside campground. This morning’s in Harrison, MI, was typical. The pale pinks and lavenders of the sky before the sun rises, then the burnt orange ball on the horizon which transforms the slate … Continue reading Michigan, September 2
Eastport, MI August 26
Scott: We rode hills all day today. They were stiff hills, came as a complete surprise and I copped a really bad case of the whines. I thought I was back in Wisconsin. Unlike Wisconsin, though, these hills didn’t just go up and down all day. Rather, they went up steeply, flattened a bit then … Continue reading Eastport, MI August 26
Into Michigan, posted 8/21
Karla: There is a great aspect to riding for endless, uninterrupted miles through the raw beauty of nature…the opportunity to notice and reflect upon the little things. Like the fact that the big vein on top of my shin looks like the tortuous course of the upper Mississippi River (think George Hincapie) or that the … Continue reading Into Michigan, posted 8/21