Pedal Away!

Starting out. 

Four days.
Two hundred fifty two miles.

Our trip has been crazy fun so far. The weather has been a perfect backdrop for our journey, it doesn’t get much better then cool days, gentle wind and dry weather.

And the scenery? All the trees and fields are bursting with life and color, every bend in the road uncovers stunning foliage and beautiful flowers.

I feel like Noah and I are becoming a solid team, every day I feel so blessed that we can do this trip together, brother/sister adventures like this are a once in a lifetime experience.

I removed five stitches from above Noah’s eye last night. Good trusting building exercise, I think. I didn’t stab his eye. Win.

We stopped at a bike store to buy some stuff and I found the prettiest bike I have ever met in my life. It was a Trek Madone 9.2 and I think I disturbed Noah by how excited I was. I dared to pick it up-I think feathers weigh more!

The best part of our trip has been the people we have met. Along the Erie Canal Trail, we stop to chat with a dad and son who set off after the son’s graduation to cycle across New York.

We also visited with a couple from the Netherlands. They are completing their fourth major tour of the US. The guy was pulling a BOB so I immediately thought of Dan and his trailer. They passed us as we were sitting down to eat our second breakfast (or was it our first lunch? We are eating so much food that it gets confusing) and they took a picture of us. So somewhere, on a Dutch blog is a picture of us and our food.

And then there is Bob.
It was the third day and Noah and I were riding on the Erie Canal Trail through Rochester. The trail gets very confusing. Last year, when I rode here, I had to ask four different people for directions before I made it successfully to my destination. So I was pretty apprehensive about biking through Rochester-but then we met Bob.

We were riding along at a pretty slow pace when a guy caught up to us and asked where we were heading. When he found out we going to Holley for the night, he told us that he was going that way and he could take us through the city.

Suddenly, we found ourselves in the hands of a capable, friendly guide. Bob commutes this route several times a week, so he was a total pro, escorting us safely through each turn and intersection. We had been planning to spent the night at an RV park but he told us that we could  camp at the drawbridge in Holley. We are not the only touring cyclists Bob has rescued, he definitely needs an official “Guide of Rochester” title.

It was beyond amazing to be riding another cyclist’s commuting route alongside of them. Bob was a great, interesting person  to talk to and before Noah and I knew it we had made it past the city. Once Bob left us, Noah and I flew along the trail with wide grins spreading across our faces. Bob had saved us time and money. But most importantly, he had boosted our spirits and we reached our campsite that night feeling great.

When we got to Holley, I talked to the lady who was working at the drawbridge about spending the night. Jane was the sweetest lady we have met so far. We chatted about Colorado and in the morning, while we leaving, she called across the canal to wish us well.

Saturday night, we slept over at a friend’s house, which was a nice little break from camping. We hung out and skyped our brother out in Colorado, it is hard to believe we get to see him soon!