YMCA Welcome Home

The YMCA in Austin will be putting on a welcome home party for us today from 3:30 to 5:30 PM and every one is welcome to come. We would love to see all of you and tell stories of the trip.

                  Terry

Sept 8

Well we have not shut everything down as yet. We will be making a couple more posts before we shut this down.
 We are in the process of getting more jerseys & we are also going to get short & long t-shirts so anyone that would like something will have the chance to do that. We are in the process of getting prices & sizes so when we get that information we will let you know & those who want something can let us know. We will have a contact person when that time comes & we will post that on this site.
 Also if anyone does want to make a donation to the Hormel Institute all they have to do is click on the link  on this site & it takes you to their site.
 Once again I want to thank all of you that followed us along on this trip because you made it fun for us.
 Oh one last bit of information. I found on our site the number of page views or the number of hits as some call it. The number was 27,979 that is amazing.

                   Terry

post-pedal depression

With our fantastic journey across the US now complete, our bags sorted out, Pearl loaded down for the morning journey home,  it becomes rapidly apparent that our daily routine will now abruptly change and real life will again resume. It may take several weeks before we stop getting up and putting on our biking gear as the dress of the day.
We were blessed with wonderful weather, not missing a day of riding. We were able to stay on schedule with mileage. Not one time during the journey did any of us wake up and not want to head out on our bikes for the new day's adventure. This is the type of experience from which memories and riding tales will resurface many times in the years to come. We are all very much aware of our fortunate ability to have the health, the time and the team leader/coordinator (Julie) to make this type of adventure possible. Thanks to all of you who followed along either on the blog, on the phone, or riding with us for several days.
Dick

What fun we've had!  For me it was a century ride plus a few extra miles nearly every day for 32 days.  Each day was different scenery and quite often the afternoon was much different than the morning.  The visiting riders in the midwest brought another dimension to the ride.  The weather was better than we could have imagined and Julie's enthusiasm and energy was unbelievable.  We were so spoiled!  The guys were easy to get along with and I will miss our rides together.  We've enjoyed the company of Julie's mom, Mary Lou the last couple weeks.  Our biggest regret is that Dave did not finish the ride with us.  We wish him a speedy recovery.
Roe


Well I really want to say THANKS to all of the people who have been amazingly supportive of this adventure right from the get go.  The food, wine, financial, jersey design, daily prayer, special meals prepared and the many other things to numerous to mention. 

I also want to let everyone know that Dan Ulwelling was in our thoughts today as we finished the day and we can feel his prescence and I can still see his smile.

I also want to let everyone know what a classy bunch of men I have been traveling with.  They have treated my mom to much great humor and kindness.  It was a pleasure to be with these fine men with such great character!  I truly thank them!!!  They always made sure that Pearl was well oiled.

A BIG Thanks to Ed at South Main Auto for getting Pearl in tip top shape for the big trek. As you can see Pearl made it thru with flying colors! So thank you Ed!!

The day has been especially bitter sweet for me as I was so excited for the guys to hit the Atlantic Ocean.  But my heartaches for my husband Dave who is home healing from his mishap along the way.  I so wanted this to be an accomplishment for him too as it was his birthday that spurred on the idea to begin with.  So to that note Honey I will be home soon.  I Love you!

I need to give kudos to my great friends and neighbors who helped Dave get to his Doctors appt's and fill the house with food and helping with taking care of Lilly while Dave was in the hospital. It has eased my mind knowing that he has been taking care of by such caring and devoted friends.  They really had my back.

I can't wait to get back home and get back to my spinning class!   I miss you all and have not exercised for 5 weeks.  This is NOT a good thing!

Time to turn in as we will be leaving early in the morning for the long trek home.

See Ya Soon!

Julie

What a fabulous journey we have had for the last month. I can't put into words the feelings I've had biking across this great country! Being able to come together as a team was important and necessary to make this work.
I will remember this experience for the rest of my life. Thank you all for your great support.
Jerry

I went on this trip to see the Eastern states. I did that and more. I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery all the way out here; and the Atlantic Ocean was awesome!
I am amazed that four individuals can live in such close quarters and still survive. After their long daily ride they took care of their bikers and tents and showered. Then we fed them. They even took a turn at the dishes. I was treated like a queen. They helped me up and down the steps and across the streets. Who else has 4 younger men to wait on her!!
Not much relaxation time. At night they made phone calls home and the blog and pictures on the computer. Up again at 5 am. Said their prayer, and on the road again! No easy task.
It was also interesting to see how Julie managed to schedule the day and the bikers. It was stressful for her to drive Pearl and keep everyone on the right route.  We had our tense moments and our times to giggle!
All in all it was a great adventure.
Thanks for allowing me to be onboard.
"GRAMMA LOU"

Day 32 (The END)

 Well I have not put many posts on but I guess it is my turn again. I did post on one of the earlier days & said this was one of the most exciting things I have ever done & I still feel the same way. As I ride along each day I think to myself WOW this is Great!!!!! It is as fun on day 32 as it was on day 1. It is a trip I will never ever forget.
 I want to thank the Coast to Coasters team for making this such a tremendous trip. I also have a BIG Thank you to Dave & Julie for making the decision to keep the trip alive & supporting us after Daves injury.I also want to thank all of you that followed us & made comments on this site because that was very inspiring to all of us & we really enjoyed knowing that so many of you were keeping an eye on us.
 I look forward to getting home to see family & friends but I truly hate to see this end.
 So with all that said I will say good bye & thanks again to ALL.

   Terry

Picture from the final day



The final day morning departure.


.


Survival secret!!!!




We have arrived!!!




How are these shorts Sara????




Chocolate milk cheers and even a few tears!!



Front tires in the Atlantic so mission accomplished!



THE  FINAL SPLASH!!!




SAD departure!!!




The last supper!  Let the celebration begin!




Julie's dream dinner!!!!!!!!




Lip Lickin Good.




Roe gets the crumbs.

 Well this is our last day on the road so here are a few more pictures.

day 32

Keene NH to Salisbury Beach, MA - 96 miles This, our last day of our journey, was an emotional one.  It was bittersweet - we will miss these days together but we will have reached our goal and are ready to get back to reality.  Like most days, we had a variety of conditions and scenery.  We spent the morning riding a beautiful road through New Hampshire, a nice smooth surface, lined with trees on both sides.  After a big breakfast, we found our way to a bakery in Petersborough for big cinnamon rolls.  Julie soon met us with donuts.  We need to keep those calories up.  In the afternoon we were closer to the coast and ran into more traffic.  The scenery was more commercial and residential.  We arrived at our state park campground in Salisbury Beach at 4:00.  We toasted our journey completion with chocolate milk, our post-ride tradition, and dipped our tires in the ocean.  Our special treat for completion of the trip was a lobster dinner at Browns Lobster Pound.  We trust you will enjoy pictures of the day.
Roe

Day 31

Greetings to all!  We had another adventure some day!  We had to plan a new route due to hurricane Irene last night.  It did however need some tweeking after they took route and found themselves being pulled over by the Police and pulling them off of route 7 and redirecting them to route 7A.   They also discovered that the route we had planned on had some road closures too.  So Mister Officer did some checking and gave them better information so they moved on to the next town and did some more investigating and mapped a different route. 

Today we got to see the wrath of Irene through the Vermont countryside.  It was truly a delightful day with spectacular scenery but also a sobbering day with the sights of the destruction.  The power of the water and it's flooding could only be imagined after seeing the destruction first hand.  We are having debates today as to if Vermont has been the best as far as scenery in all of the states we have passed thru.

The General Store seems to be a recurring theme and the roadside stands were busy prepping for the tourists and the Labor Day weekend. 

 We pulled into camp tonight and were pondering what the last day of our adventure would be like.  All of this so bitter sweet.  Anxious to accomplish what they have set out to do but sad to see it all end.  It really did go by so fast we can hardly believe it.  We just want to say Thanks to all of you who have been blogging and reading our blogs.  It is one of the big highlights of our day too.!!  We look forward to seeing everyone when we return to share the joy we have recieved out here on this journey.

Time to turn in so I can dream of tomorrow and hope the memories of this journey will linger for a long time to come!
Good Night!  Julie

More pictures for rerouted Day 31 & all of the detours



Camels, Zebra's and now Llamas!! 




Grandma Lou in the Adirondack chair.




Pick a Flavor!  Yeah right!




This tops the DQ!!




It's a wash out!!




Avenue of the Pines!




Don't fence me in.




Going Up!




Flood damage




Which way to the beach Merle????




Cheap New Hampshire border sign while crossing the Conn. River.

 More pictures

day 30

When I've asked advice for doing this adventure, the first response that I usually got was "be flexible".  We will be flexible.  It turns out most of the east-west roads in Vermont are out.  Julie and Dick have been busy researching and found a way.  Adding about 80 miles, we'll go across on US 4 and hit the Atlantic at Portsmouth NH.  We expect we'll have lots of traffic

Today we did get to our destination, Bennington VT.  We didn't get to our designated campground however; all of the campgrounds in the area are closed due to flooding and loss of electricity.   So tonight we're staying at a Best Western.  Julie got out of cooking duties; there's a drive-in across the street. 

The roads today were hilly but much less steep than yesterday.  The weather was perfect again, but the traffic was quite heavy.  Today we went through areas that were more populated - particularly Schenectady.  During part of the ride they had diverted traffic from I90 to US 20, the road that we were on.  A constant stream of cars and simis, but the shoulder was wide.  We witnessed Irine's devastation during the day.  There were sideroad washouts in several areas and the rivers were thick with mud.  We know we'll see alot more tomorrow.
Roe

Well we will try pictures again for days 27, 28 ,29 & 30



Grandma Lou weights in for another day




Perales first child




What a handsome crew at Niagra Falls




Well they let us back into the states




Up & down another 10% grade ALL DAY ,more than one




One of many art sculptures Juls & Grandma Lou looked at




Roe's new love muffin




Oh what are we doing?




Some of the trash from the flooding we went by




The now MUDDY Hudson River




Into another state




Our penthouse apartment for the night




No DQ but we did find a nice chocoate & ice cream shop

 We tried pictures last night but finally gave up so i hope we can get it done this time.

Day 29

Yes everyone we really are seeing zebras and camels!!  I think that is a sign we are nearing the end. 

Today was a gorgeous ride thru NY.  The hills and the hilltop panoramic views were truly spectacular.  The guys have come up with theory that each state is a pageant contest and that Miss New York is winning for the fabulous roads, scenery and weather!  Not to mention the fresh NY baked apple pie and ice cream that my mom and I picked up at a roadside stand.  There were many along the way.

We stopped tonight and are camping in the Cooperstown KOA campground we are on Dimaggio Drive. A fine facility which also supplied a breath taking sunset!   No I didn't get a photo.  I am bummed about that!

Well  Dave made it out of surgery today with a metal plate and 8 screws in his clavical.  He will be coming home tomorrow. His sister Penny will be bringing him home and spending the night so he will have to behave for at least one night anyway.

We ran into our first glimpse of  Irene today when a road was closed due to flooding over the road. It wasn't much but we are seeing more signs of her ahead of us for tomorrow. Dick was looking up road closures on the route to see if we can keep moving forward.

Well we hope to have more stories tomorrow of our travels if the travel gods allow!

Julie

Day 2 in New York showed us more of the beauty of this state. None of us were prepared for the hills!!! Most of the day was spent crawling up 9-10% grade  several mile-long hills. Seemed to be a lot more ups than there were downs. We all agreed that this was the toughest day. We still made 120 miles by 4:30 including a detour for flooded highway.
Tomorrow will prove interesting since there has been much reported flooding in the areas of Vermont where we are heading. Also rumored that the bridge over the Hudson has been closed, but is to be opened again in the morning. Weather is reported as good for the next 3 days.
Dick
 

day 28

Back in the USA!!!!  They let us back in!! Who'd a thunk it!!  Well we took our last look at Niagra Falls this morning as we crossed the Rainbow Bridge back into the USA!  They started down the street Main Street USA! 

It was nice country roads rolling and winding thru the country side much like in MN.  We came along a country road that was canopied with trees and ran along a stream.  When what did we see but a Zebra peering thru the trees.  So we had to stop and check it out.  I went to take a photo of it and a man was walking down the driveway so I asked him if it was ok?  He said yes and invited me to see his sculpture garden in his yard.  As it turned out he and his wife were both artists and had the whole yard set up as their Gallery.  They gave tours in the summer months! 

So I went to get my mom out of the RV and we spent a good 45 minutes visiting with him and taking the tour.  She was an art teacher at a deaf school and he was a professor at RIT.  He had written several books and one was just published a few weeks ago called the " Good Teacher"  It was quite interesting and truly the highlight of the day. 

Well the day was a treat for me!!  Julie

Niagara Falls NY to Phelps NY - 123 miles.  We're still on schedule!  We understand some of our followers were betting we wouldn't make our destination today.  We have been so fortunate with the weather!  With rain apparently all around us, we didn't get a drop.  We had cool temperatures today with a brisk wind from the north; we were happy to be wearing long sleeves.  We have been in our own little world, pretty isolated from the rest of the world.  We do occasionally check the day's weather when we can.  It looks like the weather for the next few days will be favorable. 

Again, Julie selected a set of great roads.  Nice country roads with little traffic and a nice smooth surface.  The road signs made it easy to navigate and the Garmin was working flawlessly.  As usual, the sights were interesting.  To me, the morning was a visit of oddities - a pet camel, two farm houses with big Greek columns.  The highlight of our day was Oatka Trail, a twisty turney road along Oatka Creek.  Woods on both sides of the road, the road that Julie and Mary Lou got their tour of a sculpture garden.  The wildflowers bring color to the ditches.  We have fun checking out all of the rustic old barns.  We passed many little roadside tables, selling sweetcorn, tomatoes, cukes, etc.

It's hard to believe we're closing in on the Atlantic.  Only four days of riding left!  We're looking forward to the sights of the next few days.  Tonight we're staying in the Cheerful Valley Campground.  We're cheerful and always anxious to start the next day.
Roe

day 27

Rest day at Niagara Falls Canada.  We decided to stay two nights at the Niagara Falls KOA.  Today we had a leisurely breakfast of blueberry pancakes and relaxed in the morning.  We then took a bus to town to visit the falls.  We enjoyed the falls last night with the lights but the daytime viewing of course was spectacular.  Some of us even got a nap in in the afternoon.  In the evening four of us went to a dinner theater next door and saw a performance of OH CANADA.  It was a musical with a cast of six excellent singers.  A little hokey for my taste but the music was enjoyable.  Again, the rest day was nice but we're ready to hit the road again.
Roe

day 26

On our second day in Canada we had delightful country roads again.  We reached Niagara Falls and we're back on schedule.  The Garmin was working fine and we're getting better at reading Ontario roadsigns.  The day was cool and comfortable.  Flat roads, more corn and soybeans, it felt like we were riding around Austin.  One fun area was near Burford.  We pedaled through a truck farming region, we played guess the vegetable in that field.  We were surprised to find fields of tobacco.  We later found the Six Nations tribes grew tobacco, which is heavily subsidised.  We passed shop after shop selling "rollies",  large bags of cigarettes at dirt cheap prices.
We had two interesting guest bicycle encounters.  In the morning, the first was a young man in a heavy coat with an old touring bike with panniers, a large nine volt light roped onto the handlebars, no helmet, and obviously living on the road, who caught up with us just after passing through a small town. He queried as to where we were going, and vowed to follow along to maybe ride with us to Minnesota. He kept up for a few miles then said that he better "do the milk run" and stop at each town to rest. The second encounter was an "elderly couple".....probably our age.... who were out riding for one of their routine rides. The wife rides 200+ miles weekly; they both belong to their local bike club. They were delightful, providing a great mid afternoon break.
Roe

Pictures from day 25 & 26



Stopping at Pearles cafe for lunch




They let us in!!!!!!




This is how Juls got us across the border




Terry is trying to increase his daily average speed



Happy faces after viewing fire works over Niagra Falls

A few more pictures for you to look at & make smart remarks about.

Day 25

WERE BACK!!!  Sorry for the delay in the blogs but we stayed in a campsite called Ponderosa Pines that had a beautiful setting but no amenities.  So we dry camped with no electricity which turned out to be a god send as everyone turned in early and fell asleep with no time wasted.  

The day started out well from Imlay City Michigan and this road to the border was the best ride for road quality in all of MI.  We had a little lost time going thru customs due to construction.  The customs agent took our passports and asked us who was Ralph?   He thought Roe was trying to bribe him as he had several large bills tucked into his passport.  Then he smiled and sent us thru.  Slick departure.  Then we pulled over to take a photo of  entering Ontario sign!

The information station was our next stop to get maps and a few directions. It has taken us awhile to figure out the signage and road names.   Not always marked very well or not marked at all in some places.  I tried to keep them on course by driving ahead and gathering information.  We stayed on course for the most part. 

Grandma Lou is holding her own with the guys and is keeping with the quick wit.  She is now on board with the routine and has slipped into her role in the kitchen well.  Even tho it is a one butt kitchen. 

We all got a good nights sleep as I have mention before so our energy is now renewed.  We are really looking forward to our day off in Niagra Falls.

I also want to give a little update on Dave back home.  He will be having surgery in Austin on Monday and will be spending one night  in the hospital and then home for recovery.   I send my Love to him and to all that have been so amazingly supportive in taking him to his appt's and stopping to visit him and bringing food.  I so appreciate this and would not have been able to continue without all of you and your generosity.

We hope to be posting some photos again soon.

DDDD That's all Folks! Julie

The Ontario backroads were great.  Nice asphalt serface, low traffic volume, traveling through small towns.  Lots of corn and soybean fields.  The farm homes were very nice.  Built out of tan brick, they were very well maintained.  We found later that this region had clay that was perfectly suited for brick.  We really enjoyed the morning.  The afternoon was a different story.  Our route skirted London, a large city.  Very heavy traffic volume, lots of semis, and no shoulders.  We resorted to sidewalks for a long section.  We had our first unfavorable weather in a couple weeks.  A cool drizzle off an on, usually on when we took our jackets off and off when we put them on.  We're sorry our blog is late.  Since we fell short of our planned rv park, Julie asked around and found us a campsite in Thamesford.  No electricity hookup and no internet service so we went to bed early.  After so many days of early mornings, I appreciated and extra hour of sleep.
Roe

Day 22,23,&24 Pictures



Getting more groceries




Moving on down the road




Weatherby looking for Lilly




Terry thinks this is the Atlantic & he is done




Grandma Lou cuts the mellon




The leopard lady holds up the sign 




Pearle gets a good night sleep on ths ferry




Jerry takes a siesta on the ferry




The ferry




Another state down




The wooden hog looking for Sturgis




Roe needs  a pastry or 2




Parting friends at Lake Michgan

 We are back and have a few pictures for you all.