Day: 44

Date: Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Miles Ridden: 84

From: Niagara Falls, New York

To: Rochester, New York

Today was a special day for me. One of my riding buddies from home managed to coordinate a business trip so he could spend a couple of days with me. It got very complicated for him when his plane was delayed and rerouted to Toronto, but in the end, with bike and suitcase in hand, he walked across the Rainbow Bridge to join me for a day and a half. We spent the afternoon of my rest day walking over the bridge to Canada and looking at things on their side of Niagara Falls. Things are hopping on their side. The US side seems quite depressed to me. We also rode the Lady of the Mist which is a boat that allows you to view the Falls in an up close and personal way. We had a great time visiting during the afternoon.

In the evening I had another special treat. Mary’s mother Jeanne and her brother, Mike, treated the Stop A Lots and my friend Jay to dinner at the Red Coach Inn. We had just a wonderful time laughing and telling stories, and the food was absolutely great. Mike had come up the day before on his Harley all the way from Pennsylvania. He is a great guy. He reads my web page first thing every morning when he gets to work so he can keep track of Mary. I know you will all remember when I fell behind a few days. Well, Mike was quick to call Mary and have her tell me to get off my duff and get caught up, so I did. Mary has a wonderful family and I want to thank Mike and Jeanne for the wonderful time and delicious dinner.

After dinner Danny, Steve, Jay and I walked back to the motel. Jay and I walked to the store to pick up some supplies and then it was off to bed. We loaded at 6:15 AM and ate breakfast at Denny’s nearby. Now it was time to hit the road. Jay had the opportunity to ride 84 miles with us today on a borrowed bike. The route took us out of Niagara Falls and into the country and many rolling hills. I chuckled because Jay took some pictures of the lush green cornfields. The rest of us have seen miles of cornfields since Sioux Falls, SD. He also took a picture of a white barn. Do you know how many barns we have looked at?

The Stop A Lots were not their usual selves today. I don’t know if that was because we had a guest or not, but we stopped only once before the SAG for a SOBE. At the SAG, mile 41, Jay got to experience the wonderful faire of bananas, granola bars, gorp, cookies, and Gator Aide. During the riding time the Stop A Lots continued to move safely up through the other riders. We were once again about the last to push away from the breakfast table. As we moved through the other riders we had the chance to meet six new people who have joined the ride and will finish with us in Portsmouth, NH.

At about mile 65 Danny thought he spotted Mike Munk, our tour leader, trying to catch us from behind. There was a brief conference held to determine what we should do about this new development. This didn’t take long because the Stop A Lots were not about to let Mike pass them. Now this was all new to Jay, but he could tell that our reputation was at stake so he put the hammer down and it was off to Rochester at full speed. Jay brought the group up to about 24 mph fairly quickly and then rotated to the back. Mary put in her burst and rotated back and slipped off the back of the pace line as well. Jay picked her up and brought her back to the group while Steve, who was now pulling, slowed down. Then Jay gave the high sign and Steve stoked up the train back to 24 mph and we were all flying down the road. Once Mary is in the draft she does an excellent job holding this speed. I took over and Steve slid to the back. Danny followed me and took us on into town. I can’t begin to tell you how fun and exciting this is to be moving in tight order at these speeds. I have already told you now dangerous it is. You have to be able to anticipate every move of each member of the pace line.

After we arrived at the motel we waited, and waited, and waited, but no Mike. It must have been the ghost of Mike that we had seen because Bill rode in next. I think it is much more difficult being the hunted than the hunter.

Tonight we are staying in a Red Roof Inn. Jay is getting a taxi to take him to where he will rent a car and drive to where he will be staying tonight. Then he is off to work in the morning. As for me, I am off to Syracuse, NY tomorrow. It was a wonderful ride today having Jay join me, literally join me.

There are only six days of riding left before I complete this wonderful journey across America. In some ways it seems as though I have been gone from home forever and in others, it seems like I just started this journey. The most confusing thing for me is to connect what we have accomplished each day to a map of the USA, and see how far we have come. I don’t really believe it myself.

Well, thanks for joining me today and I’ll see you on the road tomorrow. And for Mike, (I know you will be checking the web site first thing in the morning), I hope you had a pleasant ride home on your Harley and thanks again for the wonderful dinner.

Click here to see more pictures from today, and here to see pictures from yesterday!