Niagara Falls falls in the Fall

Leah told me that yesterday as they peddled through Lakawana, New York they beheld a giant tumult on Lake Erie. Truly a sight to behold! A waterspout!  A tornado over a body of water had formed sucking everything in it's path, primarily H2O and a few lampreys and sturgeon no doubt. They neglected to get a photograph so I've included an artists rendition. They crossed into Canada and spent the night at Fort Erie. For a moment they thought about staying until after the election in case McCain and Palin win, (god forbid), but after further rumination decided that it would be best to continue their journey. 

Today, the first of October, 2008, LR and CR cruised pass the great Niagara falls on the frontier of New York and Canada. Leah called me and held the phone to the falls so I could hear the the roar of the falls. It sounded like she was running a bath.  They viewed Horseshoe falls from the Canadian side and then bicycled across the U.S. border for a close-up of American Falls which actually falls up.  They were quite excited to see (and hear) so much water in one place and I'm sure they had to pee afterwards. 

They have about 400 miles to go to the NY-VT border which they will do at a leisurely pace as they are going to meet Kathy in Vermont on the 11th which gives them a lot of time to get there. Western New York is incredibly beautiful at this time of year so I think they'll be taking a few side trips, eating plenty of apples (it's harvest time) and digging the intense colors of the peak of autumn. Lucky, lucky, luck them.

SR

Another State, Another Country

I talked with Leah briefly today and she said they rode through the western edge of New York and into Canada. They seem to be making incredible time. Are we sure their bikes aren't moterized? That's about it for today except that it's raining and they are staying in a hotel to avoid getting drenched. More tomorrow.

SR

On da Lake and Into New Yawk

Publish Post







Leah, Chuck and Matt crossed into Pennsylvainia  yesterday  after a nice stay in Hudson Ohio. They rode along lake Erie for a day and camped on the beach at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio where they met Tom and Carly Kalish (picture attached), then after crossing the PA border they peddled another 50 lake view miles  or so, and hit the outskirts of Erie PA  and once again camped on the beach. The Eastern ambience is quite obvious at this point as shown by the white clapboard houses and covered bridges. Matt decided to forge on ahead and so he did, but when Leah and Chuck arrived at the campsite near Erie who did they run into but Matt who had to take a detour into Erie to buy some tires (he got a couple of flats) so Matts back with the crew today. Leah said that they also ran into a young man who had the same problem and Chuck stayed up late helping him patch a tire so he could go into Erie and buy a couple of new ones. 

In no time they  they slipped across the New York border, still on the lake, and in  in grape country. Apparently they stopped and chatted with a guy who was harvesting grapes on a huge grape harvesting machine, and they spent over an hour riding around on the machine and stuffing themselves with fresh fruit.   That slowed em down a little as they only put in 45 miles today. Leah said they'll continue along the lake a while longer until they get to Canada and they'll cross into Canada for a short stint then back across the border into the interior of the Empire State. 

It's a great time to be touring the east what with the changing leaves and the cool days. Leah says they might check out Niagra falls. Perhaps go over in a barrel if the opportunity allows. No... enough adventure for one day!

Stevie Roman

Rest Stop in Hudson

Chuck read the blog and called me and said that I had left out  some info in the Hi ho Ohio post, so it's been added. Apparently the people of Ohio have been really fab to the Traveleers and they wanted me to acknowledge it and express their gratitude to all of the wonderful friends they have made.

Yesterday they rode from New Fairfield to Hudson, Ohio, 71 miles. They met a fellow biker who recommended that they take Granger Road which turned out to be quite a nightmare, no shoulders and a lot of traffic, and a fierce east wind. In fact they dubbed it the Road of Death. Well they made it through with out a scratch, (grazie Jesus, Maria e' tutti gli apostoli) and found there way to the Coyahoga River that  had a wonderful trail. They stayed with Sue and Ron Stroble, Kathy's cousins, (picture attached) where they are loafing for a day as I write this. 

Their hosts have taken good care of the three Travelleers with fab-u-lous meals, and  nice soft beds.

This afternoon, Chuck and Matt helped Ron with some business on the roof, while Leah wrote post cards to the folks she had met on the road, and this evening they all watched the debate. Leah observed that the Dems and Repubs are not that much different in their world view. I  beg to differ, (that's something I might have said when I was 24. ) I think my illustrious daughter has very radical ideas and I applaud her for that.

Tomorrow they head east again along Lake Erie and on to Pennsylvania (about 100 miles or so). 

Stevie Roman

Hi ho Ohio

The Traveleers left Iroquois, Illinois and peddled to Monon, Indiana, roughly 60 miles. They had dinner and then put in another 5 miles to an RV park called Trasher Woods campground. Monon must be a real party town because when they arrived at the campground,  there was a huge party happening, hosted by the owners, a wonderful couple who invited them to the festivities. Leah said they had a blast. And were well taken care of by their new friends. It is indeed extraordinary that people have been so open and hospitable through out the trip. 

Next day they put in another 70 miles, but Leah wasn't clear about where they stayed. Somewhere between Monon and Monroeville. Could be Royal Center, or perhaps Denver or any of a dozen places. In Monroeville they hooked up with Matt who had ridden West from Cleveland to meet them, so now the team consists of three. In Monroeville, they stayed at a free shelter especially for bikers doing the Trans America route. 

They are happy to have Matt on the team. Leah says he's enthusiastic and fast. In fact today they put in another 60 plus miles clear to McComb Ohio, chalking up their 9th state. They are camping at the city park at a beautiful lake tonight. When they hit these small towns, they get permission from the local police to sleep at the park. The cops were really nice about it and gave em a tour of the town and unlocked the restrooms for them. In fact. the mayor took em to the local VFW (picture attached) where they fed em dinner and then breakfast the next AM. The people of these small towns are quite wonderful and have been really hospitable to Leah and Chuck. When you've been on the road and enter a town as a stranger it is truly delightful to be made to feel welcome, and these folks have put out the welcome mat and  a fine feed bag to boot and the Traveleers really appreciate it. 

UPDATE: Road Kill Report

Bikers have a unique opportunity to witness firsthand and close-up road kill that many drivers miss and therefore bikers can make informed observations. Leah says that the road kill in the central states is quite different than that of the Western states. In Idaho and Montana the road kill consisted mainly of deer and coyotes and has a very high stink quotient possibly 7.5-8.6. Whereas in Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana, the road kill is mainly raccoons and opossum. While the smaller roadkill is far more abundant,  it has a much lower stink quotient, possibly 3 - 7.2 depending on the length of time on the road.

Leah added that road kill is really unpleasant but by far the most horrible smell of all are chicken farms topping the stink quotient scale. In fact, she passed by a chicken farm the other day and swore off eggs for life. That is, until breakfast the next morning.

Stevie Roman

Corn corn everywhere but not a niblette to nibble

Yesterday, Friday, the Traveleers put in 60 plus miles and landed in Iroquois,  Illinois lookin for a hot meal. Apparently there is not a lot of food in these parts as both Chuck and Leah complained bitterly about the lack of good eats. Small towns in the midwest; population 1000 or less, have difficulty supporting a grocery store or a decent restaurant. Hey, they ain't askin for Whole Foods or Chez Pannise (although that would be lovely) no,we're talkin just a good hardy feed of something other than  burgers and fries. Something with a little seasoning already. Chuck says he's getting scurvy from the lack of fresh fruit, and Leah laments the absence of excellent pie.  

CR also was incredulous at the fact that they are in the middle of the so called "bread basket" of America and there are no fresh fruits or vegetables and the only restaurants are franchises like Burger King and Pizza hut and the only grocery store is Cacy's, a kind of convenience store that specializes in processed hydrocarbons that vaguely resemble food. Ironically, thousands of square miles of Illinois is devoted to growing inedible corn and soybeans for ethanol (pictures attached) so we should perhaps be calling this America's "fuel pump" instead of "bread basket". Another irony is that they are only 70 miles from Chicago, where at Walinskys they could eat one of the best damn Porterhouse steaks on the continent. Perhaps they should consider a detour. 

Stevie Roman

Meatball Blues

Last night, (Wednesday), Leah and Chuck rolled into Winona Illonois. They'd heard about the spaghetti and meatball special for $5.95 at the local Italian restaurant. By the time they got there however the place had run out of meatballs. Drat! they exclaimed expressing their disappointment to the management. So they settled on some unspecified dish. When you're peddling for seven hours at a stretch eating becomes really critical Leah said. 

Anyway this AM they headed out but three and a half miles down the road they found they were heading in the wrong direction. Drat again they exclaimed as they swung their bikes around adding a total of 7 extra miles. They finally got back on track and rode another forty miles east to Odell Illinois, population, a little over 1000. They ran into Jim, Connie, and Craig Ribholz. Jim practically runs the town, and Connie works at the high school. Craig their son is going to the local community college studying agriculture. The Ribholz's were kind enough to offer our traveleers their shower when the one at the campground was closed. They all went out to dinner together at another local Italian joint although she didn't specify weather they finally got meatballs and spaghetti, Leah reports that they had a swell time. 

The roads are good and the weather has been fine. They are going to meet Matt, Chuck's nephew-in-law somewhere between the Indiana border and and Cleavland, Ohio because  he's heading west. When they hook up, he'll point his bike in East and finish the trip with them. Kathy is going to hook up with the team in Vermont. They should be crossing into Indiana if they put in a longish day tomorrow. 

The Photos of Leah, and Chuck from a birds eye view were taken in Illinois. The one of the city hall was taken in Wyoming.

Stevie Roman