New Hampshire & Vermont

1. Backpacker's Hostel, Boston, MA

Waking at 3:40 this morning, with only a few hours sleep, I made some breakfast, inflated my tires to their rated limit, loaded my gear onto my bike, and headed to Rochester's Louise M. Slaughter station for train #280, the 5:30 to Penn Station in New York City. The train arrived on time, and I did some reading and watched Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Go Back to pass the time while riding to New York City.

The train was very full at Penn Station, so once enough people had disembarked I had to scramble to reassemble my bike and gear and get it off the train, then waited a few hours for the hour-late Regional #174 to Boston.

I'd been on the Connecticut line as far as New Haven, but after that I was treated to new views of Connecticut's bays, salt marshes and beaches. I got a few pictures of Rocky Neck State Park and Niantic Bay as we went through, places my family occasioned in the summer as a kid, where it was always exciting to see the train go by. I especially liked the railway draw-bridge in Niantic. Today, I got to be on that train (possibly literally, given the age of the Amfleet railcars) and go over that bridge.

We passed through Mystic, New London, Providence (where the train station is in the basement of the mall with the Secret Mall Apartment), then onto Boston to arrive about an hour late, as sunset neared.

It was a few miles ride to the hostel, mostly on bike paths/bike lanes. It was nice, after 15 hours of sitting, to be active again. I got a few pictures of harbors, buildings and the famous Beacon Hill Bridge along the way.

The hostel was clean, though the front desk didn't have its act together, being unable to look up my reservation. It all worked out okay though.

The agent was also trying to train a new front-desk agent, and in his confusion, assigned me to a men's dorm. I had no idea, so I was settled in and falling asleep before they came to tell me of the mistake and offer to let me move; I said I didn't give a shit and just wanted to sleep, and they were kind enough to let me do so.

2. Friend's house, Dover, NH

I woke Friday around 6 after an okay sleep at the Hostel, and felt ready to move on. I packed up, stripped the bed and headed over to the Northern Strand Trail. I think this was probably a former trolley route to the beaches. That took me to Malden, where I moved onto roads through Melrose to Wakefield, where I got a "Big Breakfast". Urban gradually gave way to suburban. I passed Lake Quannapowitt en route to North Reading, beyond which I began encountering occasional hayfields and horses.

The heat was oppressive, but the narrow, winding country roads were shady, which made a big difference. I expected to split the ride to Dover over 2 days, but the weather was predicting torrential downpours for Saturday so I decided to just do it all in one day. Over a sandwich for lunch in Georgetown, I looked at routes and chose a new one.

After lunch, I reapplied sunscreen and headed north. A few klicks up the road, my bike felt bouncy, so I pulled over and fixed my first flat of the trip. A few more miles lead to a bikeway along I-95 which lead to Amesbury. After crossing into New Hampshire, I stopped for some ice cream, topping-up water and a third application of sunscreen. From there I rode the rest of the way to Portsmouth, where I stopped at Aldi [Süd] to stock up on food.

Food acquired, it was only a few kilometers to cross the Piscataqua River, ride past Pomeroy Bay and onto Jan's house.

I had tailwinds on and off through the day that helped me along. My odometer says I rode 118.6km (73.5 miles), during which I drank about 1.5 gallons of water (a little bit was Gatorade), yet I was still pissing fluorescent yellow. I gradually rehydrated over the next few hours. A shower felt fantastic, and my friend Jan treated me to dinner at a local place, where I had a very filling meal of chicken, mashed potatoes and summer squash.

Today I'm relaxing at his house. We had breakfast with his wife, son and in-laws. It never did rain the way they predicted, although there is still some rain forecast. Continued heat is also forecast, which has me a little nervous.

3. Sun Valley Campground, Barnstead, NH

After a day of rest and socializing at Jan's house, I felt ready to hit the road. As thanks for their hospitality, I invited the couple to breakfast at The Nook in Dover. After a nice omelet, I got on the road at 10AM.

The first hour went well and I made about 20km. The second hour I hit hills and heat came on, so I only made 10km. In Center Strafford, I encountered a nice lady, Diane I think, who was getting back from church and kind enough to refill my one empty water bottle. A little after that a driver flagged me down and gave me a sport drink (electrolytes and B vitamins). I already have some, but I stashed it because I'm going through it steadily; it will get used.

From there, the road went over Parker Mountain, with a steep ascent but a long, slow descent. The ascent was slow and hot; I alternated pushing the bike and taking breaks in shady spots. The descent was nice, making a lot of miles with easy effort and a few views of mountains on the horizon.

At Barnstead, the route had me turning south and going a ways more to Epsom Valley Campground. However, I turned north and went to a much closer Sun Valley Campground. There's some road noise, but the site is shaded, nice, and the brook babbles nicely. A little walk offers a nice sandy beach where the river has a deep swimming hole.

I failed to grab my cheese and butter from Jan's fridge, so I got new cheese (and an ice cream sandwich) at the nearby White Buffalo Trading Post, General Store, and Pizza, Sub and Gun Shop. I think I'll pass some places with tub butter on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to go off-route and head to Silver Lake Campground outside of Hilton, NH, about 20 miles away. That will leave a 40-mile day for Tuesday, to sync up with my calendar at Canaan, NH.

4. Aiken Manor B&B, Franklin, NH

After chatting with friendly neighbors at Sun River Campground, I got to bed around 9 and got an okay nights sleep. Having my air mattress hold its air is very nice—I finally found and fixed a pinhole leak before this trip that's been a problem for a while.

I woke around 6:30 and got on the road about 8:15. I missed a turn and got a few bonus kilometers. There was one giant hill on route, but it was early enough I beat the heat of the day.

Unfortunately, it turns out Silver Lake Campground doesn't do drop-ins; you have to reserve at least 24 hours in advance. I think they don't handle tent camping either. So, that was a waste of time and another 4 kilometers.

I continued into Tilton, where I knew there were some hotels. There were also a few B&Bs a little further, so I gave a nice-sounding one a call and left a message.

It was noon when I got to town, so I stopped at a fast-food joint while figuring out my options. Yvonne from Aiken B&B called back while I was waiting to order, so I made a reservation, got food, ate, and pressed on.

After lunch, I hopped on the Winnipesaukee Trail, which avoided the busy shopping districts and traffic around the I-93 exit. It moved onto roads through old Tilton, and went past an old depot where there were a number of old railcars and an engine.

After that, it was back on trail to Franklin, a mostly shady one to boot. I rode through Franklin's business district, stopping at a Cumberland Farms to stock up on hot chocolate. After crossing the Winnipesaukee river, I got on the Northern Rail Trail, which was even better shaded than the prior trail. And, it took me right to the B&B. I arrived about 2:25, so about a 6 hour ride with breaks and lunch, doing 57 kilometers (35 miles).

5. Crescent Campsites, Canaan, NH

Today was a fairly short day, about 55km (34 miles). The day started with a nice Denver omelet made by Yvonne at the B&B. She also gave me a blueberry muffin, which I stashed and had for a snack while riding.

I did the first 41km on the Northern Rail Trail, which was low-grade and shaded but slow going. The trail ran past lakes, swamps, wetlands, and the occasional vista.

I passed through Potter Place, named after Richard Potter, who was the son of a slave. Potter became a magician, ventriloquist and possibly the first Black celebrity (although apparently white people not wanting to acknowledge this as possible would say he was Hindu).

From there the trail headed to Danbury, which was not the construction-infested traffic jam that the one in Connecticut is. After Danbury, the trail offered less shade and the surface turned to a packed chip-stone, so at Grafton I hopped on US-4 that paralleled the trail.

The road was not as well shaded, and rolled more than the carefully-graded railway, but my bike definitely rolled better and I made better time to Canaan, where I stopped at Canaan Village Pizza for a meatball sandwich and chips. From there, it was a steep 3km (2 miles), about half of it on a dirt road, to the campground.

After setting up camp, I went to campground's beach for a swim to cool off and wash off the sunscreen and sweat. The lake is like bathwater after the protracted heat. On the other hand, despite high temperatures here, it's not oppressively humid today.

6. Twin River Campground, Bath, NH

I woke this morning at 5:30, and was on the road at 7:15. The first 5km (3 miles) were continuing up the dirt road, with a bunch of uphill. It was slow-going, about 45 minutes I think. When I reached the asphalt, I also hit a bunch of downhill. It levelled off when I hit NH-118, but when I moved onto River Road I went down a bunch more, and again when I returned to NH-118.

I got to NH-25 and continued north, gently downhill. In Wentworth I stopped for a bacon & egg sandwich before heading down East Side Drive, which was flatter as it carried me to Warren, where they have a decommissioned Redstone Rocket setup in a public park.

From there my cue sheets had me on the Warren Trail, but the surface was a coarse stone, so I stuck with the road. It sloped gently upward to cross through a notch in the Appalachian Mountains. The incline was gentle enough I was able to pedal up. At Glencliff, I paused outside the Appalachian Trail hostel, and they invited me in to rest and replenish my water. I also used their WiFi to verify tonight's campground has vacancy.

Glencliff is at the top of the saddle between the mountains. And for the remainder of the day, Google maps got it right and avoided uphills, with only 6 or so knolls. Downhills were nice and gentle, letting me coast without needing to waste it on braking. I was able to knock out 28km (18 miles) in an hour and a half.

There were some nice views of fields and mountains along the way today.

The campground originally scheduled for tomorrow is now RV-only, so I'm instead going to Sugar Ridge RV Village-Campground in Danville, VT. It looks like a better route there is NH-135 north, crossing the Connecticut River at/into Barnet, VT and taking county roads from there.

I am looking forward to Vermont. New Hampshire has been tough, and the drivers here are not afraid to take my life in their hands, passing me with inadequate space, or on curves, or playing chicken with oncoming traffic because they're in a rush to get by. NH-25 has a lovely bike lane, but a lot of the state routes don't have much of one.

7. Sugar Ridge RV Village-Campground, Danville, VT

I was up at 5:30 again, but I was moving slowly so I didn't get on the road until 7:45, maybe 8:00. It was a quick 5km to nearby Woodsville, NH, where I got a banana, and stocked up on instant oatmeal and some cheese. I also grabbed a Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. I mean, you can get that on an English muffin, but if they have the option of a biscuit, why would you?

As I left town I stopped to get a picture of an old building. There was also an old train station, a 3-story one, the first story clearly the depot. I don't know if the other floors were administration, or perhaps the station was also the hotel. That seems like it would have been a clever idea.

Next was the Haverhill-Bath covered bridge over the Ammonoosuc River. The bridge is a lattice design but integrates an arch similar to Theodore Burr's 1804 Arch and Kingpin design. This bridge is long enough it requires a double arch.

Departing the bridge at 9, I continued north up NH-145 for about an hour. I stopped to rest a moment in Monroe, and when I went again one of the master links in my chain failed, so I had to waste a while fixing that. I thankfully am carrying extras.

A little bit up the road, I stopped to ask myself, "Why was there a highway off to the left?" I checked my maps, and the answer was "because that's the bridge to Vermont." There wasn't a single sign indicating so; I could have easily gotten bonus miles if I hadn't been paying attention.

So I crossed the Connecticut river, where US-5 was posted, "Road Closed" due to recent damage from torrential rains and flooding. Again checking maps, it looked like my turn off US-5 wasn't far, so I ignored the sign and was thankfully able to make it through.

The road steadily climbed as I moved away from the river. In a few spots where there were fields to my right, I could see where the river I was following had eroded banks in the heavy rains. At one spot, the road dropped to one lane because of a washout.

My next turn took me up a steep incline, which lead to dirt roads. A lot of these were down to one lane, too, because of washouts. And they continued climbing. As I progressed, they declined from damaged 2-lane dirt roads into 1-lane dirt roads, then more like an ATV track. The only person I saw out there was a mountain biker who, while I was carefully navigating loose stone on a downhill, came whizzing past.

I passed through Greenbanks Hollow, a ghost town that had been a woolen mill in the 1800s, until it burned down. There was also another covered bridge there.

Climbing out of the hollow, I missed a turn—I didn't even see a junction—but I think it worked out, because it avoided another valley and took me to a paved road, which took me to the trail I'll be on tomorrow. I am encouraged to see the trail is in good shape, with a well-packed surface and only light stone dust. Much nicer than the New Hampshire trails, if it stays that way.

There were some good vistas along this part of the route. Also, a house with a weathervane that had a silhouette of a bicyclist and a silhouette of a horse jumping, perpendicular to each other so depending on the direction it faced, you either saw the bicyclist, the jumping horse, or the horse jumping over the bicyclist.

As I neared Danville, I was able to briefly hop on the rail trial on the way to the campground.

At least it was a short day, only 43km (26 miles), and the heat wasn't as bad. Here at the campground, the humidity has shut off and there's a nice breeze, so it's actually pleasant. I suspect I'm going to have to dress warm tonight because of the cool.

8. Vermont Freedom Campground, Greensboro Bend, VT

I slept pretty well last night, woke about 7, and got on the road at about 9. It was a short jaunt to pick up the trail (I chose not to use the campground's treacherously steep connector), which I was on most of the rest of the day.

The trail was better than the New Hampshire ones, which is saying something because it took a lot of damage in heavy rains recently. I hit two detours, the first because a bridge was completely washed away recently, the other because a bridge was washed away last year. The first had a convenient road paralleling the trail for the detour, the second required dropping into a valley and then climbing back up. There were also places where ditches had eroded across the trail, or the trail's edge had eroded into the drainage ditch, or loose stone dust and sand had been washed downhill to form sandy areas on the trail.

Still, it's very rideable, often shady, and has some spectacular views.

The Danville, VT train station is getting renovations. I was thinking if somebody wanted to run a B&B or hostel catering to cyclists, that would be an apropos reuse of the building.

At West Danville I encountered Joes Pond, a manmade (or perhaps deepened) pond that feeds a hydro plant. It's a beautiful lake, with people swimming and paddling. Nearby crews were working on US-2,presumably fixing more lingering storm damage.

After that the trail continued up, gradually rising toward Greensboro Bend. Unfortunately, shortly before getting here I encountered the second detour. The trail on the west side of the valley is intact, so I will be able to use that when I leave, as long as I don't try to get there via East Main Street, whose bridge is kapot. I'm guessing that's the storm too.

I stopped for an Italian sandwich at Smith's Grocery when I got to town, then came up the recently-repaired road to the campground.

The campground is not super fancy but is inexpensive, at least for one person. Finding a spot for the tent is a trade-off of shade for dry ground. On the positive side, it's clothing optional, there are hot tubs and a pool waiting for me, and they've got laundry machines on the honor system, so I won't smell too bad for mom when she meets up with me on Sunday.

9. Day of Rest: Vermont Freedom Camp

Today was my day of rest. I spent the day reading, went for a swim in the pool, called David, talked with some other campers, and relaxed. In the evening, the camp had a margarita party so I went to that. They had some silly party games such as a pinata, and I had fun few bashes on it.

The campground itself isn't super fancy, but I gather that Jeff, the owner, is constantly working on improvements. There are a set of hot tubs (newly on a deck this year, instead of on the ground), there's the pool (with plans to put a deck around it), road and drainage improvements according to the other campers.

But what really stood out was the people and relationships. It's a camp that could be mistaken for a "gay" campground, but really, it's a "be yourself" campground. A place where the fundamental rule is "live and let live". It's an ethos that I think used to be more prevalent, and one we should strive to bring back; I think if you wanted to sum up the American freedom ideal in 4 words, those are the words. So, there are several gay seasonal couples at the campground because "live and let live" is not an attitude Queer folk can rely on in the everyday world. But there were also 2 or 3 straight couples, two of us travelling drop-ins for the weekend, a trans-cis couple that dropped in for a weekend getaway, and another person who dropped in to sun and swim for a while on Saturday.

I spent a lot of time talking with Cassidy, the other Trans gal. Age-wise she's older than me, and she far predates me in her involvement with Queer liberation. She is more recently transitioned though. This mix of perspectives made for some really interesting conversations; I found her putting into words the questions and thoughts that have been on my mind—sometimes ideas I haven't yet been able to put into words, but she did; other times thoughts that had not quite gelled; still other times she had different but insightful conclusions. I think I reciprocated on other issues, some of them the first time I've felt comfortable discussing them, especially with respect to the way the young Trans community does politics.

She was kind enough to offer me a ride into town when she was making a run to the general store last night (I went and got a burger), and tonight she made dinner (also a burger).

10. Lakewood Campgrounds, Swanton, VT

Overnight, I woke up to some light rain around 3 AM, so I got up and moved my bike onto the porch of a vacant cabin, then went back to bed.

Getting up around 6, I hit the road at 7:40. The rough road and steep hills to return to the trail required taking it slow, but once I was on the trail I booked it whenever the trail was worthy of booking it.

The first 16km (10 miles) or so were boosted by some nice downhill coming down off the mountain following the Lamoille River. Over the next 45km (28 miles), the river alternated between rapids and gentle slackwaters, which the trail matched by gentle downhills and flatter sections.

Phil, a drop-in cyclist at the campground, rode this route on Saturday, and reported on conditions and what to look out for. It was valued information that helped me decide where to stick to trail vs. roads for the first 40km (25 miles) or so, as opposed to just obeying all the posted trail closed and detour signs.

Beyond that, I didn't encounter any more closed sections of trail, but trail quality was inconsistent. Between Hyde Park and Jeffersonville I encountered several long "washboard" sections of trail, which were miserable or impossible to ride. Repaired sections of trail used a coarser, pea-size gravel instead of stone dust, and it is laid on heavier, making it harder to ride. And there were occasional surface washouts where I had to stop and walk the bike over exposed ballast stone.

Still, the trail was often nicely shaded, and there were a lot of pretty forested mountains along the way. I passed several sugar bushes, far larger in their collection areas than I've ever seen before. There was also a covered railway bridge—this wooden bridge carried trains over it.

At 55km mom and I met up. I ate the grinder she brought for lunch, then offloaded unnecessary gear into her car and continued on.

At about 60km I turned north at Cambridge Junction, leaving the Lamoille river valley behind and moving into flatter terrain with gentle ups and downs as it passed through several wetlands and a lot of rolling agricultural land. It was beautiful in a different way than the river valley.

There were more straightaways in this section of the trail, since it's not constantly bending to match the river and land contours. Much of it seems newer, and a lot of it's heavy on the pea-size gravel surface. Nevertheless, I persisted.

In East Fairfield I caught up with mom again at a food truck that offered ice cream. After that, she had to backtrack because of a flood-damaged road, while the rail trail went through.

At Sheldon the goddamn pea gravel relented. I met up with mom at Sheldon Junction, where the trail crosses the Missisquoi Rail Trail. After calling a campground and confirming our destination, we went separate ways. I had a straightforward job of following the trail. She isn't quite sure where she went, because she got detoured so many times.

I was approaching the end of the rail trail (like 24km/15 miles more) when she finally made it to the campground. I was supposed to take a detour in Swanton, but with 108km (70 miles) already down and 14km (9 miles) to go... well, if they were really seriously concerned about that bridge's safety, they'd put up more than a "bridge closed" sign, like a goddamn fence to keep people off it. I chose to take the risk, and I lived to tell the tale.

So, we're here at this campground on Lake Champlain. It's 14km (9 miles) to New York State, during which I believe I pass within eyeshot of the Canadian border.

Given the 126km day, and mom's childhood memories of this place, we're going to take a zero day here tomorrow and visit some of the places she remembers.

11. Ausable Point Campground, Peru, NY

Today was an 80km (51 miles) paved-road ride, leaving Vermont and crossing Lake Champlain on US-2, a crossing just shy of the Canadian border. There were a lot of pretty wetlands along with way, alive with cattails and wildflowers.

While crossing the bridge to New York, I could see an old stone fort positioned near the Canadian border. I assumed was a Canadian fort defending against us, but it turns out to be the US' Fort Montgomery defending against the Canadians. It was built between 1844 and 1871 after the Webster-Ashburton Treaty gave us the land, replacing the previous fort-start from 1816 that became known as "Fort Blunder" because it was a kilometer (¾ of a mile) into Canadian territory.

After arriving in New York, I started southward along the Lake Champlain shore, and quickly encountered a park and marina. I stopped for a rest, a wee, and a snack.

I headed south on the gently rolling terrain. I averaged an insane 20.8km/hour (13mph). There were some agricultural lands and many views of Lake Champlain.

Mom and I stopped for lunch at a bustling little restaurant in West Chasy, a town rife with apple orchards—specifically, Macintoshes.

After that I passed through Plattsburg, an early settlement that was important in the War of 1812. These days, it's home to SUNY Plattsburgh, one of the state universities, and probably the county seat.

Continuing south, I entered the Adirondack Park and went on to the campground, which is located on the solider ground among the wetlands that are the Ausable River Delta.

12. Meadowbrook Campground, Ray Brook, NY

Camping in the river delta last night, we were treated to all sorts of critter noises, often sounding like they scampered out of the water, found another animal that could be food, and then dragged it back into the water.

We also had some noisy human neighbors who started out chatting quietly, but got louder as the hours got later. I think one of our other neighbors finally spoke with them in the wee hours, and got them to wrap it up.

Today was 77km (49 miles) with a lot of uphill. The morning took me on some side roads and county routes, slowly climbing up from Lake Champlain. We passed a "Serenity Garden", a beautifully landscaped and planted garden on the side of the road, in front of some wetlands but not part of anyone's yard. Some of the rocks had been painted with memorial messages of people who have passed, but it wasn't limited to that—it felt like a place to meditate, or contemplate; a place where one could step out of the life's fast lane for a moment.

After that I started hitting a few steeper inclines until Black Brook. From there, Haselton Road to Wilmington started as a beautiful, narrow, forested road that gave way to some pastures and open land with beautiful vistas of the mountains as it followed the Ausable River West Branch.

In Wilmington, mom found an A&W for lunch; I had a burger and float. Then mom went on ahead to Meadowbrook, while I followed slowly up NY-86's steep ascents along the Ausable River.

In Lake Placid, I found the new rail trail and rode that to Ray Brook, where the campground is located. It is a nice trail, even as it's sad to watch the disappearance of the infrastructure of a more sustainable, more civilized manner of transportation than we have now.

I'm writing this in mom's car while a thunderstorm passes through. It looks like we may get a bit more rain overnight, but after tomorrow things are looking dryer.

13. Fish Creek Campground, Saranac Inn, NY

Today was a short 35km (22 miles) to Fish Creek Campground. I last stayed here in 2013, on my first walkabout. I wrote of the day:

Weather is being "Adirondack variable": doing a bit of sun through overcast skies, periodically making intimations of rain with a dark cloud, some wind and a few raindrops.

That seems oddly accurate for today: overcast skies with a steady wind from the southwest, and just occasionally a bit of sun. The wind makes the cool temperatures seem colder than it is, and for difficulty setting up tents.

I finished off the completed section of the Lake Placid->Saranac rail trail. After crossing NY-3 east of Saranac Lake, the trail was paved and ran past some lovely wetlands and the Saranac Lake train station.

After that I was on roads the rest of the way, although I saw the work in progress just off Fish Hatchery Road, where the trail's surface has been laid. It looks promising.

14. Day of Rest: Fish Creek Ponds

Mom and I have enjoyed our time at Fish Creek Campground.

In the morning I took a short bike ride out to Rollins Pond and around Fish Creek Ponds. Mom and I relaxed, played cribbage, took a nap. We thought about swimming, but it seemed just a bit too cool so we skipped that and got ice cream instead. In the evening, we took the cribbage board to the beach and watched the sunset over a game.

15. Lake Eaton Campground, Long Lake, NY

Today we moved to Lake Eaton, just north of Long Lake. Along my route, we stopped at a boat launch on Tupper Lake, where a playful dog was having fun retrieving sticks from the water. I also stopped and climbed the Buck Mountain fire tower, which has amazing vistas. (Note the area is forested, not a bald, so if you don't climb the tower you don't get the views.)

Our site at Lake Eaton is marginal, but the neighbors left early today and have bequeathed use of their sandy beach on a little cove to us. It's got a view to the west, overlooking the lake and the mountains on the other side. I'm looking forward to sunset.

Since there's a laundry just outside the campground, and I've been noticing I can occasionally smell myself, my clothes are washing as I write. Always a treat when my clothes stop smelling.

16. Day of Rest: Lake Eaton, Long Lake, NY

Today we stayed put at Lake Eaton, so mom and I rented a canoe and went paddling on the lake. It was nice to do something different, and for mom something I think she loves to do but doesn't have a partner that likes boating.

When we took the boat back, we went swimming, then afterward we drove into Long Lake and got some ice cream sundaes at Custard's Last Stand, then walked around Hoss's General Store.

Back at the campground, we played a few more rounds of cribbage, relaxed, and watched the sunset over the lake. It was really nice spending time with mom.

17. Lewey Lake, Lake Pleasant, NY

This morning, I parted ways with mom as she returned to Connecticut and I headed out on a hilly day over the shoulder of Blue Mountain and onwards to Lewey Lake.

It's too bad she didn't stay one more day, because this place is gorgeous. The beach has mountains stacked one behind another on the far side of the lake. My campsite is on the channel that connects Lewey Lake to Indian Lake, offering views of canoes, kayaks and wildlife traveling by as well as mountains in the distance.

My neighbors Jennifer and Ray allowed me to charge my widgets, and the other-side neighbor Mike let me stash my bike under one of his awning-tents during rain that came in the evening. So, all potential problems avoided.

18. Northampton Campground, Northville, NY

The channel at Lewey Lake was beautiful this morning, with ducks, a loon, and a deer with her fawn.

Today was more hills as I pedaled to Speculator, where I misread a map and gave myself ~4 bonus kilometers going down the wrong road to the diner. I made it eventually and had ham, egg and cheese on a biscuit.

Along the way I met a retired guy who is living out of his car, having been evicted for reasons I don't know. He seemed to be making the best of it, spending time traveling and camping in some of the free spots in the Adirondacks to keep his costs down. His car seemed nice, fairly new... he didn't seem stupid or dumb, though maybe a bit odd... so is he just bad with money, or is he a victim of the price-jacking going on as Blackstone and other Wall Street firms gobble up apartments and profiteer? Or maybe, when enough Boomers become homeless, the problem will eventually be taken seriously.

Anyhow, after Speculator I took Gilmantown road instead of NY-30 to Wells. It was more direct, and started with some up-and-down before becoming more consistently down. The final few kilometers on that road were all downhill, with good pavement so I could coast right along—though I still had to use my brakes a lot to avoid insane speeds as the road twisted and winded. It was fun.

At the bottom it was around noon as I rejoined NY-30 and headed south. I don't know how much was just the heat of the day and how much was lower elevation, but it seemed notably hotter heading to Northville.

I made it here okay, just hot. I mowed down a cereal bar and all my pretzels while setting up camp, then rode over to a place just outside the campground for ice cream. Next was visiting the beach; the water was pleasantly cool and I finally stopped feeling overheated. Then I came back and got my shower.

My friends Mike and Di used to live in Rochester but now live down the lake in Day, NY, so in the evening I rode back up to Northville (5km/3 miles) to have dinner with them. I even put on a fresh bra and cycling pants. We had a nice dinner at the Kozy Kafe in Northville. I got a salad with some meat on it, and we shared some BBQ boneless chicken. It was protein heavy, and I liked it that way, although I haven't had much roughage so the salad was delicious too. And it was lovely to see my friends again.

19. Rotary Park & Marina, Little Falls, NY

Possible rain yesterday evening never materialized, but there was some brief light rain at around 3 in the morning. I woke around 6:30, and seeing rain forecast through the day, lazed around in my tent until 6:45.

My original plan was to head to Saratoga Spa, but that's a group-only campground. So instead, I decided to head to the Erie Canal and go west toward home.

Getting on the road at 8:30, I headed south west, passed through Mayville and caught a bike trail in Gloversville. The trail took me around Johnstown and most of the way to Fonda. There was a lot of gentle downhill, and occasional spatters threatening rain. At the end of the trail, I checked my map, and as I did so the skies opened up. I put my pack cover on, turned my headlight and taillight on, and started riding again.

About a kilometer along I came to NY-30A, where I started hitting steeper downhills. Despite riding through the downpour, with a kilometer of it coasting down a hill in just a sports bra and cycling pants, I didn't get chilled. It was definitely a warm rain.

At 10:45 I stopped at a Stewart's in Fonda to get some lunch, but their bathrooms were "out of service" (well what do the employees use then?), so I forsook Stewart's in favor of Cumberland Farms, which also had chicken sandwiches and had a working bathroom. In my wet clothes, the air-conditioned environments in both restaurants seemed incredibly cold.

After eating my 2 chicken sandwiches, I crossed the Mohawk River and got on the Erie Canal Trail. The rain had stopped by then. I was surprised to find it paved—I'm pretty sure this section used to be stone dust. Montgomery County had a lot of signs promoting their bike-friendliness, so perhaps this is their doing. The trail was paved all the way to the county line, where it turned to stone dust for 8 or 10 kilometers (5-6 miles) then went back to pavement.

I got a second dose of rain approaching Canajoharie. I stopped at Lock 15 in Fort Plain to consider the free camping there, but it lacks showers and has only a privy. Looking ahead, Little Falls has a marina/campground that's got showers for only $20, so I pressed on the remaining 25km (16 miles) and through a third rain shower. I arrived and hauled my bike onto the porch as a fourth downpour started.

I think my new front fender is working okay. I still got drenched, but my cooch didn't feel like it had a firehose pointed at it, and my shoes didn't get nearly as waterlogged. My pilonidal dimple, however, is angry, though less so now that it's been washed clean in a shower and the area coated with zinc oxide. This is the first substantial on-road rain I've encountered this trip, so I'm doing pretty well.

I didn't expect to get this far today, but I'm glad I did. The park/marina is a nice place. There's a couple of Quebecian boaters docked here for the night too. The rains cleared up after dinner, and I've managed to dry most of my wet stuff down to being just damp, except for my shoes, socks, and seat. Everything in my Ortlieb panniers and Sea-to-Summit drybags is still dry, and even though the sun has set behind a hill, a nice breeze is continuing to dry the damp stuff.

20. Verona Beach State Park, Verona Beach, NY

I used earplugs to sleep last night, because in the lumberyard next to the park there was a semi tractor idling all night—some guy was sleeping in it. He left while I was packing up in the morning. Grrr.

The first 30km (20 miles), I had some tender raw spots from riding in wet clothes yesterday, and they were getting painful. I improvised a bandage with half of a handkerchief, and swapped between the two halves whenever the current bandage got soaked with sweat, while the free one was tied on my backpack where it would dry between uses. This made the rest of the ride palatable... had it not worked, I was considering stopping at Utica and seeing if I could take the train from there.

At 11 I stopped at Rosie's Oriskany Diner for a patty melt. The heat was getting bad when I got back on the road at 11:40.

The trail through Rome, NY is not marked very well, although a local who gave me an escort through said they had just opened a new trail segment, so maybe it's teething issues. Adding to that, Rome was hit by a tornado recently and they're still cleaning up.

The last span into Verona Beach was oppressive; I was glad for the occasional shaded bits. Once here, I set up camp and went for a swim, and felt human again. A shower after dinner was refreshing too. And tonight, Nature is calm and dealing a nice sunset.

21. Train 283, Empire Corridor, NY

After a pretty good sleep, I woke at dawn and walked to the restroom. The skies were a pastel blue with splashes of pink. It felt like the universe was saying, "Happy 30th Muffining Anniversary."

I rested a little more and when I got up later the skies were overcast. I packed up, said bon voyage to my French Canadian neighbors, and embarked.

The terrain was flat and I think I had a gentle tailwind, so I made great time to the Joseph F. William Memorial Park in Cicero, averaging over 22km/hour. I hung there for about 2 hours, getting in a rest, a snack, a swim and some reading. Around noon I changed back into cycling clothes and went to Liberty's Food and Fish Fry for a chicken parmesan sandwich and salt potatoes.

From there I headed to the train station, although that got interrupted by an ice cream shop in North Syracuse.

Continuing on, I ended up on a stroad that took me through a busy multi-lane traffic circle. I missed a turn after exiting so I cut through a residential neighborhood and ended up on a busted up, neglected bikeway that got me over the thruway. Some more busy roads got me into the area of the train station, and thankfully I recognized the area and was able to find my way there.

Cycling through Syracuse (and Utica's south end last year) really make me appreciate how okay the bike infrastructure is in Rochester. Jefferson Road and Ridge Road aren't great, and Lake Ave not much better. But the only real interchange-stroad-traffic nightmare we have is the mess around Mt. Hope/East Henrietta/I-590. These seem to be all over in other cities. Rochester is not Nederland, but generally, the conditions of our roads and bikeways in Rochester is a lot better than the crap they have in Syracuse and other US cities.

Anyhow, I made it to the train station around 2, before the rain started, then had a really long wait. I prepped the bike (putting away lights, dog spray, and air pump; loosening quick releases), then did some reading. At about 5 I took my stove outside and made myself some hot chocolate, as the waiting room was kind of cold.

The train was a little late, and we had a slowdown due to a malfunctioning switch, but we're cruising along now. The skies are clearing up as we head west, so hopefully I'll have a dry ride home when we get to Rochester.

I hope y'all enjoyed this adventure's pictures and my stupid adventures. I enjoyed exploring new places in New England, seeing some of my favorite places in New York—and finding some new favorites, too.

22. Reflections on this year's trip

The Erie Canal path is a nice resource, but it can get monotonous, especially sections I've ridden multiple times. Between St. Johnsville and Ilion there was all new-to-me path, the repurposed West Shore Railway right-of-way. Almost all of it is paved, and it's all low-grade (as in hill grades). It's lovely riding. I'm using it as a bike highway, but for another trip these could be the pleasant connectors between quaint villages where one could stop and explore the local charm and history.

The other thing that sticks out this year is climate change:

• The unbearable, unbreaking heat of the first few days (and the locals were happy because it was better than it had been before I started my ride).
• The extensive damage to Vermont's roads and bridges, and the rail-trail—some of it still awaiting repair from last year's storm, more a result of the storm a week or two before I came through, and I understand they got more torrential rains in the last week.
• Significant brush piles and tree damage along several kilometers of canal path leading into Canajoharie.
• Building and tree damage in Rome from the recent tornado.
• The days of smoke haze from wildfires out west.

We were told a lot of things about climate change. The ones who screamed loudest about the urgency were dismissed as Chicken Littles, and anyone who wasn't in a panic about the timeline was taken as evidence there was no urgency—we could take our time figuring it out and getting started.

And even now, as we watch Nature wreak havoc in a never-ending escalation of fucking our shit up... it seems like we're still wasting time arguing about it, about who is responsible and who should pay for it. If we spent as much effort doing as we did arguing about whether and what to do, we'd have more progress to show for it.

Congress missed the ball when it didn't take climate change seriously 35 years ago, and the rest of us missed the ball when we didn't take Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth to heart. A lot of people, I think, wanted something to see. And now that we have stuff to see... the changes that need to be made take years, so we're years behind where we need to be. We can't achieve change fast enough, not that we seem to be trying seriously.

Nature's onslaught is our doing, the outcome of our neglecting our responsibilities because we're lazy, cheap, and too obstinate to listen to subject matter experts, because every dipshit with an Internet connection and a web browser thinks they can be an expert in a few hours and a few clicks. The human race—and especially Americans— deserves every bit of retribution Nature is dealing us.

A. Cue Sheets & Resources

• Cue sheets: metric (km) or imperial (miles)
• Route sheets: metric (km) or imperial (miles)
• Route resources (campgrounds, bike shops and grocery stores)
• Calendar

B. Maps

• Boston, MA to Dover, VT
• Dover, NH to Swanton, VT
• Swanton, VT to Tupper Lake, NY
• Tupper Lake, NY to Rennselaer, NY