A smooth day of riding in a valley, constantly pulling up and pushing down our Smartwool arms and legs to modulate our temperatures, we reached the top of the highest climb of the day just as the sun was setting. As we were pulling over to refuel at the top, Ryan's rear shifter cable snapped. Oh no! No cable means three gears, one gear in each of our three front rings. Reading a bicycle blog back in early 2010, Ryan somehow remembered a trick for the off chance of a cable snapping. How he can keep these tidbits in his mind is beyond me, but he did and therefore found a rather thick twig to jam in the derailleur for the ideal three gears. This trick made our downhill and flat section much more enjoyable.
We crossed our route in Rochester taken back in July, making our first true circle yet. What a difference from being at that exact spot a few months ago. Back in the July, the temperatures were so hot we could barely eat, consuming ice cream on a daily basis and relying on cones and sundaes as a main caloric intake. I remember stopping at this T in the road with high hopes of a shower to rid of the sticky sweat. Later that day we actually had two showers, one in the chilly river water 20 miles down the road and again that evening at the warmshowers home of Wally and Barbara (the people we had heard about all the way down in Southern Mexico and randomly stayed with months later). We have ridden many miles since we were last at this crossing and these few months feel like a lifetime ago, yet seem to have gone by with a blink of the eye. Time is rather irrelevant in our lives these days as we rarely have anywhere we must be, just waking with the sun and riding our bikes until we are tired. My stomach drops as I think of "have to's", realizing how important it is to appreciate every second we have left. How many times in life will we have this freedom? To travel wherever we choose without a destination or time frame? I wouldn't trade our motto of "No destination, no agenda, no timeline" for anything. I feel so relaxed and at ease just letting the day take its course.
We found a quiet camp spot down a closed walking trail just outside the town of Rochester, making for an easy ride to the same delicious place we visited for breakfast months ago. Once again we were not disappointed and oddly enough, Ryan remembered a bike shop in this small town where they happily let him in to use their tools to fix the cable. What luck to have this happen just outside of a town that we knew for sure there was a bike shop. It's all about the little things that make the greatest difference.
After leaving Montpelier, we planned on riding to Killington, a mountain town known for skiing and the outdoor lifestyle. Although we wanted to check out the town, the bicycle shop employees steered us down valleys and changed our route to head into New York. This route meant crossing only Brandon Pass and avoiding the four others going to Killington would require. Sounds great to us! The trees were just starting to change color and climbing 2000 feels like nothing anymore these days. Being weighed down with our gear, we ride slowly but what hurry are we in? The quiet road allowed us to chat and easily enjoy the blue skies and perfect crisp temperatures. What a ride!
We rode through a few college towns, picking up a bike path in Castleton. Thinking it would be easy to set up camp off the side of the path, we felt ok that we hit the trail after dark. Headlamps on and a single dirt trail in the grassy lane made for smooth riding but was difficult to see any openings in the woods. Riding for a good hour, the only possible camp spot had private property signs posted every five trees. We almost went against our rule and camped anyway, but my gut said to keep moving rather than upset a backwoods local. People who live in rural areas are sometimes there to get away from people and unless we are in dire need, I would rather keep moving. Crossing a main road, we saw a garage light on with two men standing inside. I turned toward their driveway, pulled up dressed head to toe because of the cold with a headlamp over my hat. I must have looked a bit odd thinking back on it. I smiled and asked the apprehensive men how they were doing and asked if they owned the farm across the road. He did own the property and although at first taken aback by our sudden appearance, he reluctantly said we could camp in the apple orchard. Thank you kind stranger! His nephew who had just moved there a few months earlier from South Africa took us up the hill to set up our tent overlooking the town of Poultney. A quick quinoa dinner and off to bed for a sound nights sleep knowing our presence was more or less welcomed.
We crossed our route in Rochester taken back in July, making our first true circle yet. What a difference from being at that exact spot a few months ago. Back in the July, the temperatures were so hot we could barely eat, consuming ice cream on a daily basis and relying on cones and sundaes as a main caloric intake. I remember stopping at this T in the road with high hopes of a shower to rid of the sticky sweat. Later that day we actually had two showers, one in the chilly river water 20 miles down the road and again that evening at the warmshowers home of Wally and Barbara (the people we had heard about all the way down in Southern Mexico and randomly stayed with months later). We have ridden many miles since we were last at this crossing and these few months feel like a lifetime ago, yet seem to have gone by with a blink of the eye. Time is rather irrelevant in our lives these days as we rarely have anywhere we must be, just waking with the sun and riding our bikes until we are tired. My stomach drops as I think of "have to's", realizing how important it is to appreciate every second we have left. How many times in life will we have this freedom? To travel wherever we choose without a destination or time frame? I wouldn't trade our motto of "No destination, no agenda, no timeline" for anything. I feel so relaxed and at ease just letting the day take its course.
We found a quiet camp spot down a closed walking trail just outside the town of Rochester, making for an easy ride to the same delicious place we visited for breakfast months ago. Once again we were not disappointed and oddly enough, Ryan remembered a bike shop in this small town where they happily let him in to use their tools to fix the cable. What luck to have this happen just outside of a town that we knew for sure there was a bike shop. It's all about the little things that make the greatest difference.
After leaving Montpelier, we planned on riding to Killington, a mountain town known for skiing and the outdoor lifestyle. Although we wanted to check out the town, the bicycle shop employees steered us down valleys and changed our route to head into New York. This route meant crossing only Brandon Pass and avoiding the four others going to Killington would require. Sounds great to us! The trees were just starting to change color and climbing 2000 feels like nothing anymore these days. Being weighed down with our gear, we ride slowly but what hurry are we in? The quiet road allowed us to chat and easily enjoy the blue skies and perfect crisp temperatures. What a ride!
We rode through a few college towns, picking up a bike path in Castleton. Thinking it would be easy to set up camp off the side of the path, we felt ok that we hit the trail after dark. Headlamps on and a single dirt trail in the grassy lane made for smooth riding but was difficult to see any openings in the woods. Riding for a good hour, the only possible camp spot had private property signs posted every five trees. We almost went against our rule and camped anyway, but my gut said to keep moving rather than upset a backwoods local. People who live in rural areas are sometimes there to get away from people and unless we are in dire need, I would rather keep moving. Crossing a main road, we saw a garage light on with two men standing inside. I turned toward their driveway, pulled up dressed head to toe because of the cold with a headlamp over my hat. I must have looked a bit odd thinking back on it. I smiled and asked the apprehensive men how they were doing and asked if they owned the farm across the road. He did own the property and although at first taken aback by our sudden appearance, he reluctantly said we could camp in the apple orchard. Thank you kind stranger! His nephew who had just moved there a few months earlier from South Africa took us up the hill to set up our tent overlooking the town of Poultney. A quick quinoa dinner and off to bed for a sound nights sleep knowing our presence was more or less welcomed.
Just watched you on The Square. Looking forward to reading about your adventures.
ReplyDeleteFrom a fellow Portlander
Thanks, Greg! I hope you enjoy reading of our adventures. 21 countries, 6 Canadian Provinces, 18 U.S. States and close to 30,000 miles. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thank you for taking the time to check this out.
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