Almost There

I have two very beautiful cats. I used to wonder if I the reason I thought they were so attractive was because they were mine and I was used to looking at them everyday. I arrived at my old apartment tonight, where my cats have been residing in my absence. I was taken away by Bonanza’s playful face. Nickel has a more serious and mature look, but just like Bonanza he is breath taking.

It is hard to believe that I am in Vermont right now. It feels like I have only been gone a few weeks. I plan on taking a day off, and working tomorrow, and then riding again on Saturday. Unfortunately I am going to miss the Charlotte tractor parade again this year. If my calculations are correct I should be in Maine on Monday or Tuesday.

Since I last blogged I have found a new pair of parents, Dale and Linda. They live in Ohio. I met Dale on a bike path and he led me to bike shop. As usual I was in desperate need of spoke repair. Once my repairs for that day were complete we rode together for a while, and he invited me to his house for lunch.

When we arrived at his house Linda, his wife, was waiting and lunch was ready. They rode cross country in 2001 on the Southern Tier trail with a bike touring company so they understood my huge appetite. In fact when it was time to leave Linda packed bags of food for me to take along. They were great hosts- unfortunately my own parents feel they have too much invested to hand me over to another couple.

The night before I met Dale and Linda I was invited into another Ohio house where I was also treated very well. Before I got to Ohio I had mentally prepared myself for a blah state, but the people in Ohio proved to be wonderful, and the riding in Ohio was also much nicer than I had anticipated. Once I got to the great lakes I almost felt like I was in a real coastal town, by real coastal town I mean a New England coastal town. Since then I have been surrounded by great landscapes. It is grape harvest season in Pennsylvania which was amazing to see, and smell. From there I transitioned into autumn in upstate New York. Riding through the Adirondacks today was incredible. I am curious to see what Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine look like from the seat of my bike.

I have spent a lot of time at bike shops this past week, which really means I have spent a lot of money at bike shops this week. Spokes break far too often. I also had to have a new chain put on my bike. There were a times this week when I felt like things were such a mess that it would be best to take a bus to Vermont and finish on my back up bike. Hopefully that is all behind me now. Even if I have to walk to Maine carrying my handle bars and front tire I am going to finish. After all my real parents are waiting for me in Maine with cold glass beer in hand.