Back in the USA!!!

Danby Quebec to Colebrook, NH (93 Miles)

The pictures tell the whole story for today. We are BACK IN THE USA! After eleven days of riding in the great nation of Canada, we are very pleased to have returned to the U.S. OK, so it took 93 miles to get here and so what if we spent most of the day climbing (much smaller) mountains. We are "home" in Notch View Campsite over looking a beautiful valley and mountains in the back ground. There is a picture taken from where the RV is parked.

Also shown in the picture is a very happy rider who has just left Quebec and has finally arrived in the state of Vermont. About five minutes later we took another picture of the welcome sign for our entry into New Hampshire.

Two more days of riding left, and tomorrow is shaping up to be a fairly short day, maybe less than 50 miles. We will ride to Hanover, Maine. Then Saturday we will finish in Portland. The tradition is that we will dip the front wheel in the Atlantic...and then go out for a Lobster Dinner!!!

The other big deal for the day is that Joe's brother and his family joined us at campsite tonight and will be with us for the duration of the ride. It is great to begin reconnecting with family and friends.

Coteau-du-lac, Quebec to Danby, Quebec…87 miles

For the third day in a row, Joe and I put in more than 85 miles, this time in the suburbs of Montreal. And frankly we did not get off to a good start. After riding for nearly five miles, we were right across the street from where we started. We were looking for the pedestrian and biking bridge across the St. Lawrence, a mighty river in this part of the world. Fortunately, Joe had taken French in college and knew just enough to get us the directions we needed to finally find the bridge.

Riding in cities (or suburbs) is hard riding…lots of traffic, noise and way too many decisions. We stopped numerous times to consult ride sheets and maps, and when that failed we would try to find someone with enough English to help us (and that was not easy to do in Quebec). I mentioned to Joe that Quebecans are as mono-lingual as most citizens of the U.S. Even though they are living in a bilingual nation where all the signs in other provinces of Canada are in both English and French, here the language is FRENCH, and that’s it. And very frankly, they don’t have much time for those of us who don’t speak French. Tough day for all those reasons.

But the real thing on our minds today is that we have only three days left. I can feel myself begin to transition from cross country bike ride to car trip home, to friends, and to work. I’ve been really trying to stay present and enjoy these last several days, but I find myself thinking more and more about the route home, stopping in Nebraska to see my mom and family, and a lot about the new truck I’ve purchased to bring home.

OK, so it is not really new. It is a 2003 Chevy S-10 Pick up…crew cab, etc. etc. We sold my car (The Subaru Forester) before we left Sacramento. Since we have Ginger with us, we could not easily fly home, so we decided that we would buy our new vehicle when we arrive in Portland. I kept looking on Craigs List/Portland, and finally found just what I’d been looking for. I called the people who were selling it and sent them a deposit for them to hold it for us. So Monday morning of next week, we will drive up to Richmond, ME to pick up our new/old pick up.

We will load up bicycles, dog, bags, etc. and start home…still anotherl leg of an amazing adventure.

But tomorrow we ride once again into the mountains. We will be climbing most of the day. And our mileage is again over 90 miles. Yikes…what are we doing? But by the end of the day we will have returned to the good ole USA, signs in English, and maybe wireless service that actually works. I’m at an Internet Café right now, and can’t seem to get on line at all. May have to send this tomorrow. My best to all of you and we are looking forward to seeing you all very soon!