10 Bikers, 55 Days, 3600 Miles; 1 Awesome Country to Cross

Ten weary yet jubilant Across America Trek bikers arrived at Coney Island in Brooklyn to dunk themselves and their bicycles in the Atlantic Ocean at 6:15 p.m. on August 18th, They finished a 3600+ mile journey that began 55 days earlier in the Pacific coast town of Seaside, Oregon. Averaging 70 miles per day and maxing at 112 miles on the second to last day these bikers completed a personal accomplishment like no other. The mob of parents, friends, and family members celebrated with the bikers on the Coney Island Boardwalk until dusk. It was a great finale to a fun and challenging adventure.

MC-A6's Garrett Solomon's Words from the Road

8/08/2010
We awoke to the whistling of a guy named Chucky. Chucky was someone who lost both of his sons to heroin over doses and decided to take a stand. So now he does anti drug talks at schools. In addition to this he videotapes himself taking a dip in the ocean everyday. We decided to join him. (go to Chucky'sfight.com and look at the video dated 08/09/2010!!!) After we took the dip we rode around the town on our bikes. At around noon we were ready to begin riding. We rode and stopped at a diner for a delicious lunch (and air-conditioning). After lunch it was time to hit the road again and before we knew it we were pretty close to our camp site, we quickly stopped and had really good pizza for dinner. After that we rode a little bit more to our campsite. We unpacked our stuff and then jumped in the pool where we had our nightly discussion about the day. After our swim in the pool we were all ready to go to sleep and after a quick campfire which was a great way to end our fantastic day we all went to sleep.

NYM-J26

After leaving Albany, we pulled into Schuylerville, NY and we were
greeted by a festival across the street from the camp ground that we
intended to stay at. Festival was complete with blue grass music,
carnival rides and foods, and the whole town out and enjoying
themselves at this "Turning Point" festival, celebrating an important
moment in the Revolutionary War. After getting dinner we were
approached by the Mayor of Schuylerville, let told us we could camp
out in the park right next to the festival and enjoy the fireworks
right above our heads.
We headed out the next day to Lake George, riding along bike trails
most of the way made for a nice ride with several historic sites along
the route. By the afternoon we arrived in the quaint tourist town at
the south end of Lake George. Our campground was right along the
water and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of souvlaki. The following
day we started out early with a breakfast buffet and boarded the
Mohician 1908 steamboat vessel and shipped off for the north end of
the lake where we got off and continued our day on our bikes. Later
on in the day we took a ferry across Lake Champlain into Vermont and
we camped at D.A.R. state park.
Taking off in Vermont we followed the Lake Champlain bike route, which
was a great ride with beautiful views all day and sunny skies. We got
into Burlington surprisingly early and took a short tour of Church
street and checked into the camp ground early with plenty of time to
swim at the beach. A collective effort towards dinner led to our best
yet, chili!
Continuing north on the Burlington Bike trail, we were led to South Hero Island, VT and from there crossed Lake Champlain once more back into New York. We rode most of the way to to boarder and camped out in Chazy, NY; 10 miles from Canada. With an early start we made it through customs and into Canada, and immediately became confused by the French road signs. The temperature seemed to drop as soon as we crossed the boarder and by this morning everyone was happy that is was our last night in tents.
Needless to say, we have made it to Montreal and are currently enjoying our freshly showered selves in the Youth Hostel.

NE-J24 Updates

Greetings from Providence, RI! We spent the past two nights outside of Newport, RI, and on Friday we rode into town to see the sights. We toured a bit of the Cliff Walk, with the ocean on one side and Newport's famous and enormous mansions on the other! We then took the scenic route down to the beach, where we enjoyed some perfect weather, refreshing swimming, and beach games. On Saturday we woke early and rode here to Providence, where we're enjoying our last stay in a hotel until Boston. In the early evening some of us headed out to the lawn in front of the State Capital building to perfect our Frisbee skills, before wandering around the downtown waterfront area. We stumbled upon an artists' market in the park, as well as some live music, before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Afterwards we strolled back down to the waterfront, where we caught a glimpse of the "fire water" evening, in which baskets of fire are floated down the river while the Providence orchestra plays in the background... and soon it's off to bed before heading into Massachusetts tomorrow!

New from NYM-J26!

Starting from Tuckahoe, New York this trip begins with a nice
easy bike path heading north. By the end of lunch everyone was pretty comfortable with each other and we were all pretty excited about our next two weeks together. At the end of the path a very nice man stopped to talk to us and was kind enough to lead us through town. Things such as food committee were new to us, but we all worked together and had adjusted well. Camping was new to some of us and to others its just the great outdoors. Having a tent-mate is also a new experience. But its a nice way to get to know that one person a bit better than everyone else. After biking all day sleeping is no problem, we all sleep quite well. In the morning we pack up camp and its on to the next days adventure. The trip so far has had its fair share of nice highlights. Seeing the FDR house in Hyde Park was interesting and a must see thing. In Poughkeepsie we biked across the largest pedestrian bridge in the world, which was an old railroad bridge recently converted. The bridge was 1.25 miles long, around 500 ft high, and had an amazing scenic view up and down the Hudson River. Every chance we get to swim is refreshing, we swim every chance we get. On the third day we biked through Germantown. It was a rural area of mostly arms that was simply beautiful in its lack of development and free space. For most
of us who are from cities and suburbia it's a fresh sight into how other people live. The next day after eating breakfast in Hudson at a park on the Hudson River we stopped at the local Salvation Army station to use the bathroom. We ended up unloading an entire truck of food and supplies to feed those in need in the area. That left us all with a good feeling of helping others and giving back. Today in Albany we got a tour of the NYS Capital. The building is one of a kind in its architecture and style. With the numbers it cost to make that building its no wonder New York is in a bit of debt. So far the trip has been just fun and adventure. Whether its riding along the Hudson or stopping to see the state capital this trip is certainly one worth making.

C & O Trek, end of the road....

Everyone woke up early and energized today knowing it was our last day of riding on the C&O Canal. We biked along the Potomac and bounced over fallen branches until we reached Swain's Lock at which point we said our final goodbyes to the canal and headed for pavement. Despite the hills it was wonderful to be off the gravel and back on real roads. We had an awesome lunch of specialty sandwiches at Bradleys Food and Beverage Store in Bethesda, MD, then finished off our ride, arriving at Leader Nate's house in the early afternoon. Tired from the culmination of 12 days of riding we relaxed on Nate's front lawn and played word games. After a restful afternoon we mounted our shockingly lightweight bikes and road into Silver Springs where we saw the movie Inception and then went out to dinner at Noodles and Company. We look forward to three days of museums, monuments and strolls on the mall in D.C.

Update from NE-J24

We've had a nice couple of days on Block Island! After a long day of riding on Tuesday (38 miles!) we made the ferry in the late afternoon and got to the Island in time to cook a good dinner and sit around for a campfire and 'smores Tuesday night. Wednesday was a much needed day to relax, and the weather cooperated beautifully! We spent a few hours hanging out on the beach, checked out the town, and saw an action movie (Salt) at night! Overall a very nice and relaxing day on the Island. Today is threatening rain, so we're hanging out around the town until the ferry scoops us off to Newport, RI late this afternoon. On we go!