New York - Montreal Travels Along the Hudson

"Today was exhilarating. Sam woke us up bright and early. We started out the day with a couple of uphills as we made our way toward Hyde Park. Although we battled a head wind and unrelenting sun, we made it to FDR's house just before it closed. Our longest day of biking so, makes us ready for a good nights sleep." -- Tyler, Trip Leader

"Yesterday we got up early to get a head start for the very hot day. We continued through the Hudson Valley to the town of Hudson. While the previous days had "prepared" us for the hills we encountered, the ride was not any less challenging. We ended up going an extra 10 miles and we camped on the river in where some of us swam. We ended the night with a fun singing competition. Today we left our campground straight into more hills. After a few miles it leveled out into a flat road which was nice despite the lack of scenery. Just before lunch we arrived in Albany, ecstatic that we would be staying in a hotel. After lunch we went to the library and walked around town, relaxing before a day of real sightseeing the next day." -- Daniel, Teen Trekker

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Pacific Northwest Trek - Day 2 On the Road

"We covered the distance on our first day riding, traveling a total of 44 miles. We had hills and bike trails, but best of all, we got our first chance to ride on a ferry. We crossed over to Whidbey Island with great views of the mountains, Rainier looming in the south and Baker up north. So far we have an energetic group of riders, and we will only be getting stronger." -- Darcy, Trip Leader

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European Phantom Trek Cycles to See the Queen

The group assembled in Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport to begin our 28 day adventure through England, France, Belgium, & the Netherlands.  Bikes were assembled and we rode away towards the town of Windsor - Home of the Queen.  We had dinner at a Wagamama and fully jet-lagged retired early at a very nice Travelodge hotel.  Given the time difference, it was easy to get up early this morning and out to Windsor Castle to look for the Queen.  The castle was awesome, but no sign of her majesty.  By lunch it was time to hit the road and cycle west toward Salisbury and Stonehenge.  Tonight we are camping in Basingstoke and tomorrow we can look forward to the very nice Salisbury hostel with a great kitchen where we can try out our British culinary skills.

Pacific Northwest Explores Seattle

"After pizza in the park with most of the trekkers on our Pre-night evening, I didn't think that things were going to get much better -- luckily, our first day was a blast. We started off exploring Pike Place Market, directly across the street from the hostel, and then hit the road rolling. Group riding skills, road safety, and picking up some spare tubes were the most important things to cover on our outing in the city, and then we made our way to the neighborhood of Fremont. The troll under the bridge kept us company for lunch and we were lucky enough to get spots on the afternoon tour of the Theo Chocolate factory. A resounding YUM! is still echoing in my ears from that tour. Spirits are high (despite slight drizzle in the morning) and everyone is looking forward to heading out of the city tomorrow and getting some solid miles under our belts." - Darcy, Trip Leader

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Maine Coast is Cruising Along

“Today we learned about spokes and how to true a wheel. We decided to ride on a dirt road for five miles and we didn’t get any flats! Now we are at a park in town and were eating lunch and a nice lady from the bakery brought out 30 cookies for us. That was great! Having an amazing time.”  -Kenny, Trip Trekker

The group is doing very well these last two days. They are really starting to understand how to take of their bikes and what the great adventure of bicycle touring is all about. In spite of the rain all of the teens have amazing attitudes and most importantly are similing and laughing the whole way.

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Across America Rides With the Wind!

"For the last two days we have been riding through the Columbia River George.  We have been hopping between the Oregon and Washington sides whenever we hear of a nice back road or town.  This morning we cycled through the historic Columbia River highway.  Most people don't use it anymore since the faster highway 84 was build.  It makes a wonderful cycling route.  There are great views of the gorge and lookout points with historic information signs all along it.  We enjoyed cycling down the loops of the old highway after a long climb. As we went further east we ran in the vast wind farming operation.  There are thousands and thousands of them.  The gorge is windy and thankfully it blows west to east.  It's eerily silent as we cycle full speed because we ride with the wind.  Yesterday we ran into Multnomah waterfall almost by accident.  The falls are high and graceful.  The water is mostly mist by the time it gets to the ground.  We are in Rufus, OR now.  Tomorrow we have a long stretch to Hermiston, OR.  Everything seems to work more smoothly the more time goes on.  We go more miles.  The highpoint today I believe was the ice cream.  We found a truck stop with more flavors than I have ever seen." -- Jabcob, Trip Leader

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New York – Montreal Starts the Adventure

The group started from New York, NY and took a train up to Dobbs Ferry, NY where they got on their bikes and began their adventure. The weather wasn’t cooperating as they encountered a little bit of rain but the group is taking it in stride. They powered through and made it to the first campsite with tons of smiles and the beginning of new friendships. 

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Maine Coast Rides on its Stomach

"Yesterday we had perfect weather, our cooking crew made a really nice dinner; it was a chicken stir-fry and rice. We biked a lot yesterday we did 31 miles and everyone is doing great. We are all having lots of fun and everybody is happy. This morning we had a nice fire and we used it to cook our breakfast. We had really nice weather, it was like perfect temperature, but it started to rain for a little while and it just started to thunder so we stopped and had a pizza lunch. The weather is getting better so we are going to keep riding, everything is good!" -- Emma, Teen Trekker 

The group is pulling out of Hampton, NH this morning and is expected to cross into Maine any minute now. The weather is a little cooler than we expected, but it is making for great riding. Enjoy the ride! 

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Across America Trek says good bye to the Pacific

Across America Trek says good bye to the Pacific Ocean as they turn east and never look back. Smiles are on all the faces of the teens as they peddle those first 50 miles of the 3500+ journey. Riding a little north to meet up with the Columbia River the group has set their sights on Clatskanie, OR

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Across America Trek Meets on the Pacific Coast

Today  we put our bicycles together and practiced riding.  Everyone has really nice bicycles and gear.  I can tell they are taking this Trek seriously.  In the morning we cycled around Seaside, OR and talked about bike safety.  Around 4pm we decided to go on our first real ride.  Another town called Cannon Beach was 10 miles south.  That town was our goal.  Even  though it was a short ride it was a good test of our mettle because of the hills. Once in Cannon Beach we explored the town, got some fudge, and saw Haystack Mountain.  (It's a big boulder in the water)  Then it started to rain so we headed back.  We are looking forward to dinner; chicken strips, salad, and spaghetti.  Also tonight our group will be complete when David and Julia join us at 8 pm.  Tomorrow we start for real.  We will dip our bikes into the Pacific Ocean and head east through the Columbia River Gorge.  Only some 3,500 miles to go.  Everyone is in high spirits.  --  submitted by Jacob Brown - Trip Leader

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Maine Coast Trek Bikes to Winter Island on a Warm Day

A great day to begin the journey from Boston, MA to Bangor ME, up the Atlantic coastline.  The group started out with a few Trekkers in Boston, MA and then met the rest of the group in Lynn, MA.  For a few hours they played name games and other activities to get to know each other, talked about bike safety, and had a picnic lunch.  The ride to Winter Island was scenic, short, and not very hard for this group of well prepped bikers.  Tomorrow it's off to Salem, MA and the seacoast town of Gloucester.

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