Pacific Northwest Trek Gets to Know Victoria, BC

Trekker Sunny has an update for us on the Pacific Northwest Trek's travels through Canada:

The longest day for the Pacific Northwest Trekkers ended us up in Victoria, BC, Canada. We biked 63 miles on roadways, horse paths, and everything in between, finally arriving at Hostelling International Victoria where we made quality quesadillas in the kitchen. We ended our day with an evening constitutional through the lively downtown. We stumbled upon a music festival on the water where we saw the closing act of the one and only Shaggy!

The next day we visited the Royal BC Museum and then saw the Pride parade as it bounced by outside. We went to lunch at a barbeque placed called Pig. The rest of the day, we spent exploring the city. For dinner, we got pizza and ate in the hostel, and then watched a movie together in the tv room. We then finished out the night playing cards. Writing this, we are on a ferry on the way to our next adventure on the Olympic Peninsula.

 

What a view!

Our Pacific Northwest Trekkers return to the US today for two days in beautiful Olympic National Park.

New York - Montreal Trek Explores Rural NY State

Trekkers Abie, Addie, Avery, and Theo collaborated on a description of day 7 of their Trek:

We had all feared today from day 1 of our trip, since it was going to be our longest-mileage day: 48 miles! About halfway through, we passed a barn, where we stopped to feed and pet some horses. We got back on the road, biking up and down some intense hills that left us thirsty by early afternoon.

We stopped at a house to ask if we could fill up our water bottles, and the woman who answered our knock let us drink from her hose, which poured out warm water that smelled like sulfur. . . but it did keep us hydrated.  Back on our bikes, we passed more farms and smelled at least a couple different kinds of manure.

We got briefly excited when Addie and Avery spotted some Target trucks, but it turned out that they were at a distribution center, not a retail Target we could go into. Our hard work paid off, though, because we got ice cream from Stewart's, a chain no one in our group had heard of before this trip. After that well-earned break, we only had a little farther to bike before we made camp at Moreau State Park and had dinner.

The Trekkers have a much easier day ahead: only 22 miles to get to beach and water fun at Lake George!

New England Shore Trek Visits Portsmouth, Newport, and Providence

Our lead New England Shore Trek got off the ferry from Block Island at noon, landing at Portsmouth.  Even with the short day, they found time to take a cliff walk and tour the mansions in Newport before biking to their campsite for the evening.

They rode the East Bay bicycle path and picked up a new friend on the beach:

They're now enjoying two nights in downtown Providence, exploring the city by bike.  Last night, they had a tasty dinner out at Kebab & Curry:

Beginning tomorrow, they'll be biking through Massachusetts for about a week, heading toward Boston!

New York - Montreal Trek Heads Up the Hudson Valley

Another New York - Montreal Trek is off!  They have fantastic weather today as they head to Croton Point Park to camp out and cook their first meal together.

Last night, the three Trekkers who came in from out of town met leaders Josh and Rachel for pre-night, shared a New York-style pizza, and took a walk around Times Square.  They played a game where each person had to describe Times Square in one word, and each word had to begin with the last letter of the previous person's word.  What did our Trekkers think of Times Square?  That it's chaos, superficial, loud, deafening, grande, exciting, gross, and smelly.

As they bike their 20-mile ride today, we hope they still have plenty of excitement. . . and leave the rest behind in New York City.

New England Shore Trekkers Head to Madison, CT

Another New England Shore Trek got started today!  They met up in Manhattan, took a train out of the city, and biked to Madison, CT for some beautiful overnight camping in Hammonasset State Park.  Tomorrow, they'll head to Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme.

Capital Times for the New York - Montreal Trek

The New York - Montreal Trek had a great time in Albany. Friday, they got in to town and went down to the plaza for the evening. They enjoyed some live music, had dinner, and watched the fireworks at the 4th of July celebration. Saturday, they visited the New York State Museum, had a picnic lunch in Washington Park, went out for Mexican food for dinner, and saw a musical performance at the park playhouse.

New England Shore Trek Waits Out Storm on Block Island

Tropical Storm Arthur kept our New England Trekkers on Block Island an extra day.  They relocated from the campground to a welcoming church and made a game day out of it.  Trekker Alex tells us,

This morning, we went to the donut shop on Block Island for breakfast. While we were eating breakfast, it began to pour.  The rain was awful, but we get to spend a night in a church, which is different but cool. We get to chill and hang out, which gives us more time to learn about each other -- so even though there's a big storm on the way, we're still having a good time.

They played giant Jenga (which apparently makes some spectacular noise when the tower falls), Scrabble, and other games, told stories, and stayed warm and dry.  The next day, normal ferry service resumed, so they came back to the mainland to continue on their way.

Originally, our New England group was scheduled for two nights at Melville Ponds Campground in Portsmouth.  They're spending one instead and biking on to Providence, just as originally scheduled. 

Pacific Northwest Trek Goes International

Trekker Teddy has an update for us from Vancouver:

Yesterday we traversed the border into Canada, covering 45 miles as we traveled into Vancouver.  Along the way, a stranger, Tracey from New Westminster, BC, talked to us about our trip and bought each of us gift cards to help us on our way.  We also received plenty of directions from other people on how to navigate the streets and bike paths to reach Hosteling-International of downtown Vancouver.  For dinner, we treated ourselves to sushi, teriyaki, and udon noodles at a Japanese restaurant.

Today, we slept in a bit since we weren't traveling far.  We went to Granville Island and explored the shops, which ranged from a public market full of fresh food to a store selling dragon-related items.  We also bought a challah since it's Friday! After heading to McDonald's for lunch to spend some of the gift cards we received, we headed to a beach at Stanley Park.  While it was cloudier than we'd expected, we enjoyed our time there, attempting to solve a crossword puzzle and burying Dan and Russell in the sand.

Tomorrow we will tackle our longest mileage day as we head to Victoria, BC!

Huge thanks to good Samaritan Tracey, wherever you are! 


Here's Monique putting the finishing touches (or handfuls?) on burying Dan and Russell in the sand:

And redheaded Trekker Anna, who knows karate, found a very appropriately labeled package of "Ginja-Ninja Ginger Beer":

We hope it was tasty, and we hope Canada continues to be a lot of fun for our Trekkers!

Block Island Treats the New England Shore Trekkers Right

Our New England Shore Trekkers started off their day in Block Island early and headed to the North Light lighthouse -- only to find it was closed!  They still got to see the exterior of this charming and historic structure, and then went swimming nearby on an absolutely gorgeous beach:

They biked the Clay Head nature trail:

And spent the afternoon in New Shoreham, an adorable island town full of coffee shops, souvenir shops, and ice cream places.

Tomorrow morning, they'll catch a ferry to Newport, RI and spend 2 days there before continuing up the coast.

New York - Montreal Trekkers Bike the Hudson Valley

Our New York - Montreal Trekkers are having a great time making their way up the Hudson River Valley.  They're getting good biking weather and bonding well as a group.

Two nights ago, they lived it up at a hotel in Fishkill, NY, with a pool:

The night in left them refreshed for a 32-mile day. They biked across the Walkway Over the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, a former rail trestle that's been converted into a stunning pedestrian bridge, 212 feet up and 1.28 miles long -- the longest bridge of its type in the world.

From there, they went on to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt House, where they toured the grounds and the first Presidential Library ever founded.  They hit a little rain on the way to their campsite for the night -- but it had been a hot day, so even that worked out all right.

Over the next few days, they'll head toward Lake George, into Burlington, VT, and then cross into Quebec!

NY-Montreal Trek Rides North Along the Hudson River

The New York - Montreal Trekkers had a nice ride to Croton Point Park -- just over 20 miles.  They saw beautiful scenery, fixed a flat tire together, and shared a gallon of ice cream to cool off in the afternoon. 

For dinner, they cooked up some delicious red bean quesadillas.  Everyone had a shower, and then they explored the campground and told ghost stories around a camp fire.

New England Trek Does the Mystic Aquarium

The group got an early start and headed for Mystic, CT.  It was a warm morning with plenty of hills, but the group pushed on and did their miles.





They had a few options for activities and elected to spend the afternoon at Mystic Aquarium, petting live Cownose and Atlantic rays -- as you can see below -- watching beluga swim, and generally having a great time.

The Trekkers are already becoming pros at fixing flat tires -- they had two in one day!

Next, they're on to Block Island for two beautiful days of beach fun and some of the nation's best bike paths!

Pacific Northwest Trek Climbs Mount Constitution

Our Pacific Northwest Trekkers had a big day -- or at least some big hills -- and they really rose to it!  Here's how Dan described day 5:

Break Day! After biking 25 miles yesterday, with the MOST ANNOYING HILL, we made it to Moran State Park on Orcus Island (part of the San Juan Islands), surprisingly in one piece. After setting up tents and eating delicious sloppy joes and brownies, we sat around the campfire and told stories of our childhoods: gerbils in RC cars, purposely lighting hair on fire, and accidentally calling 911 on a fake firefly cell phone. 

David made a great video capturing the bikers' reactions to that all-capsed MOST ANNOYING HILL:

More from Dan:

Today, we woke up late, and the guys made the most delicious breakfast we've had: eggs and bacon! Then, we biked up to a hiking trail (on a somewhat less annoying, but still pretty annoying, hill). We hiked up this steep mountain to get to the summit. There, we ate lunch, climbed up a castle tower, and enjoyed a wonderful scenic view that included Mt. Baker.

In addition to sloppy joes, our Pacific Northwest Trekkers got to enjoy another campfire classic, s'mores:

Tomorrow, they'll be crossing into Canada, making their trek officially an international adventure!

New York - Montreal Trek: Off and Running

Our New York - Montreal Trekkers are on the road!  They're riding to Croton Point Park today, on a peninsula in the Hudson River.  They'll camp out and cook their first meal together!

New England Shore Trek Has a Great First Day

Our New England Shore Trekkers are cruising up the east coast.  Here's how their first day went, in their own words:

We rode 9 miles, and after that we went to the beach, went on to Pride Rock, and checked out some cool places – the observatory and the nature center.  It was really fun.

-- Alex

We rode our nine miles and went to the beach.  Then we chilled out at the campground, and we swam a bit in the ocean – that was really fun.  And I cooked beef.

-- Jonathan

 Jacob and Alex pose with a giant shell at the nature center.

Feeling triumphant on top of Pride Rock!

They'll be in Rocky Neck State Park soon, and then on to Mystic, CT.

New England Shore Trek's First Day

The New England Shore Trek started in New York City early this morning.  After a train ride to Guilford, Ct. the group got to know each other, made final bicycle adjustments, talked about bike safety and then hopped on their bikes for their first days ride to Hammonassett State Park.  Later today, they'll take a swim at the park's beach and then cook an amazing first dinner over their camping stoves!

Pacific Northwest Trek Reaches Deception Pass

One of our Trekkers, Sarafina, describes the group's day: 

On this fine Saturday in the Pacific Northwest, our group of eight trekkers made their way across Whidbey Island from South Whidbey State Park to Deception Pass State Park. Along the way, we passed valleys full of wildflowers, barns, and animals, backed by views of the Puget Sound.

We stopped for lunch in the town of Oak Harbor and had scrumptious strawberry rhubarb pie from a local market as a dessert. After that, we continued on to Deception Pass State Park and upon our arrival, experienced a brief sun rain shower. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach skipping stones and relaxing.

Russell tried out a new bike.

The group had a great time biking around beautiful Whidbey Island.

Leader Monique showed everyone how it's done: skipping stones on the shore of the Puget Sound.

 

Next, it's on to Orcus Island and Moran State Park!

Meet Our Leaders: Josh Hawthorne-Madell

Hey, Teen Trekkers!  I'm Josh, from Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY, and I'm ready to explore the country with all of you.  I used to be a Trekker myself, and I'm excited to show you why I had to come back for more.  I've always had fun bike touring.  Every time, biking introduced me to new challenges, new people, and beautiful scenery.


A little about me: I love hiking, camping, biking, meeting new people, and reading; and I like eating ice cream, swimming, writing poetry, and playing frisbee, soccer, wiffle ball, and video games (playing any game, really). Other than the meaning of life, I usually like thinking about artificial intelligence and evolvable robots, as I'm currently working on my cognitive science degree at Vassar College.


I've had great times counseling at a nature camp and helping manage youth sports, but I'm confident that these trips are going to be much more fun.  I can't wait to get on the road!

First Day in the Pacific Northwest

Our Pacific Northwest Trekkers are on their way, getting to know each other, exploring Seattle, and getting pumped to bike up the Puget Sound and, eventually, into Vancouver, British Columbia.

Last night, the teens assembled bikes at the Green Tortoise Hostel:

Leader David Suitts says the hostel is "a paradise for bike tourists. Bikes line the walls and we've already met two other groups touring the west coast."  They're across the street from Pike Place Market, a foodie's dream with samples galore and tons going on.

Seattle isn't just a great city, but a great, bike-friendly city, and our Trekkers are having a fantastic time seeing it on two wheels!

Meet Our Leaders: Jake Hicks

Hej Hej! My name's Jake and I'm from near the Thousand Islands in Northern New York, about 13 miles from the bridge to Canada.

Moving by bike has always meant a lot to me, combining freedom and agency with the thrill of speed and a constant change in space (and time, if you know of Einstein's theory of relativity). To me, there is no better way to find, learn, or experience a place than to bike it, and no other way is as much fun!

When I'm not riding, I like to learn about other cultures, read critical theory, work on challenging projects, and experience as many different people, places, and things as possible. I love dancing, mountain biking, driving, visiting museums, going to film screenings, and exploring unknown places.

I've worked with teens in many different settings, including transitional homes, after school programs, college dorms, and a number of regular discussion groups. I love the perspectives that teens have; I feel they are often more honest to their feelings and experiences than those of us who have had more time to close some of those passages. This, and the enjoyment I get from guiding people into learning new things has led me to Teen Treks where I will experience the road and all that it brings alongside all of you!
I'm excited to meet ya'll and get rolling!