Newark, New York

We are on our way and heading east through New York. We've found this cool route called New York Bike Route 5 and it keeps us on roads that have wide shoulders the whole way to the city. Its been nice to not have to dodge side mirrors or risk it on the super highways. We made it out of Niagara Falls losing only a little money at the casino and headed into the states. The moment we stepped into New York the sky cleared and the air dried up a little bit. We have already met some real friendly people.

But actually, on this whole last leg of the trip we have hung out with and stayed with some amazing folk. In Owen Sound we were slowed by a tornado some 30 miles south of us, and as a result we met Nick and Brad. Two school teachers from the area who were absolutely awesome. We shared some drinks, had some laughs, and ended up sleeping on their lawn. They also treated us to an excellent breakfast the following morning, thanks a lot for the hospitality and good times guys. We were also lucky enough to happen upon a town totally saturated with friendly people, Holstein was the town, and we came through just as the Farmers Market was going on. They forced us to accept, loads of cookies, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and bike repairs all for free. Martin, the local bike mechanic, even invited us for lunch but we unfortunately had to decline for the looming clouds suggested we get the heck on our way.

The end of the trip is in sight, we will continue to follow this bike route along the Erie Canal. We have at least two places along the way where we know we will be able to stay with friends and family. Then into the city and onto the couch. Looking forward to some hardcore veg time.

Tornado Damage in Durham! We were supposed to camp there that night...



Checking out the Erie Canal.

niagara falls new york

back in the usa.... final state.. final stretch... niagara falls was way more vegas-like then we had imagined... on our way to the ocean now less than 500 miles to go.

Pictures

Owen Sound, Ontario

We are making our way south, and have landed in Owen Sound. A cool little town right in Georgian Bay. We've found a library here in town which is great because it not only offers us internet but also a little warmth and cover from the wind and rain. Today was a blast, yet it was a little on the soggy side. We rode about 35 miles in a complete downpour; shirts made no difference and a jacket was too hot, so the whole way we were topless. With lakes in our shoes the size of Superior itself we made it to Owen Sound in time to catch the bike shop for some repairs right before it closed. We just ate some awesome Gyros from this little greek shop which were absolutely delicious and combined with the recent ferry ride we took, sent us right back to the time we spent in Greece. The ferry we took was from South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island to Tobermory. We camped the night before about 50 miles away, and the ferry left at 1:30. Our ride that day felt like a race against the clock. We started out riding at a normal pace, but as the time of departure got closer and closer we began to feel the presssure. The last 15 miles of the ride were an all out sprint, Nico finished first getting to the port at 1:10. Calen was about 5 miles out when his chain jumped off again, shredding more spokes. This time not nearly as bad as in Nevada. He was able to limp the bike the rest of the way arriving at the port at 1:27 just barely in time to buy a ticket and get on. It was hectic.

The riding up here has been great, as Nico says though its the time at the end of the day when we get to camp, cook, and try to sleep that has been the hardest. Our biggest problems have been; the incessant mosquitos who never fail to join us for dinner at the camp, and the sauna like heat and humidity at night complimented by sporatic downpours. Its a weird sensation to be sweating like crazy while lying down as its dumping rain on you at 11 at night. All things aside though we have been figuring it out and have been having a great time. We have met some awesome people, Donn and Anne were a couple in Michigan who were absolutely too kind and cooked us delicious meals let us sleep on their lawn and provided us with tools to fix up our bikes. Recently Nico found this little book in a coffee shop on the free book rack called The Guns of Navarone by Alistair Maclean, apparently it was his favorite movie as a kid. We take turns reading it aloud, and it has now become a part of every lunch break and dinner prep. New York times describes it as "Thrills thrills and more thrills" and I would have to agree.

We dont have any cell service up here in Canada so our next post might be from the states. From here we keep heading south, Niagara Falls will be where we cross the border back into the US and then from there its east to the Hudson and south into Manhattan. We are excited for this final week or so of the trip and are predicting that we will be on schedule to hit the big apple right around sept 1. This should leave us plenty of time to hang out, see the city, and visit family and friends before starting our journey home.
Calen and Nico

Marquette Michigan

3000 miles!!! we have made it to marquette, michigan... stoked that we passed our 3000 mile mark .. stoked that we are back alongside lake superior and stoked that i finally got to shave (calen).... we have roughly 1000 miles left and are feeling great.. last night we camped next to Joe a guy who is walking from vancouver island to nova scotia... a real happy dude. we will post a pic of him soon.

Ironwood MI

we're out of wisconsin and into michigan! we spent some time on the southshore of lake superior and had a fantastic time. we met a wonderful couple (don and ann), also cross country tourists, who lived close to the lake and had a great evening and dinner with them... with sandwhiches prepared they sent us on our way. today we will pass into the new time zone and camp... two more states and one country is all thats left!

we made it to the ocean! ...nottt... looks like an ocean though. lake superior at duluth mn were heading to the apostle islands by tomorrow evening and the following day we plan to get some lake and cave kayaking in.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Hey Hey... we made it to Minneapolis and our stay here has been fantastic. We met up with some good friends (Angela, and Ben) and have been staying with them for a couple days now. We arrived in the city on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning Nico went to get his passport so that we can go through Canada. He got it and we are good to go. We spent a day today cruising around the city and seeing the sites with Ben. We saw Claes Oldenburg's spoon and cherry sculpture, we hit up a lake for some swimming and sun, got some delicious subs at Jimmy Johns, and ran a couple other errands (bike shops and what not). We also received an awesome care package from the parents and godparents back home full of delicious goodies and treats. Thanks John and Celeste thanks Mom and Pops. We have been getting real used to just hanging out and chilling out, but are ready to get back on the road. Today we biked a couple miles out of the city to another friends house of Angela, who lives right by a lake with a hot tub and the works. Its a real rough life. We realized we haven't posted in a while now, and we have a bit to talk about.

Busted Bike follow-up: In Rapid City after Nico totaled his bike we were fortunate enough to meet one of the most chilling dudes in Rapid, Eli. We were also able to stay with one of the nicest women in Rapid. Jean-Claire saved us, she let us stay with her for three nights and even let us drive her stylin' sports car. Eli from the bike shop was able to hook us up with a new frame through a friend of his, Ted, and then helped us totally strip and rebuild the new bike in his garage at no charge. Within two days from the accident we were back on the road and heading to the badlands. Badlands.... wow totally awesome. The prairie just runs on for miles and then all of a sudden drops out into these massive and phenomenal canyons.. awesome views and endless rock formations. From the badlands we charged through South Dakota completing back to back 120 mile days and made it into Minnesota to stay with Ron and Sandy, family of Nico. The two of them were amazing hosts spoiling us with plenty of food, hot showers, even our own rooms with comfy beds. We were able to spend some time with them and take a tour of their property on some ATV's and shoot some guns from their porch. It was quite a great a experience and we had such a blast hanging out with them. Thanks again Ron and Sandy for having us.

Tomorrow we are heading out of Minneapolis on our way to Michigan and to the great lakes. We haven't quite decided our specific route, but we are looking forward to whats ahead. Its pouring rain right now which is nice when we have the luxury of a house and hot tub, hopefully it blows over by tomorrow so we will have some good riding weather. We have about 1300 miles to go which means we are about 2/3 of the way through, with the final leg to go. New York City, here we come!!!