Everyone is so excited we just don't know what to do first....

I'm not sure I was pointing to the New Hampshire sign or doing jumping jacks before it startes to rain

Andrew saying wait we are really in New Hampshire let's not do those jumping jacks because he and Brian are use to this weather - just like home in England damp and cold

Robert from France saying yes this is just like the English (Roast Beef) weather

I wanted to take these bears home with me but couldn't figure out how to get them all on my bike for the remainder of the trip

Ok I was really hungry. I told you I was so hungry I could eat a bear  

   Some of my bear riding buddies. Cliff wanted to feed the bears even though there was a sign that said "Don't Feed the Bears"

Herb had taken Robert's (from France) riding jacket that he always wore and fell in love with it. He liked it so much that he didn't want to give it back.

Here is Robert (from France) saying "Look at the riding jersey that I have to wear today! I want my French riding jersy back Herb or you will become dog meat.

Nay nay Robert I'm not giving your jacket back. I really like the way it feels  

   This was to be Herb when Robert got finished with him. But Herb was a fast sprinter and got away

Yup the Green Mountain State and by the looks at this sign "Very Liberal with Kerry Edwards signs all over it".

How did those Kerry Edwards stickers get there - it's a long way up to that sign! Someone had real long legs or arms

  Gary the first person on the left with his hands on his hips saying "No I will not ride any further until we stop at a cafe for coffee". Everyone is agreeing with him. Greg on the very right is riding ahead looking for a cafe or coffee shop 

   This is a beautiful view of the Vermont Mountains. BUT they are hills compared to the Mountains I have ridden over

We finally found a very nice cafe to have a coffee. This was a very nice cafe I'm sure that the dinners here were very Good

WOW my Mother would have loved to see this picture, she always told me about Grandma Moses school house and stories about Grandma Moses

  More Vermont Mountains (opps could be Hills) 

  After 50 days these Ladies Looked Real Good! 

Yup Robert (from France) thought so too. He couldn' wait to start kissing them. Afterwards he was worried that his wife would find out about this and he would be a "Dead Man When He Returned Home"!

Robert just didn't want to stop! Yup he's a Dead Man when he returns home! 

   Ok, so will Cliff and Bob be dead men too when they return home

 I'm falling in Love with the Vermont Lakes but who ate the apple and dropped the core on the road  

Gary and Brian saying "Stop with all the pictures of the lakes"

Cliff after a wild descent down one of those Vermont Mountains (ooppps I mean Hills) where the speeds reached 40 to 50 mph

Come on Bob, "We are not riding any further until we find another cafe or restaurant for coffee" 

  We finally made it to a nice restaurant called Dots. When I stood to take this picture I said to everyone "they all dress funny". No spandex on anyone but me and my fellow riders. But they all had a good time with us I got almost everyone to laugh a little  

Even this couple laughed even though they were not wearing any spandex

   Andrew doing his best Bear Pose

What a view, bet it's great after and during a snow storm

What wonderful shades of Green

 Turn left immediately 

  What happened to the left turn sign? 

This was a really cool covered bridge

Ok is this one of the "Bridges of Madison County" (remember the movie)

   A rusting train bridge that trains actually ride over, I wonder for how much longer?

   Another lake. I kept looking for my hammock along the shore line but never found it

Jane and Gene holding hands after 50 days of riding. They are best of friends as well as wonderful Husband and Wife. They were a real pleasure to be with over the past 50+ days. Would like to have them as neighbors - Hey Jane and Gene want to move to Montgomery County Maryland?

Our daily ride progress map indicating that we are getting close to finishing

This bridge really looks nice when a train goes across it in the morning

Another working train bridge. We are rode past several train bridges

A small hawk that tried to catch one of us while we were riding but we were way too fast

Neat old Fort Klock wasn't open when we arrived - too early before 7:30 am

Fort Plain and it's Churches

So many different denominations

A nice view of the Erie Canal and the Fort Plain ground sign

We MADE IT!!!  OOPPSSS Wrong Finish Line

We just could not resist 

Cliff got so excited and was yelling at passing motorist "I Made It"

I just couldn't stop smiling

Here we are again stopping at a local cafe for another coffee/tea and pastry

At this cafe the people didn't bother to notice that they dressed funny and we were the only ones who were wearing spandex

Another picture of the New York State beauty, the picture really doesn't do it justice

Cliff saying I need more coffee for these New York hills and when are we going to be riding on flat roads

 An Erie Canal Lock below is a little information about the Locks of the Erie Canal...

The Erie Canal rises 566 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie through 57 (originally 83) locks. From tide-water level at Troy, the Erie Canal rises through a series of locks in the Mohawk Valley to an elevation of 420 feet above sea-level at the summit level at Rome. Continuing westward, it descends to an elevation of 363 feet above sea-level at the junction with the Oswego Canal, and finally rises to an elevation of 565.6 feet above sea-level at the Niagara River.

The opposite view of the canal

Robert (from France) saying they remind him of France

Oh Robert - he was speaking in French and had these Ladies and another in the palm of his hand. There was talk of taking them back to France to live .... Let's see can Robert say "Dead Man" in French? That's what he would be if his lovely Wife found out about him!!!

This was a nice ski type restuarant we had lunch and where Robert's Ladies just finished lunch.

Robert wondering what PSIA Level the Ladies are and would those certifications transfer to France

We were going to borrow these and practice our Toe, Knee, and Nose ski stance to improve our balance for the upcoming ski season

Do they really ski like this in New York State?

We were waiting on our lunch before we went out to ski, oh I mean continue our bicycle ride

A bridge over another Erie Canal Lock there was a boat going into this one from the other side of the lock. I was so focused on it going in that I didn't take a picture

Another fun down hill we sped down and if you can read the sign it indicates that bikes should be walked down to lower level. That was for others but not us. It was a fun down hill but "WAY TOO SHORT"

Today was one of those days when we didn't have perfect weather. We began our ride in the rain and it rained all day.  I didn't take many pictures because I didn't want to ruin the camera.

We rode in to a town looking for a coffee shop or anyplace to find a warm cup of coffee/tea and guess what - it stopped raining. Then we saw this castle that looked like a big Church from a distance.

See it rained so hard that even this Church was surrounded by water.

Let me explain about this picture = we were riding in the rain and it wasn't raining real hard. But when I looked up the road we were riding on the clouds had opened up and the rain was pouring and heading right for us. We looked all around for cover and the only place was this old house. As we were throwing our bicycles to each other through the side wall the "DOWN POUR" reached us. But we had finally made it to cover. There was a discussion of the merits of staying inside this old house until it stopped raining but the decision was to forge on when the rain slowed.

The rain was just pouring out of Gary..... as he looked out of the back of the house  

Andrew saying in his best English "Bloody Hell" I'm soaked through to the bone!!

Cliff saying the same and letting the water fall out of his riding jacket. He looked like a Big Yellow Balloon with all the water inside his jacket

Robert had just finished emptying the rain out of his rain jacket and wanted to discuss the merits of staying or leaving when the rain slowed

There were other places  we took cover this day - one was alongside a farmers barn under the roof overhang. It was raining so hard it was raining sideways and we had taken shelter on the opposite side of the barn and rain.

Then there was the bar we stopped for an early lunch. We walked inside dripping from head to toe and creating puddles all over the floor. Everyone inside stopped what they were doing and just looked at us like we had just came from Mars! Not only were we soaking wet but I was freezing too. The air conditioning must have been set on MAX. But after a few minutes we began to say hello and talk with everyone we were accepted. Avoiding a "Deliverance" moment. After we had a nice lunch we headed back outside and once again the rain had temporarily stopped.