Stage I of the East Coast Tour

Leaving Monday, June 25th with Dan Buttrick from Florence, MA.

Brett left Florence this morning on his bicycle (tricycle?), his big bag of stuff, and me, Dan Buttrick (although he wasn't carrying me as he was carrying everything else).

We left at 7:07 and biked together as far as Westfield, where we parted. Brett, bound for amazing, incredible adventures of Fun was in super high spirits, with the sun on his left and the breeze at his back, and he laughed the whole way.

I, bound for my office and chair under fluorescent lights, laughed as well, since his excitement was infectuous!

Good luck, Brett!

11:00 A.M. UPDATE: Thanks, Dan! So, after a wonderful start with Dan this morning, I have continued on as far as Granby, CT. I'm using a public library computer terminal. Thanks to both my excitement to finally be on the road and Dan, I started this morning perhaps faster than I ought to have. I averaged about 15 miles per hour while on the bike this morning. I'm tired, but confident, and I'm almost half way for the day.

On Routes 10 & 202 in Granby, I saw these really great painted horses! Apparently, they held a charity auction with many beautifully painted horse statues back in November, 2006. I saw two including Nasturtium. To see pictures of Nasturtium (or others), go to http://webshots.com and search for "Nasturtium Megaffin" as Megaffin is the artist's name. Or just look at a bunch by searching for "Granby painted horses."

Thanks for everyone's support and kind words! Thanks to Dan for his gift of a companion for my ride: Django (I named him later) the little plastic monkey. Django is green and rides upside down on one of my front cable housings. I think I'll munch some food and be back on my way!

4:45 P.M. UPDATE: So, if you were thinking the afternoon would be as much a breeze as the morning, think again. Heading West from Granby is rough, to the tune of 45 minutes of solid uphill. Oof. The rest of the ride West since then has been a mix of ups and downs, but with several other very serious climbs.

Also, why did no one tell me a heat wave is hitting the same day as I'm leaving? I've heard tomorrow will likely be hotter. I'm fine, though I just about ran out of water in Barkhamsted, CT. Yep, "Barkhamsted." I think that takes the cake for funniest name so far. When I stopped for lunch, it was at the bottom of a really nice downhill section, at the Farmington River. After lunch, I took a nap. After the nap, I went swimming. My goodness, it was cold! I'm not usually too affected by cold water, but this was indeed more than chilly. I couldn't make myself stay in the water more than a couple minutes, but the dip did help.

The most noteworthy happening of the afternoon (so far) is that a vulture seemed to be circling while I was climbing a particularly difficult hill. I pedaled faster.

The other nice thing that happended this afternoon was that I met a very nice man named Jim who I caught up with just after I turned onto Route 44W. It took me a mile to catch him, and then we biked for a while together and he was nice enough to let me draft for a while.

LAST UPDATE: How much do you think it should cost to rent a spot to set up a tent? I think that campgrounds are serving a completely different market than I am in. I refuse to pay $40 for a tent site! I was a little nervous turning down Plan A for a place to stay without a solid Plan B, but have no fear: it worked out amazingly well.

After I angrily passed the campground in Canaan, NY, I stopped at the food store to buy dinner and breakfast. I also figured it would be my best hope of finding someone who was willing to let a stranger camp in their back yard for a night. I hung out in front of the store juggling and making conversation as much as I could, and I munched on my dinner. One woman waiting for someone in the store asked if she could take my picture. She proceeded to take a few pictures of me. As her daughter arrived to make a clean get-away, we were saying good-byes, but I mentioned I was looking for a back yard to stay in. She said hers was four miles away, but I was welcome to it. I was elated. I think I was nearly unbelieving, as I asked her to repeat what she had said. My charm and courtesy worked again!

As it turns out, Darleen's house has a beautiful setting, and only a mile and a quarter off my route! I went to sleep almost right away after setting the tent up. I started the break-down procedures around 6:30 A.M. and found a gallon of water sitting there for me as well. Nathan (Darleen's hard-working son) probably left it for me. Awwww! I left a note, $10, and my best thank-yous. That's the kind of act that I hope to be able to pass along or pay forward someday.

Total Stage I Distance: 71 miles

Stage Time On Bike: 5 hours, 45 minutes

Total Stage time: 12 hours

Total Trip Distance: 71 miles

Net Elevation Change: +???

On to Stage II

Back to bike travels

Back to Brett Constantine

Check out the libraries I've used--I love libraries!