Day one

07/10/09 - What a great first day we had. So much happened that I doubt I’ll be able to relay it all. Fun things started immediately. We had just barely gone 15 miles when we were flagged down by a guy in a pickup truck who identified himself as a reporter for the Rutland Herald newspaper. He said that we would make a good photo for the Outdoor page and asked permission to use our photos. After we explained our trip a little bit he decided that we would be a good story so he gave us his card and asked us to call him when we got to Michigan so he could interview us. Very nice gentleman, so apologetic about holding us up, although we did not mind in the least. It was funny because when he first pulled over and got out of his truck, he said “can I talk to you guys about something?” and I was thinking “oh boy, here comes our first confrontation. But it turned out to be the opposite.

Our next interesting encounter occurred while we were waiting for the ferry to cross Lake Champlain. I was reading a historical marker and Marc was talking to a woman. When I turned around I saw that she was on a loaded touring bike also. Turns out that Nancy was on her way home from riding across the country twice and up or down each of the coasts. About 9000 miles into it so far and headed to her home in Ohio to celebrate her 50th birthday on July 25th. After the ferry ride we ended up having lunch with her and swapping some stories and then we headed on. It was nice to talk to such an experienced touring cyclist. I will say, however, that she was definitely ready to be done with the trip, especially after riding in the weather we have had the last few weeks.

The riding was good today too, with little wind, warm temps and sunshine. We managed about 65 miles before stopping at a nice campground that even has warm showers (but no wifi.) The best part of the campground though is a really cool waterfall that we walked to and hung out at for a while. There were lots of smooth rocks to lay on and they were warm from the sun all day. I even found a really nice place to do some stretching. We took some photos of course.

And now, even though it’s only 8:30, I think we’re about to call it a night. The mosquitoes are starting to attack and we are pretty tired anyway. We couldn’t be happier with our first day of the trip. If every day was like this I don’t think I would stop at Michigan.