Jerry asked me if I would go with him on a ride from New York across Canada. This would be my second bicycle tour and Jerry’s thirteenth. I had always wanted to go cross country on a bike and our trip to Miami was successful, so why not? We didn’t have a full and complete plan for our journey, so be patient as you read through our wins and losses. But that is part of the fun of journey.
A few basics before we go any further. Jerry looked at the New York Times weather map and thought going over the great lakes looked good. We had established some routines on Manhattan – Maimi (who gets what bed, who showers first, etc), so that was all sorted already. We also had gotten maps from Adventure Cycling, and not used them, despite how nice they were. So we felt like we should just do what we did last time, have an idea then use the smart phone to figure out the details. Personally I did zero research, and did not prepare physically. Additionally I decided to make this web sight and blog about our travels.
Our typical day starts with Jerry shower, we eat breakfast, I shower, check out, bike. We ride till we need water or a snack, it’s not a race, we’re not trying to prove anything, but we’re also not trying to smell every rose. It is the ride, with out killing ourselves. On the two trips I’ve done our day is usually cut to a time based on what town we’re coming to and when the restaurants close. After riding we need to check into the hotel / motel, I shower and wash my clothes, Jerry showers and washes clothes, then we walk to dinner. If the restaurants in town close at 9, we need to be checking in by 6:30, 7 or we will have our last bites of dinner masked by the smell of cleaning products. And of course the espresso machine is always turned off by the end of the meal. But this is just part of the experience. We get to hear people exclaim ‘Who eats dinner at 9 o’clock at night?!?!’
Jerry has been riding bikes seriously for thirty five years. Riding and training in and around New York city since 1983. Going for his first tour in 1984. Twelve tours, a few centuries, and a double century later Jerry retired from work this June. First thing in his new chapter is five rides, in five countries, in five years, across North America being the first. Jerry’s tours:
1) Australia
2) New York – Montreal, Canada
3) New York – New Market, Canada
4) New York – Atlanta
5) Paris – Italy – Marselle – Paris
6) Rome – Barcelona
7) New York – Pittsburgh
8) Madrid – Andorra – Marseille – Briancon – Torino – Nice
9) New York – Bennington, Vermont – New York
10) New York – Lake Placid – New York
11) New York – Burlington, Vermont – New York
12) Manhattan – Maimi
13) Manhattan – Astoria
Mike has a single track Bianchi and a tricycle. The Bianchi has toured around the world with Mike and different theatre companies. These tour stops allowed Mike to explore many cities around the world, however most of these trips where short in and around the city Mike was working. Therefore Mike has ridden in many cities in many countries around the world, but not as many miles or country roads as either of the two tours. The tricycle is a tadpole, with two wheels in front and a sitting area allowing Mike to ride his lady to work… on the rare occasion he’s actually home. Mike rode with Jerry from Manhattan to Miami, almost as a laugh, ‘we’ll just ride from your house to mine’. Somewhere along the way riding became way more then a fun way to kill a few hours in a foreign city.
1) Manhattan – Miami
2) Manhattan – Astoria
It all starts here.
Unless you’re the lead dog, the view never changes.
So get ready for lots of pictures of Jerry’s back.
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