Internet at Last!

Ironically, in a country where technology is king, internet is harder to find than water. Right now I'm sitting at an wi-fi cafe in Binghampton, New York, with half of our group. A lot has changed since Brown. We've ridden a lot, we've ridden a lot uphill, and we're all tired. At the moment though, we're happilly plugged in and enjoying a few pitchers and fellowship.

Like I said, a lot has changed. We've passed through three states: Rhode Island, Connecticut, and now we're finishing up New York. I've kept saying that our definition of words like hill, tired, and hard will be evolving things. I can confidently say now that I'd never climbed real hills before this trip, that I had never been profoundly tired, and I had never done anything harder. I've also learned that Connecticut is a really hilly state, as are New York and Rhode Island. Thankfully Rhode Island was crossed in the span of a day, so those hills weren't so bad.

We've had great stays, with very hospitable hosts. One in particular that sticks out in my mind is Roscoe, New York. They were our hosts last night, after what was definitely our worst day yet and supposedly one of the harder days on the trip. Yesterday was a seventy plus mile day with some really nasty climbs. At least that's what our cue sheets said. What really happened was we got lost several times, the first of many being as we were trying to leave Poughkeepsie and just get out. The day ended up being around eighty nine miles, and instead of getting there at four like we were supposed to we pulled in around seven o clock. The hosts made it up to us though.

Even before an amazing potluck dinner of pasta, grape leaves, meatballs, and amazing desert, they blew our minds. One of the hosts presented us with a certificate of Congressional recognition. Apparantly one of their senators thought that Bike and Build was a truly incredible organization; we agree of course. Sleeping arrangements were even better. The owner of a diner in town promised us full beds at a Catskills inn resort with air conditioning, private showers and television. The sunset was incredible. We were greeted with a hot pancake breakfast, complete with eggs and sausage. Needless to say I'll be making my way back to Roscoe on my own sometime.

We're making our way to Pennsylvania in two days after our build day tomorrow in town. It's great to be off the bike, even for just a day. My saddle sores need time to heal. I have no idea when I'll be able to get back on this machine, but I hope that I'll be able to update more frequently. In the meantime, call, write, and send care packages! Slowly but surely we're crawling towards the west, and it's starting to dawn on all of us how quickly the end will come. Until then, I'm enjoying the ride.

Peace out hombres!