Proud Mary...Day 31...Liverpool to Amsterdam...Tues 24/05/11

Well, before I start all the usual nonsense I should give you an update on Little Chris's condition: it turns out that we weren't given the full story last night. The medics say that he has fractured his C5 vertebrae and will be in a neck-brace for a month, however he should recover fully. All our very best wishes follow him home.

Meanwhile we keep on rolling East. I thought you should see a typical route-sheet that we need to find our way from one five star accomodation to the next...

The above route sheet goes on overleaf too...best not to lose it, eat it or get it wet...mind you, we still manage to add on bonus miles for ourselves even with it.

Today we were blessed with a lovely Westerly wind which meant everyone had to work less...something that appeals to us all at this stage.
The first curio was spotted early on...

The Terre Haute Terror himself, the ever affable Mr. Tom Newlin followed by The Big Man and U.K. Bob. Larry, Curly and Moe?

Not sure how much longer that tower will remain in the upright...

Sunoco for them: bananas, beer and burgers for us. Not at the same time. That would just be silly...

Is that really an Edsel?

'Build it and they will stay away in droves'. Cue end credits...

Just before lunch at 78 miles in Little Falls...

One of many locks on the Mohawk River...

We were lucky with the weather for sure...much appreciated.

Nah, not until much later: Mark was very generous in paying for myself and Sir Clive's dinner and beer tab this evening. Dunno why I'm laughing- it's my turn tomorrow...d'oh!

Do not pass? I view that as a challenge, Sir...(you're not going at more than 8 mph are you?)                                                     

To be strictly accurate, it's a once-mighty trading town that has seen it's best years unfortunately...

So that just leaves two more days, both of which are real challenges at 120 miles and 7500' of climbing in warm weather. Actually, with my tender backside I'm quite happy to be standing-up and climbing...now that is a first!

Your daily numbers...be honest- you're gonna miss this!

Crossfire...Day 30...Batavia to Liverpool...Mon 23/05/11

This was a bit of a drudge today, with annoying crosswinds to contend with although it was warming nicely, temperature-wise. So far, so meh...until about 20 miles in when I see up ahead what looks like one of our riders (Ed, from Nevada) scurrying around in the middle of the road picking stuff up. Bit odd.

As I get nearer one of our vans appears and then I see Little Chris (San Diego via Mississippi) sitting on the opposite side of the road in a ditch, and bleeding from the head and face. Also around were the occupants of a SUV that had just pulled-out from a side road and broadsided the Wee Man. The driver said that she just never saw him. I suppose that's how easy it is and it really could have been any one of us.

Ed had already rung the emergency services and it turns out that Chris had a really lucky escape: nothing broken, except his bike helmet and bike and he was kept in hospital prior to completing MRI and CAT scans. We don't know if he'll be joining us tomorrow but when he was at the hospital he had already ordered himself a new bike with the intention of collecting it at Syracuse this evening! Determined, or what?

So back to the nonsense: we are slowly working our way up to this size of helping...

We steamed through bad, bad Leroy Brown regardless...

War Of the Worlds? No, a water tower actually...

Almost J. Geils's finest...

Reminded me of the opening titles: "Flay Otters"...or how about "Flowery Twats"?

Another fine looking motor for sale...

Not exactly how I remember it...

Following little and large: Manny and Daryl. So alike in so many, manny ways...

Fantastic: one mile from the lunch stop in Seneca Falls (great name) I get a flat rear tyre. Sod it, I'll just ride it which you shouldn't do of course. A great example of our "no-one wins unless we all win" spirit is displayed when Sir Clive takes it upon himself to change the tube for me so that I can get on with lunch. Much appreciated!

Move along, there's nothing to see here...

Considering a rear tyre upgrade...nothing is gonna puncture this!

About 30 miles after lunch I happen across Team Française des Jeux, namely Sir Clive and Lee who were wearing identical team jerseys and busy changing yet another inner tube. Saddos, hah-hah!

Your actual Erie Canal:

I've got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

We haul'd some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
We know every inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, yeah we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If ya ever navigated on the Erie Canal

If I see a bloke on a tractor ,wearing a hat and threatening the speed limit then I'll know I'm back in Lancashire...

Hello er, Syracuse...rock and roll!

What kind of dope lives here? Say it ain't so, L.A....

On the run-in to Liverpool...

(Courtesy Mike Munk.)

A welcome sight after 120 miles, give-or-take. Just keep your windows wound-up. Actually quite a nice spot, to be fair...

Well, it looks better than Kwik-Fit, doesn't it?

Wasn't aware that the Hewitt dynasty had spread into Liverpool, NY but I can thoroughly recommend their chocolate milkshakes...

What's left of Little Chris's bike. He was lucky, as were we all.

Hoping for no drama tomorrow, thanks all the same. Another 120 miles...

Workmanlike stats...here...here...here!

Batman Theme...Day 29...Dunkirk to Batavia...Sun 22/05/11

We rolled out along Lake Erie again, and it looked beautiful...again.

Yeah...my backside. Did I mention this already? Where there's blame, there's a claim etc...

Andy has some bizarre old tat for sale...    

                                    

Warriors indeed.

Passing the Veteran's Museum in Hamburg.

The A.B.B. support wagon lumbers into view and isn't too chuffed at having to deal with yet another flat...

Pretending that I'm enjoying it all. Actually, if truth be told...I will miss some of this. Not the early starts or the sometimes repetitive diet for sure, hah-hah!

                 (Courtesy Mike Munk.)

Wafting through East Aurora- a very nice spot and it was cheering to see so many folks outdoors enjoying Sunday brunch. Swine.

"Buffalo girls won't you stay in tonight, stay in tonight, stay in tonight?"

I would never use a cheap and obvious tag-line like "Dumb and Dumber"...oh, too late. Mark and Sir Clive pfaff around trying to change Sir Clive's second flat in a mile.
Thank Goodness that A.B.B. arrived unsummoned when it did...actually we had done it anyway, albeit in a slightly 'Keystone Kops' fashion.

The short and easy day ended with Mark buying us superb milkshakes at this Batavian oasis. Fantastic!

Back to real mileages until the end...here we go, here we go, here we go...

Stats...stats...stats...Sunday numbers ahoy!

Erie Canal...Day 28...Warren to Dunkirk, NY...Sat 21/05/11

To be honest, I was not overly looking forward to what could have been a long and hence uncomfortable day in the saddle: after all, 140 miles was never going to be that enjoyable, was it?

The weather was kind with blue skies, temperatures that wouldn't rise much above 65F and a light Westerly wind that all helped. First result!

No don't ask me what this was...at Warren's Contemporary Art Museum...

Another peaceful Saturday morning...

Of interest to Mr. Wickham, perhaps...

Right where you wanna be...this is energy conservation...I was passed by Lasse (our version of The Tractor) and he was hammering along which meant a quick decision: should I try to latch-on or not...

The Norwegian Express runs fast and non-stop! (L-R: Lasse, Me, Mark and Lee.) We passed both of these guys fast and they both decided that this was the way to travel...all the way to the first stop at 48 miles!

                                  (Courtesy Mike Munk.)

This was another tri-state day, which means cheesy photo ops...

Me leading things briefly just before lunch. Lesser-spotted...

No. No beer yet. D'oh!

Cheesy photo op, part two...

Not sure what this was but the rule-of-thumb is...take the photo anyway.

Our route followed the shoreline of Lake Erie- how big is that? Well, very. And fantastic to look at too.

Reaching Barcelona meant about 20 miles left to run and I was cycling with Sir Clive at the time. I was moaning about my derriere so he said he would let me me set the pace to see whatever worked best: in the event we ended-up almost achieving speeds that The Big Man would've been proud of. Needs must, etc..
Mind you, Las Ramblas ain't exactly how I remembered it...

                                     

A welcome sight after 135 miles? You bet...the legs were still willing but the backside was revolting, hah-hah!

Thanks to some judicious drafting and kind weather we ended-up with a 19mph average. Ridiculous!

Tomorrow (well, today by the time I can post this) will be our last short stage at around 90 miles. More nonsense for sure though. Cheers!

Numbers...numbers...stats for you!