Well, we did it – right on schedule. 4000 miles right across the USA in 40 days, pretty much exactly as planned all that time ago.

It was already hot as we left another brilliant (first) breakfast diner in Keene at around 7.30 this morning. I am going to miss 2 breakfasts each morning – pancakes, eggs, bacon, all covered in maple syrup. My efforts to keep us on quiet back roads meant some extra climbing, up forested roads with the early morning sunlight shafting through the trees like curtains. It was beautiful. 

We had to make a 6 mile detour at one point, because a bridge was closed – but we had been perilously close to falling fractionally short of 4000 miles – so this was exactly what we needed to make sure. Perfect! 

The day was just one final ritual after another. Final coca cola stop – final ice cream and, best of all, final chicken salad at lunch. We must have eaten 30 of them, and this was the best of the lot. 

Leading in to Boston there was about 15 miles of rail trail. This was a relaxing way of avoiding the traffic.

  
Soon we reached the Charles River and saw the Boston skyline for the first time.

 
But by then a huge thunderstorm was threatening. We just made it across the river before the heavens opened. We sheltered for a while until it passed over. Then it was on through central Boston, Chinatown, and out to the Atlantic – at Pleasure Bay, our final destination.  We had run out of continent.  

    
 
Endings are always bitter sweet. It has been a fantastic, totally stress free lifestyle – sleep, eat, cycle, repeat – and I shall be sad to let it go. We have seen a wonderful, very varied continent, and had nothing but kindness from people along the way. 

The weather has been fantastic – I think about 35/40 basically hot and sunny days, and about 3 hours of rain in 253 hours riding. Just 3 or 4 days of headwinds, and about 12 days with strong tailwinds when it really counted, the big mileage days across the prairie. Couldn’t have hoped for better. 

The whole thing was my idea – and I had been plotting it for years. My assumption was that I might have to do it on my own, but I wasn’t sure about committing to that, so I am really thankful that Tim took the bait – and that he has been such a resolute and dependable partner in crime! Thanks also to Helen, whom I have missed hugely throughout the trip. We have done so many long rides together. 

And finally, I am delighted with the performance of my dream Bianchi Infinito CV. It has coped with everything thrown at it and has been completely reliable. It fits me like a glove, it is ridiculously comfortable for a fast road bike, and I could float along on it for ever. Heaven knows what speed and distance it can do without the luggage …. but that’s for next summer! 

We were back to full sunshine and 89F by mid afternoon today. Lovely cycling weather. The green mountains were stunning this morning as we continued to ride south, with the main ridge line to our left. The first thirty miles to Manchester simply flew by.

Manchester was one of the most well heeled of all the Vermont small country towns we have visited. All manicured lawns and beautiful, white timber houses with the obligatory Stars and Strips hanging outside. The cafes were equally up market, and calorie conscious – so buying the required calories for a second breakfast was quite tricky! 

By now everyone is very congratulatory on reading our shirts and realising where we have ridden from. But no one can get their heads round what 100 miles a day actually means. So, for example this morning, when we told them we’ll be finishing in Boston tomorrow afternoon they looked confused, and then shocked. Because Boston is still 160 miles away from Manchester! 

  
From Manchester we did the final proper climb of the trip – only about 1500 feet up and over the Sylvan Ridge Pass on the main spine of the Green Mountains. This was an easy climb, mostly in the shade. 

We descended about 40 miles down a lovely, twisting valley with steep wooded sides. Reaching Battleboro we were hungry, and the lunchtime chicken salad was very welcome. From Battleboro we crossed the Connecticut River and entered New Hampshire, our 11th out of 12 US states.

 Another climb (that’s another day with  well over 5000 feet of climbing!) brought us to Keene, and our last night on the road. On the descent into town Tim finally broke the 50mph barrier – he’s been trying since Seattle! On checking in to the hotel we were delighted to find that Tim Scholes had bought us each a congratulatory beer. Thanks Tim!

There is no denying it – Vermont is unremittingly pretty! We spent a slightly shorter day heading back southwards, exploring the rural backwaters, pretty wooden farms and villages, and more forests and lakes. And all of it close against the wooded ridgelines of the Green Mountains. Lovely Sunday cycling. 

It was misty this morning after yesterday evening’s rain. Yet the sun soon began to burn it off, with spectacular results as banks of cloud hung low over wooded ridges.

  
We had our customary second breakfast in Bristol. Most of the town was in the rather nice diner, having a late breakfast. Last Sunday morning’s second breakfast in a similar diner in Port Dover, on Lake Erie in Canada, already seems a long away away! 

  
  
Perhaps the highlight of the day was a loop, first up to and then round, Lake Dunmore and Branbury State Park. The peaceful lake was nestled right under the Green Mountains, with beaches and holiday homes all around. We lingered long enough for ice creams, but I could happily have a holiday based there. 

  
The final few miles continued in the same vein. On the approach to Rutland by a back road we were stopped by a washed away bridge (no advanced warning!) and had to go back and round. But that’s the first time in the entire ride that we have been forced to back track. 

As the day wore on it became harder and harder to ignore the fact that our ride has nearly finished. After scenery and cycling like today it’s hard not to wish for more. But there is still one more strenuous day tomorrow. We are still the wrong side of the Green Mountains and have a final pass to look forward to, before the final roll in to Boston on Tuesday. 

This hotel is in a beautiful spot – but it is bizarre. For example, the first floor rooms now have en suites – but the push fit waste plumbing comes straight through the ceiling of the huge, posh dining room – each neatly surrounded with a ceiling rose! Waste water gurgling over your head as you eat!

We left at 7 (the hotel breakfast started at 8 – what use is that?) and, for the first 50 miles, we were on very similar roads to yesterday – soon racking up over 3000 feet of climbing on the rolling mountain terrain. But now the towns were a little larger, and more frequent, and wealthier. And the lakes and woods were as lovely as ever – albeit under a very grey sky. 

   
 
We stopped for breakfast at Tupper Lake after 20 miles. The lake here was very serene, beautiful reeds where once there had been a huge logging industry. More pancakes, eggs and bacon! 

Saranac Lake was also beautiful – so we celebrated with a blueberry muffin.  Having eaten two before leaving the hotel, this was a record muffin morning!

The approach to Lake Placid, from Saranac Lake, was the only section of road with significant traffic. Do they just drive up and down that bit?

At Lake Placid we stopped for lunch in the most hippy place yet. Run by two gay men, the place was a complete mess of cafe, art gallery and bookshop. And the salad and coffee were great. Lake Placid was busy, as expected, so we admired the lake but didn’t linger over the shops! 

After lunch it was all downhill for 40 miles to our 5th and final ferry of the trip. On the way we stopped to admire a fantastic gorge and waterfall.

  
With about 20 miles to go I realised that we had a chance of catching a ferry earlier than planned, in exactly an hour’s time. So we did a team time trial and knocked the miles out at at well over 20mph, arriving with 10 mins to spare. We have become seriously bike fit! 

   
 In Burlington we stopped for an outdoor beer – enjoying the buzz of a large town with youth, music and pavement cafes, having been in the sticks for ages. But it finally began to rain, and the last few miles to our hotel were wet – for only the third time on the trip. 

This ride has a twist in the tail – in the shape of a 200 mile detour to the north to visit the Adirondacks, Lake Placid, and Burlington. We had been to the latter on a family holiday in Vermont years ago, but Lake Placid had seemed too far to drive. So the obvious thing to do was to cycle to it years later …. across America! 

But it still took an effort of willpower to turn the bike north, up the steep side of the Mohawk valley and into the Adirondack mountains, when we could have rolled on down the valley and reached Boston in three fairly easy days cycling!

It’s been hard, but worth it so far. The Adirondacks have their own peculiar charm. This is a big granite dome – roughly circular and about 150 miles diameter. The average height is only about 1700 feet, but the area is anything but flat! There are no deeply cut valleys – the granite is too hard – but rolling, isolated hills and broad valleys. The whole area is heavily wooded, with poor drainage, and there are lakes and bogs everywhere. A local man told us that the native americans never settled up here – its too harsh. The european settlers were the first to try it, and many died. 

Luckily, we were just cycling through – stopping to photograph some of the beautiful lakes.

 Our 100 miles included nearly 7000 feet of climbing – our third toughest day. Somehow we still managed it in 6 and a half hours. Our reward is a room in the Adirondack Hotel on Long Lake. This is an old fashioned, wooden building with rocking chairs outside on the verandah. This is the view from our window – float plane and all.

   
 
More leg-sapping mountain roads tomorrow!