Saturday, I got to ride the stretch from Matamoras PA to Highland NY. It was a glorious day, sunny and warm when Wendy, Diana and I started out. Sherry was our SAG for the first 17 miles, Once outside the town, we passed beautiful need houses with big front yards, actually mini meadows but perfectly mowed grass, lots of flowers, peonies blooming in beautiful shades of pink, red and white, Lots of trees the  Eastern Woodlands lush and green; at one time we saw a limping raccoon cross the street.
Then slowly the climbing began not too steep but for pretty long time it would flatten out a bit, and sure enough around the bend it went uphill again. Once on Old Mountain Road the road flattened out a bit we passed beautiful meadows, quaint houses. Around Otisville  Diana took over our "Baaa-car" and Sherry joined pedal- pushing. We had some downhills and rolling hills through lovely country side into Bloomingburg where we found services (not financial ones) at the local friendly Bank.  As we rode by a meadow a deer stopped grazing turned its head and checked us out. In Ulsterville Diana was ready on  her bike to tackle the last  17 miles, and Sherry took over the wheel, she waited for us every 5 miles to check if we were still able to push on. It became hot but we made it to New Paltz,  where she waited for us at Starbucks. New Paltz +Saturday = lots of Tourists and traffic.
A few miles down the road we found our " Econo Lodge"  what a step down from the nights  before!!
We rrewarded us with a very tasty Italian Dinner at Coppola's.
Life is good, we have a great time lots of fun and enjoy our adventure. I love the names of the towns the charming Villages, the scenery  and nature. It is wonderful to see Gail and Wendy, they are awsome  and I have great admiration  for their adventure.

The Silver Sheep in Salisbury, Connecticut

As you can see by the pictures we had a sort of rainy day. Dori and I decided to take a lovely walk along the  trail over the Hudson River. We walked for about an hour. It is a beautiful river! Diana put on her shower cap and decided to ride with Gail and Wendy. It was an on and off light drizzle but near the end where we were waiting for her at Clinton Corners there was a deluge and she decided to hang with us for the rest of the day.  We ate in an adorable diner that should be on Guy Fietis diners, drive ins and dives. It was out of the past in the town of Millerton.
We then drove to our hotel in Lakeville which makes last nights dump look even dumpier. Our rooms are beautiful country style. Hopefully, tomorrow we can get back on the bikes to Windsor, Conn.
It is so beautiful to drive around this area that none of us minds being the sag wagon. We are just having fun being here!
Signed: Thelma, and 2 Louises!

Diana's view of the Hudson river this AM

And Dori had her camera out a few times today:

Was Diana waiting for Dori and Sherry on this lovely country road?

Sherry peeking through the bikes while Diana was putting her bike away.

It's raining!

Text from Sherry this AM:

Here are some pictures of our time on the Hudson River walkway. It's raining.

Dori and I are sag today

And an email from Dori:   Pictures leaving from Highland. The hearty ones!!! We walked across the river walk bridge.

The Hearty Ones!
Diana, Wendy, & Gail

New Paltz

Adorable  and bustling
Kudos to Dori who ride 49 miles today..Diana a little less and me a little lesser
The scenery is just lovely and the smells delicious  (sweet grass etc) will send some pictures later when I have time to figure it out,

Well we figured it out...rather Linda did!  She always does...next time we need to take her along!

At any rate, we are now at n Econolodge in new Paltz, NY, our worst hotel so far..we are next to an overflowing dumpster and we have decided not to,eat the free breakfast..

My original bike arrived in Harrisburg( so they say) today and should be in Easton, Pa on Monday..I am going to turn it around and send it back to Ca and continue to ride Merrilys bike..I've grown accustomed to her seat!

Gail and Wendy are at different hotels tonite than we are so we won't see them until morning

Thanks to Cora for,a,wonderful Italian restaurant suggestion tonite..best Italian food that I have had in a long time! The adventure continues...but our efficiency with solutions keeps getting better.

Today I bought gas for the Baaa car from a gas station from out of the 50s!

The man at the counter asked me how much I wanted and when I said I wanted to fill-er-up he asked me how much did I want to put in..we finally settled on $30. And I asked what we would do if it,only came to $25.. He said" I keep it! Don't know if he was kidding or not but it came to $29.76 so I let him keep the change...so strange!

They are having a great time and here are the pictures to prove it!

Diana, JoAnn, Sherry, Rudy, Dori at the bike shop

The Baaa Car

Dori, Wendy & Diana 

Dori, Wendy & Diana--same picture but a little brighter

These are some pictures that relate to Sherry's first post once in Pennsylvania.

Diana

Sherry

JoAnn, Rudy, and their dog, who watches Jeopardy!!!

Beautiful Day!

Today's ride was a long one for the Gail/Wendy group 75 miles and for us a bit shorter..but through the beautiful countryside of the Delaware Water Gap and its National Forest..Dori was our sag and because of no cell reception we were lost from each other for a good amount of time..
Every day is a learning experience that we muddle thru and then determine how to make it better.
Unfortunately, we have decided not to invest in cell phone towers for the region. The Delaware River which divides Penn and N.j is quite beautiful and because of numerous crossings we never knew what state we were in!
Diana and I went down the most horrendous hill with potholes,gravel and shade so you couldn't see either
We made it but it was scary
Working on some pictures

Sherry's post

It is Hard To Believe! But I broke a tooth on the plane in the way to Philly..(found a dentist, fixed it and I'm as good as new ) I feel, sometimes, that this trip is like that Mario video game that the kids play where you drive along and something keeps getting thrown in your way..well I'm here to say that Dori Diana and I are SOME drivers..we have handled every obstacle and made it work!

About the bikes:
We got Merrilys bike here with little issue..we had a cute little dolly( wasn't she a sheep, too) and we wheeled her thru airports, hotels,streets and today she got reconstructed and is looking just fine...Dori and Diana's were reconstructed without any problem. We have not been able to test ride because of dental appt but I think we are good to go
Gail and Wendy:
We walked into the restaurant that they were in for lunch and were they surprised..hugs all around
They look fantastic and the whole group is smiling! Amazing...30 some days on a bike and they are happy! They are my heroes!
So far..couldn't have more fun even with the stress!
pS:
Rudy and Joanne you all remember that Rudy is the bike shop man that I first contacted to reconstruct our bikes..he and his wife had us over to a lovely breakfast in their beautiful home in the country in Washington, NJ..when my bike shows up on June 1st..Rudy and Joann have offered to meet us in New Paltz ,NY(day 3) and bring us my bike, take back Merrilys and ship it home for me!
What can I say besides there are some very wonderful people we have met on this trip!

Bigger Smile, today! They say  "you get by with a little help from your friends" and our trip took on a happier tone after the lost bike episode(which is still somewhere riding across the country) with the help of Merrily(who loaned me a bike that fits) and Craig(who has an Aircaddy bike box)
So at 4 am on Wednesday we will escort the loaner bike on the plane and I can at least ride a portion until my own bike which will have travelled 9000 miles, arrives..
 Will keep you posted as to it's condition...it,probably will at least need a Pepsid!

The Sad Saga of the Sag Driver!
Well,it was too good to be true! All was going as planned and then one of the sheep lost her bike..
More to the point it was lost by UPS...it travelled from Rocklin to Harrisburg PA and then for no good reason took a trip back to CA. It has been on a truck since May 11 and was found this morning
In San Pablo,CA and is now on its way back to Easton PA...UPS has been awful to deal with except for one kind lady at the UPS store who was a big help..
As it stands now...Sherry is the Sag driver for 2 to 3 days and then we will drive back to get her bike and catch up with the rest..What Could Go Wrong!,? stay tuned..We leave Wednesday
Still Smiling

Party Time

Today we had a going away party given by our dear friends!!

It is very nice to go away being sent off with so much Love! (And Cake!) The only problem is: that we have yet to figure out is how to get a piece to Gail and Wendy who are now in Virginia!  Our bicycles have arrived in Pennsylvania and only need to have wheels and handlebars attached and off we go!
Stay Tuned..We leave on the 27th of May

Day of Dismantling!

Dori, Diana and Sherry on Bike Dismantling Day

Today was the day that we said Good Bye to our  bikes which also means that we are Committed to this journey.

 It all started with a simple cup of coffee and a statement..."Maybe we could join Gail and Wendy on their ride up the east coast" for just a little while! (They are undertaking 52 Days of Cycling!) (OUCH!)

It is funny how sometimes a simple statement can set one off in a direction that was a total fantasy just days before.

We are so enjoying the process and if the ride is half as much fun, it will be a success! In fact, I can already deem it to be "As Much Fun As We Have Had on a Bicycle So Far"!.

Tomorrow we visit UPS, Slap a Label on the Boxes and hope that they can find their way to Genesis Bicycles in Easton, PA.(Good Luck! My bike can hardly find it's way to the corner of the street!)

Well, today we met and discussed the shipping of our bikes! We are about to have them disassembled next Sat.(May 92015) boxed and Mailed by UPS on Monday May 11.
 The bikes will be reconstructed at Genesis bike shop in Easton, Pa. My contact there has been a very helpful and knowledgeable gentleman by the name of Rudy.
Rudy is our newest "best friend" and although he has never met us, he and his wife invited us for a send off dinner on the 27 th of May in Easton, PA
..it warmed our hearts and gave us confidence that we will meet some very nice people on this journey...Rudy was our 1st.

Here are some pictures taken at the Wildflower ride in Chico, CA last weekend..We used this as a training ride and it was a lovely day!

Dori and Sherry at Water break at the Wildflower