Family, friends, and a day off! Yay!

Quite a bit has happened in the last four days, and I will try to convey it all as best I can going backwards from today...Sunday. We are currently in Wells, Maine on the coast. The weather has been spectacular; very sunny and warm but not too humid. Actually, even when it is hot and muggy, as you cycle you experience a "perceived" wind and it cools you down. The hills have pretty much flattened out, and Holly is much happier!! Today we got to drive along our favorite coastal route between Ogunquit and York and enjoy lunch at a lobster pound that we used to frequent with the kids. Dinner was at Tides Inn By The Sea at Goose Rocks Beach, also a place we have enjoyed with Joel and Paige. It was fun sharing these spots with Mom and Dad!

Our weekend was spent in Portland with Holly's maid of Honor, Julie Finn and her husband Rob and their two great daughters, Becca and Bailey. What a great time we had celebrating Becca's 15th birthday on Friday, visiting the farmers market,the Old Port, and the Beach on Saturday where, by the way Julie and Holly struck gold by finding lots of sea glass:) The highlight of the visit was on Saturday night when Rob and Julie put on a lobster feast and brought together Julie and Holly's parents who have been best of friends since their college days. It was wonderful to see Julie's sister, Meredith, who also lives in Portland. The photo albums were dragged out and the memories flowed!

Before we made our way to Portland we were in Lewiston, home of Bates College. We stayed in a neat Bed and Breakfast and were so lucky to be able to spend the evening with Joel's Aunt Mary Faith and her husband Tom. They live in the Albany area but summer at Sebago Lake. We found this trendy bistro called Fuel and spent hours catching up on family affairs. They have 7 children and 16 grandchildren between them, so there was a lot of ground to cover!

As we leave the state of Maine, (hard to believe our first leg is almost complete!) we have nothing but positive feelings about our adventure. Sure, some of those hills were killers, but the people here are friendly and helpful, and we just can't get enough of that lobster and those blueberries:)

Some very inspirational people and one tough day!

Before I forget, I wanted to tell you all about three people that we have met during our travels that have touched us in some way. On our way to Bangor yesterday we passed an older woman with a huge backpack who was walking by the side of the road. She waved a cheery hello and Joel backtracked to speak with her...I was already too far ahead. He told me that she is walking to NYC to spend time at her Buddhist retreat. She seemed to be bald and was very slight...her luggage was bigger than she is. In any event, she was very curious about our odyssey but in truth, walking is much harder! Once we arrived in Bangor (in the rain) we decided to revisit the Old Sea Dog Brewery which we had visited a few days earlier on our way up to Calais...does that make us regulars?? As we regrouped, Chris the service manager, spent a good amount of time asking us about our trip and telling us of his bike ride from California to Maine almost 20 years ago. He did it all by himself and for a charity. We were very impressed with his compassion for his causes and his tips and advice for us. Finally today, which was by far the hardest ride we have ever encountered, we met another wonderful man who offered us cold water and a rest on his land as we walked our bikes up the hill by his house. He was very encouraging about our progress and extremely open to share his life story which included thirty years of playing and coaching football. I have to say his kindness and water helped at a crucial point in our 75 mile plus day. We began in the rain which turned into hills, and then Joel had two flats caused by a tiny little piece of wire, and then it transformed into a scorching, humid sunshine day and then more hills. By the time we reached Waterville I was sunburned and had experienced toe and foot cramps. Joel was ever encouraging and the good news is that tomorrow is a much shorter day. I may not blog for a bit as I am giving all my technology to my parents to carry in their car and we will be with Joel's Aunt Mary Faith and her husband tomorrow and my childhood friend and her family for the weekend in Portland and thus very busy and happy!!! Just wanted to tell everyone that we are loving all the comments on the blog. Thanks!!

Day 2 (sunny!) and Day 3 (rainy...)

Okay...we are all in for better or for worse! Monday was great; sunny, breezy and beautiful. Tuesday; not so wonderful with rain, heavy at times. Both days had humongous hills, but luckily we were expecting those and had trained properly. Maine is truly beautiful with breathtaking vistas and quiet back roads. We were treated to a wonderful view of Cadillac Mountain and Acadia National Park as well as miles and miles of blueberry fields with both people and machines picking them. Mom and Dad surprised us with an impromptu pate and herbed cheese party at the Twilight Motel in Ellsworth after our near 70 mile day. Day 2 did not serve up as many miles but the hills were steeper and the rain was steady. We gave up our idea of camping for the comfort of a Hilton Garden Inn in Bangor complete with laundry facilities, pool and hot tub, and restaurant! Lunch had been pizza and Gatorade so we were psyched for a real meal:) Did you know that Maine has two scary predators both of which we encountered in the past few days. That's right, black bears and giant red lobsters can sure sneak up on you. Be careful out there!

Success!!

We made it! Day one is done:) Thank you one and all for your well wishes and send off messages. We truly appreciate your friendships. Let me do a quick recap of the past few days as quite a bit has transpired. On Thursday as we were furiously trying to tie up all our loose ends before heading out, everything that could go wrong did: our garbage disposal died, our garage door opener died, our home computer, air conditioning, and pond filter died the week before. Not to worry though, as our good friend Walt is going to make everthing right while we are away. Also, Joel's Mom, Elaine, is watching our house and our dogs. Gratitiude to both!!

So, the journey began at 9 am on Friday. Mom, Dad, Joel, and Holly packed up the Towncar, loaded the bikes on the back and headed east. We made it to Portsmouth, NH in time for beverages at a brew pup and a tremendous dinner at the Black Trumpet and a much needed sleep. We finished the trip to Calais, Maine on Saturday with a mandatory stop at LL Bean's in Freeport. Wait till you see the biking shirt Holly found:) The Greystone Inn in Calais was our destination for the night, and we could not have picked a more perfect spot. Candace and Alan are the perfect hosts! They recommended a great spot for dinner, Heslin's on the St. Croix River, where Stefanie treated us royally with fish chowder, lobster, and fresh Maine bluberry pie. Once again, we enjoyed a much needed deep sleep in preparation for day one. Breakfast at the Inn was amazing. We shared our meal with Bob and Rachel from DC who have been vacationing up in Canada. Hopefully we can see them again as we pass through the Capitol! So, funny story. Joel had set his Verizon phone for a wake up beep at 6 am so we could pack up our stuff and be ready to ride. It went off at 6 but it was really 5 because the cell towers across the river in Canada sometimes change Verizon time. Needless to say we were up and ready to roll and no one else was! Mom and Dad had a great surprise for us to send us off. They donned bright green Amidon Chase Car shirts and had a huge send off poster made for us as well as stick ons for the car doors that say East Coast Greenway/Maine to Florida/Holly and Joel. Super!!
The ride to Machias was about 50 miles on a trail, through a nature preserve, up and down hills, and on a road with little or no shoulder. No worries. We made it, and had lunch at the Route 191 Diner to boot. Dinner was at Helen's Diner which is owned by the same couple as the Schoppee Farms Inn where we are staying. It is all good. Tomorrow is another day and it brings to us another 77 miles! I will post again in a few days. Love you all:)

Last Post before we head out...

Just wanted to be sure everyone has our email and phone number so you all can stay in touch with us as we cycle our way down the east coast! hamidon@twcny.rr.com and 315-335-0227. Please feel free to give a call or shoot out an email every now and then as we would love to hear from you!

As you can see we snuck in another training ride this weekend! On Sunday we were joined by Katrina and Mark on a trail ride east towards Utica. Our destination was Sharyn's Place (remember it is all about the food!) in Marcy. It is an old fashioned silver bullet type diner with terrific comfort dishes. Along the way we raced a train (lost once again!) and saw a very regal swan in some fairly fetid canal water. We crossed over the canal at Lock 20 but missed seeing any boats travelling through. In the past we have been lucky enough to witness this event and speak with the Lock master about how the whole process works. All in all we added another enjoyable 30 miles or so to our biking log.

We are very ready and extremely excited to begin our journey. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Key West here we come:) I will continue to blog so stay tuned!

Ony 2 weeks left!!

It is hard to believe, yet here we are almost about to embark upon our long awaited bicycle journey. We have trained hard, gathered all the right equipment (we hope!), and organized our days and nights for the three month adventure. Now we have begun to pack and tidy up last minute details. We enjoyed a very productive dinner and planning session the other night at Holly's parent's house. They are just as excited to join us on this East Coast tour as we are to ride it. We must say that Jim's travel binder with all the route maps, topograhics, and reservations is quite impressive! Thank you both for being so supportive and "into" this.

Yesterday we pushed our limits pretty far and tackled the hardest and longest ride at least Holly has ever done (Joel completed a century several years ago!). We left Rome at about 7 am and rode the Erie Canal Trail all the way to Syracuse, Dewitt to be exact, about 42 miles. It was HOT and very dusty as the trail consists of mostly crushed stone. We encountered the usual critters; bunnies, chipmunks, beavers, and hissing geese, but the funniest thing was we came head to head with 500 cyclists of all ages, shapes, and sizes going the other way as part of the 8 day Buffalo to Albany ride. After awhile Joel wanted to tape a sign to his helmet that read "good morning" so we wouldn't have to keep saying it!! Our destination for the day was our favorite restaurant in the Syracuse area, The Dark Horse Tavern. There we met our good friend Margo who arrived a little before us to grab a booth by the window so we could keep an eye on our bikes...we forgot our locks! All three of us had wonderful salads and wine and conversation. We promised our waitress and waiter that we would return in the fall to tell them all about our travels. Hopefully Margo will join us again! The thing about riding 42 miles away from home is that you have to reverse your tracks to return...all 42 miles! We left the Dark Horse at 1 pm and headed back East. We did not see too much of interest on the trail, but we did run across a young man all loaded down with sacks and packs whose destination was Saratoga, 120 miles. Good luck to him! As the miles and hours ticked on, Holly began to lose steam, but Gatorade and water kept her going. We finally arrived home at almost 6 pm and regretfully had to miss a dinner engagement (sorry Mitch and Candy!) due to sheer exhaustion. But we did it, and we are psyched because this is what it is going to feel like down south in September and now we know we will be fine!

Celebrating the 4th of July down in E.I.!!

Wow! Five beautiful, hot days at the beach with family and friends...who could ask for more?! We are blessed. Rather than give a day by day account of our adventures I think it would be best to describe the highlights. Our friends Pam and Bruce and their youngest son Aidan took the 14 hour drive down to Emerald Isle, NC with us on Wednesday. Our goal was to spend time with our daughters and BIKE, which we did everyday. Pam is planning on riding from Miami to Key West with us so these training days are perfect. The cast of characters on cycles varied everyday, but we covered the island from end to end several times racking up approximately 125 miles amongst us. We met locals at an ocean side coffee shop who are saving a chair for Joel (or Bruce, whoever gets there first!) We enjoyed a frosty Landshark on the fishing pier. Joel fixed 2 flats, one for Paige and one for Bruce who, God love him, rode almost 10 miles with that nail puncturing his tire, tube and rim!! We cooked up fantastic fresh meals to feed 10 as our good friends Bernie and her daughter Katie stopped in to play with us on their way home from Florida. We walked the beach everyday looking for sea glass (found tons) and turtle nests (no luck) and finally we ended the holiday with an oyster party on the Sound with our friends and neighbors, Phil and Korin, complete with fireworks in every direction. Our 14 hour drive home was successfully completed on Monday...only 25 days remain before we head out on THE RIDE!!!