We got up early and skipped breakfast to avoid some of the expected labor day week-end traffic. Breakfast on the way and we talked about how speed was not important today. Rather we should stay out of trouble and enjoy the last few miles up to Fort Lee and over into Manhattan.

We found George Washington Bridge the only bicycle friendly bridge. Most commuters who want cross the Hudson River take the ferry.

• 

• 

At rejse er at leve – To travel is to live

Patricia, my oldest daughter got a bracelet on a family vacation some years ago. A cheap copper thing where you could have your own imprint made. Patricia, heavily influenced by her Pop, chose “At rejse er at leve” a quote of Hans Christian Andersen the Danish fairytale writer. I have always, maybe to instill a little patience in my daughters while travelling longer distances, brainwashed them that “The journey is the goal”. Do not get to focused on getting there, when getting there takes so much longer time than crossing the finishing line. I was not aware that there was a statue of H.C. Andersen in Central Park, but Troels remembered it yesterday and said it would be a good stop on the way down to the hotel.

So how big an anticlimax is it to suddenly be here? If feels strange and the mind suddenly gets busy to design a future beyond today. Today has been so much a goal that not many thoughts have been devoted to what should happen the coming weeks and months. It is alright. The feeling right now is more one of having written a fairytale over 5 weeks than feeling empty. Let us see if there are any longer term side effects.

The protocol broken again

After check-in at the hotel, we went down to Battery Park to see if we could find a place to dip our front tire into a piece of water which is close to the Atlantic Ocean. That was not a success, as there is a rail and a good distance down to the water. Instead we took a photo with the Statue of Liberty in the background and went back to the hotel to enjoy Happy Hour in the roof top bar.

Is that it?

The arrow has crossed the continent now and we are just two people staying a couple of nights in New York City before we fly home on Monday. And who wants to hear about sightseeing in New York? I have written much too little about Bruce Springsteen and I also have a little bit of advice to 325 million Americans of which we have met a few, so if I am in the mood tomorrow, there could come a final post.

As we checked in last night, Dalton announced that his mother Veronica would like to meet us before we left in the morning. Mrs. Dominic was in charge of the Lodge and the banquet hall. She had quit her job as a nurse ten years ago to work in the hospitality business. Maybe she had been a good nurse but it looked like she was an even better Lodging Director. Veronica beamed with energy and motivation when she told that the Lodge hosts 75 weddings a year and I especially liked the personal touch which had been added to the lodge rooms and the reception area. We were taken good care of with fresh omelettes and a latte from the small café and hope to be back and play a round some day.

Arla Foods Ingredients in New Jersey

Our first goal for the day was to reach the office of Arla Foods Ingredients before labor day week-end. We called from Easton and predicted an ETA for a late lunch or afternoon cake. And was there a memorable reception? Already in the parking lot there were American and Danish flags all over and in the office there was a cake with a map of our tour and the states we have been through. I have never exercised so much effort to come to the office, and it felt like coming home, so thank you to my lovable colleagues for making an event out of our arrival to New Jersey.

Tennis is for losers?

We have become quite excited about a young American tennis phenomenon, Coco Gauff, who plays the US Open. We asked Joyce’s granddaughter (with crutches on the picture above) whether she followed her, just to be told that Tennis is for losers. We did not dare to ask where the beautiful art of bicycling ranks in our youngest generation’s perception of what is hot and what is not.

Summit

We have been to a lot of topographical summits, so it is suitable that our last town before New York is called Summit. We went 15 miles from the office and have 30 miles left to George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee. We expect that there is a sidewalk or path for bicycles where we are able to walk or ride our bikes across.

It is as if the weather and the landscape screams at us not to regard the final legs as something we have to overcome just to reach our destination. We started out under a clear blue sky and westerly wind and enjoyed the Susquehanna River on our way out of Lewisburg. After a while we started to see some open coal mines. Among other companies we saw Blaschak which last year was given a grant so that they could open a new mine close to route 61 on whidh we cycled today. Heavy machinery and though there appears to be a lot of activity in the mining areas it does not seem to bring affluence to the nearby towns like Mahanoy City.

• 

• 

In a town like Mahanoy City we went through a long main street with houses like the one to the right above. Patios only a few feet from the street and several of which with a lot of stuff piled up. The picture of the house is taken from a real estate agent and you can buy the house for less than 20,000$. We are close to Allentown and talked about Billy Joel’s song over dinner. Could as well be Mahanoy City.

Well we’re waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved

Green Good for the Eyes

We had Lehighton as a possible goal for the day but when we planned the rest of the day at lunch we wanted to go a little further and we found a Golf Resort in Danielsville. No time nor energy to play of course – but being a little closer to the office in Basking Ridge tomorrow and some peace and quit were the atractions. So here we are – yet another unplanned stay this time at a resort outside Danielsville. We might not see the town, as we will just hit the shortest road to Basking Ridge tomorrow morning.

Our bicycles were so clean that it was not at all compatible with this morning’s rain, so we tried to wait it out. It was expected to cease around noon and become scattered showers and eventually sunshine or at least no rain.

Left at 11 am and had the ambition to reach Lewisburg though we were 15-20 miles short of meeting our original goal yesterday. With a late start and moderate tempo we reached a small town called Centre Hall around 4 pm and had our lunch. We still had 45 miles to Lewisburg but we did not need a referendum to decide to try to reach Lewisburg before dark. We both wanted to come in a good position for the final legs. At home 45 miles is a reasonable tour but our sense of distances has changed and it is something you undertake after a tuna sandwich on a Subway.

And then we had the most gorgeous ride with a small peak in the middle but mostly downhill. The weather forecast held and we had some moments of sunshine.

Our arrival into Lewisburg resembled our approach to Clearfield yesterday. You drive into a town where you think: “Not a bad place to spend the night”, just to find out that the nearby Interstate acts like a magnet to hotels so that you have to ride another 3-4 miles outside of town to stay on a highway which looks like any highway with a few fast food places and two or three hotels.

Probably just three legs left

We have booked our hotel in New York close to Penn Station, so we can easily get into Newark Airport on Monday. Reaching Lewisburg today makes it realistic to come close to New Jersey tomorrow and ride by Arla Foods Ingredients’ office on Friday and finally find out how to cross the Hudson River to Manhattan on Saturday. Mixed feelings: Approaching a goal which you have had in mind on the long rides is satisfying but that something so wonderful is coming to an end is also saddening. But if you do not want good experiences to end there is only one remedy which is not to engage yourself in adventures which might lead to good experiences.

The roads were wet and we got a few showers early on. Subsequently tonight is also about bike care.. The weather forecast for the coming days look promising. No rain and westerly winds.

It can rain also in Pennsylvania – which does not come as a surprise when you look at the green and lush state, but is notable when you consider our almost rain free cycle tour. It was a drizzle but a drizzle which has been going on for hours leaves a wet pavement and things get dirty and wet.

I think I saluted the hills yesterday. Today we have had just a little too many. Total ascent 2250 and the same designer must have drawn the lines for all the towns we have come through. First there is a little curve left, then it goes downhill steeply, there is a traffic light at the foot of the hill which more often than not demands us to stop and waste our saved up energy and then you go uphill on the other side of the traffic light.

E Cigarettes and more

At a gas station where we bought some snacks we took a photo of this stand outside:

A significant assortment of alternatives to smoking which is most likely profitable business but hardly doing much good. Juul, e-cigarettes with nice flavors and who would not like to try mint-flavored Cannadips? 10 pouches of Cannabidiol with one hour’s effect per pouch.

A biker’s dilemma

I have not had a flat since Nevada. The combination of good tires and the Bontrager self sealing tubes, purchased in Elko, has been very effective. The tire is worn out and even though it would have been an accomplishment to have completed the tour on the same set of tires, I made a preventive exchange tonight, because I got a warning on the road that the back tire and tube might not last much longer. I had decided to wait for the flat to appear but if happens in rain and on the road and the solution is to put on a new tire, it was better to do it when we had a night stop anyway. Oh, what challenges and worries you have on a bike tour – If they do not get bigger than that we will probably reach New York!

Clearfield

We just steered towards Clearfield to discover that all hotels were 3 miles away next to the Interstate. Clearwater looked slightly more interesting but here we are in a motel village with some fast food restaurants. We hope to find Lewisburg Wednesday.

It has become more hilly. Total Ascent today was around 1500 m on 150 km (94 miles). It is not like the mountains where we climbed for hours but rather we have short very steep hills followed by equally steep downhill. With the headwind, however, the hills complemented by the many trees (and when there are many trees they are sometimes called a forest) makes a day varied and suddenly we are at our destination

Barn stars

We have seem many houses with barnstars since Wyoming and South Dakota but we see more and more in Ohio and here in Pennsylvania.

The barn star is similar to a horseshoe over a door, a kind of good luck charm for the house, The barn star density should be highest in Pennsylvania, which we entered today. We have not seen a Pennsylvania sign yet, but when we exited Ohio in the little town of Orangeville, population 190 according to the elderly gentleman who scraped his lottery coupon in the country store, there was a very appetizing sign welcoming bicyclists and other travelers entering Ohio from Pennsylvania.

Franklin

Franklin is situated at the Allegheny River before it runs into the Ohio River in Pittsburg. We had time to walk downtown while waiting for our dinner in “Trails and Ales”.

• 

• 

The Map and the final stages

There is a route to Manhattan which is 399 miles now. It will pass Basking Ridge, where Arla Foods Ingredients has its office. The weather forecast looks wet for tomorrow but if we can make a little less than 100 miles per day Tuesday to Friday, it looks realistic to reach Manhattan on Saturday.

Yesterday I wrote something about “Lime Capital of the World” and it was because no matter the size of a town we have come through it each has its reason to recognized on a global scale or at least a US scale. I remember a town in Idaho, which claimed to have US’ longest main street. It was a small town indeed but they had placed the city limit signs at a considerable distance from the five houses which comprised the town and everything between the signs was defined as the main street.

Today we happened to have lunch in the frog jump capital of Ohio. Unfortunately we missed the 58th frog jump festival by a week. Better luck next year, if we come through Ohio next August.

After lunch we suddenly found some serious hills again. We cut through Cuyahoga National Park. Not the longest hills but some of the steepest we have had – it could be a fore warning of what we may encounter in Pennsylvania, where we will try to take the direct route, where it will be more hilly and with longer distances between towns with motels and hotels.

Afternoon ritual

When we reach our destination we focus on food and drink. The grocery shopping list normally looks like this:

Thereafter we find the nearest restaurant and have a dinner and return to our room to write a few words about the day.

Where we are tonight

We have passed Cleveland – Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame will be next time, I am in the neighborhood. Streetsboro is in the North East corner of Ohio.

It is a temptation to call it an eventless day. Over dinner we discussed, whether we start to become satiated with impressions and maybe less open in our contact with the people we meet. In California, Nevada and in general on the first part of our trip we were full of excitement and attacked everybody with our plans of crossing the US. Now we have become a little more selective, maybe even reserved, and also less excited about riding the just 6-700 miles towards our goal. We remind ourselves, though, that such distance could be a tour in its own right and we agree to enjoy and take care.

US is still a land of contrasts. We had our lunch in Perrysburg a suburb of Toledo and suddenly we see well dressed city people wearing Ray-Bans, shirts and dresses. If you compare with “Mongo Tavern” where we had our lunch yesterday, you would not think you are in the same country or the same state. Yester a couple who had celebrated her birthday with a canoe tour on the river and a couple of workers for lunchbreak were with a plain cheeseburger for 5.95 $ versus ladies sipping their Chardonnay while ordering a spinach salad with walnuts and cranberries today. You might be able to find the same in DK within 60 miles distance but here the two worlds just appear to be very separate and almost unknown to either group.

Bellevue

We are not fortunate with the wind these days. We could just reduce our ambitions a little. We tend to dial in on a goal of approximately 100 miles no matter what, and we therefore get in late. Bellevue could therefore be the world capital for lime fruit or curvy cucumbers without us ever finding out. We only have time for a shower, a dinner and a little bit of writing. We came to Bellevue on a path called “North Shore Inland Bike Trail” and will see if we can continue east on it tomorrow.

There is a Montpelier in more states where we are, a sign of people of French origin settling here early. We went towards the Montpelier in Ohio a small town and in reality we are not even in Montpelier. The hotel we punched into the GPS happened to be 4-5 miles outside the town close to the Interstate. Not exactly Chicago and we did not need a Chicago as we did not arrive before 6 pm after 110 in head and side wind.

Small towns are more frequent now but the overall impression is a state making most of its income from agriculture. Around Elkhart we drove through a large Amish community. The horse pulled carts mingle with cars on the roads and I was surprised to see how integrated everything appeared. I thought the Amish people lived with each other and made excursions to the outside world but an Amish farm could be seen between two non-Amish and only revealed the owner’s belief by the cart in the yard and the lines filled with drying clothes. Shirts and Trousers of the men and colorful but muted dresses of the women.

Our bicycle encounter of the day was Jan, whom we overtook three times and talked to twice. He introduced us to “Rumspringa” as I understood this is an Amish “tolerance” fumbling year that each young Amish is allowed meaning that they do not fully live up to the rules of the Amish.

First night in Ohio

We are 10-20 miles into Ohio, a state where we will be minimum two nights more before we expectedly drive into Pennsylvania. Ohio means “Large River”. Essential knowledge for a river detective.

After a good rest day yesterday, we were anxious to see, fi we could get out of Chicago in good style. When you are in the drill of 100 miles a day it is just something you do, but after a rest day you suddenly start to wonder wether you are up to the challenge. And on top of that we were worried about how much we should criss cross through South Chicago to find the right way.

The Lake Shore Bike Path, followed by the Lake Shore Drive (41) and then a lot of bike trails brought us not only out of Chicago but also out of Illinois and into Indiana.

Above you see a nice surface reserved for pedestrians and bicycles. In the side and head wind it felt like driving in a bicycle hyper loop.

Tony and Charles

We realize that a bicycle trip is not the travel form to build friendships for a life but resting on one of the trails gave one of those random encounters, which can become the highlight of the day. We stopped for just 10-15 minutes to drink and eat a little and apparently Tony and Charles had gotten the same idea. They ride on the trail once in a while and we found a willing audience to impose our travel history on. Charles was a retired truck driver and Tony was retired something else – he had the size to have played professional basketball but he did not talk about his occupancy but said that it was a long time ago he had played. When we told that we came from Denmark, Tony was aware that Trump and our prime minister were not the best of friends. It did not appear to influence our popularity but we did not get into politics. There was something warm and caring about the two guys on their bicycles as they pedaled west while we pedaled east.

South Bend

We lost an hour coming into St. Joseph County, so we are now on Eastern time. South Bend is known for the nearby Notre Dame University and then of course its mayor Pete Buttigieg who is campaigning to become the Democrats’ presidential candidate for the 2020 elections. He is the youngest ever mayor of South Bend and is living in a gay marriage. Though he is probably fifth or sixth in the ratings behind people like Biden, Warren and Harris, he gets quite a lot of publicity and in our European eyes seem to have a policy which is not just “let us replace Trump”. Not all South Benders support him though. The girl who served at our Italian restaurant focused on how Mayor Pete had handled an incidence where a white policeman shot a black person who had broken into some parked cars. Buttigieg is accused of focusing on his national campaign and hitting a wedge into the local community by talking about getting more minority

We have not seen any Ku Klux Klan people here yet. Maybe because they were driven out of town in 1924 by Notre Dame students.

On the map, it looks as if there is a straight bike path from San Francisco to South Bend. Many roads lead to South Bend, and here I have attempted to puzzle together our winding journey until now:

Finally we have to observe that the festivity of entering a new state is not at the same level as earlier. We assume that earlier on the number of roads crossing state boundaries were so limited that the roads could afford to buy signs. Between Wisconsin and Illinois and again between Illinois and Indiana there are so many streets, roads and trails, so we can enter a new state without noticing. But South Bend is in Indiana and we are here.