Day 45: The grand Finale

The day finally arrived, the last day of the trip. It really did not fully hit me throughout the day. I had thoughts about being done but everything felt the same throughout the day, part of my every day routine. I got a call from my Mom about 2 hours into the ride. My Mom and Dad had landed and were going to rent a car and come find me. My pace for the first 30 miles was slower but then I speeded it up realizing that I had the finish line up ahead. With about 25 miles to go my parents found me. All of a sudden I looked in my mirror and saw a car following me along the shoulder of the highway. So I stopped gave them hugs and trudged on. Today was no easy ride out. I guess I was expecting the road to flatten out more, but it did the opposite. The hills did not get bigger they just became way more consistent, absolutely no flat ground. So at around 1:30 I made it to the town of Rockport, Maine. A nice, little coastal town. I could see the ocean but could not find a good way to access it. So I found a library, went inside and got directions to a local park nearby that had a beach. With great relief and a smile on my face I took the plunge into the Atlantic. 45 days and many miles later the ride was over. So in closing to this long, crazy trip I leave you readers with a few pieces of advice, things that have come to me that I would like to pass on. The first is simply people need to leave their comfort zone every once in awhile. So many get stuck in their everyday lives that they forget about the dreams and goals that they have wanted to do. Whether it is fear of the unknown or lack of confidence these dreams or goals get ignored. So I strongly challenge everyone who is reading this to find one way to challenge yourself. It does not have to be biking across the U.S start small, maybe 10 miles a day on a bike. Or maybe it isn't physical, anything, just something new. In the end you will feel good about what you did. Last, but not least, I leave you with one simple quote from author/entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki.This applies to everything so use it often. "It's not I can't, It's how can I"

Hopefully you have enjoyed following me along on this trip, I am at $3700 right now and am short of my goal of $5000. Thanks to everyone for your support. If you have not donated and would like to there are two ways to do it. On this sight on the left side their is a tab that says click here to donate. With this you can donate securely online. The other option is on my fundraising letter there is an address to Big City Mountaineers, where you can send checks. Thanks again to everyone! If you have any questions for me you can email me or call me.

Adam Kenworthy

adamk311@simla.colostate.edu

(515) 314 6857

Day 44: The end is near

Got a decent nights sleep last night although I was camping next to some chatty Kathy's. there were a bunch of RVs there so there was a little community of older ladies hanging around a campfire being loud and indulging in a few more cocktails than they could handle. I didn't say anything for awhile but finally I said something. I dropped the bomb on them. I yelled from my tent excuse me, could you please be quiet, I am biking across the country I started in Seattle Washington, I have two days left on this trip and my alarm is set for 4:30 tomorrow morning, I would appreciate it if I could get some sleep. With that they apologized and to sleep I went. So the morning started off very chilly I was wearing every article of clothing that I had. I stopped fro lunch at about 80 miles into the ride. I found a grocery store/ deli where I ate at. Then it turns out that the library was closed but that they had Internet at the store and a laptop that i could use, to update my blog. Ending up being a pretty productive food. As I left town I felt some friction on my back wheel, so i stopped and found that I had a broken spoke. So that took about 15 minutes to fix, then I was on the road again. My progress has been slower today due to all of the hills in the Adirondacks. Went past a few ski resorts today and over the biggest pass I will have in the Adirondacks. Finished in very small town today, I biked right up until dark and this is where i made it to. I had some pizza then it was off to bed. Looking forward to finishing out the ride. Sorry I do not have pictures for the last few days I need to replace my camera cord, I will be doing that in the next day or two, so check back

Miles biked today: 127
Miles biked total

Day 43: Welcome to Vermont

So today was a great day although hot, it was not as bad as yesterday. The scenery today was so beautiful. I took a slow day today, the heat from yesterday wore me down a bit. So every 20 miles I took a short stop and had some food and water. The climbs were not as bad as I expected them to be. The downhills were again very fun today, steep and windy. I made it into New Hampshire for dinner and set up camp. I found a great campground for 5 dollars with a pool, bathrooms and showers. I now have 2 days left on the trip, I will be in Rockport, Maine finishing around noon on Saturday. Sorry I have no pictures posted, I will work on posting them soon.

Miles biked today: 105
Miles biked total:

Day 42: Heat meets hills

Got an early start this morning, was on my bike by 5:30 a.m. I found a great park to camp at last night. It was at Nick's Lake State Park area. Was able to go out for a swim last night before I cooked dinner. The roads out of town where very nice with no traffic and lots of wildlife. I came across my first real climbs of the Adirondacks. Although they were not long they were very steep. These steep uphills had very fun descents on the back side, which made the climbs worth it. As the afternoon wore on so did the heat and the humidity. I encountered the worst humidity I have had on this whole trip today. The temp was also 96 degrees. So the hill climbs were pretty sweaty to say the least. At my lunch stop a very strong, strong storm came on very quickly. I found shelter in the town library. It lasted for about 5 minutes, the wind blew hard and then the wind stopped. Then it really became hot and humid. So I waited it out at a coffee shop until 5:00 then took off to get a few more miles in. 20 miles later I realized I could go no further. The ferry I needed to cross the river into Vermont was closed and wouldn't open until 8 the following morning. Tonight was a hotel night, too hot and humid.

Miles biked today: 123
Miles biked total:

Day 41: Wrong turn

After a great stay in Syracuse I finally headed out a little late. The day before I went with my friend Adam to a bike shop. My breaks had been sticking a lot and the bike had not been shifting very well, so I wanted to get new cables and housing. All of the bike shops had a one week wait, so we tried one not too far from his place. This store said that they were busy as well, and couldn't help me out. So at this point I decided I was going to buy what I needed and try to do it myself. There was a free stand in the back and I asked if possibly I could use a bike stand and a few tools, I explained to him that I was biking across the country and was looking to head out first thing in the morning. He said that he could not OK that, but if I came back in a little while I could check with the boss. So we came back an hour later, I spoke with the boss. This man was not the happiest man you'd ever meet. He wasn't having it and he actually seemed angry that I was asking him a favor. "It's not my fault you are riding across the country unprepared." He then asked me where I was trying to make it to - I said Rockport, Maine by Saturday. He laughed and said, "yea right". So me and Adam left kind of jaw dropped, laughing at this man's response. So as we were heading out a man from behind approached us, "so whats the problem?" This man was a bike mechanic down there who overheard the situation. He agreed to do it for me and said that he would need to bring the bike to his house, because he was off of work. He also apologized for the owner's response and said that he doesn't do well under pressure. So I went to the bike shop across the street to buy the cables and housing, not wanting to return to the other shop. My bike was finished being worked on later in the morning. I met up with him at the bike shop to pick up the bike. I asked him how much, he responded nothing. I pulled out a twenty, but he refused and said just finish the trip. This was some good karma and a greatly appreciated gesture by this man. So I continued out of Syracuse around 11:00 It was pretty hot, in the 90's with a light wind out of the west. My route finding to and from Syracuse seemed to be working out great. Until I started heading north to hook up with my planned route. I was heading down route 5 which hooked up with 12/28. Before I knew it the road went from 2 lane to 6 lane highway. Then another on ramp, no exits. I was always wondering if I would end up on a really bad road on this trip, and this was that road. So I eventually got off this highway and was on a side street in town. I talked to a gentlemen at a store in town, and asked if he could help me out with a route up to Bonneville. We pulled out a map and saw that there was no way up to Bonneville unless I biked on highway 12 for 20 miles. My other option was to backtrack into the wind for 20 miles then head north and east again. So I asked how good the shoulder was, he said it was better after town. So I decided this is what I was going to do, suck it up and bike on the shoulder for twenty miles. I swung back on to the interstate, via the on ramp, which felt very weird on a bike. Then I found that the shoulder was not very good and very narrow. So once again I got off the highway and headed towards a gas station. At this point there was no way I was getting back on. So I found a truck with some people who ended up being very kind . They were heading to Bonneville and said I could throw my bike and trailer in the back. They knew exactly where I would need to reconnect to my intended route. The remaining 40 miles this afternoon was some of the most scenic roads I have been on so far. The hills have become more consistent as I head into the Adirondacks.

Miles biked today: 90
Miles biked total:

Day 40: Funk N Waffles

This morning I headed off my planned route to go see a friend of mine, Adam Gold. Adam lives in Syracuse which really wasn't too far off my route and only 70 miles from where I was camping last night. So a little background on my friend Adam. I met Adam through my roommate Joe and have known him for about 5 years, although he went to school in Syracuse I would see him once a year at school. In college, Adam played in different bands and was also a DJ. He went by the name Sweaty Funk, specializing in funk music. So he and his friend Kyle started up this concept of throwing parties where Adam would be in charge of the music and Kyle would be in the back in charge of making waffles. So this is how the concept of Funk ' n Waffles began. It quickly caught on with the students and they were getting booked just about every weekend for parties. So a year ago Adam and Kyle came through Fort Collins. They had just finished college and were on their way home after a cross country road trip. A year ago we were all talking - I was talking about my plans for my cross country bike ride and they were talking about turning their party gig into a business, called Funk 'n Waffles. Here I am on my bike ride, biking through Syracuse to see Funk 'n Waffles. So as you can imagine I have been eating a lot of waffles. When I rolled into town I immediately went to their restaurant. I started out with a spinach feta and turkey waffle, which was amazing. Then followed that with a butter milk, chocolate chip waffle with bananas, strawberries and whip cream. In the evening I had the feta spinach and salmon waffle(They were out of salmon earlier in the day so I did a repeat with the salmon.) Then I followed that with their Brownie Sunday waffle. They warned me of this one. They actually use brownie batter, so it is essentially a brownie the size of a waffle topped with three scoops of ice cream and whip cream. As I type this on Tuesday morning, I am having a buckwheat, blueberry waffle and some tea. It has been an amazing experience stopping here, being with good company and reflecting back a year ago, when these things we wanted to do were just dreams.


Miles biked today: 70
Miles biked total: