Day 47

Today started sad.  Damien, our rider from Ireland found out last night his brother-in-law died yesterday afternoon in Ireland.  He was 43, owned his own business and he and his wife had two little girls.  He was on his yacht and had a blood clot.  It is another reminder that life is not fair, but living life is always good.  One of our mottos on our website is “Learn from the past, plan for the future, but live for today."  It is important to study history, plan for tomorrow, but most important is to enjoy each day as there are never any guarantees.  Damien said he was riding for his brother-in-law today and we told him we all are.  His family told him he should finish the tour as that is what his brother-in-law would have wanted.

It was a very nice ride today.  We started in fog and climbed out of the valley to a ridge overlooking the Mohawk River.  It was very pretty but coming down the hill was a little exciting as between the fog and my glasses getting wet, it was tough to see the road.  The pictures are from the top of the climb and riders behind me.  The next pictures are of the Mohawk River and a lock on the River.  Biking through the Mohawk River valley was very cool. 

There are also pictures of myself at the first rest stop and Kim and I at the second.  Kim brought treats to the second rest stop and is a real hit with the riders.  Today she brought mini-chocolate bars, a chocolate cake and banana bread.  A nice change from the normal snacks we have had.  For me, it is awesome having her here. 

The last picture is from mechanics.  At mechanics, riders clean their bikes and if there are problems, Jim, the full time bike mechanic fixes them.  He is amazing and can fix anything.  Jeff is also there and he helps riders with their bikes.  He has taught me to clean my bike and made me a believer that it is important to do every day.

Tomorrow we leave New York and enter Vermont.  It looks to be a difficult day as we have one of the biggest climbing days of the year.  The forecast is for t-storms.