On the Way to Niagara Falls

In the northwestern part of New York we found many houses made of cobblestone. They were very beautiful.

We also found more wonderful hospitality. As we arrived in Lewiston, NY, out running the predicted severe thunderstorms, we stopped for directions to the Portage Motel (cheap one in town). The man we asked, Dave Kimball, said, "why don't you come and stay at my house". So, we did. He is quite an adventurer himself and when he was young his parents used to run a "free" hostel because they believed in the importance of travel. What a special family.

Upstate New York

On May 27th we entered back into the US through New York. We found Upstate New York to be very beautiful with rolling hills and fields. We were very happy the NW winds wouldn't be bothering us for awhile. As we rode through Amish country we stopped at a farm that was selling baked goods. The family brought coffee out for us and we shared stories with the kids for some time as we ate our warm creme filled donuts and chocolate chip cookies. Reminded me of childhood expereinces.

We also found the same friendliness that we have been experiencing up the whole east coast. Jim Mousaw, an Elk member from Potsdam, let us camp in his yard, but...not before a night cap up in his tiki bar that he built right off from his bedroom. Then John from Ace Hardware, also an Elk member, picked us up and took us to breakfast the next morning.

We have been running pretty hard the past few weeks averaging 70-85 miles a day. But, we always take time to see the beauty along the way (flowers and swan).

"Old Quebec"

We had a great day walking around the city of Quebec. As you can see it is a very old and beautiful french city. Over 90% of the Quebecers(as they call themselves) only speak French. We visited Chateaus, parks, breweries and just enjoyed walking through the narrow and beautiful streets and watching the boats. A visit to Quebec must include a picnic of french bread, brie cheese and red wine. Quite a day.

Bonjour! The Wonderful French Canadian Hospitality!

We had a tiring ride to Quebec as we were facing daily headwinds, heat and long distances. Our reprieve from the wind was eating lunch behind some dumpsters.

We found the French Canadians to be very friendly. We passed one lady, Bridget, walking her bike with a flat tire. Ward fixed her tire and she was so grateful that, through the use of charades, she invited us to her house for dinner and to sleep. Unfortunately, we needed to get farther down the road and had to decline.

In route to Quebec we met another local cyclist, Jean-Luc, that invited us to stay at his house for 2 nights while we toured Quebec City. He lives right next to "Old Quebec" which made it very convenient for touring.

To get to Quebec City from Levis, we took the local ferry. We were amazed at how many bikers were on the ferry. Ward noticed a biker with a bike problem and had to lend a hand. We also met a young couple on the ferry that took interest in our trip. Who would have thought that we would end up running into them the next day on the street and enjoy more conversation and drinks together.

Back into Maine on our way to Quebec

We were anxious to get our budget back on track and re-enter the US. We had wanted to camp but the campgrounds were not open yet. We found that the Elks Lodges come to our rescue. The Elks Lodge in Houlton, which is still all men members, welcomed us in. They were having a grill out that evening and they fed us a fantastic chicken dinner. Then Donald Dunn took us in for the night and gave us a comfy bed to sleep in.

In the northeast they don't have bowling like we know it. They have candlestick bowling which entails a smaller ball and smaller pins. They say a score of 100 is good!

Its also interesting to see the signs showing when these cities were established.

Before entering back into Canada on our way to Quebec, we were stopped on the road by a TV crew and interviewed. It was funny because locals would yell to us on the road that they saw us on TV and wish us good luck!

Maine was very good to us!!

New Brunswick, Canada

From Maine we headed up to Frederickton in New Brunswick, Canada to see Stacey Mclean. She is a friend that we met while we were in Bolivia. Ward climbed a mountain with her in La Paz.

After a grueling day of fighting strong headwinds, Stacey and Jerry made us a scrumptious dinner of salmon, fiddleheads, roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. The next night we introduced them to German bratwursts. Great time.

While in Frederickton we presented at the Rotary Club and tooled around the city.

Three days was all we could afford in Canada. Its very expensive so we decided to head back into Maine on our way to Quebec.