may18 day 9 22 miles 230 total i stopped at the new york border today 4 miles short of where I was supposed to get, but the endless days of zero hours of rest was wearing me down. it was a relief to eat and have a few minutes to breathe! i took another shortcut. the shortcuts have been the most fun. this morning i had used my walking stick as a dog stick for Read more…
may 17 day 8 28 miles total 208 i wish i had an extra day just to tell the tale of crossing the berkshires on back roads. even dirt roads. the peace and solitude. and all the other wonders. the owls the beaver the granite quarry the lakes the stone walls what an incredible (and grueling) day. i passed another test. although bigger mountains are coming soon. for the first time i feel like i Read more…
the eager anticipation of day 1 becomes the grim resignation of day 8… today the berkshires laz
may 16 day 7 26 miles 180 total. not long after leaving palmer I came into the outskirts of springfield… a much bigger city than I expected. once again, the lack of a route map and my homicidal magic phone combined to lead me on a merry chase around the country side. the extra miles were painful, but I got a great tour of downtown springfield (that a more sensible route would have missed) visited Read more…
may 15 day 6 29 miles 154 total jerry palmer was with me all day that was great. the first half was difficult. no shoulder and heavy traffic even at 0300. everyone was hopping off the parallel toll road to avoid the toll. our conclusion; people who exit to avoid tolls are jerks. this is the least room anyone has given me the whole way. we could not see anything, because we were kept constantly Read more…
supposed to rain today. heat instead. jp(from houston); “i know you are starting to struggle a little bit. but i am having a great time out here.”
day 5 23 miles total 125 whoosh whoosh whoosh WHOOSH i will never recommend us 20 for a transcon route. there has been nothing since leaving boston, except a neverending stream of cars. sometimes the shoulder is good sometimes acceptable sometimes almost nonexistent. between the traffic, and the ubiquitous road construction progress has been painfully slow. i take heart that every step brings me closer to a minute without the constant whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of passing Read more…