To Buffalo - The Road to Rome, Part One: America - CycleBlaze

July 8, 2021

To Buffalo

Today’s ride

The weather for today looks pretty dismal.  We’ve been expecting this and watching the forecasts for several days.  Today’s has always looked awful with thunderstorms forecast for the whole day.  One can always hope though, so we check the forecast when we wake up.  It looks dry for the next two hours, but at 9 the forecast is for ‘heavy thunderstorms’, with a prediction of heavy rain during that hour.  We’ve seen heavy thunderstorms recently, so the prediction conjures up vivid memories.  We don’t really want to get nailed halfway to Buffalo and then suffer through ongoing storms the rest of the way there.  

Then we remember: it’s our anniversary!  We very seldom get gifts for each other (and where would we put them anyway, since we’re homeless?), preferring to give each other experiences instead.  Today though we make an exception - I give Rocky a $6.20 bus ticket to Buffalo, and she gives me one back.  We bike six blocks to the bus stop, throw our bikes in the hold of the Coach USA bus, and shuffle off to Buffalo.  We arrive at about 11, are lucky to be able to check in to our room early, and fifteen minutes later the storm rolls in.

33 years!  Once again Rocky has defied expectations and put up with me for a other long 365 days.  I’m a very lucky man.  So, congratulations to us!  And congratulations to Racpat, who coincidentally are celebrating their 26th today in Leeds, ND.

It seemed like Rachael deserved a fine meal, so we took her to Frankie Primo’s for cacio e pepe with shrimp.
Heart 2 Comment 1
Rachel and Patrick HugensHi,
Looking at this now checking out your route in more detail because we just left Erie and staying in Ripley at Warmshowers host...heading for Buffalo and the Erie Canalway.
Thanks for the congratulations on our mutual Anniversaries.
We should be celebrating Rachel's 71st B-day at Niagara Falls.
Racpat
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3 years ago
Image not found :(
She hates eating alone, so I joined her with pappardelle with Slow Braised Pork Butt/Chianti/Pomadoro/Romano Cheese/Hazelnuts.
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The view from our table.
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Ride stats today: 1 mile, zero feet.

Looking ahead

 We’re at another cusp on the journey, at the start of the third and final leg for this journal.  This one carries us on a loopy detour through the Finger Lakes District, then circle the Adirondacks by biking north along Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence Seaway before turning south through New England.  It will take us exactly a month, and end in the middle of nowhere in western Connecticut where we’ll relax at the lakeside home of Vance (Elizabeth’s oldest son) and his wife Laurie before taking public transportation to the Newark airport.

Here’s the plan for the coming month:

The Ride to Rome, Part 1.C: Buffalo to Newark
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Looking further ahead

So that gets us to Newark, and the end of this journal.  We’re prone to looking farther ahead though, and have some updates to report.  Most immediately, we’re excited to have found the cycling endpoint for the European half of this trip.  We’re flying back from Fiumicino (the Rome airport), but we don’t plan to bike all the way to Rome or its airport.  Instead, we’ll stop in Viterbo, a town in Lazio about fifty miles to the north of Rome and on the train line.  We found an Airbnb host there who has agreed to hold our suitcases for three months after we ship them forward from Amsterdam.

The larger news though is that we have settled on our plan for next year.  In spite of all the back and forth discussions we’ve had, we’ve decided against applying for a long-stay visa for a year in France.  For now, that is - it’s still out there as a possibility for some future time though.

Instead, we’ve decided to experiment with the ‘Schengen Shuffle’: we’ll visit France for three months next spring, ending in Brittany; then take the ferry to the British Isles and spend three months there; and then ferry back to France for another three months in the fall before finally returning to Portland again.

So, in the spirit of laying down markers so we can look back someday to see how close our plans matched the reality, here’s a thumbnail outline of the plan for the next year and a half, rounded to whole months:

  • July: Buffalo to Newark
  • August through October: Amsterdam to Rome
  • November: Portland
  • December: California
  • January, 2022: Hawaii
  • February: Portland 
  • March through May: France
  • June through August: British Isles
  • September through November: France
  • December: Portland.

Today's ride: 1 mile (2 km)
Total: 1,486 miles (2,391 km)

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Comment on this entry Comment 20
Bob DistelbergFirst of all, Happy Anniversary! Secondly, wise choice on taking the bus to Buffalo. It's a rainy day in the northeast. I went out this morning, thinking there was a window of opportunity, and the skies opened up before I was even out of the neighborhood. I came back drenched after 11 miles. I would not have wanted to be out all day. So, bus tickets = perfect gift.
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3 years ago
Susan CarpenterWishing you both a very Happy Anniversary!
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3 years ago
Kathleen JonesYouse guys are so romantical. Happy anniversary. We just hit 30 last month. It’s kinda astounding, isn’t it, to be hanging with the same person for so many years? Kudos to Rachael. Okay, and you too.
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Kathleen JonesYes, I deserve a LOT of credit. They don’t call her Rocky for nothing.
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3 years ago
Kathleen JonesTo Scott Anderson🤣
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3 years ago
Suzanne GibsonSmart decision - and you didn't even have to take a taxi this time. Got away cheap! Happy anniversary!
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3 years ago
Emily SharpHappy Anniversary! I haven't had the time or energy in a long time to check in on you very often, but I'm glad to see you are making the most of this leg of your tour and finding ways to adapt to heat and rain, etc. At least there haven't been tornadoes! Stay safe - it will be interesting to see how reality matches with your long-term plans for sure!
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3 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThanks.
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3 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Emily SharpThanks.
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3 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Scott AndersonHey wait a minute! I deserve a lot of credit and you only deserve a little credit.
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3 years ago
Eva WaltersHappy Anniversary you guys! Looking forward to following all your travels for the next year. Have you decided where in the British Isles you will be touring?
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Emily SharpThanks, Emily. Nice to hear from you! We’ve seen some heat and rain, but looking around other places in the world we have no cause to complain about the weather we’re experiencing. As a whole I’ve been pleasantly surprised - and especially pleased that varmints haven’t been a problem at all. I think I’ve gotten one skeeter bite in five weeks.
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Eva WaltersNot really. I’m thinking we’ll catch the ferry to Cork at the beginning, and return to Brittany from southern England at the end. I picture an inverted horseshoe shape, biking up the west coast of Ireland, ferrying to Scotland, and then working our way back south. The main thing though is that we want to stay flexible and open, maybe staying for extended periods here and there and exploring regions in more depth by day rides. That’s sort of our vision for the French parts of the journey also.
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3 years ago
Lednar De NallohWhat a team. 33 years is outstanding, especially as you guys 'live in each other's pocket. Look forward to reading your future journals, you really do an excellent job.
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Lednar De NallohLive in each other’s pockets. That’s the truth, alright! We get a lot of alone time on the road from our riding style though. How do people on tandems do it?
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3 years ago
Jacquie GaudetJust caught up--I admit I hadn't been following along because I'm envious, stuck here at home. But I'm really curious to see what you come up with for the British Isles because that's high on my list and I've always had a good trip base mine from yours.
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetWe’ll be curious to see what we come up with ourselves! I’ve got a rough map in mind, but Rachael’s is all around flexibility and extended stays. Hard to say where we’ll be a year from now.
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3 years ago
Jacquie GaudetI think Al's enjoyed the trips I've planned that he's come along on. Quite different than the ones he and his buddies do (big days on light road bikes, support van, etc.) I think my trips are more enjoyable.
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3 years ago
Rachel and Patrick HugensKeeping in mind the future planning: If you are back in Portland in November, we will be home in Boise,
would love to have you guys visit and that we finally meet.
Racpat
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3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Rachel and Patrick HugensOh, sure. We’ll just hop on the bikes and dash over there. Should make a great midwinter ride!
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3 years ago