Oh Burlington, you've won my heart!

Wow, I never thought that I would have so much fun in Burlington, Vermont. My two days of rest turned into nearly a week of exploration, art, and culture. None of which would have been possible without my chance meeting of Carol and Alison who have let me stay on their houseboat for the duration. I can't express how much they've actually helped me ( between the food and the lodging ) but I can assure you that I've made honest friends of them both.
So here comes the rundown...I started looking around the city and at first was taken aback by all of the retail shops and the masses of tourists coming through the area. Over the next few days I started to find the culture I was looking for, it was merely hiding. Bikes are everywhere! It's exciting for me to see so many people out and about in such a hilly area. Take a lesson Athens, there are almost as many bikes as cars on the streets but there are hills! Steep hills, all over the place, rising from the water and stretching as far as the horizon. Are people crazy? I don't think so, just determined to make a change. The desire to have an impact on such a wide scale problem can be seen everywhere in this city. There are recycling containers next to every trash can, a bumpin' farmers market, and more 'localvores' then I can shake a stick at. I'm sure if I had the time and money I could find a nice home an be a part of this community. It doesn't seem like I'd get tired of the recreational activities either.


Aside from relaxing and just taking it all in I wanted something to look forward to. I was walking around 'uptown' and saw the marquee for The Flynn Theatre calling out to me "come see The Decemberists, you know you love them". It was hard for me not to listen, even thought the ticket took a healthy chunk out of my budget the show was captivating enough to balance it out. Yet another budget crater was formed when I spied the Ben and Jerry's shop, which I had no less than three times while here.

So for those of you that I've met in the great state of Vermont, keep being awesome your electric energy will be hard to leave behind. My travels must resume if I am to make it to Acadia before it's too cold for beach bouldering. My time's about up on this computer or else I'd tell you all more. Sometimes it's better to hear it all in person, which brings up a though I've had for a few weeks. *A-Town crew ( and anyone else that wants to be included ) let's meet up down south for some bouldering at the Horse Pens 40 triple crown...what'cha think? Cool, see you there. I've got alot of traveling to do before that though, so wish me luck and warm weather. Peace.

Picture-Palooza !!!!!!

Hello again everyone. As you can tell I'm alive and well, having spent a week in the Adirondacks I've come out no worse than I went in. In fact, I'm doing great. I'll have to admit, my mood has been entirely influenced by the kindheartedness and generosity of everyone I've met so far. So I've decided to give this blog to all of you I've gotten to know along the way. Whether it was a crash pad you shared with me, directions and beta you've given me, a boat you've let me sleep on, or just a kind face and a story you've provided, I couldn't have gotten along this well without you. Ok, so here it is, the mother lode of photos from this past week...enjoy. The view from 'my' houseboat on Lake Champlain



I pedaled 1002 miles to get to the ferry and into Vermont, adios New York!

Where's my trad gear when I need it?!

Follow the yellow bike road.

Rain day, rest day. It's smooth, it's sharp, but oh so gneiss.

Petzl found a fungi to hang out with.

I bought a head net, the bugs are getting bothersome.

Cool Dyno problem called 'Drop the clutch'

The Gem of the McKinzie Pond boulders, 'Flux Capacitor'

Dinner.

Ok, cool stuff? I had fun, I didn't have the time to take photos of everything I did ( that would take away from the coolness ), but some moments I had to capture and share. I'm moving out across Vermont and New Hampshire and I'm on my way to Maine, Acadia Park. I stopped in a local gear shop here in Burlington, VT and got beta for some climbing along the way including Acadia. Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times for all the warmth you've all shown me. I'm sure it will help me to brave the onset of the New England fall chill. See you soon!

In Mexico, on da beach boyeeee!

Hey Ya'll ! Things have been a bit hectic for me these last few days with all the holiday vacationing families. It's hard to squat at a campground with so many people around. On Sunday evening ( the 6th ), after going nonstop for a few days to avoid the crowds I pulled into Mexico Point State Park in Mexico, NY. Amazed at how quiet it was I sprawled out my gear and decided to rest a spell. So I spent yesterday catching some Z's, swimming, washing clothes, exploring the 'turn of the century' buildings, and eating heartily.
The only problem I've had lately is with BB ( my bike ). She's been making some noise for the last few days and slowly, piece by piece, I've been figuring out what the issue is. After I packed my things up this morning ( Tuesday the 8th ) I boot scooted my way to Watertown, NY. I sprinted here from about 13 miles out trying to make it to a bike shop before closing. Guess what?! As I pulled up to the shop, The Village Peddler, the owner was just locking up. He let me borrow the tools I needed to set BB straight and when I asked him for a recommendation to some good eats he told me about Johhny D's diner across the way. Turns out he owns both establishments. I couldn't be happier to have met that fellow today.

One thing I'd like to admit to all of you is how much I LOVE PEACHES! These particular few I scavenged off the ground ( fair game in my book ) just after I made it through Rochester, NY. In the city I found a grocery store that was the largest I had ever seen. Picture a building the size of Wal-Mart with no inventory other than food. It was called Wengmans, they had everything I've ever eaten or craved. It truly was a hard place to be considering the budget I'm on and the fact that I must bear the burden of carrying my purchases along with me. Though it wouldn't have weighed me down for long ( I haven't had much trouble putting away about 5,000 calories a day, BOOM ).

That's alot of cabbage!! I've been pushing through miles and miles of farmland along Lake Ontario and I've noticed all the fields of grapes ( prevalent on Lake Erie ) have turned into apple and peach orchards, but in the middle of all of that was this...about fifty acres of cabbage! It goes on forever, front to back and left to right.

This will be my last post for maybe a week. I plan on making it to Adirondack State Park tomorrow and taking my time moving through all of it's mountains. I plan on doing some fly-fishing, climbing, swimming, and taking it easy in solitude. Everyone I've come across tells me of how desolate it is in that region. "Ain't no roads up there, no people either. Why do you want to go there?" For that very reason I'd tell them, most times I got a laugh, other times a blank stare. However you might take it, I promise I'll be safe and post a new blog as soon as I'm out of the mountains. Until then, all of my love.

Buffaloed in Buffalo

How Do my friends! These last few days have been fun and full of exploration. I made it to Lake Erie and found that island I mentioned earlier, it was lame. It was a peninsula not a detached piece of land. But I saw some awesome things ( like this restored ship that was actually sailing out to the lake ) and met a few really nice folks. Did you know some of the oldest concord grape vines in the world are in North Western New York? Fields of grape vines trailing off into the lake and setting sun is an amazing sight to see.
I had to make my way through Buffalo, NY to get to Niagra Falls ( pictured above ) and found out though there may be a bike path / lane, it doesn't always get you somewhere. I ended up riding in circles and I was following the signs! So after about 5 miles of wasted energy I got my bearings from the sun and headed east to 'go around' the city. Although this added about 15 miles to my trip it didn't smell as bad and there was less traffic, so I thought it worthwhile.
I'm at about 540 miles so far and still heading north towards Maine. I thought it would be nice to detour and work on some farms and rest up, but it isn't getting any warmer and every stop along the way takes days away. I don't really know how to describe the attraction to New England other than magnetic. So here I go, like a roasted marshmallow to chocolate and graham cracker, it just fits.