Conneaut, OH --> Avon, NY --> Ithaca, NY

We awoke in our Conneaut, Ohio B&B (such a treat after so much camping!!) to a scrumptious breakfast with the owners, Dale and Sheila, and set out to celebrate July 4th with a brief pilgrimage through the birth state of the Declaration of Independence - Pennsylvania. The morning was sunny and we had fun striking poses and shooting photos at the state line. But we were following Lake Erie north and our time in PA was short. In our defense, we tried to make it count by crashing the West Mill Creek 4th of July parade just south of Erie, PA by riding in the parade too (just going the opposite the direction...oops). Another 30 miles and we hit New York's southwestern edge.

The sight of the Empire State was more emotional than we expected. Since leaving Montana we considered ourselves in the heartland of America. Since leaving Alzada it had been three weeks of hot days (and some hot nights), humidity, headwinds, hills (okay, just in South Dakota and Iowa) and, after crossing the Mississippi, hoards of traffic. The state signs had been slipping by, but we kept seeing what looked like the same cows turning their heads to watch us pass and the beautiful cornfields continued on... and on... and on...

"The Empire State Welcomes You"

And just like that, three weeks shrunk into a heartbeat. Somewhere along the way the corn had faded and vineyards took their place.

We stayed at the state sign for what seemed like an hour, reminiscing over the journey and talking with several travelers. Antonio, Natalie and their kids were passing through from Alabama to see family and peppered us with questions about the ride, laughing in astonishment when they heard where we started. "What is your website?" said Natalie, a former Army service member herself, "I am donating right now!" It made for a great welcome back East. Thanks guys!!

Heading north, we initially lamented having booked a motel behind a Home Depot with plans to spend the 4th in the nearby Applebee's in Fredonia. Shouldn't we be celebrating this 4th with a big bang, we thought, like fireworks on the lake (as if riding across the country wasn't enough)? By the end of our 37th straight day of riding, though, we were thrilled to be celebrating Independence Day with independent sleep.

Besides, the next day was even more cause for celebration. For the third time on our trip, we had a direct tailwind. Within hours we covered 45 miles up to Buffalo and, after navigating around the city, shot along a northeast trajectory toward Batavia another 30 miles inland, clocking in our 3,000 mile mark as we went.

It was about 5pm when we rolled into Batavia expecting to call it quits and settled in over milkshakes. But a good tailwind begs to be used. After checking the weather radar, we noted storms in the forecast for the weekend when we expected to climb through the Catskills. We decided to squeeze any remaining miles we could out of the breeze.

Summer evening riding has become our favorite way to ride. It generally starts with a little anxiety over making the next destination before sunset, but it's usually just healthy fuel and focus. On the road, the air is calmer, the people are calmer, and if the sky is clear, the light is golden. Countrysides glow and towns look their very best.

We sailed another 27 miles on the fading sunlight to Avon, NY, and stopped in at Wahlburgers, a local 50's style joint that served up delicious burgers, fish and chips and homemade root beer. There was a folk band playing under a veranda out back and a crowd of older folks dancing and enjoying the music. We joined and almost immediately were being asked questions about our ride. The band even heard about us and asked us to stand up. More people came and asked about the ride. "You're going to Boston? I've never been to Boston" one gentleman said. "Good for you" said another lady. Everyone wished us safe travels.

Afterwards we thanked the well wishers, mounted our bike lights and rode a couple short miles to our motel on the outskirts of town to settle in for the night. The 105 miles we logged that day put us within striking distance of our next major destination--Ithaca--a day early.

Ithaca was an important stop for a host of reasons. It was where Ben and I were reunited after a year and a half of separation. It was where I finished law school and Ben finished his service in the Army. And it was still home to a host of dear friends, including Sandy, an old housemate and our first friend who inspired us with his own bike ride across America; Thibaud, a political science classmate of Ben's now finishing his dissertation; and Laura, Yvonne and their son Oakley, who got us through the thick and thin of those challenging two years with lots of rock climbing, barbeque, hugs. We were headed for Laura and Yvonne's the next day.

Determined to see them as soon as possible, and to give ourselves as much buffer with the pending storms over the weekend, we hit the road early (for us) and got in 40 miles by noon before turning south into the Finger Lakes. For the next several hours we loped over the hills between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes before plunging down along the Cayuga shoreline to Cayuga Creamery, our favorite ice cream spot north of town.

The milkshake fueled us the final 17 miles into our old stomping grounds. We both agreed that, for posterity, we had to include our tried-and-true commute up to Cornell campus in our bike ride across America. This included a physically and visually breathtaking climb up along Cascadilla Gorge, followed by an extended climb through campus to the law school. As we pushed up this last leg, a rider with socks and Birkenstocks was coasting down the opposite direction. Ben instantly recognized him and I heard a mutual shout of gleeful recognition. "Sandy!" "Ben! I knew that was you!"

Without any planning at all, we had run into the first of our friends. We all quickly agreed to meet again the next morning, and Ben and I hurried on to Laura and Yvonne's to celebrate.