August 19th Montreal to Ausable Chasm NY. 76 miles

Today was another great day for biking and entering the US. The sun was shinning and we had cool temperatures to start.  Jan and I started out at 636, but Jan soon noticed something was very wrong with her shifter and she could not get out of the highest ring in the front.  We headed back to camp to consult with Harold Veldman our mechanic who told Jan her derailleur was broken. He said she could still ride but not shift her front rings so she biked in the second ring all day which she could shift with the rear gears. It would be an interesting day for Jan. Hopefully Phil is able to get the part replaced so Jan can use her granny gear tomorrow when we have lots of hills to climb. We then got back on the road at 7 AM. We were all reminded to have our passports with us. Dave Geerlings did forget his when we entered Canada so this time everyone ensured he had his.

 We did have a side wind which meant we needed to ride side by side to help each other.  We caught up to Betty Adams and Betty Bandstra and Hennie and Harry Drost so we rode two rows of three people.  We rotated clockwise every 2 kilometers as Harry would shout out when we needed to change so that the same person did not take the brunt of the wind. Drafting under these conditions is very helpful and keeps us from burning out from working too hard.

 Later on we hooked up with Dave Geerlings and Russ Johnson who helped pull us along in the wind. The roads however were very rough for about 20 miles 3 miles of gravel and the rest full of potholes and rough road. We then had great pavement for the bike paths.  Once we entered the US the roads improved considerably.

Dave is wearing his shirt that says how many miles he has ridden in the 24 hour challenge in Michigan. He had over 8000 miles in 30 times. He averages over 300 miles in 24 hours. Dave is a very strong rider.

 

View of Lake Champlain which we are riding along on route 9.  It is a beautiful route with wide shoulders for bikes and great pavement. 

Our ride was a very enjoyable ride today.  I will sign off now as I want to have my bike checked as it skips sometimes when I shift from my 3rd wing to my 2nd ring, but it jumps instead to the granny ring.  I hope to have my bike shifting properly for tomorrow as we have lots of hills and I will be shifting the front rings a fair amount I expect.  Until tomorrow I pray everyone is doing well.