New York

         Soon after crossing the border into New York State, the terrain became hillier but a marked bike route with paved shoulders on the road provided a good surface for travelling. I spent the first night in New York at a State Park. In an effort to conserve on funds, however, I had planned on looking for campsites along the road. For the second night, I found a perfectly quiet, free site - in a cemetery. My only company was a few wild turkeys!

         I spent two days in Fair Haven State Park, NY. The park was deserted except for RV's that came near my campsite only to empty their camper toilets.

         Near Marion NY, I stopped at an intersection where there was a house on each corner. The owner of one of the houses was sitting on his porch and he called me over. After talking about the trip and the bike, he kindly invited me to put up my tent in his yard. After the tent was set up, I was invited in for dinner. Although I am a vegetarian, I was so hungry and tired that I couldn't refuse the BBQ pork chops placed in front of me.

         The next day, approaching Rochester NY, the traffic was very heavy and unpleasant for biking. I found a city trail for bikers and hikers that ran into a wooded area. The trail came to an end at a sign reading "Temp End Greenway Trail". I figured it would be a safe place to set up camp. After supper it started to rain but I was safe and dry in my tent. I soon discovered, however, that I was near a train track with freight trains flying by until late in the night. As well, this trail was at the end of a runway for the Rochester Airport. Rain, trains and planes, but it was free! While I was having breakfast in the morning, I was startled when someone appeared out of the woods dressed in army fatigues and carrying a fishing pole and a rifle. This campsite wasn't one I would recommend for others.

         The next day I arrived at Darien Lakes State Park, near Buffalo NY, and set up camp on a ski-doo trail. The park was deserted.


         It was a very long and difficult struggle to get to my next destination which was another State Park on Lake Erie. I struggled against endless hills and a very strong head wind. Around Buffalo, the Saturday shoppers were all out and there was construction everywhere. The wind got worse as I rode along the lake. I finally reached Evangola State Park as the sun was setting and decided to stay here for two days to get some rest. The first day was warm and sunny, but the rain started again on the second day. To keep dry, I moved all my camping gear into a covered veranda of a closed activity building and spent the day working on my bike and studying Spanish in the warm, dry camp washroom.

         The next day (September 25) the wind was bitterly cold. I stopped for groceries in Dunkirk, New York and tried to find fuel for my stove. After searching at two hardware stores and one gas station, I finally found a huge can of fuel that would do me for a long time, but weighed a ton. Out on the road again, a cold rain started pouring down. With this miserable weather, I decided to stay in a motel that night.

Pennsylvania

         After a cold and miserable day, I arrived in North East, Pennsylvania. I found another cemetery where I thought I would set up camp; but after finishing my supper a car pulled up and watched me for a long time. I figured it was time to move on. Further down the road, I found a deserted public park with open shelters, picnic tables and washrooms. With this miserable weather, I did not think anyone would be using the park so I stayed there for the night.

         I stopped next in Erie, Pennsylvania to do some shopping and get some film developed. Outside of Erie, the road became a bit flatter so I made good progress. When I stopped for lunch along the highway, a car pulled up behind me and the driver got out. He was excited to see someone touring with a recumbent bike. He had built his own recumbent and used it to ride to school where he was a science teacher. He also told me that he was working on a parachute that could be used in emergencies in tall buildings. With the terrorist attacks of September 11 just a few weeks earlier, I thought this would have helped the people in the World Trade Center. I was very happy when he told me it was only 10 km to the Ohio border.

Ohio

         Crossing the Ohio border, I took the usual border picture and found a wooded area to set up camp. I didn't sleep well that night because I thought I heard sounds of animals getting into my packs.

         Out on the road the next day, there was no paved shoulder but only a concrete curb to contend with, running all the way from the border of Pennsylvania to Cleveland, Ohio. The whole area seemed to be residential with no farms to be seen. However, the road was flatter and with no head winds, I made good progress. I stopped in Geneva to do some laundry and was surprised to find that the second language on the laundry machines was Spanish. I finally set up camp that night in an abandoned drive-in movie theatre.

         The next day, as I approached Cleveland, the traffic was very heavy so I decided to go south on a quieter road. Following this southerly route for two days, the hills, unfortunately, became steeper. I spotted an Amish gentleman crossing the highway in a horse-drawn carriage and I thought back to a simpler way of life. On October 1, 2001, I arrived in Mohican State Park. It had been a very long day and I arrived in the dark with my head lamp and rear lights on. I found an empty campsite near two other campers and set up my tent there. They offered me some stew and bread and we sat around the campfire talking.

         After leaving Mohican State Park, I passed through the nearby village of Loudonville, Ohio where the local fall fair was in progress.

         At the end of the day, it was starting to get dark and I still had not found a place to camp. I decided to knock on someone's door and ask for directions. A young couple answered the door and gave me directions to a park. As I was biking away, the wife called out after me and suggested I could stay on their property - "Words from Heaven!" I set up my tent on the Nateleland's property, used their shower and cooked a meal under the street light.

         On arriving in Cincinnati, I was approached by a passer-by that was interested in my bike. After some discussion, I asked about the location of the Youth Hostel. He asked how long I was staying in Cincinnati and then invited me to stay at his house. This turned out to be a beautiful mansion that he was renovating and renting out to university students. In this unexpected accommodation, I set up my camp in a room that was still being renovated. But I had no complaints. That night, Tim, the owner of the house, took me out for dinner. On returning, I met some of the students in a lounge where they were watching the news. The Americans had just started bombing Afghanistan.

         The next night, Tim and his brother were playing in a boccie tournament and invited me to go along. The tournament ended for them about 11 PM when they were knocked out in the third game. We returned to the house in his sporty, black-convertible Mitsubishi. Back at the house, Tim introduced me to Scott, a philosophy student who also happened to be a great guitar player. He had a recording studio in one of his rooms and he and another friend, who was a terrific singer, performed any song I named. I finally had to leave to go to bed but they carried on.

Going South