I've been slowly taking bike apart after the trip, cleaning and inspecting. Found the first part that needs replacing.
#BikeTooter

Batteries? Oh, we have strong batteries!

#ElectricCars

Proper metering for your late 1800's, early 1900's electric carriage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rauch_and_Lang

#ElectricCars

Flashback to the trailing edge of winter 2023, bushwhacking through the woods and started discovering letters in the snow from fallen twigs. Grand illusions of an all natural alphabet fell short after an hour with only a badly white balanced "FEY" in the photo library.
There was also the happy little landscape scene of tree on hillside, as portrayed by twigs.

Biking into west side of Syracuse, before reaching the New York State fairgrounds, there's what looks like a giant landfill (Camillus?) on the north side of the trail. Up on a rise to the south side is something peculiar, a high voltage feeder line has three sets of wire coming off of it and each set connects to 6 or so tall power poles, many of which have a transformer with cables going into the ground.
At the time I was wondering if there's some kind of underground energy storage system (salt thermal, flywheel, batteries). Now, looking at satellite image it looks like a lot of solar panels were installed on top of landfill, so maybe power's not being fed "into" the ground, but instead is coming from solar arrays and voltage is being stepped up to interface with grid? Still, that seems like a lot of lines. ":^)

#TechnologyTuesday #WhatIsIt #SolarPower

Dan started cycling Alaska to Argentina 3 years ago on a Surly. He's still out there, certainly not taking the direct route south, on a different bike. New video covers the current setup along with helpful tips.

https://youtu.be/Qn7bq9VlPDw

Gear spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gHnPBBLrL5lTn4mtYtk9oIZoBNEu_6RYtdXBrOqcUEg/

#BikeTooter #BikePacking

Stuck in Vermont talks to Tamara of Starcrossed Knits:
https://youtu.be/2hfqChTMZ2c

Tamara's channel:
https://youtube.com/@starcrossedknits

#knitting #Vermont

In 2019 I had a 3" cancerous tumor removed, along with a fair share of surrounding tissue, lymph nodes, and some jejunum. Three smaller tumors grew over the ensuing years and in 2023 I opted to surgically remove them. I lost more than bargained for: 2 tumors removed and instead of removing biggest tumor, 1/3 of colon, appendix, gallbladder, half of ileum, a various other items removed. This has resulted in "the guts" being a highly unpredictable mechanism on the best of days.
Related: I found a really nice travel bidet at an REI store in Rochester, NY!

Strange to be back to boring morning routines after almost a week of daily cycling. All total, 380 miles of interesting sights interspersed with monotony. Legs held up well, guts were challenging, bike worked perfectly, and logistics mostly worked out.
First plan: no camping, just lodging. Then, with forecast looking cold and rainy, with long stretches between lodging, a camping fallback was added. Adding tent setup and cooking gear fully filled the small gravel panniers.

1st day was so nice I changed destination from a city at 50 miles to one at 78. Woke the next morning, checked forecast, thought about guts, and decided no Plan B. Mailed camping gear home. This lightened the load and freed up more pannier space (foreshadowing).

2nd day was a toasty 87° (30C) as I meandered through Rochester pathways, the bike getting jarred by sharp pavement cracks from tree roots. This probably contributed to front bag's support collapse and rubbing on tire. Most of bag's contents transferred to panniers, which thankfully had space. 64 miles.

3rd day was the roughest, another 64 miles and quite a few road detours. Cold and misty with 55mph giant trucks roaring nearby just squashed the mood. Cheered up a bit at sign showing over halfway in the early afternoon back on canal trail.

4th day started cold, then turned into beautiful blue skies and long colorful canal paths. A few grumbles over EST trail signs, not being present or showing wrong directions, but managed 62 miles.

5th day looked like cold, non-stop rain when I woke to high winds and torrential rain. Wheeled bike out a few minutes after rain died down and didn't see any more in over 60 miles. Now, the last 5 miles was brutal rain, steep hills, and heavy traffic but I blame myself for believing google that it was a faster "mostly flat" shortcut. Don't listen to the goog. Front bag mount completely gave out, luckily there was room in panniers for rolled up handlebar bag.

6th and last day, revenge of the hills. Most of the trail is flat, although road detours (and goog shortcuts) feature climbing. Schenectady started a trend of hills that didn't stop until almost Troy. Nothing huge, but at this point legs were not into a lot of little punchy climbs. Still it was a lovely day and the final stretch into Albany was great.

I didn't see many people riding the whole trail, a couple eastbound and 3 or 4 going west. Most of the trail had people out walking or running, or just noodling around on a bike, even in bad weather. The EST is a wonderful resource. I kept thinking how hard it must be to envision, design, and pull everything together to create and maintain it. So glad that they did!

#BikeTooter #EmpireStateTrail

#OldAndNew #reflections

After watching the zipper video many times, think I have the pieces there (fly facing and shield) correct. Fortunately, a small amount of fabric so easy to re do if I got it wrong somehow. I do think I have it correct. Now I need to serger those pieces on the correct edge, and pick what color thread. White? Yellow? Probably white. #jeans #sewing #jeansproject

#SilentSunday

#SilentSunday

Made it to Albany, finishing my west-east EST ride.
But, more importantly, it’s Hounds of Halloween in Albany today! Lots of pups and their people dressed up to visit downtown businesses.
#BikeTooter #EmpireStateTrail

I promise to try and take bike all apart for thorough cleaning when I get home. 🤞

Packing up a bike is nice in that there’s no re-packing things into a car. Wheel bike into elevator, out front door, start sundry electronics, and away you go.
The frame bag mount died yesterday, so it’s rolled into a pannier. Being end of trip there’s just enough room.
#BikeTooter

Pop awake at 2am, “I forgot to dry the gloves!”
They’re on hotel fan along with other damp items. 42° (6C) this morning, going to be a cold ride.
Woke up later to this from strava:
#BikeTooter

I found #BostonMA to be a very #bikeable city. If you're rusty, take this course!

Learn-to-Bike for All Adults - Basic Skills

Oct 17 @ 10am to 12pm

"Do you want to learn or refresh basic skills, such as starting, stopping, & turning? Bikes & helmets provided. Class open to all genders.

Beginner and Basic Skills / #Habilidades #Básicas

Can't remember the last time you were on a bike? Or never learned to ride? Come to a free learn-to-ride workshop and learn alongside other adults.

This class is open to all genders, and is appropriate for people who have never ridden a bike before, have not been on a bike for a long time, or can pedal but need to work on basic skills (like stopping, turning, and changing gears). It is taught entirely in a parking lot.

¿No te acuerdas de la última vez que montaste en bicicleta? ¿O nunca aprendiste a montar? Apúntate a uno de nuestros talleres gratuitos. Ofrecemos este taller a personas de todos géneros, y es apropiado para las adulta/os que nunca han montado en bicicleta, hace tiempo que no subo en bicicleta, o las que pueden pedalear pero necesitan mejorar en habilidades básicas (como frenar, girar, y usar los cambios). Los talleres estarán en un estacionamiento."

FMI and to reserve a spot:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/oct-17-10am-learn-to-bike-for-all-adults-basic-skills-tickets-1986805962116

#SolarPunkSunday #BikeTooter #BostonMA #BikeForAll #MassachusettsEvents

I found someone to ride with that protected us from being rained on. Nice trails today and only 48-ish miles left to finish the Buffalo to Albany trail now.
#BikeTooter #EmpireStateTrail

Secret Agent Lil’ Cutie

Steller’s Jay

#Birds