Welcome To The Rollers

When I laid out the route to Maine, I purposely chose to stick close to the coast because the longer we could delay the inevitable hills, the more mileage we would be able to knock out.
We came across one small roller (a climb quickly followed by a descent) at the border of North and South Carolina and didn't encounter another until the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.
I was telling friends that the highest climb we've had before Manhattan were overpasses across I-95 which we seemed to cross a bunch of times in the south. But today, the rollers began in earnest once we got off of the Farmington Canal Bike Path, which runs from Yale University in New Haven all of the way through into Massachusetts with a couple of short detours in areas the path is being constructed.
That path was in the woods, providing us with great shade on another hot day in the 90s in New England. For close to 2 1/2 hours we rode without having to worry about traffic except on the occasional cross streets. This was the same path we were on Saturday with Alicia and Betsy.
About 20 miles from our hotel, the path stopped and we had to return to the insanity of the local drivers. Interestingly enough, while we were in the make shift parking lot placing the banner on the back of the van, a couple of riders stopped and asked about the trip. They were in need of refreshments so our SAG wagon opened up and provided the pair some cold Gatorade and snacks. Once they learned what we are doing, they decided to give us $10 for the supplies to go toward the cause.
In those 20 miles, we had close to 6 climbs of more than 100 feet with a couple of short run-outs on the other side. Getting used to climbing, but I want my reward -- 30-40 mph on the downside but haven't seen it yet.
Earlier, I mentioned in this blog about a man I met on the ferry to New York who donated $500. I wrote to him and thanked him and told him how much I appreciated his donation.
His response: "Marty -- it's hard to know what are the right things to give to. It seemed like a bit of serendipiuty to see you guys on the board so I just went with whatever it was that caused that. Best of luck on the rest of your ride and congratulations for actually taking up a cause. The world needs more of you guys."
Thank you again Neill.

Put another state behind us today as we crossed into Massachusetts on the Farmington Rail Trail. Now all that remains are New Hampshire and Maine on Tuesday.