Places without races

With 8 days to go I am already contemplating all the ins and outs of the upcoming bicycle adventure. This Blue Planet ride is about places not races. Most of my athletic destinations over the last several years were about cool city marathons and opportunities to improve my personal record. This time around it is about blue planet moments in the true sense of the word. So sit back, relax and watch the world go by carbon neutral on pedal power! With my camera by my site, I hope to capture the special moments as I see them.

If you know of a town, sight, local food specialty, brew or special event, on or near the route, tell me about it. If you have relatives in any of the 50 plus metropolises I am cruising through and you would like me to go there and have their picture taken, leave me a post or email with the details. If your employer is into corporate social responsibility and is looking for opportunities to support a great cause either by a matching fund drive, a sponsorship or a donation, tell them about this initiative and steer them my way. And last but not least if you haven't yet, but would like to be involved help make this world a better place for so many who are struggling daily due to sanitation problems and lack of safe drinking water, take a moment and click the donate now! button on the sidebar of my blog. Your donations will save many lives and improve living conditions, and that is what this campaign is all about. All corporate sponsorships, donations and pledges will go 100% to water projects in third world country. None will support expenses for my ride!

The plan is to blog weekly in places where I can find a computer to upload my pictures, and update daily on twitter and my Blue Planet Ride pages on Facebook. Please take a moment to join, by clicking the thumbs-up icon for free uninterrupted entertainment from the road!

It is not about the ride

Another year, another Tour de Water. This summer I will attempt to circumnavigate Europe. The ride measures over 4,200 miles, is twice the distance of the Tour de France, and journeys through fifteen different countries with various languages, cultures and customs. It means that I will be biking, navigating, communicating, camping, raising awareness, and hopefully make many new friends along the way. I will be a messenger, bike mechanic, athletic director, operations manager, adventurist and tourist all in one. In the end, I hope to raise another $10,000 for water projects around the world. So come along and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and this blog where you will be able to witness around the clock, commercial free adventure cycling in action.

Aside from the scenic beauty, the places of interest and natural wonders, it has been the people I met along the way that really made last year’s endeavor such a positive experience. From the casual acquaintances to the "lifesavers" that somehow showed up whenever I most needed a helping hand. It was that spontaneity and generosity of total strangers caring and giving of themselves that stood out the most. Thank you to all who supported the cause and encouraged me along the way. Together we raised over $11,000 for global water projects. The net effect of the money donated is that it will provide safe drinking water and ultimately reverse the number of people with deadly water born diseases. Furthermore it will afford women and children in third world communities to go to school and live healthy and normalized lives. Our involvement shows that we care and gives hope to those in need. Thank you for that. Water is life. Pass it on.

Day 50 - Sponsored by Marja and Jan de Baare

Today will mark the end of my 2009 tour-de-water bike adventure. At least for a while, this will be the last time I hook up the trailer, panniers and other life support needed to pedal the wide and open spaces and scenic byways. It has been a daily routine firmly implanted in my core being since the beginning of the ride. Packing and unpacking, everything had its place and needed to fit in the limited luggage arrangements. Weight was a concern, but then again if it would fit or could be stowed it was going, and on average I was lugging some 120 pounds of carry-on. My sixteen year-old Trek touring bike was holding up well and doing the job, trekking like a true mule, in the good sense of the word!

By 8:30 I was ready to hit the road and was in for a scenic treat on route to my final destination. Back on the main road in Willsboro the terrain gradually became steeper and steeper, leading up to the Ausable chasm near Keeseville. This tourist attraction sometimes referred to as the little Grand Canyon of the East, boasts three rainbow falls, plunging a hundred feet deep into the sandstone gorge and Ausable river. From there it carves a way through the foothills of the Adirondacks and out into Lake Champlain. The downhill was long and resilient and soon turned towards the lake where the terrain flattened out for the remainder of the trip. In the meanwhile the weather had become more turbulent and delivered a stubborn headwind. So whatever gained by elevation loss was negated by the wind. I crossed the border at Rouses Point where the friendly customs agent took a great deal of interest in my trip itinerary and warned me of the poor road conditions ahead. Once in Canada the plan was for my brother, a resident of Montreal, together with my father, who had flown in from Amsterdam for the occasion, to meet me somewhere at a yet to be defined location outside the city. By dusk that plan came to fruition and somewhere on the side of the road with nothing but fields of corn as a backdrop was the end of the line. Before we packed it in there was a breef victory reception complete with Heineken, smoked fish and a traditional Dutch treat called "gevulde koek" hand delivered from the Netherlands. A dream come true finish for an unforgettable journey! Heerlijk Helder Heineken!

Day 49 - Sponsored by Nel Achilles

Fall is upon us and the New England canvas will soon be changing into a display of vibrant tints of yellow, orange, crimson and flaming reds. Bold brush strokes of bright and luminous colors will emblazon the landscape to celebrate the end of summer with a spectacular victory lap. Although only in it's beginning phase, this year's painting of the deciduous forest foliage has set into motion and shows much promise of yet anoher masterpiece. Morning temperatures are dipping lower ever so slightly one day at a time, and bare legs and arms from earlier days now need warm-ups during the first few hours of the ride. My sleeveless vest, bought on the Blue Ridge Parkway as a souvenir has become part of my daily attire. But apart from the waning daylight, this is a terrific time of year to be out and about. Not too hot, but not too cold either.

Today's ride followed the road alongside lake Champlain, a natural border between New York state and Vermont. A wrong turn after the historic town of Ticonderoga took me on a treasure hunt through the foothills of the Adirondacks. The scenic route paid a visit to the quaint little hamlet of Ironville claiming to be the birthplace of the electrical age. All and all the expanded side trip was well worth the extra calories burned. As the evening, progressed the miles kept clicking away on my cyclometer, passing through Crown Point, Westport and picturesque Essex with stately Victorian homes converted into magnificent bed and breakfast places. Too expensive for my meager budget! The overlook from the road onto the ferry dock below with a stunning view of the lake, made for a picture perfect moment. A stop at the turtle island cafe in Willsboro turned out to be a fine dinning experience presented by award winning chef David Martin. If in Willsboro don't miss it! By the time I finished my meal it was pitch black, but now I had a lead on where to spent the night ... just another eight miles on a foggy and dark dirt road. After I told the innkeeper about my water mission he instantly lowered the room rate and upgraded me to a suite. So here we are, my last night on the road. Woa!

Day 48 - Sponsored by Regine Treschak

Another day, another byway, and for this trip it will be my last one. I have been pretty content freewheeling around the country for the last 47 days, and am actually in no hurry to get to the finish line. Today's ride will go north from Albany to Whitehall, along the Lakes and Locks Passage, touted in travel advertisements as the great Northeast Journey. The scenery is bound on the east by the upper Hudson River and Champlain canal and on the west by an elevated terrain of the Adirondacks Mountains. There is water everywhere in the form of lakes, rivers, canals and waterfalls. What a blessing! To my surprise the bike lane conditions on the shoulder of the road were far from ideal and often bumpy, full of cracks and potholes, sometimes repaired but mostly unattended. This US Route 4 could stand some stimulus funded road repair!

As I passed through Waterford, the annual tugboat roundup was under way warranting a quick detour to take in this local spectacle. Tugboats were lined up from stem to stern alongside the canal and a fair like atmosphere filled the air with sound bites of local music and tantalizing tasty delicatessen. Further down the road in Stillwater a restored and well-preserved Blockhouse built in 1927 was open to the public, replicating the early 18th Century blockhouses of the region. At the town of Schuylerville I got off the bike to make my acquaintance with the homestead of general Phillip Schuyler. A historical landmark visited by notaries such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Luck had it that the tour guide was still on duty and offered me an elaborate private tour. What a treat! When I stumbled across a little roadside motel in Whitehall it was time to call it quits for the day. Across the street was a local diner with homegrown cooking and an assortment of old fashioned brews.