Another Rain Delay

Saturday, June 3. Still in Rhinebeck, NY, still raining. Fortunately, Rhinebeck has a wonderful new library (Starr Library) with internet access for all. While I'm jotting this note, Matthew is researching alternate routes in the Northeast. Maine and New Hampshire have had a lot of rain recently, and are getting more again this week. We've looked at the DOT websites for NH and ME--a lot of roads and bridges are under water and/or closed. So it looks as though we might be taking NY State Bike Routes up to Vermont, and then picking up our planned route once we see our friends Kurt & Holly (and Ben & Jerry). Meanwhile, we're seeing all there is to see of Rhinebeck. And perhaps a little bit more. I was wondering why we kept seeing so many villages, rivers and creeks with the word "kill" in their name. I asked at the Starr Library, and one of the librarians told me that it came from an Indian word. I looked it up in Wikipedia, which states that kill is a modification of an old Dutch word kille, meaning riverbed or water channel. This term is used in areas such as NY state which have a significant Dutch influence. In Delaware, apparently, they got a little carried away and named one of their creeks "Murderkill". . . OK. Lesson over, this will be on the quiz. I keep forgetting to jot these down, but here are a couple of possible sermon titles that we've seen posted at various churches: "Wal-Mart isn't the only saving place"; "Where Will You Be Spending Eternity - Smoking or Non-Smoking?" And Matthew saw a bumper sticker that read "Darwin Loves You". So, it looks like Matthew has got a new route for us that will take us up NY State Bike Route 9 up to Port Kent (near Keesville) to catch the ferry to Burlington. Should be about 5 to 6 days of riding--let's hope the weather holds. This route will take us to Rensselaer and Albany, through Red Hook, Troy and Waterford, into the Adirondaks and across Lake Champlain to Vermont. This means that we'll miss Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts--all states that I would love to see. But the existing road closures and continued rain in that area make it necessary for us to re-evaluate our route. I have been thinking about the reasons why I wanted to make this trip, and I'm finally able to put it into words. This trip is not to see if I can ride my bike across the United States, its to see the United States while riding my bike. As somebody (with 7 Tours de France under his belt) once said, "It's not about the bike". It's about everything that comes with riding the bike, though. All the ups, the downs (literal and mental) and everything in-between. While I'm disappointed to be missing the ride through some of the New England states, I will get the chance to see the Adirondacks. And now, the library is shutting down the computers, so I've got to go. Stay tuned!