May 22 – Syracuse to Amsterdam

Today Kasper woke up to learn that the US would not let his son come to America because he was on his mother's passport, even though she was also coming with him. Kasper had to write a letter of explanation, have a policeman? sign it (as an American official), and FAX it to the Netherlands. He is hopeful that this will allow is wife and son to travel tomorrow. Only one day delayed.

Today’s ride of 120 miles was along the Eire Canal, through a region of New York that was once a major reason why this is the Empire State. But increasingly the mill towns along the canal and Mohawk Valley have seen much better times and are now a sad reminder of America’s, no the world’s, tendency to use an area’s resources and when they are exhausted, or can no longer compete with another one, move on.

There were some interesting sights along the road. One was the worlds’ smallest church. It sits in the middle of a pond and has room for two people. However, you need to swim with the current growth not a pleasant choice, or take a boat to pray in the church. Another was a view of the fields to the south of the Mohawk Canal.

One of the things that we have seen as we came across the country is the progressive increase in the numbers on the Interstate roads we cross. We started in California crossing I5 and riding on I10. In New Mexico we rode on I40 and I25. Since New Mexico we have not ridden on any Interstates but as we continued to cross the country in a Northeasterly direction the numbers on the Interstates have increased we have now crossed to the North of I90. Tomorrow we will be East of I89 and eventually we will be East of I95. This has been one way that I have been using to measure my progress across the country. I have previously talked about how we get a very myopic view of the country and without the Interstate grid it would be hard if not impossible to know where in the country you were. Certainly, the landscape has changed as we moved across the country but without the Interstate grid it would be hard to place where you were in the larger context of the country.

All and all it has been a good day, a few close calls with potholes in the road, but I finished strong and am looking forward to attacking Vermont and New Hampshire.

Sorry for the delay but Internet access has been spotty and the rider/writer busy/tired.