August 20, 2008 by Harry.

       The thirty mile ride today had a little more excitement than the team anticipated. After leaving Chez Palumbo in Great Barrington, we  figured that it would be an uneventful ride into Torrington. At the ten mile mark, Tom had a blowout on his back tire and Harry’s back tire went flat mysteriously for the second time in two days. We know that GOD wanted us to arrive a little late so that all the family and wellwishers could get there. Everyone enjoyed the barbeque at ECAD along with the dog demonstrations. It was amazing to see how much Brownie had grown and learned since the team saw her in June at Steve’s house. The team is grateful for all who came to celebrate and also those unable to make it to Torrington on the last day. We are blessed to have you in our lives and we were lifted up by support over the trip. We shall keep you posted on plans for the next ride. We all are of one accord in that it will be shorter. Today’s shout out goes to Faith Linsky, director at American Diabetes Association, for meeting the team at the finish line. Last, but not least, we want to thank GOD for watching over us each and every day of the trip. All praise and honor to our Father Almighty!

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August 18, 2008 by Harry.

      With today’s 65 mile ride, the team has cracked the 3,000 mile mark. Way to go Team MoPhotos!!! We were greeted with some rain showers to start the day so we followed GOD’s plan and simply got some extra rest. After breakfast in town at Mike’s diner, a window of opportunity presented itself with less likelihood of getting wet. Following route 23, the team crossed the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and finished the day in Great Barrington, MA. We are being hosted tonight by Barbara Palumbo, a retired teacher from MercyFirst and supporter of ECAD. We were blessed with a delicious meal on the deck to stay acclimated to eating outside. The blessings overflowed in our last night of the journey as we had a floor to sleep on and crickets to serenade us when the mute button was hit on the television by the group watching the Olympics. The team highly recommmended this primitive site for future riders. It was interesting to see some traffic in Great Barrington as that is rare when travelling off the beaten path in small town America. Today’s shout out goes to Gary Kullman, rookie’s dad, on his birthday today. Happy Birthday! The team is definitely looking forward to the victory lap in Torrington tomorrow.

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August 18, 2008 by Harry.

       After some heavy rain for our last night in camp, the tents are really clean as well as the car. Sleeping next to a pond, the morning serenade of bird music was accompanied with some frog music. If we can get some of the many deer we have seen in this campsite to join them, we could have an animal band. The ground was saturated from the overnight rain and it was a glorious day with some dense fog to start the morning. Today’s 70 mile ride went from Glimmerglass State Park in Cooperstown to Brainerd Farm in Windham, NY. It was time to set up the tents one last time so that they can dry out and be packed up for the last time. This also allowed the team to get a picture of the tree planted in memory of Christopher O’Connor for whom this ride is dedicated. The team was blessed with the comforts of home in the big bungalow and doubly blessed with the company of Paul O’Connor, Josie O’Connor, and Chris Kullman, another team member of MoPhotos. The team was grateful for not having to prepare a meal thanks to the efforts of Josie, Tom’s wife. The team sends its prayers out to the Moffatt family for the passing today of James Moffatt, Tom’s grandfather. The team applauds the efforts of Tom today in climbing the hill into Windham on Greene County Routes 10 and 20. Way to go Tom!!! Some of the team think he was fueled by the prospects of rejoining his newlywed wife.

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August 15, 2008 by Harry.

       Today’s 45 ride went from Morrisville to Glimmerglass State Park in Cooperstown, NY. We left the campsite where the sound of the creek was a blessing for a good night’s sleep. The terrain was more rolling hills with an occasional hill along the way. It was the first day of riding for Tom which added some new energy to the trip. We are on the other side of the lake from Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. The campsite is somewhat primitive in that we are staying next to a pond loaded with frogs and surrounded by deer and there is no electricity by the site and it is a bit of a hike to the showers. It really does not matter how far the showers are away since it is a blessing to get a shower at the end of the day. The tents got a good washing for their last night and the big tent had one more minor collapse so that Tom could experience it. It was lovely to watch the sunset by Ostego Lake and then enjoy a chicken and spaghetti dinner. Tomorrow we look forward getting another team member, Chris Kullman, on the ride.

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August 15, 2008 by Harry.

      We were in rolling terrain all day as we moved through the Finger Lakes region. After some overnight showers to wash the car and tents, we were blessed with sunny skies almost all day and a brief shower to cool off in the morning. The team is getting very good at watching which way the clouds are moving as witnessed by the lunch stop during another brief downpour. Locals are telling us that the rainfall is the most in this region in 80 years. It is unusual to see plush green lawns in the middle of August. Today’s 95 mile ride ended in Cedar Valley Campsite in Morrisville. The owners are originally from Farmingdale on Long Island which is halfway between where Steve lives and Harry grew up. The team was blessed tonight with the appearance of another team member of MoPhotos, Tom O’Connor. He will be riding with us into Torrington and is one of the four children of Christopher O’Connor, for whom the ride is dedicated. Tom was dropped off by his brother James, along with James’ girlfriend Jacquelyn, who graced us with their presence for dinner. The campsite tonight is right beside a creek which is sure to help everyone sleep. After a hard ride today, tomorrow’s short ride looks very appealing.

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August 15, 2008 by Harry.

      The terrain covered in today’s 65 mile ride was rolling hills under partly sunny skies. This was much different than how the day started off. We were greeted with thunderstorms early in the day. The campground  had approximately 120 out of 150 campsites with some standing water on them after all the rain in this region. The firepit had an inch of water in it. The team quickly broke camp in a dry window and began the journey into the finger lakes region. With the end of the ride coming at the end of the week, the team’s spirit is definitely buoyed. There are two shout outs today. The first goes to Ashelaye Lawrence on her recent baptism and for starting college at Johnson and Wales in Charlotte. Double congratulations and blessings. The second goes to Steve’s nephew, Michael with wife Jessica and daughter Lillianna, who live in the Rochester area and hosted Steve and Cas last summer. We are staying at the Canandaigu KOA so this is our last laundry night. There is a pond where one can catch a bass or two. Maybe we can have fresh fish for today. That is a blessing we all look forward to when we get home.

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August 11, 2008 by Harry.

     Today’s ride utilized the 28th gear, the car. It certainly was a lively night in camp as we had a visitor. What kind of visitor you ask? One of the local raccoons came at approximately 3:30 A.M. to go through our garbage bag from yesterday. It is usual camping etiquette to put trash in the dumpster, but this campground was big enough for curbside service in the morning. It sounded like the local raccoons had a feast as they found any garbage bags left out for early morning pick-up. There was spotty drizzle and rain over the course of the day, though we saw glorious skies in the early morning and were blessed with dry intervals to set up camp in the early afternoon. The customs agent sure looked at our motley crew funny when she asked the question, “What was the purpose of your visit?” With three bikes  on the back of the car, it quickly became apparent to her that we could indeed be on a fundraising cross-country bicycle trip. Though the journey is not yet complete, there was a collective feeling of warmth and homecoming in seeing the New York State sign. After a quick ride to see Lake Ontario, the last of the Great Lakes, Harry explained the acronym HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) for remembering all five. We are camping tonight at Darien Lakes State Park and are blessed as the car, bicycles, and tents get a cool shower while the team has the luxury of hot showers. Tomorrow we start our trek across New York as we head east on  Route 20 to the Finger Lakes. We are now in the last week of this journey and starting to reflect on all we have seen and experienced on this ride. We also look forward to another member of Team MoPHOTOS, Tom O’Connor, joining us shortly.

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August 11, 2008 by Harry.

      The team was blessed with beautiful weather to start the day! Today’s 40 mile ride went from Rock Point Provincial Park to the Niagara Falls KOA on the Canadian side of the falls. Harry was assisted by Eric as they changed a mystery flat on Harry’s front tire. Captain Eugenia and Harry rode old highway 3, Lakeshore Drive, instead of highway 3 for 15 miles or so. The vistas along Lake Erie were awesome! The team then headed north along routes 84 and 70 before heading east along route 20 to the campground for the night. Eric went for a walking tour of the falls, while Captain Eugenia and Harry took the old school route in getting wet on the “Maid of the Mist”! It was the highlight of everyone’s day! To celebrate our last night in Canada, Eric and Steve had a campfire dinner over some slow burning and dense Canadian wood. The campfire sustained itself  through some rain that came early in the evening. Today’s shout out goes to all the local people in Canada who were so gracious to give us directions and encouraging words along the way. Tomorrow we cross the border and enter New York!!!

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August 9, 2008 by Harry.

       The team rode 65 miles from Tillsonburg to Rock Point Provincial Park in Canada adjacent to Lake Erie. We have seen four great lakes so far (Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie). How many great lakes are there, I wonder, and is there an easy way to remember them? Maybe the boys in Mrs. Ellwood’s class at MercyFirst can answer that question for the team. This is day 38 of the trip and today’s date is 08/08/08 so it seems as if the team is right on target. Besides the usual horses,cows, and goats, the team also saw donkeys, chicken, ostriches, and a llama farm. The number 3 was in play all day as Captain Eugenia and Harry rode Highway 3 or Old Highway 3 most of the day. It was a day to watch heavenly colors in the sky and we were blessed again to miss the rain again today. Today’s campground is right next to Lake Erie which surely was a sight to behold. Just as in small town America, the locals are very friendly and helpful in giving directions and even stop to see if the support vehicle needs help when pulled along the side of the road. Today’s shout out goes to Pastors Leo and Tarran Carter and Perfecting Praise Ministries for their outreach picnic in Roosevelt tomorrow. The team sends well wishes and prayers for beautiful weather and a blessed event. Tomorrow the team gets to relax after a short bike ride on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

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August 8, 2008 by Harry.

      It was time for another century today! The team rode from Paradise Valley Campground to the Super8 Motel in Tillsonburg. We encountered some fast moving dark clouds to start the day and took our time for breakfast to let the storm simply roll through. It is interesting to see Canadian flags, different road signs, and the speed limit in kilometers per hour. Thankfully, the car has both English and metric scales so there is no conversion needed. Most stores in this area generally take American money so we did not have to get any currency exchanged. The area is generally farm country with various types of crops and we saw our usual share of horses and cattle mixed in with some sheep today. It was a worldwind tour as the team made its way through London and St. Thomas. Captain Eugenia hit the jackpot at lunch as we found Subway, Starbucks, and a shopping mall adjacent to each other. Harry even got some socks to match his 2003 Bike New York cycling jersey. We were blessed with favorable wind out of the northwest for most of the day. It is time to do laundry and sleep on a comfortable mattress. It is surely something to be grateful for that we tend to forget! 

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