Millerton, NY

We've been riding for three days now since leaving Boston and it feels absolutely great to be back on the road. We have new company, too - Mike decided to join us for our trip to DC. It's his first tour on a bike and he's working hard to keep up with Tomas and I. He's doing great so far but his job isn't easy as we've been riding through the mountains and we're now also on some time pressure to reach DC in time for my flight home.

We rode straight south from Boston, then turned west and crossed the entire state of Connecticut along its northern border. There was quite a bit of climbing to do but we've been maintaining a somewhat slower pace and taking many breaks. Our aim is to cover 70-80 miles a day for the next week, which will allow us to reach Washington DC on July 22 or 23. The roads are beautiful. We're back in the country, passing lots of cute villages and farms and meeting friendly small-town folk along the way.

The weather is also cooperative again. Not a drop of rain since Boston - knock on wood - and clear skies throughout the day. It has become somewhat cold at night, though. We were expecting it to get warmer as we go south but so far it hasn't been the case. My self-inflating sleeping pad has started leaking air too, which doesn't do much good in keeping me warm at night. In any case, we're not freezing or losing sleep yet, and while it isn't raining, the cold is very tolerable.

In the next couple of days we'll be cutting off a corner of New York state and riding into Pennsylvania. We're planning to reach Easton, PA by Thursday, where we'll spend the night with Tomas's host family from his time at Lafayette College. So long!