Massachusetts!

(September 9 I didn’t have service to post yesterday)

Finally a new state! Number 5.

Well kind of new. I hiked through here on my Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2006. Ironically where I am stealthed camped right now is less then 8 miles from Dalton. I took a zero day there when I was on the trail. 2006 was a long time ago and I was on foot then so Massachusetts seems brand new to me now. I crossed the state line at 5:15 and for some reason my phone put me in another time zone. I was pretty sure I should still be in eastern time. After several miles it went back an hour to the correct time. The state line was ¾ of the way up my first real mountain. Im in the Berkshires now.

I only rode 42 miles today but I had 2400 feet of elevation gain. That makes it one of my toughest day so far. I felt good though and I only had to push a few times. I’m in a little better shape then I was when I was in Ohio. Almost all of the climbing came in the afternoon. But I was fueled by a great lunch!

I had been about 25 miles when I got to the town of Nassau. I was hungry but wanted to make it to 30 miles before I stopped and made a meal. But then I saw Tacos Diablo! I went back and had an excellent meal. The food was so good! If you are ever near Nassau, New York you need to stop and eat at Tacos Diablo. Right now the food is being prepared in a food truck while the restaurant gets refurbished. I had the pleasure of meeting the owners while I ate. They are outdoor people too and the woman had even hiked the Appalachian trail. I wish I had wrote down their names. I feel so bad when I can’t remember peoples names. I know their dream of a restaurant will succeed. The food was delicious and prepared in such a way that it was easy to tell that they loved what they were doing. Best of luck guys! Great meeting you all.

After my breakfast this morning I headed to a specialty welding shop that was 4 miles in the opposite direction from the one I wanted to go. At the shop they told me they can’t work on bikes but they gave me a phone number of another shop. I called them and they did weld and braze bike frames. Unfortunately it was 11 more miles in the same wrong direction. That would make it 30 mile round trip before I was back to where I started from. I decided to skip it. My bike has held up this long. Ill keep hoping for the best! 8 miles later I was finally leaving Albany.

It was pretty much eneventful riding for most the morning. I was on bike route 5. The route passed through several small towns that had seen better days. I was within 2000 feet of Fort Crailo. That was close enough for me but I wondered if this sign ever compelled any one to go the 2000 feet and if so was it for the history or the love of the song.

Tomorrow is a 50 + mile day but hopefully with less elevation. Google says moderate hills. I have to resupply. I passed several places I could of stopped at today but didn’t want the weight of a few days worth of food. I ate oatmeal mixed with peanut butter and a pack of tuna for dinner. I have a oatmeal peanut butter and coffee left. Im only a few miles from Pittsfield so I will probably resupply first thing.