It's just Wild: Ithaca, NY to Binghamton, NY 73.1 km

My first stop was to the Starbuck's on East Seneca Street before heading out of Ithaca. Ithaca is a bustling, trendy, college town and home to Cornell University. I was sitting outside of the Starbucks sipping my dark roast coffee when a woman approached me with her iced coffee in hand and asked about my trip.

She had mentioned that she was a writer as we introduced ourselves so I thought that I'd tell her about the great book that I had just read which served as an inspiration for me to take the trip. Before I could finish my sentence she said, "Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. I know Cheryl." I invited Maureen McCoy to join me for coffee. I shared the story of how I came across the book Wild at the fishing camp in Manitoba (2nd blog entry) and about my memoir of the 1986 bike tour that I am hoping to publish. I asked Maureen about self publishing versus traditional publishing. "Pat, I've really got no advice because publishing is in a flux."

Indeed, publishing is in a flux. It used to be that the credibility of a book was only garnered by traditional publishing. Not any more. These days, both seasoned authors and novice writers self publish. I suppose that in the end, the market is what decides if you have a book that people want to read.

Retired from teaching at Cornell University, Maureen writes fiction and some non-fiction essays. Small and miraculous world I thought... Mom hails from Duluth, Minnesota; Cheryl Strayed grew up in Duluth, Minnesota; Maureen McCoy grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota and I was born in Minnesota.

Sunday. I didn't go to church, but I did meditate and pray up and down the hills of Route 79.

Some churches looked simple and unassuming, such as Ithaca Baptist Church shown above.

The Bethel Grove Bible Church had an amazing setting in the New York hills.

This is the rustic looking Brooktondale Baptist Church. Under it's name is the scripture reference 2Timothy2:15. At the end of my day, curious, I looked up this passage which reads, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." NKJV

When I bicycle tour, different sights will trigger me into all sorts of thoughts. I stopped and took a photo of the following side-by-side billboards:

An Allstate insurance ad next to a NY State drug accident prevention ad. So, with the proper insurance you can have coverage for your prescription drugs and for your automobile. Hmmm, will the insurance company provide benefit coverage if you are in an accident while impaired from the prescription drugs that they provided benefit coverage for? The question made thankful for the profession of chiropractic and the honour that I have had to practice as a doctor of chiropractic. The vast majority of prescription and OTC drugs are designed to deal with the symptoms of your body in a sympathetic nervous system response, which is also known as the fight or flight response. The chiropractic spinal adjustment corrects that very nervous system hyperactivity without the use of drugs and unlocks the body's innate healing potential. Unfortunately chiropractic is under utilized and the drug culture in America is thriving, necessitating a sign like this.

Let me tell you about cycling these hills. Some of the hills are drastic and so steep in front of you that you have no warning. That was East State Street (Route 79) out of Ithaca. I stopped to walk the bike part way up to let my thumping heart rate recover a bit.

Other hills start so gradual that I suddenly think, "Hey, am I getting tired?" or "It feels like I'm pedalling with my brakes on." I pick landmarks, "Okay make it to that next roadside sign" and when I make it there I pick another one and keep on going. Onward I pedal and before you know it, I have to stand up and pedal. Then it starts to get so steep that I have to change gears. I try to pedal 10-15 revolutions and then on to the next gear. Ten to 15 more revolutions and on to the next gear, until, crap, no more gears. Then, I stand up and pedal in my lowest gear. Then I sit down and pedal in the lowest gear and then I stand up again. All the while the lactic acid is building up in my quads until they feel like they are gonna explode and the pain of it forces me to stop. The road is still rising in front of me. I take a long drink of water and walk my bike until my legs recover.

I had just crested such a hill when I saw another cyclist walking his loaded bike uphill towards me. I waved and rolled over to his side of the street.
"Hey man, how you doing, I just finished walking my bike up the other side of that hill."
We shook hands and introduced ourselves. He waved a finger through the air tracing the letter Z. Zilong was from China and had just graduated from a school in Massachusetts with a history and philosophy degree. Seven days out, he was cycling cross country to San Francisco were he would be commencing a job in environmental sustainability. We stood at the roadside and talked about bicycle touring and then parted as friends.

(I turned on my iPhone and noticed the time was 11:11am before Z entered his e-mail. Noticing the time 11:11 is for my dear sister-in-law Kathy, who notices that time frequently as a reminder of her father Percy "Pops" Husband, which were his favourite numbers.)

Unsweetened ice tea at McDonalds for some reason is not available in Canada? I took a long rest in Whitney Point, NY at McD's were I enjoyed an extra large unsweetened ice tea and their wifi while sending texts and e-mails wishing Happy Fathers Day to my Dad, Brothers and friends who are fathers.

I was in Binghamton by 4:00pm - my saddle sore ass survived another day.