MOVING SOUTH IN THE EAST

I left Portland Maine on a nice day, heading further down the East coast of the USA. The weather was good for a while, New Hampshire state was pretty along the coast, and there was plenty of space to camp. I also met some friendly generous people there.

Then the rain came back, but I managed to mostly find a sheltered camp site, such as this abandoned gazebo on a demolition site.

I had arranged to stay over with Warmshowers host Victoria in Boston, but as I got closer to the city the cycling routes became fewer and the traffic, as usual, heavier. I found Boston to be quite an attractive city, with lots of Harvard students around the riverside central area. I also chatted to a Brazilian guy who took this picture. When I arrived at my host she wasn't home yet, so her neighbours invited me upstairs for supper and a drink while I waited.

So far my encounters with police in the USA have been quite friendly. In Rhode Island state I was camping at the roadside parking area of a nature reserve, when the night shift officer found me there. He was probably quite bored, and wanted to chat about my travels before saying it was OK as long as I left in the morning. Earlier in Maine I had met Ayse and Freddy at a place where I had been camping. They invited me to their home in Connecticut when I passed that way. When I got there they treated me like a special guest, cooking special foods and giving me all sorts of gifts. Only their dog Jake couldn't get used to me, and kept startling everyone with his sudden barking.

The road along the Connecticut coast was rather busy without a shoulder, and one day close to Norwalk I was knocked down by a car (no major damage other than a bruised arm and some small gashes in my leg). While I was taking stock of the situation local massage therapist Tara stopped to chat and I was invited to her friend, Jake's, private island for the night (where I found myself in the middle of a party and met some interesting people). So I guess getting knocked down isn't all bad news.

Daily distances cycled since my last update have been:- Kennabunk 62 km; Portsmouth 51 km; Hampton 35 km; Ipswich 41 km; Boston 71 km; Wrencham 37 km; Putnam 58 km; Mansfield 62 km; and New Britain 58 km. The total distance cycled so far on this journey is 117 308 km.