En Route to Block Island – July 20^th

I’m writing this from a small ferry, rocking and rolling significantly on the open Atlantic.  This promises to generate a lot of typos.

We awoke to rain this morning, which promises to last for most of the day.  Nedo and I broke camp, then headed to the local diner for a heart-attack-on-a-plate good-bye breakfast. Nedo then left for the Connecticut coast and I headed for the Block Island ferry that will (hopefully!) connect with another ferry to Montauk at  the northern tip of Long Island.  The ferry is crowded with tourists so the island must hold some attraction, even on a rainy day.

Near Montauk – Later July 20^th

I arrived on Block Island at 10:30 ad had to wait for the Montauk ferry, which didn’t leave the island until 5 PM.  I spent some time cycling to the north end of the island – a real tourist trap and crowded
                                  

– and killed some time in the afternoon.  Again, the scenery was pretty – classic Atlantic coastline – but to BC eyes, somewhat mundane.  BC’s Gulf and Washington State’s San Juan Islands are far prettier.

The fast ferry ride to Long Island was interesting.  Sort of what it must have been like to ride on a WW2 PT boat – lots of rocking and rolling.  Like everything else around here however it sure wasn’t cheap.  $50 for me and the bike for a one hour ride.

I arrived at Montauk in the rain and rode to nearby Hither Hills State Park where I’d been told I could camp.  I passed a couple of low-end –looking motels that I would probably have stayed at along the way but they were both full – probably with fellow camper refugees.  When I reached the park, there were several “no camping” signs and it was getting dark.  I’ve therefore hopefully vanished into the forest and I’m writing this from my stealth campsite. 

It’s still raining but the forecast is for better weather tomorrow.  We’ll see.

I confess I’m getting really annoyed with this part of the world which despite its large population, appears to have few motels, no obvious B & Bs and hardly any campgrounds.  Both Europe and the western US and Canada are far more bike tourist friendly.  I’ll tough it out for the next few days to New York City but I really wouldn’t recommend that anyone else try this ride.  All for now.