6 Sept.......Margaretville to Ellenville,NY.......96km in 4:50 hrs.

New roadkill today after 4 skunks yesterday:2 porcupines with quills threwn all over the road. Later, Inga-Lill swerves to miss a huge 20 kilo beaver who appears out of nowhere from under a bridge across the Neversink River.

Great cycling day..blue sky, cloudless, but a bit nippy. Climb up to Big Indian & ski area above at Highmount got blood cooking in no time.Catskills Mts. are superb...vistas to die for...leaves starting to turn red at 4000 ft. tree line. Found narrow road up Slide Mt. in Oliveria....tasteful cottages tucked away on both sides of the steep road with dirt paths leading to more.

A buxom brunette in jogging shorts gives us a thumbs up.

"Slide Mt.-go for it ",she yells.

Not since Colorado have we used such tiny gears,24 teeth front,32 rear. It's steep. Finally crest the top of col for delightful freewheel down to Grahamsville. Cheese & onion omelettes, done up by young rock singer back from a European gig, helping his Greek dad in the local diner.

Amazement is still the order of the day in NY. "You've come from California? Can't believe it....You're pulling my leg" they say.In CA, it was "You're headed to NY?".

In Ellenville Will awaits us at the Pizza Hut..he'd missed our Catskills Mt. climber & cruised around the other side. Entering the restaurant he screams out: "In from California-3200 miles" .A group of 10 at a table cheer & jeer....10 seconds later loud clapping for me......I'm wearing maple leaf socks & word spread quickly to the 10 Canadians that I was "one of them". They were from Sarnia, London, Cambridge, Waterloo..towns we'd passed through 10 days ago.