RC Trans Northern Tier Bicycle Tour

My name is Robert Hickman. I'm an artist and college professor from Brooklyn, NY. I make sculptural objects, installations, and public art. My work can be seen on my website at hickmanindustries.com . I've done many transportation related public art projects, the best known being the skylight for the 72nd street subway station on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. I'm recognized for my unicycling and project to cross every single bridge in New York City on a unicycle. I commute everywhere in NYC by bike, often with my dog Blanka . Last summer I rode coast to coast following the TransAmerica trail. It was one of the most amazing adventures of my life. Since that trip ended, I’ve wanted nothing but to go on another bicycle tour. This summer I will be following the Northern Tier, a 4250 mile route that crosses 15 states and dips into 2 Canadian provinces. The route was mapped by Adventure Cycling Association. I will be traveling east to west, starting in Maine a

• Introduction • Gear List • Northern Tier Day #1 - Bar Harbor, ME to Belfast, ME: Finally back on tour! 💥 • Northern Tier Day #2 - Belfast, ME to Brunswick, ME: No Rain - But the Wind! 💨 • Northern Tier Day #3 Brunswick, ME to Conway, NH: Birthday Ride 🎂 • Northern Tier Day #4 Conway, NH to North Haverhill, NH: Cranking the Kank • Northern Tier Day #5 North Haverhill, NH to Rochester, VT: Feeling the Burn! • Northern Tier Day #6 Rochester, VT to North Hudson, NY: Broken ferry to the Empire State • Northern Tier Day #7 North Hudson, NY to Raquette Lake, NY: The never-ending hill • Northern Tier Day #8 Raquette Lake, NY to Pulaski, NY: Gotta do centuries if I want to see Scotty • Northern Tier Day #9 Pulaski, NY to Palmyra, NY: Cold, gray, rainy day • Northern Tier Day #10 Palmyra, NY to Middleport, NY: Mud and goose poop 💩 • Northern Tier Day #11 Middleport, NY to Buffalo, NY: The Tour goes international 🇨🇦 • Northern Tier Day #12 Buffalo, NY to Lake Er

EQUIPMENT LIST BIKE • Surly Long Haul Trucker 64cm frame 700mm wheels • DT SWISS TK540 36H 7 rear  rim w/ M99 spokes • modified 11-34 cassette • modified 22-32-44 chain ring • Brooks B67 Saddle • Continental Contact II Reflex Bike Tires 700C x 37 MM • Shimano PD-M324 dual sided pedals • Tubus Cargo Evo Rear Rack • Tubus Tara Front Rack • Planet Bike Cascadia bike fenders - 700mm x 45mm • Cinelli Gel Ribbon Handlebar Tape • 3 Water Bottle Cages • Lezyne Air pump mount • CatEye - Volt 300 Rechargeable Headlight (mounted to front rack with with hose clamps and 1” wooden dowel) • Serfas Superbright USB Taillight (mounted to rear rack with Planet Bike Tail Light Rack Bracket) • Kryptonite KryptoFlex 1018 Combo Cable Lock • Bell Helmet (yellow) • Blackburn Helmet Mirror TOOLS & SPARE PARTS • 2 Rema Tip Top patch kits • Park Tools Emergency Tire Boot • 2 EVO 700C x 35-43c (27 x 1-3/8) presta valve 48mm tubes • 4 Spare brake pads • 1

Northern Tier Day #1 May 20, 2019 Bar Harbor, ME to Belfast, ME - 66 Miles Ride Time 5:18 Tour Total 66 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190520-0835-47920 I’m back on tour! 💥 Those watching my GPS feed realize that it technically started yesterday at 6:15 PM when I dropped off my rental car in Ellsworth and cycled the 20 miles to Bar Harbor to save $64 on an Über. I had left Brooklyn Saturday morning where Charlotte bid me farewell. I cycled over the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan to the PATH station in the village, where I grabbed a train to Hoboken. Rental cars are cheaper in New Jersey. My bike and gear fit perfectly inside the Nissan Rogue. I spent Saturday night in Boston, where I saw a performance by my son’s band, The Perfect Trip. I spent the night on the floor of his cluttered apartment. His musician roommates played all night long, trumpet included. It being graduation weekend the least expensive alternative had been $

Northern Tier Day #2 May 21, 2019 Belfast, ME to Brunswick, ME - 84 Miles Ride Time 7:45 Tour Total 148 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190521-0800-26718 I slept great last night at the Yankee clipper. My alarm clock woke me at 6:45, and the sun was already bright outside. I quickly packed all my gear and rode down the hill and over the old bridge into Belfast, a gorgeous little fishing town on Penobscot bay. I’d been to Belfast several times, but this was the first time I had traversed the old, now pedestrian, bridge to the shipyard and center of town. The sky was crystal clear. I didn’t recognize the Yankee clipper yesterday when I pulled into the lot. There was a new sign and landscaping. It had been renovated and wasn’t as I remembered. Last night when I was turning out the lights, I was terrified to see bugs crawling everywhere. Same old Yankee clipper. I hope none of those critters hitched a ride with me. Breakfast was at

Northern Tier Day #3 May 22, 2019 Brunswick, ME to Conway, NH 93 Miles Ride Time 9:45 Tour Total 241 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190522-0747-51116 I slept great last night at Alicia and Henry’s large rec room above their garage. I slept on a sofa bed with two blankets, a comforter, and my sleeping bag. It gets really cold here at night, and I needed to recharge from the frigid day out in the wind. I stayed up until midnight editing and publishing yesterday’s post. For some reason all my photos were appearing upside down on the Crazy Guy site (I publish there and on Blogger). Then it occurred to me to flip the photos upside down before I uploaded them. Problem solved. Extra work. Oh, and I’m remembering all the little tricks to thwart the bugs on Blogger as well. This blog is being published from my iPhone with my right thumb. This morning I had breakfast with Henry. I cooked myself some farm fresh eggs mixed with beans and torti

Northern Tier Day #4 May 23, 2019 Conway, NH to North Haverhill, NH 62 Miles Ride Time 5:28 Tour Total 303 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190523-0945-78541 Last night I slept well in my room on the second floor of the White Mountains Hostel. I was so tired that not only could I not finish my blog post, I was unable to finish my beer. In the morning, I could hear people talking downstairs and the light was coming through my window. It was time to get up. But what a slow start. I spent an hour laying in bed editing and posting yesterday’s report. My first stop was Bea’s Cafe, where I had the #1 - eggs, toast, and home fries. I drank two cups of orange juice. I was trying to get myself psyched for the Kank, the first challenging pass on the Northern Tier. In comparison to the TransAm, the Kank is like Afton Mountain. I left Bea’s and set out on the road at 9:45am. I really overdid it yesterday and needed to be rested for this clim

Northern Tier Day #5 May 24, 2019 North Haverhill, NH to Rochester, VT 74 Miles Ride Time 5:28 Tour Total 377 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190524-0717-37757 I slept well last night inside my tent on the lawn besides the pond at the River Meadow campground in North Haverhill. The flowing sound from the pond’s fountain made things rather urgent this morning. Throughout the night I couldn’t distinguish between the fountain and the rain. Fortunately it wasn’t raining when I got up. My Hubba two-person tent is way better than the one-person tent I toured with last summer. It’s spacious inside, and I have both front and rear ‘porches’ to store my bags and helmet. The soggy tent weighed considerably more this morning after the rain. The end of my sleeping bag was also damp. I hate packing up wet gear, and wasn’t looking forward to crawling back into it at the end of the day. As I pedaled through town I saw kids waiting for the schoo