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Day 17
Start
Poland, Ohio
Finish
Jamestown, N.Y.
Mileage
153
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreen alert.com
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. -- Ever since he hopped on his bicycle in San Diego just under three weeks ago Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevens has been noticing different smells.
He smelled the dust of Arizona, the feedlots of New Mexico and the flooded farmlands of Missouri. From the freshly plowed fields of Illinois to the sawmills of Ohio, there was always something in the air.
When he crossed the Pennsylvania state line into New York last evening, Teevens smelled something else in the air. Something inviting.
For probably the first time he could smell home.
After a 13 1/2-hour, 153-mile day that covered three states and finished in Jamestown, N.Y., Teevens is 466 highway miles from Hanover according to the 500-page, Rand McNally Standard Highway Mileage Guide. Although it will be considerably longer for a cyclist pedaling back roads, Teevens is now counting the miles down, instead of adding them up.
“I’m banking on being back Sunday,” he said. “That would give me 21 days. All along Sunday was my aiming point, so at this point I just want to go as fast as I can and get back. I wanted to be in the office Monday.”
As of 9 last night, Teevens was uncertain what roads he would take across New York State. But if the route he works up is anything like the one the father of his Poland, Ohio host sent him on Wednesday, he’ll have no complaints.
“Ray Boniface Sr., is 83 and tremendous,” Teevens said. “He was a family practice doctor and went back and got a degree in psychology. He told me about steel and oil, the Rockefellers and the history of Pennsylvania, and then he kind of directed me the best way to go. He was right.”
The octogenarian suggested Teevens avoid pedaling the ribbon of mountains in central Pennsylvania and instead ride diagonally across the northwest quadrant of the state and on through the Allegheny National Forest.
“It turned out great,” Teevens said. “I felt like old Fess Parker as Daniel Boone going through the wilderness on (Route) 62. It followed the Allegheny River, which was pretty wide -- although not as wide as the Connecticut -- and shallow. There were a lot of fishing and hunting camps and taxidermy places.
“There weren't as many hills as there were the day before. There were steep, steep walls on both sides, so I don't really know if the wind was blowing one way or the other, which was good. But it was steamy hot, probably 85 and humid. It was as warm as I've felt. The Allegeheny river was right there and I thought about going in, but I really wanted to get to Jamestown."
He wanted to get there so much, it turned out, that he threw caution to the wind and had one of the few scary moments of his trip.
“Idiot that I am, I cut into a parking lot and didn't see a curb,” he said. “I hit the curb and ... scuffed my knees, my shoulder and hand. I was OK but more worried about my bike, which had some chain issues. I got it straightened out at a bike store. I also had a flat tire. Just a few hiccups along the way.”
On a trip highlighted by the people he’s met as much as the sights he's seen, Teevens came across another interesting person on this day.
“His name was Jimmy Higgins and he was hitchhiking from Colorado,” the coach said. “He’s 62 and a construction worker, just a little guy with a shock of white hair and bright blue eyes, and neatly dressed. He was out in Colorado, wrecked his car and had no way of getting back, so he was out hitchhiking. I passed him like five times.
“About the fourth time I pulled over and said, ‘We've got to stop meeting like this,’ and asked him where he was from and where he was going. As soon as I heard him talk I knew where he was from. He had a heavy Boston accent. I told him, 'Hey Jimmy, if I had room on my bike I'd throw you on.' ”
Arriving in Jamestown, Teevens took a room at the Best Western, bought a roasted chicken at the grocery store and paid for a sherbet instead of ice cream. “I’m going to watch my weight,” he said, the humor of which would probably be lost on all the mothers he met the past three weeks.
After eating he planned to study the maps, plot his route for the rest of the trip and hit the sack in anticipation of an early start today. “Let’s see,” he said, “today is what, Wednesday? Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I should be able to make it in four days.”
Map courtesy of Tom Hoyt
NOTES Teevens began the day just over the Pennylvania line in Ohio and ended it just over the state line in New York. “Three states in one day,” he said with a laugh. “Not bad.”
The roadkill of the day Wednesday was porcupine. “I’m noticing that each state has its own most popular road kill,” Teevens said. “Porcupines in Pennsylvania. Turtles in Missouri. Rabbits in Illinois. Possums everywhere.”
Contributions to the Prouty Ride inspired by Teevens have stalled at $7,875. Hopefully there’s a final push coming that will parallel the push the coach is making to be back at work early next week. Hint, hint, hint ... ;-)
By all means read this column about Joe Paterno's way of addressing discipline problems with the Penn State football team. I only wish 1) a certain Hanover 7th grader could one day play for a man who would come up with a plan like that and, 2) Paterno would be around when the 7th grader is in college. Although JoePa turned 80 last December, if I had to bet on one or the other my money would be on Joe.
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