Maine the Hard Way, Day 3

Started Day 3 at 3am! Couldn't sleep well so I put my headlight on and tried to read a book underneath the blankets in bed but even that bothered Michael. Ate a cold slice of leftover pizza and half my leftover chocolate mousse dessert from last night! Keeping fueled up is key, even if the fuel is sub-standard. At about 315am I grabbed my laptop and walked from the Cobblestone Motel to "downtown" in an attempt to find a Wi-Fi hotspot? At the library they had a sign in the window advertising Internet Access but they didn't open for 10 more hours at 1 pm. I walked across the street, grabbed a chair and setup on the sidewalk outside the library! I'm sure I would have drawn stares and comments but there was nobody around. Managed to access the Internet and post my previous ride to GarminConnect, post photos to Picassa and check e-mail, ALL BEFORE 4AM! We actually started pedalling the bikes at 715am after morning coffee and AMP at the local Valero gas station. Immediately started up a long, arduous climb that took over 2 hours to go less than 10 miles, climbing over the pass to Hunter Mountain Ski Area and Tannersville,NY from the backside. Stopped for breakfast about 10am at a little bistro in town and the 3 of us dropped over $60 on breakfast!!! I got Eggs Benedict w/home fries and fresh fruit with lots of coffee and mocha hot chocolate!! Next door was a throwback bike shop/snowboard store and the guy was big into vintage bikes: a Fat Chance Slim Chance, a Schwinn StingRay with PeaPicker front suspension and a stick shift in Grape Color and an older SantaCruz mountain bike! Cool Stuff! We headed out from Tannersville,NY and then down a screaming fast 4 mile downhill with sweepers and rollers heading down into Catskill headed for our crossing of the Hudson River on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Then we picked up Route 23 around the town of Hudson. Stopped yet again at a Stewarts for more coffee and AMP and saw a limited edition Mustang commemorating the car from the Steve McQueen move Bullit! Very cool car! Richards knees were acting up again and we stopped at an old style diner so he could ice down his knee but it wasn't working! We were 50 miles into the ride at 5 hours and it was about 5pm. According to my Garmin 705 Edge GPS we still has 40 miles to go. Decisions were made for Richard to bail and try to hitch a truck to take he and his bike to Pittsfield, Mass so he could rest up!!!! I actually took off alone and planned to do my best to ride it in! Lots of serious hard core hills on Route 23 and especially 22North and by dark at 8p I was still 20 miles from Pittsfield! Got my lighting system set-up, headlights and taillights, heavy gloves, insulated coat, reflective clothing and settled in for the duration with lots more climb. Got to the Comfort Inn at exactly 90 miles at 1045pm and was really cold but stoked! Took a couple hours to unwind and post my ride and pictures.