Two weeks to the start of our trip.
Visit http://niagarabycycle.org for overview info about the trip.

Planning for the trip is coming along well.  I think most of the routes are pretty well set, though we might end up making last minute adjustments as we learn things along the way.  I appreciate the advice I got from some upstate cyclists.  In places where the advice recommended changes, I've made some adjustments in routes.  When the feedback confirmed that my routes were at least OK for bicycles, I was very happy to hear it.  It is no fun to be riding on a bad cycling road (little or no shoulder, heavy traffic).  I used the http://www.gpsvisualizer.com web site to generate elevation profile maps for each day's ride.  It's a neat site which accepts GPS data or links pasted from Google maps and produces elevation profile graphs.  ( An aside - gpsvisualizer did not agree with elevation profiles I got from Google Earth, and after experimenting with some local routes, I convinced myself that gpsvisualizer was the one to be trusted. )

Michael Crowell is my riding partner for the full ride.  It looks like we will have company for at least part of the day on most days of the ride and Michael and I both share a "more the merrier" philosophy about the trip.   Greg and Michele Maggio are going to at least do the day 1 ride from Montauk to Miller Place with us.  We'll end the day with a spaghetti dinner at the Morris house.  On day 2, a few friends, including Colleen (and Stan?) Rudman will join us at the start for a 12 mile "breakfast ride" from Miller Place to St. James.   Dan Dunmire is planning to ride with us through the city and through the Catskills to Roscoe.   My old friend Bob Wurtzel will ride a part of the way from Accord to Roscoe.  Diane Sipple is going to join us for some still to be determined part of the way from Roscoe to Niagara Falls (and I'm still hoping her cycling son Stuart will join us, too).

We're really grateful that friends and family have offered us places to stay for 7 out of the 10 nights on the road.  It looks like night 3 (Putnam County) and night 7 (between Roscoe and Syracuse) are going to be motel nights.  We decided not to bring camping gear along for the ride.  That significantly reduces the amount of weight we have to haul up those upstate hills.

Speaking of climbing hills, I have been putting in a lot of miles to prepare for the trip.  I typically ride a lot at this time of year but I've been riding more this year.  I've been riding to work almost every day (today will be the first driving day in a few weeks).  Since we have more drivers than cars in the house during the summer, my use of a bicycle for commuting is appreciated.  The ride to work is pretty flat so I've tried to include hills in weekend rides.  Michael and I have gotten out together for a bunch of north shore rides.  I did one ride in which I went and down hills in Port Jefferson.  I'll probably do that again a few times.  I once was told by someone who went cycling in the Alps that repeatedly climbing the East Broadway hill in Port Jeff can get you in shape for riding anywhere.

I don't know how much more I'll post before the ride but I definitely plan to post blog entries along the way.