Day 11 - The Home Stretch

Saturday, August 6


The last day of the ride! 
Check out the trip overview at the niagarabycycle web site.

We started Saturday's ride at our hotel in Lockport.  Michael made some last minute reservations for us at a hotel on the Canadian side of the border.  We worked out a plan with Lee.  We would get a head start on our bicycles.  Lee and the kids would take the minivan and head for the hotel and we would ride our bicycles across the Rainbow Bridge and meet at the hotel.

My niagarabycycle sign has taken a beating but is still holding together.  The day counter (upper right corner) is now on Day 11.

We had about 24 miles to cover on flat ground.  About a half hour into the ride, Lee and the kids passed us by in the minivan. 

A little further down the road, we passed them stopped at a yard sale.  (In Suffolk County or Niagara County, Lee does not pass up a good yard sale!)  About 5 minutes after that, they passed us for good.

One last stop for nourishment at the Home of the Whistle Pig on the road to Niagara Falls.  A Whistle Pig is a hot dog wrapped in bacon and smothered with cheese - I went for a regular hot dog.

We were riding through farms much of the way but as we neared the falls we passed through industrial areas and then the residential streets of Niagara Falls with the familiar old wooden houses that you find in upstate New York towns.  We were turned back when we tried to bring our bicycles on the pedestrian walkway of the Rainbow Bridge.  You are not allowed to even walk your bike across. (I`was told it was because bikes couldn't fit through the turnstiles but I saw signs showing they had provisions for getting things like strollers through.  Hmmm, I think we'll have to write some letters about that). 

So we had to cross with the cars and sit in the car traffic on the bridge.  We stopped to take some pictures in the middle of the bridge, then passed through customs and rode a couple of miles to the hotel, first on some residential streets then winding past casinos, hotels, and restaurants.   We had a world class greeting awaiting us in the parking lot at the hotel.  There was music from Chariots of Fire, a big Congratulations sign, and streamers waving.

We got cleaned up and changed and spent a wonderful day in Niagara Falls.

Ready to ride on the Maid of the Mist.  American Falls in background.

So we did it. 

It's been a great experience.  Thank you to everyone who participated for some part of the ride.  Thank you to all our wonderful hosts along the way.  Thank you to alll who donated to support our causes (donations will continue to be accepted - see http://niagarabycycle.org/ )

We rode 24 miles on the last day.  Let's do the numbers.

10 days of riding
672 miles covered
12 riders
0 injuries (well, maybe a few scratches)
1 flat tire (Michael)
2 times being caught in the rain

The numbers get approximate at this point

215 bottles of water consumed

77 bars (granola bars, cliff bars, etc.) eaten

27 root beers consumed (as previously noted, the official rest stop drink for the trip)
61 gold finches spotted (goldfinches were the official bird of the trip, spotted several times most days - usually in groups of 2 to 4)
4 riders who rode longer distances than they ever had before
94 inviting swimming spots (lakes, streams, rivers) passed along the way
1 swimming spot jumped in (Lake Muskoday - darn, we should have jumped in more of those!)
At least 2 wicked farmer tans
107 "nice bike" or "cool bike" or "I wanna buy that bike" shouts at Michael's recumbent

And one statistic just for me - I can't speak for Michael or Diane
0 pounds gained or lost (so this tells me that for my metabolism it's fine to eat whatever I feel like eating as long as I ride 60+ miles every day)


Stay tuned.  I think Michael will be adding more to his blog at http://elcoolocrowell.blogspot.com

Day 10 - Lake Ontario, 40 miles on the Erie Canal

Friday - August 5

We started the day with a wonderful breakfast prepared by Jim Marks (omelets, crisp bacon, toast, orange juice, coffee).  Jim rode with us through Durand Eastman Park down to the shore of Lake Ontario.  We headed west along the lake shore and turned slightly away from the lake to cross a bridge over the Genesee River.  After saying our farewells to Jim, we swung back to the lakeshore for a while and then tried to follow the most efficient route down to the Erie Canal at Brockport.

On the Genesee River Bridge, Lake Ontario in the distance

From Brockport we had 40 miles of almost uninterrupted Canalway trail to cover to our destination, Lockport.  There's an Erie Canal song that I couldn't remember quite well enough to sing during our rides along the canal.  Here's a Pete Seeger version of "Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal" song
I'll be ready next time (just kidding).

The Canalway path was in good shape and particularly wide for most of the way.  It was easy to ride two abreast which made conversation easier.  We made rest stops in Brockport and Albion.  In Albion, we met Hannah Blake of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission.  She snapped our pictures as an example of the Canalway bringing business to the canal corridor.  We only bought a few sodas, some batter dipped mushrooms, and a slice of pizza but I guess we're symbolic of something larger.

At Medina, we stopped to take a look at an impressive waterfall.  The land to the north of the canal slopes away sharply from the canal edge along this section of the canal.  At Medina, the canal is carried by an aqueduct and a north flowing stream(Oak Orchard Creek) flows under the canal and then plunges over Medina Falls.   This reminded me that, though I sometimes read references to "excavating the Erie Canal", canal construction was about a lot more than digging.   Across the other side of the canal, which is quite wide at this point, a crowd was gathered in Medina downtown listening to live music (I could hear "Crystal Blue Persuasion" as we rode away)

Michael on canal trail - Medina Falls in background.

Checking out the Medina Aqueduct which carries the Erie Canal over the stream below.

As has become our habit of late, we were running out of daylight as we approached our destination.  We got to see a beautiful sunset along the canal (I don't have pictures but I think Michael's blog will have some)

Michael on the Canalway late in the day near Middleport

Diane at Middleport

It was getting dark as we left the canal at Lockport.  We stopped to get our lights on and then rode about 2 miles through the city streets to our hotel.  After showering we went out for a celebratory dinner (fish fry at Garlocks).  This was the last big ride of the trip (73 miles).  We only have a short 22 mile hop to the Falls tomorrow so we thought a little celebration at this point was in order.

Well past midnight, Lee arrived with Billy, Annie, Carina, and Carina's boyfriend Michael.  It was great to see everybody but we were all exhausted and went straight to bed.

9 days of riding and 648 miles complete

Day 9 - City >> Canal >> Country >> Canal >> City

Thursday, August 4

This was our planned 'long day'.  To get from the home of Michael's aunt and uncle southeast of Syracuse to the home of his friends Jim and Jane Marks in Irondequoit north of Rochester, we knew we would have to cover about 100 miles.

We first had to get through Syracuse which we did smoothly.  The route went right through the heart of the city.  Once again I found that riding in the center of a city is not all that hard.  I feel much more at risk at the high speed interchanges at the fringes of the city.  Interestingly, the route that I had planned just happened to include a piece of a bicycle commuting route that Michael had used when he lived for a while with his aunt and uncle.  A piece of our Hicksville to Westbury route was also used by Michael for bicycle commuting in the past.

Eighteen miles into the ride we reached the Erie Canalway trail at the town of Camillus.  I took a detour to the Camillus public library to get printouts of some updated routes for the Rochester end of the ride (public libraries are a great resource when you are on the road).  I caught up with Diane and Michael further down the Canalway trail.  We found this section of trail somewhat difficult to ride.  There was a layer of loose crushed stone that made it hard to keep up a good pace.  Along the way we encountered a pair of cyclists, one riding a recumbent, on their way to Albany.

The Canalway trail has a break that starts at Port Byron.  38 miles into our ride, we stopped in a gas station convenience store to pick up lunch, refill water bottles, and stock up on snacks for the road. We were all in ravenous cyclist mode.  Michael and I decided early in the trip that we should just listen to our bodies and eat what seemed right (Diane's body generally told her to eat ice cream).

The next 22 miles took us through some very beautiful and interesting countryside.  At the end of the previous day we noticed a change in the character of the landscape beginning at Deruyter.  There were flatter, wider valleys and more gentle hills.  Riding into the countryside from Port Byron, we crossed the Seneca River and entered a broad flat valley with fields of corn and soybeans.  We then entered some woods, crossed back over the Seneca River, and came upon more farm country.  There were numerous small hills but nothing like we had seen in days 4 through 8 of the ride. 

Seneca River bridge in my mirror

We noticed first a horse and buggy sign by the roadside, then some women in Amish dress, and then a horse and buggy traveling down the road.  We were in Wayne County where there is apparently a sizable Amish community.  

A sign that we were entering Amish country

Roadside cemetery in Marengo

We continued riding through the rolling farmland through the tiny town of Marengo and eventually made our way back to the canal at Lyons.  It was about 6pm when we reached Lyons to have a cold drink (root beer, of course) and consider our options.

Ice cold root beer at Stony's Pizza in Lyons

We had about 40 miles to go to the Marks house with about 2 and a half hours of daylight left.  Michael had fortunately done some checking ahead of time and had a rescue offer from Jim Marks as an emergency backup.  We knew that riding 100 miles in a day was a lot to ask of Diane who before this trip had never ridden any significant distances.  Michael and Diane arranged for Jim to meet them with a trailer.  I set out to cover the remaining distance to Irondequoit as quickly as possible.

For the first 8 miles from Lyons I followed roads a little bit north of the canal.  I picked up the Canalway path at Newark.  The section of the Canalway path from Newark to Fairport was in excellent shape.  It was easy to ride on and very scenic.  I reached Fairport as the sun was beginning to set.  I left the canal trail at Fairport to take a more direct path to Irondequoit.  I was using the directions that I had printed out earlier in the day in the library in Camillus.  As I reached the city of Rochester, it was getting dark (Shhhh, don't tell Lee I was riding at night) but the city streets and my bicycle were both well lit.  I enjoyed riding through Rochester in the summer night air.  It was a Thursday night but there was quite a bit of activity in the city, particularly along Winton Street which was lined with restaurants and sidewalk cafes.

I rolled down Oakview Street in Irondequoit looking for the Marks house.  Neighbor Heidi spotted me going by and directed me to the right house.  Jane invited me in and Jim, Michael, and Diane arrived not long after that.  We got ourselves cleaned up and then sat down for a very late dinner of homemade chili and salad with Jim and Jane and Heidi.  I'll mention again how nice it is to have friendly faces waiting for you at the end of a day's ride.  Jim and Jane were wonderful hosts.  We owe special thanks to Jim for coming to the rescue along the trail and also for researching routes in and out of Rochester.  Thank you also to Heidi who provided a place for Diane to stay in her house next door. 

8 days and 575 miles complete

Day 8 - What If It Rains?

Day 8 - August 3rd

Since day 5, I've added this low tech day counter to our niagarabycycle sign.  Thanks for the suggestion, Alice.  Michael had also pointed out that the closer we get to Niagara Falls, the less impressive the idea of riding there by bicycle becomes.  I hope this helps convey the idea that we've come a long way.

A common question that I heard before the trip was "What will you do if it rains?"  My flip answer was always "We'll get wet".  That's what happened in the early afternoon today.  A light rain was actually appreciated by all three of us.  It kept us cool as we rode.  But the right questions for the later afternoon would be more like "What will you do if it rains hard?"  Answer: get really wet.  And "What will you do if it keeps raining for hours?"  Answer: get really, REALLY wet!

Our destination for today was the home of Michael's aunt and uncle in Manlius - just outside of Syracuse.  Our progress early in the day was slow.  We started the day with a very long climb out of Bainbridge.  We stopped in the town of Guilford to visit an old friend of Diane's.  Guilford was a very pretty little town with classic old houses and a very nice lakeside park on the outskirts.  

Diane leaving a note when it looked like nobody was home.   This is one of several interesting buildings owned by Diane's Guilford friends.

We found ourselves midafternoon 40+ miles from our destination with a rain that returned and picked up in intensity.  Not a downpour but a steady, solid rain.  We couldn't afford to wait for the rain to pass so we kept on going.  By the time we reached the town of Deruyter, 21 miles from our destination, we were soaked through even with rain jackets on.  We took cover under at a small shopping center, changed into dry clothes under our rain jackets and prepared to make the final leg of the trip. 

Diane ready to go back out in the rain

As we got back on the road, the rain started to let up and soon stopped completely.  By the time we reached the northern end of Deruyter Lake, a rainbow stretched across the sky.  As we watched, it intensified and we saw a second band.

Rainbow over the fields of Deruyter (Thanks to Michael for this picture)

We approached Manlius on a road called Pompey Center Road following a route suggested by a member of the Onondaga cycling club. It is a good road for cycling, almost entirely free of cars with nice scenery and rolling hills.  At this point, we were racing to make it to Manlius before darkness fell.  Another cyclist with a bicycle loaded for traveling approached us from behind (I guess our idea of racing was a bit slower than his).  Peter was on a multiday trip from New Jersey to the Thousand Islands area and was also planning to stay with relatives in Manlius.  We were all struck by the odd coincidence.  Peter's route took him due west to Pennsylvania and then north to Wellesley Island.  This 9 mile section of road was clearly the only place that our routes crossed and we happened to be there at the same time.  (Peter, let us know how the rest of your ride went)

Parting ways with Peter just outside of Manlius (another photo courtesy of Michael)

We made it to our destination while there was still light in the sky.  We were welcomed by Michael's aunt Dorothy and uncle Burt.  We had yet another late dinner - this time Middle Eastern carry out.  We took advantage of their washer and dryer to get our clothes clean and dry again.  Since the start of the trip, we had packed our clothes in plastic bags inside our panniers so that a rainstorm wouldn't soak through all that we carried.  I carried so little, however, that one change into dry clothes at Deruyter basically used up my whole wardrobe.

We rode 73 miles today.  473 miles total.

Remember that you can check Michael's album for more pictures (and insightful comments, of course).

Day 7 - Fair Delaware County, The Rocky Road to Bainbridge

Day 7 - August 2

Find pictures from today in Michael's album.

We essentially spent today traversing Delaware County from south to north.  We started the day in Roscoe in Sullivan County but crossed the Delaware County border minutes into the ride.  At the end of the day we crossed the Susquehanna river to the town of Bainbridge in Chenango County.  I like to think of the fact that it took us a day to cross the county as an indication of the size of Delaware County.  Others might think it says more about our ability to cover ground (see joke at end of today's entry).  But seriously, it's a big beautiful county and we got to see a lot of it.

Delaware County

We were joined today by Diane Sipple-Cushing who's riding in memory of her husband Arnie.  This is a good opportunity to thank the many friends of Arnie and Diane who have made donations to our project.  Diane has never done a substantial bicycle trip before. With help from her son Stewart, she got herself well outfitted with a new bicycle and other equipment.  Her training program was not exactly grueling, however, and I confess to having some doubts about Diane's ability to hang in there through the hills but she's been a trooper. 

Diane

We started the day on roads following the banks of the Beaver Kill, a world renowned trout stream.  There were many beautiful river views on the morning ride.

One of Michael's pics of the Beaver Kill

At East Branch, the Beaver Kill flows into the East Branch of the Delaware River.  We continued on the road that follows the valley of the East Branch to a point just west of Hancock.  At that point, Michael took off on his own to see if he could fit in a visit to his stepson at a summer camp about fifteen miles off route.  That ended up not working out for Michael but it did keep him separated from us for the rest of the day.

Michael entering East Branch

The roads along the rivers had plenty of ups and downs but no sustained climbs.    As we turned north we knew we had two substantial climbs ahead of us.  The first climb was on Apex Road.  We went steadily up for about 6 miles but the grade was always manageable.  Apex Road is lined with some very widely spaced homes. The climb was followed by a steep, straight downhill to the Cannonsville Reservoir.  Once you reach the area of the reservoir,there are no more homes - only woods.

We followed the reservoir shores for about 10 miles before tackling what looked to be a more difficult climb through the Steam Mill State Forest.  We turned away from the reservoir onto Mormon Hollow Road which climbed, not too precipitously, through a very pretty glen with a few very well kept homes along a small brook.  A couple of miles in the road changed from pavement to packed dirt.  We passed a lake as we entered the state forest land.  The road continued to climb in fits and starts.  The road surface proved to be more of a problem than the slope.  It got very rocky.  We ended up walking our bikes for stretches.  Even the downhills are difficult when the surface is rocky.  At several points, the woods opened up to offer spectacular views.

Diane on Mormon Hollow Road

We reached a point where the road began to be almost all downhill and switched to pavement ( I was never so glad to see pavement before! )  We cruised down to route 206 and on to a General Store in Masonville.

At the General Store, Diane and I each had a cold root beer.  Michael and Dan and I had already agreed that root beer is the official rest stop drink of the niagarabycycle ride.  Water or gatorade on the bike but when it's time for a break, root beer is the preferred drink on a hot day.  Diane is with us on this.
We had eight miles to go to reach Bainbridge and two more from downtown to our hotel.  Though we were generally heading downhill, there were plenty of ups mixed in with the downs on Route 206.  We were pretty exhausted by the time we rolled into the Algonkin Hotel parking lot at about 6:30.  The 64 miles we rode was way beyond anything Diane had ever ridden in a day. Way to go, Diane!

Michael contacted us by cellphone shortly after we arrived at the hotel and arrived in Bainbridge about an hour later.   We were able to dine together and share a bottle of wine before calling it a night.

Six days of riding complete - exactly 400 miles covered.

Ok, here's the joke:  A Texas cattleman brags to a New England farmer about the size of his ranch "Why, I can get on my horse in the morning at my ranch house and start riding west and by the time the sun goes down, I still won't be at the other end of my property."  To which the New England farmer replies "Yeah, I had a horse like that once!"

Day 6 - Day of Rest

Laundry, a little bit of resupply, writing blog entries, and (soon) swimming in Lake Muskoday.

View from the Sipple dock on Lake Muskoday

We're about halfway (maybe a little more) in miles and, I'm really pleased to report, well past halfway to our fundraising goal with $3778 pledged or donated.  Thank you all for your support.

http://niagarabycycle.info/

Day 5 - Great Day for Up

Sunday, July 31 

During day 3 we climbed steadily along the rail trail into northern Westchester but we lost almost all that elevation when we descended into Peekskill.  After all the ups and downs of day 4, we ended the day only about 200 feet above our starting elevation at Montauk Point.  Day 5 was our day to climb up out of the Rondout Valley onto the Catskill Plateau.

I'm going to rely on Michael for pictures to go along with the day 5 ride.  Michael's day 5 pics  Note that today Michael experimented with the "Bike Cam" mounted with a liberal amount of duct tape (I knew that duct tape would come in handy at some point!).

Bike Cam

We started the day by following the Rondout Valley from Accord to Ellenville.  We were back on Berme Road (a favorite from day 4) which hugged the eastern side of the valley, offering panoramic views of the valley and the bigger Catskill mountains in the distance.  An out of place sight was the medieval looking castle of the Napanoch State Prison.

We were lucky enough to arrive in Ellenville while the Farmers' Market was in session.  This made for a nice mid-morning break.  We picked up some snacks for the road (carrots and plums) and listened to a little live country music before heading west on Route 52.  This is where the real climbing began.  I'll include an elevation profile chart for people who are into that kind of thing.

Elevation in feet versus miles of travel for day 5

The major elevation gain of the day was spread over 10 miles. We paralleled route 52 for a while on Greenfield Road.  It was quiet and shady (did I mention that we like our roads shady?)   High points go to the Google Maps cycling option for putting us on to some of these roads.  Then we forked off onto Mountaindale Road.  We were mostly riding in woods but we passed resorts and summer camps along the way.  It was hot and those swimming pools looked really inviting. 

As we passed through Woodridge and Fallsburg, the resorts and camps were almost exclusively orthodox Jewish and at most there was a great hustle and bustle of activity.  By this point, we had completed our major elevation gain but the terrain never really leveled off.  We seemed to always be going either up or down.  A passing cyclist, Andrew, stopped to chat when we were on a roadside break.  He inquired about our route and suggested a change in our approach to Liberty based on road condition (he said the Google Maps route would have had us going downhill into Liberty on an unpaved road).  He even gave us his card with phone number and said we should call him if we got stuck anywhere.

When we reached Liberty, it was time to part ways with Dan Dunmire.  Dan's daughter Ari met us in town.  After sharing some pizza for lunch, Dan went off to load his bicycle into the car and head for home.  It was great having Dan along to share three days of the ride.  A point of interest - Dan was riding the Raleigh bicycle that he bought in the 1970's.  It obviously served him well.  He had no problem with any of the hills along the way - generally whistling a cheerful tune as we climbed.

Michael and I continued out of Liberty toward Roscoe.  There is no good direct way to get from Liberty to Livingston Manor, the next town in the valley, by bicycle.  Route 17 is the most direct (and flat) route but it is not made for bicycles.  As Andrew(the passing cyclist) had confirmed, one way or another we had to get over a ridge to continue on our way.  We headed west to White Sulphur Springs, with some decent climbing along the way, and then tackled the most serious climb of the trip so far on Dahlia Road.  We picked up more than 600 feet of elevation in a few miles with most of that coming in the last steep mile.  Michael had the bad luck of getting a flat tire midway up the hill.  I waited at the top and chatted with Damon and Stephanie who were building a house at what Damon told me was the highest point in the town of Liberty. 

We flew down the hill to Livingston Manor.  As Andrew had reported, it was a good straight shot down - no tight curves or intersections to get in our way.  From there, we had only about 7 miles to Roscoe where my friend Diane and her folks were waiting for us at their house in town.  After dinner at Raimondos we went up the mountain (by car) to Lake Muskoday to spend the night.  This was a regular vacation spot for my family for many years when the kids were younger (Lee, I wish you and the kids were here to take a swim or a boat ride with me!)

Hey, we're halfway there!
336 miles into the trip.
I think we'll give ourselves the day off tomorrow.

Before we started the day, we made a little film about bicycle safety.