The Screen Room and Mosquito Batting

Thursday morning, the rain continued. We took a hike in the morning hoping things would clear, we even checked out the "oldest covered bridge in the United States",  but by afternoon it was still raining. And it was cold.

When car camping we take what is referred to as "The Palace" - a six person LL Bean dome tent that fits a blow up full sized mattress with room to spare, and the LL Bean Woodland Screen Room. Up until camping at Glimmerglass I'd not been an enthusiastic supporter of the Screen Room but sitting inside on Thursday afternoon as the mosquitoes buzzed around outside I was appreciating the finer points of micromesh netting. As the evening came on, more mosquitoes came out, boredom set in. It was at this point, while holding my hand within 1/2 inch of the screen just to watch the frantic mosquitoes try to get through to all that luscious blood I wondered what tomorrow's forecast was. Another day like this and who knows what I'd be doing.

Lake Otsego and Ommegang Brewery

Wednesday morning we headed south from the campground to Cooperstown and Stagecoach coffee. There wasn't a shoulder on Rt 31, but there weren't many cars so the ride was good. The coffee was excellent! After our little caffeine kick we cranked up the West shore enjoying the scenery and the addition of shoulders to the road. There was one giant hill at the end of the loop which I had to shift into granny gear to climb - but I did climb it! and flew down the other side into Glimmerglass State Park just as the rain started.

In the afternoon we sort of solved the mystery of why the Ommegang Brewery, The Best Brewer of Belgian Beer in America was located in Cooperstown, or at least after the beer tasting we really didn't care. Apparently the area was, in the 1800's, the biggest producer of hops in America. They don't grow it there now, they just make the beer and give tours of the brewery. It was a good tour, our tour guide was very informative and although I could not convince them to start making Triple Perfection again, I did like the Witte, Rarevos. Driving back to the tent, in the rain, I felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Cooperstown

Cooperstown, the town named for one family and run by another. Aside from the Main Street tourist trade, baseball really has very little to do with it. Founded by, or rather owned by James Fenimore Cooper's father, William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic is a good book that goes into the details both about the father and the son's involvement with the town. Then along about the 1880s came the Clarks. Not content with running the Singer Sewing Machine Company, and the Dakota as well as founding the Met and a number of other significant museums the The Clarks of Cooperstown have run their little vacation town for four successive generations.

It is a sweet little town, close to perfect, nestled on the South Shore of Otsego Lake. We set up camp at Glimmerglass State Park and made plans for a ride around the Lake on Wednesday. Our guide this time was Cranks from Cooperstown: 50 Bike Rides in Upstate New York, a very thorough guidebook to the area, and my daughter.

We had dinner at a dockside restaurant, admiring the Lake and what Amy felt was truly unusual, a lovely, cloud free evening.

Erie Canal Ride, Day 7 & 8.

Canajoharie to Albany (with an unremarkable stop in Scotia). There were two notable events in the last two days which if we ever had to do it again, we would do like Mark and ride it all in one day. The riding was good. The canalpath here is mostly paved and while the Enemy's tires make a distinct whine on pavement, still the going was better than through stonedust.

Notable event 1: Almost daily S. and I would notice a local tv station news crew onsite shooting footage of the ride. Usually they chose some cute little family to interview, or the piece would be on how far away the riders came from, or the bikes, etc. On the last day, as we were brushing our teeth at the communal, outdoor 8 sink washstand a man from channel 8 sets up his camera next to us and begins filming. As my kids will tell you I'm not one for PDoTB (Public Displays of Tooth Brushing) so when he did ask if he could film us I asked if he could wait until I was putting in my contacts. He asked some of the others how they felt about "roughing it on the road" and if he could also film them at their morning routine. One woman replied that "she was almost done here but he "was welcome to follow her to the port - a - potty. "

Notable event 2: We arrived at the last Tent City early in the afternoon. Having perfected the baggage and beer retrieval and tent site location and set up routine we were soon sitting in our chairs watching other riders straggle in and repeat the process. A process that had also become fairly routine and efficient for everyone else. But today a new group had joined the tour. Over the next 45 minutes we watched as first 2, then 5, then 8 people attempted to set up this new tent. Even with reading the directions it took 4 attempts and 35 minutes. Admittedly it was a big tent, at least for 4 people, and one that was even equipped with a screened off 'porch'. For its large size and grey color I nicknamed it The Pachyderm. After the excitement died down I wandered over to take a look, especially at the brand. EMS. According to their website the EMS Pallas is a 6 person tent, and according to the reviews - 45 minutes may be speed record. But, in all honesty, every reviewer did like the tent and but none reviewed its entertainment value to which I give 4 stars.

As for the ride itself, to a first time bike tourist, and one that doesn't ride too often, or a family that wants to ride together, I'd recommend it. To people who want to put some miles under their legs, see new places, and eat good food, I say keep looking. Because this trip taught me that that is what I want from a tour. Something where someone has done the legwork, so I can work my legs - and keep the adventures coming.

Erie Canal Ride, Day 6, Quiz 6

Rome to Canajoharie - 63 miles.

The days are starting to run together and my memory of them is starting to blur. Riding for hundreds of miles alongside a canal will do that to a person.

I do remember the Herkimer Homestead - pictured here. And I also think that I'll never forgot some of the people. While we didn't get to know all 500, there were some that we ran into almost every day, some that we even spent a good bit of time with.

Mark- a serious biker, pulled into the Albany parking lot right behind us, and came from a town in Rhode Island. While other rides tired out as the days went by, Mark picked up steam eventually riding the last two days (73 miles) on the 7 day and going home early.
Sue- a member of the asphalt burning peleton, and contributor of the following photo.
Fresno - the guy from California that would have looked just as comfortable on a surfboard as on a bike.
Fixie Guy-one of the younger tour participants. His name derives from his bike. We almost always ran into him at the coffee shops.
Sergeant Paul-the man in charge of Truck #2 and defacto, the volunteer squad
John - the bike mechanic, always cool, always under pressure.
Front Panier Guy - older gentleman on an old ten-speed that only had front panniers. We'd pass by him mid-morning every day. Once, on a downhill he blew by us so fast I didn't even recognize him - til we passed again on the uphill

And there were groups of riders:
The volunteer squad - responsible for marking the daily routes (generally in a very thorough way but sometimes to extremes), helping out along the trail, loading and unloading baggage and keeping the Tent Cities in order.
The Do-Rag Boys - an older group of men, predominately bald, who tended to discuss New York Sports and politics.
The Canal Volunteers - not official part of the ride, these were the enthusiastic staffers of the several historic museums and parks along the route. I work in a volunteer-centric museum but I've never seen such a diverse but wholeheartedly dedicated and knowledgeable group.
The German Family - (really self explanatory)

Erie Canal Ride, Day 5, Quiz 5

For the full answer to yesterday's quiz check out Tipperary Hill and hope the colorblind never go there.

Syracuse to Rome. While it sounds like we're riding through Italy, we are still plugging along the bikeways and roads of upstate New York. Of course the town names do beg the question of why all the towns were named after Greek and Roman cities but that is something to continually ponder while also contemplating how to pronounce other names like Canajoharie or Onondaga. We stopped at the Canastota Canal Town Museum and the Erie Canal Village where we rode a canal boat towed by two horses. It was hard to believe that those two horses alone could pull boat, and we tried to get the captain to confess the presence of a hidden electric motor, but apparently, two horses can pull a big canal boat.

Unfortunately the canal boat did not go all the way to our tent city destination. It was a pretty hot day and it being the 5th day of riding we were feeling a bit ummm slow. And that's were we come to today's quiz question.

How do you get from one place to another on a bicycle in the fastest time but expend the least amount of energy? (hint - there were three of us, much like the top GC contenders in the tour).

Speaking of the tour. It was at this point in the ride that S. began discouraging anyone from mentioning The Tour de France to me. [begin rant] Last year on our ride I tried desperately to get Tour results but no one knew them, heck no one even knew The Tour was on and in the end had to actually call home. This year people talked about The Tour and even posted the top GC on the bulletin board every night. Why? Because of Lance. No Lance, no one cares about the The Tour - so are they really fans or just fair american fans. I even suspect that as it became clear that Lance was not moving up into first people became even less interested and for that matter....I will stop now.

We spent the night at Fort Stanwick. Great museum, great fort. I'd just finished reading The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution which focuses on Iroquois Six Nations of New York and Upper Canada during the era of the American Revolution, and it was good to see Oneida Carrying Place in person and get a sense of the area before the Canal. It was however, a hard place to find a level camping spot.

Erie Canal Ride, Day 4, Quiz 4

Seneca Falls to Syracuse: 40 miles - and all day to ride it. As the quiz has been so popular I'll start with it. There is a street light in Syracuse that is a bit different. If I was a good photographer the picture would easily clue you in, but since I'm not, I'll also tell you that it has to do with immigration. Today's prize is used "Erie Canal Bike Ride" water bottle. (And No Maribeth, you may not have my "I love Mormons" t-shirt.)

But back to our story. We left Seneca Falls well rested and determined to relax and smell the roses along the way. What with only 40 miles, bright sun and summer temperatures it was guaranteed to be an easy day. And indeed, things continued fair as while riding into Weedsport we noticed (actually it was hard to miss being painted on the side of a bridge abutment) a sign for Burritt's Cafe. The place had great people, a great bakery and great coffee. Coincidentally, they also had roses!

S. stopped to smell them, but the caffeine kicked in soon and we were off. Next stop Sims store. While most of the riders strolled through the recreated canal-era store, S. and I oogled the adorable Buoy Boat. Okay, S. didn't think it was adorable he was impressed by the engine. A Lathrop single stroke blah, blah, blah. I just thought the boat was one of the cutest I'd ever seen.

As we rode into Syracuse on 4 and 5 lane roads without bike lanes, or shoulders I mentally switched into my usual rant about bike safely rules and how few bikers know them, especially as it became more and more apparent that this group was woefully uninformed. The final mile-long ride up the hill our tent city cooled me down a bit, as did the evening wandering around the Syracuse Zoo.

Erie Canal Ride, Day 3, Quiz 3

Pittsford to Seneca Falls, (cue sheet pictured left) a lovely 62 mile ride beside the canal and through rolling farmland. As fascinating as it is to ride along "Clinton's Ditch" for days, it was good to see some other sites including Palmyra, NY. Birthplace of Joseph Smith the place where the Mormon religion began.

Palmyra is an immaculate little town of brick buildings, wide streets, parks and strangely enough 2 very nice coffee shops. The townsfolk treated us to a rest stop, an opportunity to pick up a free "I love Mormons" t-shirt and "Palmyra, the place the matters" pins. It was very inspiring. S. and I have often contemplating starting our own religion and this seemed really to be the place for a little dogmatic inspiration.

For today's quiz what am I doing in the accompanying pictures?

After that we cruised into Seneca Falls and camped at the same school we camped at last year. Dinner was on our own and after some confusion about the viability of local restaurants, we dined at Red's. Great burgers and an apricot wheat ale.

The tour hosted a gathering in the park where I heard one of the most unusual canal stories. Apparently, some 19th century entrepreneur with an interest in natural history has preserved a whale, loaded in on a canal barge and toured New York with it.

PS Today's quiz winner will receive one of those remarkable Palmyra pins so get your answers in early.

Erie Canal Ride, Day 2, Quiz 2

Today we rolled along the canal from Medina to Pittsford. The weather was perfect. We passed lots of beautiful New York farmland starting with our Tent City. Medina, in fact, is so proud of their main agricultural crop that they have erected a sculpture of it in the canal-side park. For today's quiz - what type of fruit is it?

Today we also were lucky enough to visit the lovely town of Spencerport. Lovely in its restaurants and coffee shop! There is nothing so wonderful as really good coffee in the middle of a long bike ride. Sure Gatorade has it's benefits but when it really gets down to needing a boost, a good latte not only gets you speeding down the road, but also tastes great.

Somewhere along the route today we also met up with Sue who became in integral cog in an amazingly fine-tuned peleton. (But more on that later) In the meantime we toured Rochester by bike, saw the aqueduct, the Great Falls and almost died in traffic.
Yes - even life on the Erie Canal has its dangers.

Early afternoon had us rolling into Pittsford. An other lovely canal town. Sadly however, the first town to block off a section of the canalside trail for pedestrians.

Erie Canal Ride, Day 1, Quiz 1

In 1825 the Erie Canal made it easy for goods to travel from the coast to western America. In 1998 the New York Parks and Trail Commission started an annual bike ride along that canal making it easy for the average biker to pedal those same 400 miles. In 2009 S and I went along for that bike ride.

Logistically it was run much like the Bon Ton Roulet that we rode last year. Scenically and historically it was much different than last year. Also different was the amount of conditioning, and biking knowledge required. The Erie Canal Ride is a great ride for people new to biking and bike touring. It being all flat and 75% on a designated bike path.

Day 1, Buffalo to Medina was no exception. It was flat, mostly on a bike path (most of that being paved), scenic and historic winding along Lake Erie and the canal through lovely parks and towns. And that brings us to the first of 8 or so quizzes related to this historic ride.

What type of bridge is this?
It spans the canal close to it's beginning and near the town of Tonawanda, NY, but before the town of Lockport and about 20 miles into our 50 mile ride for the day.
There is another bridge like it in Mystic, CT . (with a sign claiming it as the last, or the oldest, or biggest one of its kind)
It is not original to the canal, which was first constructed in 1825, in fact the reason for its existence did not even exist at the time.

Winners will receive a size large, bright green, "Cycling the Erie Canal" T-Shirt. Entries due by midnight.

Songs of the Erie Canal

A friend (thanks Kathy!) has brought to my attention the fact that there are many versions of the "Erie Canal" song, many performed by popular artists. Pete Seeger seems to be the King, but apparently the Boss has also recorded it - in the "Seeger Sessions".

Also, thankfully, there is more to the lyrics than the verse I knew. The traditional name for the song, "Low Bridge" comes from the chorus:

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal

So while I had been dreading having that one verse run through my head for the next 8 days, there are really eight and a chorus.

But there is even more good news. There are other songs about the Erie Canal. My favorite is:

E-RI-E Canal

Music

Lyrics



We were forty miles from Albany (and)
Forget it I never shall.
What a terrible storm we had one night
On the E-ri-e Canal.

Chorus:
O the E-ri-e was a-rising
And the gin was a-getting low.
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buff-a-lo-o-o
Till we get to Buffalo.

We were loaded down with barley
We were chock-full up on rye.
The captain he looked down at me
With his gol-durned wicked eye.

Chorus

Two days out from Syracuse
The vessel struck a shoal;
We like to all be foundered
On a chunk o' Lackawanna coal.

Chorus

We hollered to the captain
On the towpath, treadin' dirt
He jumped on board and stopped the leak
With his old red flannel shirt.

Chorus

The cook she was a grand old gal
Stood six foot in her socks.
Had a foot just like an elephant
And her breath would open locks.

Chorus

The wind begins to whistle
The waves begin to roll
We had to reef our royals
On that ragin' canal.

Chorus

The cook came to our rescue
She had a ragged dress;
We h'isted her upon the pole
As a signal of distress.

Chorus

When we got to Syracuse
Off-mule, he was dead;
The nigh mule got blind staggers
We cracked him on the head.

Chorus

The cook is in the Police Gazette
The captain went to jail;
And I'm the only son-of-a-gub
That's left to tell the tale.

Tour de Erie / Tour de France / mapmyride.com

Next week I'll be bike riding along the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany on a trip I've been looking forward to since last years Bon Ton Roulet. Like last year I will also be choosing to ride instead of virtually living my cycling dream of riding the Tour de France but thanks to the wonders of the interweb...this year that virtual dream is even more, umm, virtual. Through the wonders of Mapmyride.com I am riding the Tour de France. We won't mention how they extrapolated the time for my ride yesterday to determine it would have taken me over 9 hours to complete yesterday's stage, or how they have me ranked 3396 out of 4907 riders. Nah! I'll just mention that it is fun to log my daily ride, and that while I'm pedaling along the canal my domestic will be recording the rides.

Today's ride is only 23.97 miles...but now the bigger question. Today is the Team Time Trial. Who will be my team?..and with the return to the old rules of using the real time...can we move up in the classification?

Ride Forest Ride*

Why, exactly, would someone ride their bike 42 miles through the 5 Boros of New York City in the rain? Why for that matter would 30,000 people do the same, on the same day, at the same time?

Honestly, I can not provide the definitive answer but I have some ideas. Even as we waited in the early morning drizzle for the Staten Island Ferry to take us to Manhattan, and then again, on the Ferry, loaded in the car hold bike-to-bike-rider-to-bike it became more than apparent that this was a special, self-selected group. The bikes ran from "sit up and begs" to hard tail mountain bikes, to finely tuned road racing machines. The people ranged from grandmothers in pumps, to kids in street cloths, to baby boomers in matching cone head adorned helmets. As different as they were, they all shared the notion that this ride was something that needed to be done.

One newspaper account attributed that notion to a sense of fair play stating "runners have the marathon as their chance to take over the city. Bicyclest need their day." But as we waited an hour and half on Broadway just to get to cross the finish line. I couldn't vouch for that. Hopeful riders weren't talking about that, they were mostly telling bike stories, strategizing the upcoming miles, and waiting. Patiently waiting, more patiently waiting than I. To be honest, I almost dropped out after an hour of waiting in the drizzle, knowing the rain was coming, knowing that I would, if I stayed, be riding through city streets, not with cars, but will All These People.

Once we did get going, the ride proceeded at about 5 mph. Riders weaving in an out, passing, stopping, taking pictures, talking with friends. For me, it was physically a very easy ride, but mentally, it was exhausting. One second of inattention and you could skid out in the rain or simply run into a fellow cyclist. There were lots of accidents, some serious. Somewhere in Queens I watched a mountain bike fishtail right in front of roadbike that subsequently went airborn. On the Verrazano bridge the crowd had to slow for a biker on the side of the road. He was under a blanket with a leg extending out at an awkward, unnatural angle. For an idea of what 'riding' involved, take a look at the video shot from some rider's handlebar camera. This was how it was for 5.5 hours.



The route wound all over the city, from Broadway, thru Central Park, down the FDR Highway, over the Queensborough Bridge, over a bunch of other bridges, through Brooklyn, past the Navy Yard, over the Verazzano Bridge and back to Staten Island. Some of the places we rode by were really cool. Places I've always wanted to visit and can now say I have. But honestly, I didn't see much of them, unless you count my knowledge of the road surface.

Reading over various comments made on youtube, flickr and blogs, I'm also not the only one who feels this way, So I have to think that also like me some of the riders were there not necessarily for the ride (honestly there are better ways to get in a good 42 mile ride) but for the experience of riding.

Rain or shine, this is a one-of-a-kind ride. A riding experience that can't be gained anywhere else. Riding a bike, a simple but elegant mode of human powered transportation all around the worlds biggest city. Holding cars and pedestrains at bay for hours even as enthusiastic citizens of that same city cheer on the thousands and thousands of bikers pedaling by in the rain. It's just an incredible experience and one that I and everyone else was able to share with 29,999 other bike riders.

...and as always, made ever more enjoyable by having 1 great riding companion!

*Title supplied by KK!

7/26 - Last Day of the Bon Ton Roulet

It was drizzling when we woke and that continued on and off on our last ride of the tour. The views along Cayuga Lake were still beautiful, and typical of the entire ride. Our final rest stop had all the fixings. From Gatoraide (whether green, orange, yellow or blue no longer mattered) to fig newtons, cheese, crackers, bologna, nuts, sugar wafers, etc. all the goodies we'd come to love were there.

After 50 miles we rode into the parking lot where it all began 7 days ago and greeted Angela, we were tired and dirty but triumphant.

Bon Ton Roulet: 7/25 There is a Bike Shop in Burdett

One of the really excellent features of the Bon Ton Roulet was it's mechanic. At the final night gathering everyone gave him a huge round of applause and he quietly tipped his beer back at us.

Until the tire episode(s) I had only watched the going on at the green van from afar. Seeing the folks gathered round while picking up the bags, going to the head, or checking on the route. The Van was usually parked near the center of things, with a bike stand, or two, set up and a lost riders flocking around. When the time came to ask if he carried kevlar tires I waited while he spun a hapless derailer, clicking it through the gears and trying to determine the problem while a man, seated in a chair asked him how he got into the business. Politely (although distracted by trying to do his job) he replied that he had intended to be a finish carpenter and had set up his shop in Burdett, NY. When business was slow, and it often was, he'd sit on his front porch and work on this bike. Being on the main drag, and there being no other bike shops short of Ithica, people would stop, ask his advise, or ask him to work on their bikes...and so it came to pass...there is now a bike shop in Burdett.

Burdett, NY was the first town where I ever say a dead deer hanging from a front porch. It's a small town and it could well have been on that porch that the mechanic now repaired bikes. Things do change in 2o something years, I do not believe that in the entire year I lived there I never once even saw a bike, let alone a bike shop.

To be honest - I didn't even ride while I lived there. Have you seen the hills? Huge! Mile long climbs, followed by brake burning descents. And apparently - the need for armored tires which coincidentally the mechanic was out of. He did however have these 'tuffy stips' which he could put inside the tire, and those should protect the tube and save us from another 3 flat day.

And so it came to pass that on 7/25 I headed up, up, up and out of Watkins on a 75 mile ride. We took rt 14 south through Montour Falls and up. I'd seen the route before we left, and I knew the 'hill'. I knew I would be walking. I was wrong! As I rode up the monster, admittedly slower than, hmmm, a mountain goat, I couldn't believe it was happening, just pedaling along, climbing the mile and half long beast. Yeah!!!! After that the route turned North along the ridge, than down then up, then down, then up, then down. I was hurting but pedaling. The reststop at Wagner Vineyards was welcome and extremely hard to leave.

Crossing over to Cayuga Lake we stopped for some ice cream. Very good ice cream, then climbed an agonizingly steep road to the top of Trumansburg Falls. Looked at the Falls then crawled into camp where we commenced the nightime routine, rather sentimentally, for this was the last night.

Bon Ton Roulet: 7/24 Layover Deja Vu

Today is the layover day and it's morning in Watkins Glenn. Sleeping in a tent at the High School below the ridge where I first saw a real live pig roast, and walking down streets that look pretty much the same as they did 20 something years ago, its hard not to feel like I'm in some sort of time warp where the 22 year old and the 46 year old meet.

Watkins Glenn is a very nice town. Between the Falls, the Race Track and being at the edge of the biggest Finger Lake, there is a lot going on but somehow it stays relaxed. Still a bit of a farm town. Back when I lived here and now that I'm visiting, it always strikes me that it is at once 'backwards' and also way ahead of the curve. For instance, I was in desperate need (again) of good coffee and we went into a coffee shop. The little shop was on the main street and also, very modernly, doubled as a book shop. Once again, we were not the only people on the tour in need of coffee and waited patiently inline with other bike rides to place our order. The attendants carefully and in a rather relaxed manner filled the orders. The person behind me grunted, and I got a bit anxious. Not like I had anywhere to go or that the atmosphere in the shop wasn't nice, I just felt like we should all be in a hurry somehow. At the very least you'd think that the shop owner, knowing there was a huge influx of people in town (and we were hard to miss) would put a few more people on. But then I remembered, this was Watkins. It didn't work that way here. Money was not the bottom line. I never really figured out what was but people would repeatedly close shops on Sundays, or for little league games, or weddings or whatever and opportunities to make the big bucks, or rather that extra buck, would pass away. Kinda an interesting way to live.

After that we walked some more around town, hiked the falls, took the group charted boat tour around the Lake (OH- saw a Bald Eagle) and generally relaxed. There was a century option but considering the only way out of town was up, up, up, and we would have to do that tomorrow - we opted out. Also it was time to deal with the tires!

Bon Ton Roulet: 7/23 Three Flats and Still Rolling

Have I mentioned that I love my new bike? I do. More and more every day. I am, however a bit pissed at my tires. In all fairness, it's not the only bike suffering from these road, but 3 flats in 50 miles is a bit much to bear, even more to repair!

Luckily for this trip my personal mechanic can also patch a tube and we've perfected the 5 minute flat change and repair routine. (Changing the tube while repairing the old one, or...repairing the tube without even taking it off the rim).

Meanwhile I'm looking to either modify the tires, either with entirely new kevlar ones, or with the addition of "Tuffy strips". It appears that the type of stone dust on the roads here has a tendancy to work into the tires, especially when they are wet. And have I mentioned that it's been wet on this ride?

Today we rode/flat fixed our way from Canandagua to Watkins Glen. Lots of farm land, and vineyards.

Bon Ton Roulet: 7/22 The Routine and Variations Thereon

It's now Day 3 of the Bon Ton Roulet (Seneca Falls to Canadagua via Geneva with a side trip down Seneca Lake) and the routine is second nature.
1. 5:00-5:30 - wake up
2. Breakfast
3. Gear up - bike clothes, food, etc.
4. Pack personal stuff and remove from tent
5. Pack tent
7. Carry tent and luggage to van (Being sure to note whether we're throwing our stuff into Van 1, or Van 2.
8. Check bikes
9. Check route
11. Roll out and ride!
12. Ride
13 Rest stop (ie Snacks!)
14 Ride
15 Rest stop (more Snacks!)
16 Arrive at camp site
17 Site perfect tent spot among 300 other tents and various ponds, marshes, outhouses and assorted obstacles.
18 Set up tent
19 Hang up cloths to dry
20 Shower
21 Locate info for night events and next days ride
22 Dinner
23 Check out event
24 Sleep

And there are the Variations on the Theme/Routine

Today's first variation came around mile 12. It was a Real Coffee Shop in Geneva. About 50 of us stopped and luxuriated in a cup of real Coffee. Ahhh. It was excellent! While we were sitting outside enjoying the drinks, a break in the rain, and conversation with a couple from Middletown, CT, a large group of riders heading east rode by. The Bon Ton Roulet was crossing paths with FANY. Several stopped for coffee also (guess poor coffee is a common hardship of these tours)

From there we headed South alongside Lake Seneca, then turned West and up, across the land between the lakes. Lots of fields, corn, fruit, vegies. It's hard to stop once the bikes get rolling but we did stop at one farm stand for some fresh apricots, and once again at a bike shop. We needed lube and a map holder.

When, what had been one of the sunniest days of the trip so far suddenly turned cloudy we picked up the pace. Pedaling the last mile through a solid downpour we arrived at rest stop number 2 where we spent 1 and three-quarter hours waiting out the rain. (And eating Lebanon Bologna!)

And now, with the tent all set and dinner eaten, we're watching a thunderstorm approach. Seems just like old times in Hector where we'd sit on summer nights and watch the clouds sweep in from the West.

Bon Ton Roulet: 7-21 Downhill Day

After a small 300 ft climb this morning on the Bon Ton Roulet the day pretty much went downhill. Literally, we ended 700 ft below where we started. Figuratively there were other downhills as well.

1. The biggest and steepest downhill ever descended (not just for me but for many of the others. It felt like my rear wheel could just lift up and over the handlebars at any second.
2. Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States was born just outside Morovia, NY. Along the route. He was the 1st president not elected to office but once in the whole thing went downhill from there.
3. Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge - where we took refuge from a huge downpour.
4. Tylenol PM - At night I discovered why I haven't been feeling as energetic as usual. (Also why you really should read the label of the medicine you take). Seems I've been taking tylenol PM, instead of regular tylenol.

All in all however, it was a great day. We ended at Seneca Falls. A lovely little town with a bit of history.

Oh - and another funny downpour story! When we arrived at the camping site for the night it was nice and sunny. Our bags and those of 500 others lay in the field waiting for us. As we sorted among them the sky darkened. As I went to put the bikes under the bleachers and S. carried the bags out to our spot on the field - surprise! - it started to pour - torrentially. I looked out from the bleachers to where S. should have been but saw only a blue blob in the field. A moving blue blob. From which a head them popped out. S. had grabbed the floorcloth from the tent bag and covered himself and all our gear! We were saved from a very wet night.

Tomorrow, after about 24 miles of relative flats we climb 500 ft in 5 miles. (Real flats to follow.)

Bon Ton Roulet: And so it came to pass

At 7:45 the rain started.

At 8:00 the Bon Ton Roulet (2008) started. 499 bicyclists hit the road from Auburn, NY to Courtland, NY. And what a group of bikes it was! In addition to hundreds of 'regular' bikes there were several recumbents, lots of tandems, I think I even saw a recumbent tandem! Brandwise there were Lemonds, Fujis, Scotts, Lightspeeds, Treks, Specialized, Cannondales and lots of others - hardly two of the same brand. Some as old as a week (that's me!) and some nice bikes with down tube shifters (could have been me).

The people also came in all shapes, sizes, speeds and characters. From 3 to 82 years old, from sprinters to "what the heck we have all day" types. People from the area, and riders from just about every state in the country.

I soon learned however, that riding with a large group means there are some things we all had to share - skill, teamwork and communication. "Car up", "Car back", "on your left", "You okay?" all day long. Lots of conversation too. Since every bike was required to display a 'license plate' stating our name and hometown there was also lots of talk about towns, especially Mystic. Everyone has been to Mystic.

The folks on the sides of the road were pretty nice also. Curious about us too. "Where are you from?", "How many of you are there?", "Where are you going?", "Where?!"

The highlight of today's ride, apart from the riding and the excellent company, was an unexpected stop at Frog Pond Farm http://www.ferroart.com/. A gallery featuring sculptures made from recycled steel.

After another downpour we arrived at the fields of SUNY Courtland. After riding through two good storms, and setting up the tent in a thunderstorm, stringing a clothes line from the bikes to the fence and hanging up the gloves to dry, it's now time to kick back, and listen to the Travis Rocco Band. Good night!