Tales From The Trail -- New York Part II (Western).  By Gary  6/29/05.    

Henrietta, NY to the PA State Line
The ride from Henrietta, NY to Darien SP (State Park) in North Western NY proved to be a bit of a challenge, it could turn out to be the hardest pedaling of the trip if what everyone has told me about the West proves to be true. Immediately after leaving Bren & Geirs house I hit a long and moderately steep hill, the first of many such hills for the next 70 or 80 miles.

As I rode south out of the Rochester area heading for route 20A I hit steep hill after steep hill, these aren’t long hills but they are long enough that you can’t motor over them using sheer power. To round out the day the temps were in the 90’s and the humidity and UV index were both very high. I went over about 30 such hills this day and my legs were screaming! At around mile 18 (for the day) a storm front approached, first I heard the thunder and then lightning flashed in front of me and then on both sides! I was in the middle of farm country with no where to hide… It sprinkled a little which felt great since it was very hot and the cloud cover dropped the temp a bit but the lightning was just a little to close for comfort… As it turns out the storm bloomed behind me, I had squeaked through the middle of it just in time.


I made it to Darien Lake, NY in the late afternoon and stopped at “The Country Store” the nice clerk who worked there filled my bottles with ice (a real blessing!) and pointed me toward lunch, a place called “My Saloon” just across the street. I was pretty ratty looking being all drenched in sweat with matted hair and sporting orange sun burned skin… As I finished eating (a very good open faced beef sandwich) Denise who owns "My Saloon" came over to chat, she figured I was up to something since I was all decked out in bike gear and looked pretty worn out. When I told her my story she treated me extra special! We chatted quite a bit and she told me about her freshly made Apple Crisp, I couldn't resist and ordered one to go… I asked her about possible restaurant options near Darien State Park (for dinner later) and she confirmed that there really wasn’t anything between her "My Saloon" and the park (which was 5 miles away) and she offered to supply me with various frozen food that she had in the kitchen… As I was leaving she insisted that I fill up on peanuts (this is the kind of place where people eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor!) and she loaded up about ½ of a grocery bag! What a nice lady! If you are ever in Darien New York be sure to look Denise up at “My Saloon” and tell her Gary said Howdy!

The following days ride from Darien SP to Lake Erie proved to be even tougher cycling day than the day before, more of the same short, steep hills, one after another after another, I lost count at around 30 hills… And as a local put it “You have a few monster hills to go over before you hit Orchard Park!” She wasn’t kidding! While going down one of those “Monster” hills I hit 47.5 mph, it was the fastest speed I had ever hit on a bicycle (on the Powder River Pass ride in Wyoming Jeffery and I only hit 44.) Had I known at the time that I was so close to 50 mph I would have gave a few hard pedal strokes just to hit that magic mark… Oh well, there will be other chances in the Rockies.

The mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont may have been higher and longer but they were a breeze compared to the relentless hills of Western New York!

Once I hit Big Tree, NY everything flattened out and my average speed jumped from 10.5 mph to around 16 mph, I followed Lake Erie all the way to the PA border and hit no hills of significance. I also fell in love with the shores of Lake Erie along the western edge of New York State, this is Wine Country and it is very scenic and peaceful, not at all the picture that usually comes to mind when one thinks of New York.


Below are two short stories, I’m going to save the long versions for the future but here is a little teaser…

The 55 MPH man! – While stopped at a gas station for water in Western NY near the PA border I was inquiring about road conditions in PA when a 30 something fellow who worked at the store gave me the full scoop on conditions between here and Erie, PA… The shortened version of the conversation went something like this

Me – “About how far is it to Erie”
55 MPH Man – About 60 miles
ME -  How long do you think it will take, accounting for the hills ?
55 MPH Man - “I ride it in about an hour”
Me – How far? How Long?
55 MPH Man – “About an hour”
Me – “Did you say you rode that on a BICYCLE?”
55 MPH Man – “Yeah, I ride the speed limit, I got tired of the trucks blowing me around so I just keep up with them.”
Me – “OH!”

Just so all of my readers will know, the world one hour speed record on a bicycle is somewhere around 60 miles, Tour De France Racers (the greatest in the world) average around 28mph on the flats, 12.5 up large hills… 55 MPH Man must be the fastest bicyclist in the world!

The Strongest Woman in New York – As 55 MPH Man was filling me.. um.. er, telling me about his feats of greatness a rather quiet and thin woman that I would guess to be about 35 years old came over and started asking me about my trip, she had over heard my conversation with 55 MPH Man. While standing in line at the register I had noticed her hands shaking (she was directly ahead of me in line,) I figured she had MS... As we started to chat she told me that she has Parkinson’s Disease and up until a year ago she had been in a wheel chair for years. She told me about a new center in Washington DC where they treated her with an experimental drug and how she can ride her bike again and she is even leg pressing 210 pounds! She has all kinds of active plans for the future! After talking to this gal I was reminded of what real courage and determination are! My biggest regret on the trip so far is that I didn't get her name and contact info, this nice woman whom I met purely out of the blue, has more courage, hope and determination than anyone I have ever met! What an inspiration!

Good Bye New York! - When I reached the Pennsylvania state border sign I felt a real sense of accomplishment, New York is a big state! Almost 400 miles of pedaling from the North East Corner to the Northwest Corner! This should be the highest mileage for a single State on this trip! As I pedaled on into PA thoughts of 55 MPH Man and the Strongest Woman in New York lingered in my mind… We all live in our own manufactured worlds, we each do what we have to do to find solace and some degree of happiness, and every one draws their gray line somewhere, some push that line out a little farther than others... Today I found a couple of gems, memories for a life time… An entry in my journal for today read simply “There are great people everywhere!” You better believe it!

A quick word about dogs… Other cross country cyclists have spent a good deal of time talking and complaining about dogs, I have only been chased by dogs a couple of times so far, usually they are on a long chain and just make a lot of noise… And I have rolled past Rottweilers who just looked up at me and never budged an inch, but the strange thing is that the dogs who "look" the friendliest seem to pose the worst threat I.E. I was pedaling along the back roads of  New York and saw an Irish Setter on a chain near the road, as I approached his territory he waited until I was even with him and then he lunged at me and went completely crazy, I mean gonzo nuts! Lucifer himself had materialized within that very dog at that very moment! The hair on my entire body stood up! I don’t believe in harming animals but had that dog not been chained I would have had no problem sending that dog to doggy heaven, I probably would have been doing the dog a favor as it was obviously not a happy dog, my guess is that it was probably abused by it’s owner. Otherwise my encounters with dogs have been mild, usually I just yell “Go Home” in a loud and mean voice and the dogs almost always stop the chase, turn tail and run home.

New York (Western)
Update -- 6/ 12/05 -- 6:00 PM -- Gary left New York this morning and is near Presque Isle State Park near Erie, PA. He was expecting to camp there but they had no camping facilities. He called me about 3:00 PM today and said he was in a motel. Temperatures ther are in the 80's and 90's. He had his first flat tire this morning., and he has pedaled 60 miles for the day and 787 miles from his start in Maine.
He says he is 20 miles from the Ohio state line.  See you on the PA/OH Page soon.

Update --6/11/05 --7:50 PM -- Received a call from Gary at 2:50 PM, he was near Lake Erie Beach and Angola, NY. He said he left his friend's home in Henrietta, New York at 9:30 AM Friday (6/10/05) and that he had made 110 miles since leaving Henrietta.  Said he made Darien State Park by 6:00 PM yesterday (Friday.)

He said he was currently about 25 miles from Erie Lake State Park which is on the shores of Lake Erie half way between Dunkirk, NY and Brocton, NY. He did not know whether he would make the campground there or find a motel. He had already pedaled cosiderable distance for the day, and was in need of a shower and some relxation.

Gary says he will be out of New York tomorrow Sunday (6/12/05), and hopes to make Presque Isle State Park north of Erie, PA on the shores of Lake Erie by tommorrow (Sunday.) Temperatures have been in the high 80s and low 90s and terrain is very hilly.  At 2:50 PM he had covered a total of 752 miles since starting the trip in Maine.

Gary hopes to make his friend Dave's house in Elmore, OH by Thursday or Friday (He may have to lolly-gag a bit or he may get there early.) Wants to spend time with Dave while Dave is off work for the weekend. Elmore is about 15 miles southeast of Toledo on Rte 80/90.

I ordered  Gary two white cycling jerseys to be shipped to his friend's in Ohio, and which should arrive Monday or Tuesday. Says he needs a lighter color than he has, ones that wont soak up as much sun.

Ah bee abee abee ah....    That's All For Now Folks.   (Must have had Bugs Bunny on my mind.)

Tales From The Trail -- New York (North Eastern).  As related by Gary and updated 6/8/05.     

New York (North Eastern)
In New York I modified my route a little and chose to skirt north of the Adirondacks on Rt. 11 since my legs were a little worn out from the roller coaster that is Route 2 across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Rt. 11 is very hilly but in contrast the climbs were much more gradual and spread out. The weather flipped 180 degrees and it was clear and sunny and it even became hot with temps at 85 degrees and a very high UV index. I still managed to get a significant sun burn on my shoulders and the top of my head even though I used SPF 30 sun screen up to 4 times in 5 hours of riding.

The ride from Champlain, NY to Watertown was pleasant, hilly, and sometimes hot but the riding was fairly quick each day. The people were pleasant and the scenery was usually quite pretty. I remember passing through Sanford, NY. It's a very pretty little town, the kind of place you think of when you think about rural "Mayberry" America. Sadly there were an inordinate number of houses for sale, when I inquired about the reason behind this a local merchant confirmed my suspicion. There just aren't enough jobs to support all of the families in Sanford, it's a shame, what a nice little town.

I will add that if a person plans on stopping in a motel in Canton, NY for the night look before you leap. Ask if they have Air Conditioning and ask to see the room before hand. The sign "Best Rates In Town" may be correct, but there is a good reason for the slightly lower price. And you don't want to discover that reason the hard way. Trust me on this one!

After leaving Canton I was riding along in a light rain and saw what looked like a horse and buggy in the distance! This excited me since I have never shared an 8' wide shoulder with such a contraption, I eventually caught and passed the carriage (it had an average speed of around 11 mph) and I pulled over ahead of them with the hopes of taking a picture as they passed. The carriage contained an Amish mother and her young daughter in full Amish dress. I was all smiles as I prepared to take a picture when I noticed they didn't appear at all happy that I was stopped waiting for them to pass by, I waved and smiled only to receive a timid wave in reply, they looked very sad and I'd even say their faces looked "hollow." It bothered me a bit to see them appear so sad.

A half hour later I passed by an Amish man of about 25, his young son and their horse, they were ALL SMILES and greeted me warmly and quite cheerfully, it was a very pleasant exchange. The little boy seemed especially excited to see me all decked out in yellow rain gear hauling a mountain of equipment on a bicycle. This was in stark contrast to my earlier encounter with the Amish ladys in the buggy. I learned later that this is the way of the Amish, Amish women do not talk to or apparently even look at strange men. I also learned that an Amish woman is never allowed to conduct business of any kind and that an Amish man will not conduct business with a woman, period! I would have loved to learn more about these mysterious people, I would have loved to spend a day with them, hard work, no electricity and all!

The ride into Watertown was nice, it was hot and a little hilly but I cycled past Fort Drum which was cool since I had spent 3 weeks there in the early 80's while in the Army. I met some nice folks while staying the night in Watertown, there was the very nice and very pretty Wisconsin farm gal who looked just like Miss Texas and the very nice man from Arkansas who shared a first name with my dad's favorite country singer, Farron (Young.)

I always seem to meet the nicest people. The people I meet are a big part of what this trip is all about. I think it excites some of them to see a guy with all this gear on a bicycle and hearing how far I've come and how far I plan to go. But it excites me even more that other people are actually interested in what I'm doing. We are all birds of a feather, fellow adventurers finding common ground in the oddest of places and at the oddest of times. We are strangers when we meet, yet we somehow put a little cheer into each other's day. You can never predict when these moments will occur, they just seem to happen when you aren't expecting them.

The ride west out of Watertown was very pleasant. It was flat to lightly rolling all the way to the shores of Lake Ontario. Once I turned south however all of that changed. The ride was very scenic but also very hilly. These hills are the short, steep, 5 mile per hour kind of hills that wear you out quickly. I passed by a lot of fragrant bushes that were in bloom. I learned later that they were Honeysuckle. Wild flowers grow all along Rt. 3 on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.

The hills in this area really are quite challenging, after climbing one particularly steep incline I was treated to a wonderful vista of Lake Ontario, I took a picture of both the vista and the hill with one thought clearly ringing in my head, everything has it's price! (See the pictures below)

               
                " It's a lot steeper than it looks! Especially after                                                " Everything has a price!" 
                         climbing 20 or 30 just like this one."                                                       (The climb at left was worth it.)
             
I had scheduled a pickup point with friends today and arrived in the town of Walcott by 2:00 PM, I found a nice park to relax in while awaiting Brenda, Geir and Ian's arrival. While waiting I met several nice folks and became acquainted with the town of Walcott. I met a nice couple out photographing the town square and surrounding historic district. It's a nice little town and as usual there were lots of nice people.

Brenda, Geir and Ian arrived around 6:00 PM, we had a nice ride to their home 45 minutes away, once there we all settled down to a comfortable evening of great food and great company. My plan is to stay for 4 nights and 3 days to give my body a little time to recover from the first two mountainous and wet weeks of my trip. (Since writing this section my plans have changed slightly, Thursday is Geir's birthday so I'm staying one more day to help celebrate!)

I have to say a little about Brenda's husband Geir. He is a native of Norway and can this guy cook! He is an excellent chef and cooks a lot of Mediterranean food (which I love!) Geir and I had a great time chatting about the military, (he spent time in Bosnia and Lebanon among other places) about our two countries and just hanging out talking about guy stuff, I made a new buddy when I met Geir. Brenda was her usual interesting self, you just never know what she will say, but it will always be interesting, witty and well thought out. Brenda's daughter Sonia is your typical Goth Rock Queen who likes 80's hair metal (Ok, so she isn't typical,) and she just happens to have inherited her mothers talent for art and music, she's doing great in school too... Hmm, there's a pattern forming here! I made another new buddy as well, Brenda and Geir's son Ian is an amazing little boy, We coincidently happen to share the same birth date. This little guy who isn't quite yet 3 can recite his entire alphabet, count, read and name off cars by make at will. This is just a small sampling of what Ian can do. He's also a very charming, very talkative and a very inquisitive little guy. The word genius came to mind many times when conversing with Ian (Yes, Conversing, he has an amazing vocabulary.) To top it off mom and dad are teaching him Norwegian as well. My stay with Brenda, Geir and my little buddy Ian has been a restful, pleasurable and memorable one. And, did I mention the great food?

Someday, after I finish my ride I hope to extend the same gracious hospitality, and have the honor of being their host for an extended stay.

Western New York Here I Come!

Pictures added -- 6/6/05  (Netscape users can Right Click on image then select View Image for Full Size then Click Back Button to return to Rolling Roads.)

                  
                             Watertown, New York -- 9 Miles                                            Buggy being drawn by two legged horse???

Update -- 6/6/05 -- 11:15 PM -- Gary arrived at his friend's house in Henrietta, New York about 4:30 PM yesterday, and will rest up for a few days..

Update -- 6/5/05 -- 10:37 AM -- Gary should arrive at his friend's house late this afternoon/early evening, his package arrived yesterday.

The Ten Day Weather Forecast for Henrietta: Weather Forecast
And, for Erie, PA: Weather Forecast
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Update -- 6/4/05 -- 7:30 PM -- Gary pedaled 63 miles today from Watertown, New York to Oswego, New York and hopes to be in Henrietta, New York to visit friends by tomorrow (Sunday) or Monday. He says he has sunburn on top of sunburn but is getting acclimated to the sun. When he gets to his friends he ought to have some pictures for us. I got his "AAA" membership ordered today so he can benefit from motel discount rates. He is currently lazing in a motel in Oswego, New York.

Update -- 6/3/05 -- 6:30 PM -- Received an email  from Gary at 4:30 PM today from Watertown, New York.  He is doing well and gave me some suggestions for the web site that have been taken care of.

Update -- 6/3/05 -- 4:00 PM -- Got Gary's package sent off this morning via US Post Office "Express Mail" so package should arrive by tomorrow noon at his friend's home in Henrietta, New York. Gary should have arrived in Watertown, New York at this hour.  And he should arrive in Henrietta, New York Monday.

Update -- 6-2-05 -- 10:48 PM -- Gary pedaled out of Grand Isle State Park on South Hero Island in Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York yesterday morning. He conquered the Adirondack Mountains and made 80 miles yesterday and 50 miles today. He made Malone, New York yesterday, and is in a motel in Canton, New York this evening. He should make Watertown, New York by tomorrow and he hopes to make Henrietta, New York (South of Rochester) by Monday or Tuesday next, where he will stay over with friends for a day or two. Next stopover with friends after that will be in Ohio. He says the whole thing has been a "Piece of Cake."
 
WELL, that is not exactly what he said. It was more like: "This has Not Been a Walk in the Park." He has been through some rough and tough pedaling and some nasty environmental conditions, which is the long way of saying the weather has sucked, and ditto for the hills.  He got sunburned yesterday, so that does not add to the comfort zone, if he could find one.    Penn.,Ohio, Ind. and  Mich. -- Here He Comes.