06-06 Hammondsport

-

 

This day started without breakfast but with a long climb right from our hotel.  The climb was only a 3 to 4 percent grade.  In comparison to our early climbs, it was easy.  The day was overcast and cold enough for us to keep our jackets on until the end of the ride.  Between Watkins Glen and Corning we cycled south in what should have been a picturesque valley, if only it were sunny.  Leaving Corning we headed north fighting a head wind the whole way.  Didn’t see any Finger Lakes and had few opportunities for pictures. The highlight of the day was checking into a new Best Western Plus with friendly staff and a plate of fresh baked cookies waiting for us.  Since we could not have our bicycles in the room, Jeff loaded a cart and took our panniers to the room.  For his efforts, he demanded a return ride (see photo).



Photos     

Map  

Cumulative Map 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

06-08 Rochester

-
 Another cold start, but we warmed up with a quick infusion of joy from a trail angel.  Leaving the hotel we had a short ride to a “open 24 hours” restaurant.  When we got there, only the front seating area was lit and one person was setting up for breakfast.  We walked in only to be told that the restaurant did not open for another hour.  Mary, the manager must have seen the sad look on our faces and said, “I will make you breakfast as long as your request is simple.”  We both ordered 2 eggs over easy with wheat toast.  Mary said that 2 eggs came with potatoes which we declined.   So instead of potatoes, she cooked us some bacon and 3 eggs each.  The food was fine, but her kindness was wonderful. We cycled through the town of Canandaigua then headed out into the country.  That is when things got confusing for us.  A little background:  Joe prepares our routes and down loads them into our GPSs (which are different Gamin models).  After riding about 10 miles of country roads, Jeff’s GPS
Read more

June 10- Walcott to Syracuse

-
  We decided to head southeast today instead of our planned northeast route.  We like to think that we were just being free spirits, but truth be told, we were tired and wanted to head home.  Early on we cycled through rain and got on the Eire Canal trail heading east.  As the trail passed through the town of Jordan , we asked about the availability of coffee and breakfast.  We were directed to a neat little place called Peace Love and Coffee.  The shop is run by Sara (sorry that I didn’t ask if it was Sara with an “h”) and Mike.  Mike made us breakfast sandwiches with fresh biscuits and Sara served coffee.  Sara and her friend made the variety of pastries they served.  We just had to try her cinnamon buns. They were fantastic and the coffee was wonderful.  Sara and Mike were great hosts and we wish them well.   We cycled on the canal trail for over 20 miles until we got to Syracuse where we had about 15 miles of road cycling to get to our van at Dick’s house (if you forgot who and
Read more

06-07 Canandaigua

-
 Today’s highlight was meeting up with Ray Kline.  We met Ray on our 2002 ride across the United States and met him again on several other rides since then.  At age 66 Ray cycled from Pen Yan (his home in NY) to the start of our cross country ride in Williamsburg, Virginia.  After we cycled 4,500 miles to Astoria, Oregon, Ray continued cycling south to San Francisco then continued east to Salt Lake City before he decided he had enough.  Twenty two years later, Ray is still cycling.  He is our hero. Our ride from Hammondsport to Pen Yan was along Kuaka Lake but we didn’t see much of it.  We are in the third day of a weather advisory because of the Canadian forest fire that is polluting the east coast sky.  While the advisory stated that all outdoor activities be curtailed, we cycled in the haze.  Because of the haze we could not see the lake or much else.  It also made breathing challenging, especially on climbs.  Perhaps we should have stayed in our last hotel. Because of the haze and
Read more