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 Finger Lake’n Good


Once again, we are drawn to water for our summer cycling travels. With all our trips along rivers and lakes, you may wonder why we don’t get kayaks or canoes. This year we will cycle for about 11 days and over 500 miles. Our travels will take us from Syracuse, New York, up and down the Finger Lakes, before arriving in Rochester, New York.  From there we will cycle along Lake Ontario as we head back to Syracuse.

We are starting in Syracuse, NY, at a friend’s house. We met Dick during our 2002 TransAm adventure… We can add narrative about the visit and his travel with us (if he chooses to come along) 

The Finger Lakes is a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario. This part of New York state is a very popular tourist area for cyclists and motorists. Besides its lakes,  the area has numerous waterfalls, parks, large cities, unique small towns, historic sites, museums, and wineries.

The geological term finger lake refers to a long, narrow lake in an over-deepened glacial valley, Cayuga and Seneca Lakes are among the deepest in the United States, measuring 435 feet and 618 feet respectively, with bottoms well below sea level. Though none of the lakes' widths exceed 3.5 miles, Seneca Lake is 38.1 miles long. 

Our highlight for today was the reconnection with Dick Matthews who cycled with us in 2002 when we crossed the United States.  Dick lives in Syracuse and we went to  Dick's house for a few beers and then to a restaurant for dinner.  While Dick has matured over the past 20 plus years (unlike us), he is the same entertaining  character, sharing endless stories.




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