July 31, 2018
Day 44 – Niagara Falls to Rochester, NY – 103 miles, 1,690 feet vertical
It was our last century ride of the tour, and both the sun and the wind cooperated to make it a very pleasant ride. Either that, or we’ve just gotten used to riding like this every day. Everyone is stronger today than they were back in Oregon. Everyone. Pretty soon, we won’t even need the “early rollers” start!
We’re in Rochester tonight as we continue our eastward trek across upstate New York. I’ve been to Rochester a number of times to visit my daughter Samantha when she was an undergraduate at University of Rochester. And so, it brings back wonderful memories of dropping her off, visiting her multiple times and finally, packing her up and bringing her home. I was also flown up here for a job interview with Xerox when I was 20 (yes, 20). Back then, there were two major corporations here: Xerox (XRX) and Kodak (KDK) and their stock prices were prominently displayed on the front page of local papers.
We started out riding north along the Niagara River gorge before turning toward the east along the Lake Ontario lakefront. It was quite beautiful and the homes were lovely, including serene hammocks and poolside deck chairs staring out over the blue expanse. Brad Campbell and I were so engrossed in our conversation that we missed the turnoff into the park for SAG 2. So, if the ride wasn’t long enough already, we added a little over two miles more. No biggie.
The other notable event was a recommended stop at Perri’s Pizza at the 87.3 mile mark (or 89.4 for me). The pizza slices were advertised as HUGE (yes, in all CAPS). They were NOT kidding. (Please see photographic evidence, and I swear, these were not photoshopped.) Holy Moley.
We finished with about seven miles on the Erie Canal Trailway alongside a canal with a series of locks. We didn’t see any actual activity today, but it was still rather impressive.
I do want to thank everyone who weighed in (either here or on Facebook) on yesterday’s melancholic post in which I whined about the impending end of this journey. Thank you for smacking me out of it. We still have 400 miles to go and I have been instructed to live in the here and now – the עַכשָׁיו (ach-shav) in Hebrew.
Please enjoy these photos from the day including the HUGE pizza slices. (Hint: it wasn’t thin crust, either.). Watch the dwindling red dots at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com Keep those cards and letters coming, and thanks for following.
…Jeff
Journey with Jeff 
You weren’t “instructed” to stay in the moment, just reminded to enjoy every moment. Interesting that there’s a Hebrew expression for a basically Buddhist concept.
Quick history lesson:
The Erie Canal opened in 1825, linking Albany to Buffalo, and thus the Atlantic Ocean (think NYC and the Hudson River) to the Mississippi River via the Great Lakes. Despite its commercial success facilitating trade of a burgeoning nation finally [economically] independent from Great Britain (think War of 1812), canals were quickly superseded by the early railroads less than a decade later.
Enjoy the ride.
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That’s the Niagara River. The Erie itself connected — and the more recent Barge Canal connects — Lake Erie with the Mohawk-Hudson River. It is responsible for New York’s 19th century growth beyond Phily. Your bike path is through the least mountainous place in the Appalachians, just the spot for a canal to the west!
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sometimees “huges” only refers to how small the bites are. I suppose that by now , however, you can eat pretty much anything at anysize you like. Amazing how rather than getting more and more tired, you guys are getting stronger and stronger each day
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