Category: Bike Ride of a Lifetime (C)

August 2, 2018

Day 46 – Liverpool to Little Falls, NY – 80 miles, 1,820 feet vertical 

We’ve ridden 3,400 miles so far with ONLY FOUR DAYS OF RIDING LEFT!   

We spent last night in Liverpool – that’s New York, not England – just a few miles northwest of Syracuse near Onondaga Lake in the Finger Lakes region.  Once again, dinner was celebrated at a nearby Mexican restaurant with good food (fajitas!) and monstrous pitchers of margaritas.  (If you happen to come across a photo of me sipping through a straw from one of those giant pitchers – don’t believe it.  It was a set up.  I swear.)  

After raining overnight, we were again lucky to have a rain-free day, although it was so humid and sticky this morning that it felt like it was raining from the inside out.  Still, with “only” an 80-mile ride, we were happy.  We’re on a bit of a “mileage taper” with our previous rides being 103, 92 and now 80 miles.  I’m already starting to think about my eventual “calorie taper” as I cannot continue to eat like this when I return to a more sloth-like existence (by comparison). 

By the way, a quick shout out to Evin who cracks me up with his tee-shirt featuring the “Sloth Cycling Team”.  Their motto is:  “We’ll get there when we get there.” 

After yesterday’s morning debacle, I set four alarms for this morning, starting at 5:00 am and repeating at 10-minute intervals.  When the first one went off, I shot up like a rocket and didn’t need the others.  I made some coffee and had a leisurely non-frenetic morning – a welcome respite. 

Breakfast featured lots of hugs, kisses and “bro-shakes” as one by one, everyone took turns saying goodbye to Tom Gjelten and wishing him well.  As I mentioned yesterday, Tom is putting a giant bookmark here to attend a family wedding in Charlottesville and plans to return to resume his journey (solo) on Monday.  Without Tom, I had no one with whom to share my Outrage of the Day (of which there were several quality candidates.) 

We had a large group of riders leaving town together this morning.  It took several miles of turns and navigation until we got back out to the beautiful rural countryside with more mild rollers and tracking alongside the Erie Canal for miles.  Two SAG stops and 80 miles later, we found ourselves in the beautiful town of Little Falls.  We got in rather early and so we showered, walked the two blocks into town, had lunch and were then free to explore the canal.  

One serene mile walk later, we found ourselves at Lock 17, which is the single largest lock on the Erie Canal with a total lift of 40.5 feet!  You can read a pretty good description here, and check out this nifty time-lapse video of a boat going from the lower portion to the upper.  We also met the lock operator, Paul, who was quite friendly and demonstrated the operation of the lock.  It takes about 5 million gallons of water to fill what is essentially a giant bathtub!  The downstream gate is a cantilever type and comprises a giant metal wall that lowers into the river bed.  The upstream lock is a traditional swing gate type.  The highlight, for me, was a small label on the operator’s console for the massive gate that read “Look under gate before lowering.”  Yeah, no kidding. 

Our special guest this evening was Jon Dobbs’ close friend and best man at his recent wedding, Steve Thomas.  Steve joined us for RAP and dinner and was able to get a real feel for what we are experiencing.  “It’s summer camp,” he observed wryly.  You got it, Steve. 

Please enjoy these photos from a really great day and check out Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com.  Only FOUR days left.  (Oops, I said that already.  Sorry.) 

Thanks for following.

…Jeff

 

August 1, 2018

Day 45 – Rochester to Liverpool, NY – 92 miles, 1,950 feet vertical

Mmmm.  I got such a good night’s sleep last night. 

I woke up this morning feeling really good.  I stretched … and slowly opened my eyes.  As I lay there, slowly regaining consciousness and awareness, I saw the morning sun streaming in through the window.  The sun had been up for awhile and it was a beautiful day outside and … WAIT! … WHAT??!? … THE SUN IS UP ALREADY????  Sunrise was at 6am and I had set the alarm for 5:30.  Wait!  What time is it? 

HOLY SH*#%@$%*!!  It’s 7:13!!  Load and go is at 7:30!!! 

I spent about a minute – a minute that I didn’t have – pondering my options.  I finally decided to suck it up, cupcake –  and go for it.  I plugged in the coffee machine and made a cup while I jumped in the shower.  Most of my clothing was already packed, because I had done a wash the night before.  Focus!  I multi-tasked and packed my laptop and electronics while simultaneously zipping my luggage.  I shoved all of my charging cables into their ziploc bag, packed up my toothbrush and such and got dressed.  Shorts, heart-rate monitor, jersey, socks, gloves, do-rag, cycling shoes, helmet.  Fill the water bottles, turn on Garmin, load today’s navigation.  Stuff back pockets with phone, camera, extra camera battery, lip balm, gel blocks, money, credit cards. Sunglasses are filthy, but no time to clean now – will have to wait.  Tires seem hard enough – will check air pressure later.  Pack extra bag with sneakers and rain jacket – this bag goes in the BAT van.  Double-check the room. Twice.  Got everything? Good.  Head clumsily out to the elevator.  Press down button.  

Do I have time to look at my watch? 

Do I dare look at my watch? 

Oh, come on – be brave.

7:32.  I’m late.  

A minute later, I’m downstairs.  Most people have left already.  There are a few left, but they’re saddling up and heading out.  I haven’t had breakfast yet.  

I loaded my luggage and signed in (dead last).  Karen was riding sweep, so I asked her if she could just wait a few minutes.  I hustled inside and had a quick bowl of cereal.  Later Robin would tell me he was having a good laugh watching me eat.  (Robin is easily amused.)  I grabbed a banana, headed outside and off I went.  Alone.  

I turned on my speaker and decided to listen to the morning news.  I made it to the bike path, took a deep breath and decided to just ride steady.  I felt a lot better once I was cycling and even had time to stop and take a few pics.  I basically chased for about 20 miles before catching up with the gang at Lock 30 on the Erie Canal.  Emergency, over. 

At Lock 30, we watched the canal locks in action as three kayakers paddled along to the gate at the upper level.  The lock operator signaled them into the lock and closed the gates behind them.  He then opened the water sluices and the entire volume of water inside the gate drained out, lowering the kayakers with it.  Finally, with the water level equalized at the lowered level, he opened the downstream gate and our happy kayakers paddled away, waving at all the bikers.  Pretty cool. 

Other than all that, we had a great day.  SAG 1 at 34 miles was at Bee-Tee’s Ice Cream stand.  Oh, what the hell – I had a vanilla milkshake.  Yum.  All in all, 92 miles and we celebrated our LAST 90-plus mile ride!   Yeah!! 

On a temporarily sad note, we said goodbye tonight to our dear friend Tom Gjelten who is putting a very large bookmark in his cross-country journey.  Tom is taking a timeout to attend a family wedding this weekend, in Charlottesville. (Yes, that Charlottesville.)  He’s ridden this far and he just can’t quit, so he’s coming back to resume the ride on Monday (at the same time we hope to be doing our wheel dip in the Atlantic).  He’ll follow the same route (more or less) and finish four days later.  I have confidence that he’ll finish, but he’s going to sorely miss Arlene’s eternal optimism, Audrey’s funny sarcasm and my jokes and entertaining repartee.  Oh, and shhh, … we also allocate a few minutes each morning to share our Outrage of the Day (current events).  

Go, Tom!! 

Please enjoy these photos from the day including Lock 30 in action.  Watch the dwindling red dots at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com  Keep those cards and letters coming, and thanks for following.  

…Jeff

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

July 30, 2018

Day 43 – Final Rest Day in Niagara Falls, NY, USA

I really, really like rest days.  I am not alone.  But this is different from the others.  

Before we get to that, just a quick sketch of a terrific day.  After a lazy start, several folks attended Reid’s stretching seminar this morning.  I don’t know how so many folks made the 7:30 session, but I went to the 8:30 rerun.   After breakfast, some folks took a boat trip on the Maid of the Mist and some toured wineries.  Tami and I decided to go for a leisurely bike ride on the nearby bike path and along the rim of the Niagara River.  No need for spandex or cycling shoes today.   

The river rapids downstream of the falls were a brilliant aqua blue and white.  Some tens of thousands of years ago, the current falls were seven miles downstream from their current location.  Erosion rates vary, but are averaging somewhere around four feet per year.   All along the rim, we encountered more beautiful scenery and vistas.  All told, we had a leisurely 10-mile round trip.  I spent about an hour this afternoon working on my bike, cleaning it up and getting ready for tomorrow.  

We had a great group dinner at a nearby restaurant, Wine on Third, and finished it off with ice cream at Twist of the Mist (a play on all the other touristy “mist” offerings.) 

Tomorrow we begin our final leg of the journey starting with a 104-mile ride to Rochester, NY.  And there will be some killer climbs as we bike over mountains to get across Vermont and New Hampshire on our way to the Atlantic Ocean.  

But it is not the biking.  

It is a feeling of the impending melancholy that the challenge, the effort, the joy of riding our bikes every day will soon be coming to an end.  Sound crazy?  Yes, it is a bit of that. 

We have formed bonds of friendship, of the shared challenge, of the aches and pains, and to be sure, of the many many laughs and good times.  It will be hard to replace that.  When this is all over and we have said our probably tearful goodbyes, we will return to our daily lives.  Some will return to their offices and daily grind.   

We are already starting to talk about where and when we should have a “reunion ride”.   And … we’re not even done with this one yet. 

Please enjoy a few photos of our leisure time in Niagara Falls and thank you so much for following along at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com. Please keep those cards and letters coming.  Really appreciated!  

… Jeff 

 

July 29, 2018

Day 42 – Brantford, Ontario, CA to Niagara Falls, NY, USA – 74 miles, 1,070 feet vertical (still flat, though a bit lumpy in parts.)

Cumulative totals to date:  3,121 miles traveled, with 101,960 feet of vertical climb and our eighth US state.

After three wonderful days of cycling in Ontario over beautiful rolling and lush farmland, we spent some quality time on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls before finally crossing the Rainbow Bridge and arriving back in New York.   

It was another easy-peasy day of cycling and we took full advantage of it in anticipation of our final rest day in Niagara Falls.  There were more crops, more wind turbines, more sunny miles and more funny smiles. 

Niagara Falls in Canada was pretty crowded, not the least of which was because we arrived on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  We did our best to elbow our way in to the edge (using our bicycles as both offensive and defensive weapons) so we could get our requisite photos by the falls.  After relaxing at an outdoor cafe for an hour or so, we bit the bullet and headed for the bridge.  

The bridge was packed, with wall-to-wall cars from Canada to the US.  We had been instructed to get in the car lane and “act like a car” – meaning wait your turn like everyone else.  This would have been considered cruel and unusual punishment and taken over an hour and so, when a bridge employee told us we could skinny our way up alongside the cars, we jumped on it.  After a few perfunctory questions at Immigration, we were through.  Elapsed time, about 20 minutes.  Thank you, Tiffany (perhaps not her real name.)

We are all just thrilled to have a day off tomorrow and multiple activity choices abound, but mine will start with not setting the alarm.  We resume our final leg on Tuesday with our final 100+ mile ride.  

Please enjoy our photos of the day and thank you so much for following along at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com. Please keep those cards and letters coming.  Really appreciated!  

… Jeff