Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Avon to Seneca Falls, NY

51 miles. We had become accustomed to mainly flat terrain over the past several weeks, so we were a bit taken aback by the hilly nature of today's ride. The first 25 miles in particular (from Avon to Canandaigua) were quite hilly. None of the hills were particularly long or super steep, but we were in the Granny (small) chain ring quite a bit. However, today's ride was apparently only a taste of what is to come if we were to stay on Route 20 another day as planned. Several cyclists have warned us that the terrain on Route 20 east of Skaneateles is brutal - a seemingly endless series of long, steep climbs followed by plunging descents that last only moments before the next incline begins. They said it is very challenging to ride that kind of route on a single bike with no baggage load. On a tandem hauling a 50+ pound load it would be awful. We were hoping to ride at least one day on Route 20 in order to avoid riding Route 5 through Syracuse. So we scratched that idea and, with the help of Helen - a cyclist we met in Avon - we devised a route that bypasses Syracuse on the north (Route 31, which runs along the south shore of Oneida Lake). This will add some additional distance and at least one additional day to our trip, but this seems the best of the 3 options that we have (several days of killer hills, trying to navigate through a major city with no bike route or local guide or going out of our way to avoid either). We will still have to deal with very steep hills when we hit the Berkshires next week, but by then we'll be nearly finished with this eastern leg of our cross-country ride and probably won't care as much.

We are in the Finger Lakes region of New York, so named because there are a series of very long, narrow lakes here in valleys that were formed by glacial movement. The glaciers also created a series of ridges that are responsible for our hilly ride today. The beauty of the area is undeniable though - lakes, rolling green hills, small farms, forested areas, etc. And we have yet to meet the stereotypically obnoxious New Yorker (the people we've met here say those folks have all been sent to Long Island). The drivers here are not quite as deferential to us as they were in rural areas, but otherwise everyone has been great. We're not quite ready to put New York on the same level as Nebraska, but so far it's pretty darn nice.

Seneca Lake pic #2

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Seneca Lake pic #3

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Seneca Lake pic #2

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Seneca Lake pic #3

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Seneca Lake pic #1

Geneva, NY
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Avon, NY pic #3

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Avon, NY pic #2

Civil war monument.
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Avon, NY pic #1

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Avon, NY pic #4

Town square park.
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Avon, NY pic #5

Town cemetery.
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Clarence to Avon, NY

51.5 miles. At the moment we are sitting outside on the patio of a bar in Avon (pronounced "uh Von") drinking beer and eating fried dill pickle spears (you will love 'em, especially after a few beers), so you know right away it was another good day.
Today was a beautiful day, but a stiff wind was blowing while we were riding. Thankfully it was more or less at our backs most of the day. The countryside looked great - gently rolling terrain, lots of trees and mostly agricultural (yes, even in New York) although the route today went through quite a few towns and the city of Batavia. We are following Routes 5/20 across central New York. Tomorrow we will ride into the Finger Lakes region, which should be beautiful although I understand there are some hills.

Nothing unusual happened today although we noticed that the further east we go the less people seem to be curious about our trip. We stopped at a McDonald's and a couple of C-stores today and there were plenty of people around, but no one asked where we were going, etc. Maybe it's that New Yorkers are used to seeing odd things, but you would think that the sight of a gigantic tandem loaded down with stuff and pulling a trailer would provoke some curiosity. We did at least get some encouraging comments from passersby on the sidewalk in Avon as we struggled up a very steep hill into town.
I think they were sincere, although at the time I was mostly focused on trying to keep pedaling as we were close to the magic 3 mph speed when you are going so slowly that: (a) we are in serious danger of falling over; and (b) we might as well walk the bike, since we can make about the same amount of progress that way. We will be facing a lot of those kinds of dilemmas soon once we reach the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts, which are filled with very steep but mostly short climbs. It should be challenging.