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.