September 16, 2023
Gotta Luv a Tailwind
Geneva to Watkins Glen, with a duck custard pitstop
Last night was our first time staying at a Microtel. Apparently it is a “budget” European business chain, operated by Wyndham. The room was basic but big and clean. Terra shampoo/conditioner plus lotion and soap provided. Very well-lit, which is unusual in a hotel room. I thought the bed and pillows were comfortable but Jim hated the pillows and ended up manufacturing his own from extra towels. (Enough towels to have extras! That is a plus!) Breakfast included and it was adequate but not great (typical of most hotel breakfasts.)
We planned to detour slightly off route to go to The Spotted Duck, who’s claim to fame is New York’s best dessert-their duck egg frozen custard. We had been planning this stop ever since Amber brought it to our attention at the beginning of the tour.
We are traveling SE down the west side of Seneca lake, except up on the ridge away from the highway right beside the lake. The forecast is for low 60’s to 72 with NW winds with gusts up to 18 mph. Oh boy, that means a tailwind all day!
We left the Microtel after 10 so as not to arrive at The Spotted Duck before noon, their opening time. We did have a nice, but not overly strong tailwind.
Temperatures were very pleasant and soon we all had removed our jackets. The route was undulating, well-paved roads through farmland. Today, in addition to all the corn and soy, I saw alfalfa, apples and grapes.
With the wind-assist we made good time and by 11:30, we were at the turn off of the route to get our duck custard. It was 1.1 miles downhill to get it. But good things never come without cost, right?
Well, we arrived a bit early and so had time to walk around the property and meet the friendly and very fat ducks responsible for the unique frozen custard.
So I didn’t know what distinguishes ice cream from frozen custard so I looked it up. The base ingredients of ice cream are milk and cream, to which sugar and flavorings are added. It must contain at least 10% fat. The base ingredients of frozen custard are heavy cream and eggs, with sugar and flavorings. Frozen custard must contain at least 1.4% pasteurized egg yolks. Because of the eggs and larger amount of cream, frozen custard should have a smoother consistency than ice cream. Spotted Duck frozen custard is supposed to be especially rich and creamy due to the use of duck eggs.
So was it worth the extra 2 miles and riding back up the hill? I thought so-mine was smooth, delicious and everything I like in a frozen dessert. I think Amber agreed. Jim wasn’t as sure, but honestly, he is not that interested in frozen desserts anyway. I am not sure Rich thought so either, mostly due to the hill we had to ride up to rejoin our route. (I asked him later, and he agreed that it was well worth it!)
The rest of the ride continued in the same vein. We stayed up on the ridge and avoided lakeside traffic. We had a nice tailwind pushing us along all day. The road was up and down, occasionally steeply so. The scenery remained lovely-farmland and small villages. We saw many recreational cyclists out on their Saturday ride and most of them waved at us. Drivers were courteous and locals seemed very friendly as well.
We descended the ridge as we entered Watkins Glen. Wow, this is a popular spot, full of tourists here to see the famous waterfalls in the state park! Of course, that is why we are here as well.
Tomorrow is a hike day in the state park for us. It will give us a little break from the saddle and we are here for 2 nights. We are staying at the Budget hotel which, even last month, had very good reviews for cleanliness and the friendly host. So far we are unsure about the latter-the host has been a bit abrupt and weird (like when we asked for a couple more towels he asked “why?”)
Here is our video for today:
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 278 miles (447 km)
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