Attack of the Clones

September 15, 2024

12:03am. Sep 15. Rochester. Courtyard by Marriott. Two queen bed room. A loud, roughly 200dB buzzing noise wakens us from our slumber. We waken, realize a fire alarm, throw on some clothing and head into the hall, down the stairs passing seizure-inducing strobe lights, and make our way to the front parking lot meeting a bevy of yawning hotel guests.

Rochester FD arriving on scene as we meet and share yawns with multiple hotel guests

30 minutes later we're allowed to return to our rooms and we settle back into sleep when a loud buzzing sound awakens us at 5:50am. I have a bad feeling about this. Yes, it's the attack of the cloned fire alarm from before. Eyes burning trying to wake up out of REM sleep we dress and head out into the dark night. Almost as soon as we get out there we see our friends from the Rochester FD from four hours earlier. Then, we're let back in again.

Surprise - we see our friends from the Rochester FD again as another fire alarm forces us to vacate the room

I thought we might have been comped breakfast after the alarm malfunctions but there was nary a mention of anything that happened the night before. We had breakfast and then hit the trail. While not the best night's sleep, we didn't let it deter us from the trip.

It's new jersey day (no, not the state, the new bike jersey!)

We ride along the canal south of Rochester as we make our way to Pittsford. Since it's September the sun is a little bit lower in the sky, we have long shadows cast behind us as we ride eastward.

Riding into the sun on Sunday morning - name of the day checks out.

We walk our bikes through Pittsford, along the canal. Wonderful little scenic village. Why walk? Well, there was a sign requesting cyclists to walk, most likely because during high tourist time, or when people are about, they don't want a cyclist to divert into the canal avoiding a pedestrian. Today there was basically only us this early on a Sunday morning but we walked still the same.

Walking through Pittsford. During lunch, this place must be happening with the eateries that line the canal.

Riding out of Pittsford the trail is still asphalt as we pass under yet another bridge.

Basically a few hundred feet after passing under the bridge we encounter the crushed limestone and sand path. I don’t like sand. It’s course and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.

Back on the trail again. It's smooth going, but yes, that limestone is dry and it gets EVERYWHERE on the bike

The canal while a commercial venture (and many parts of it still are) has become a recreational destination. You can transit on your own craft, be it canoe, yacht, etc from one side of the state to the other. The path that mules once used to pull along barges has become a hiking/biking path.

Both the yachters and I enjoy the canal. They are probably thinking, "Truly wonderful the mind of a cyclist is"

We cross the canal to visit Macedon canal park. Kath and I differed in our opinions on the range of her eBike - I thought we could make it but she insisted the battery would die before our destination and riding that heavier bike manually would kill her. Why does she feel I’m going to be the death of her? I remembered from my stay in the park there was a pavilion with electric outlets. Success! We take a break, grab some snacks, charge her bike's battery, and talk with a full-time tourer with a folding bike who said he's been on the road for years. Fun little adventure.

Crossing back over the lock to return to the trail.

Maybe not peak-foliage, but the sun coming through the trees along the path made for a nice ride

We get lunch at noon in Newark before heading south towards Geneva. I wanted to head south to see the town of Geneva as I thought it would be a scenic view along Seneca Lake. Hotels were all booked but I found a vacant reasonably-priced airbnb. The boy has exceptional skills.

Crossing the canal for the last time today before we head through rural countryside towards Geneva

Overall winner of the Empire Strikes Back tour Attack of the Clones day Halloween decorations in the oversized-inflatable lawn ornament category, predominant black cat division

The roads on the route to Geneva did not disappoint. They were amply-shouldered and carried us all the way into Geneva. Going through here I thought maybe a tour through the finger lakes region of New York may be in my future. Just lovely this place is.

Ah, the rural nature of upstate New York

Didn't have any room for these on the bikes. So the only thing we left with were photos

On the way into town navigating was a bit tricky. I somehow saved the routing in the GPS track to go down a dead-end street which I thought would pass through to the other side but which did not. Mmm. Lost a route, Master Paul has. How embarrassing. How embarrassing. Find it, we will try. And with a little assist from Google Maps and street view we found our way to the apartment. Then it was showers and thanks to the washer/dryer in the unit, laundry time. Then it was off to walk to the lake and get some dinner. Mexican food was on the menu for tonight which was not half bad.

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Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 164 miles (264 km)

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