Ithaca to Mays Point: Into the tropics

October 17, 2016

I don't know what's wrong with the weather, but it's not working properly. It was a warm, unbearably humid day. I got bugs in my face all day long and was sweating even before I made it out of the flat part of Ithaca.

What, not a nice mental image? Too bad, I had to bike through it.

I had another long day ahead of me, so I reasonably started by biking several kilometres in the wrong direction, to see Buttermilk Falls and some of the gorge.

The gorge was there, but the falls were not. The area around Ithaca got the worst of the drought, and the people might be starting to suffer if the USA was a poor country.

I passed a Denny's on the way back through Ithaca and stopped for buttermilk pancakes, pleased that my effort to start tapering down my food intake (so I won't have to go cold turkey post-tour) had failed at my very first meal on my first day trying not to gorge.

I only mention this because Denny's was an island, an island full of people who spoke with a twang; waitresses, regulars, visitors, everyone. Evidently there is enough twang in my accent, because they allowed me to eat there, but they weren't very enthusiastic with me. It was either the accent or the unwashed clothes. Probably the accent.

Ithaca will soon have a walking/biking trail all the way to Taughannock (I may have misspelled this, will check later) Falls State Park. But the fact that it was the "Future Black Diamond Trail" and not the "Black Diamond Trail", and also that the first section is closed for fence-building, should not be a deterrent. The entire length is fine to ride and the trail workers will say hi instead of kicking you out.

Much nicer than the road and I didn't even feel the climbing.

After Taughannock Falls, I joined 89, where I could once again delight in the sound of car tires on centreline rumble strips. I'd been hearing this sound intermittently since Old Forge, and it's great to have that confirmation that vehicles are moving over to pass. Even better because they often don't need to give me the extra space (due to generous shoulders), but they do anyway.

This is from 1932. They need to update them, they're missing the one that says I passed near this spot.

Most docks along the lake had some sort of boat-lifting-storage-thingy

Well, at least they tried to repaint the bike lane to Seneca Falls

Still seeing a lot of puffy flowers. And look, the sun came out.

... and the rain is moving in. Better get moving.

Saw lots of nice houses on the way out of Seneca Falls. This was the first, not the best.

Another boring wildlife viewing area. Hm, I see some ducks... oh wait, if you look closely you can spot the elusive semi.

Since there was nobody around to talk to all day, I developed some astute political theories. Rural New Yorkers are voting for Trump, the towns for Clinton. Republicans keep slightly better lawns than Democrats. So... any networks out there need a new political analyst? I'm available--for a price.

I camped at Lock 25 at Mays Point, which isn't a campground so you need to call ahead. They have a toilet. They also have an insane number of mosquitoes, and slugs oozed up my tent mesh all night, including one that was almost as long as my hand.

Ew.

Today's ride: 86 km (53 miles)
Total: 2,072 km (1,287 miles)

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