Day 19 - The Wind gods are at it again. - The Long Way to Cleveland

June 3, 2023

Day 19 - The Wind gods are at it again.

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*The route on the map follows the Genesee Valley trail, which is a hiking trail not suited to biking.

The first thing that I did when I got up this morning was check the weather to see what the wind situation would be like. Well, the wind gods have been following my every move and they have conspired once again to foil my plans, which are to head north out of Letchworth to the Erie Canal. Sure enough, the forecast is for 10-12 mile per hour winds out of the north, increasing to 18-20 out of the northeast, just in time for me to head east on the canal path. I kid you not. And if you think that 10-12 is nothing, it's like a 3-4 mph tax on your ride. So riding down a slight decline is like riding on a level road, riding on level is like riding slightly uphill, riding slightly uphill is like a climb, riding up a climb is like walking, and riding up a steep hill is like 'Why don't I just turn into oncoming traffic and get out of this crap.' Fortunately, there weren't any steep hills. The good thing is that it is definitely cooler than it has been for the past few days. Temps in the low sixties with good sunshine. Normally, perfect riding.

These millipedes were crawling all over the park road.

I saw this device in a parking lot in Letchworth. I think it's an ancient person to person communication device, but I'm not sure. In truth, the payphone is there because there is absolutely no cell service in the park. Make sure you have a quarter if you visit.

Not much water behind the dam at the moment.

It didn't take long for the GPS to get me out of the Genesee Valley. I got to Geneseo, where the SUNY branch was preparing for graduation and class reunions. There was a very nice cafe there called Crickets, and bugs aside, I had a very good sandwich and a coffee. And then it was back to the ever increasing winds.

The Lehigh Valley Trail. This path runs south of the Erie Canal bike path.

I reached the canal trail just west of Fairport and headed east. At the town of Fairport, the path was closed and the whole town was a carnival, celebrating Canal Days. It was a zoo, kind of like Geneva-on-the-Lake last week without the motorcycles. But there were several live bands playing in different parts of town, and lots of craftspeople hawking their wares. If I wasn't so whipped, I would have stopped to check out more of the festivities.

My goal for the day was Macedon, where there is a large town park. I thought they allowed camping there, but there was a sign that clearly said 'No camping'. I checked online, and there was a campground right off the canal about 2 miles back, so I headed back there, and it turns out to be a really good campground, not just a trailer park.

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 1,272 miles (2,047 km)

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