June 17, 2021
To Ithaca
Today I was headed to Ithaca, where I would spend a few days visiting dear friends, some of whom I’d known since college. It was a relatively short ride down toward Ithaca, so I walked over to Café XIX for breakfast and a great cup of coffee by local roasters. It was a clear, cool morning and promised to be an excellent day for cycling.
The Finger Lakes are group of eleven long and narrow lakes that run north-south in upstate New York. They originally were streams, but were widened and deepened by glaciation during the Ice age. The Finger Lakes Region is a large wine growing area, with hundreds of wineries dotting the hillsides flanking the lakes. Several Wine Trails are available to guide the visiting oenophile, but I was taking a different route.
Seneca Falls sits near the top of Cayuga Lake and Ithaca lies at its southern end. Rather than cycling down along the western edge of Cayuga Lake, I planned a route that took me south between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes – one that would take me on the smaller, quieter roads through the countryside. So, I headed south toward Ovid on NY 414, a low traffic state highway with a wide shoulder. It was nice to be on open roads, under a big sky cycling past silos, windmills and barns.
I passed my first, and only, vineyard Just south of Fayette but the most notable feature of this area were the Amish farms. I encountered horse drawn water tanks, hay wagons, buggies, as well as a multitude of clotheslines with plain garments flapping in the gentle breeze. I waved hello in greeting, but no one smiled or waved back. I stopped for cookies and banana bread at one of the self-serve driveway stands, and a woman came down to restock some of the wares just as I was leaving. I smiled and said words of greeting, but she seemed frightened and scurried back toward her house. Even the children could give me nothing more than a blank stare. Then I met Ezra, an elderly man with a wizened face, white beard and a straw hat. He had just turned his horses into the lane when I said hello. “Good afternoon” he replied. I asked if I could take his picture, “No”; could I ask a few questions? “Yes”. We had a nice chat where I learned his name (Ezra Peachay), that he came here from Pennsylvania to farm, and that Amish use horses while Mennonites drive cars. I bade him farewell, and took no additional pictures of the Amish folk.
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Just north of Ovid, SR 414 merges with State Route 96. I jogged east and then south on County Road 29, a wonderful little county lane. Crossing SR96, I spotted a group of cyclists and their support van. Always keen to meet other cyclists, I took a little detour to say hello. The group was of varying age and apparent fitness, and all were having a wonderful time on a multi-day loop around the Finger Lakes region. I gladly accepted their offer of a banana and some cold water before heading off. After zig-zagging to Trumansburg, I phoned my Ithaca host Clare we made plans for lunch at her place on Cayuga Lake. I hurried on – skipping a short detour to Taughannock Falls – and took the Black Diamond rail trail south toward Ithaca.
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I met Clare about twenty-five years ago when a mutual friend invited me for a sailing weekend on the Chesapeake Bay. I’d no experience sailing but went along and thoroughly enjoyed it. Over the next ten years, the group of us celebrated our 50th birthdays with bareboat sailing adventures to places such as the Greek Isles and the west coast of Sweden. Clare has a second home located on Cayuga Lake where she spends most of the summer racing and sailing her J24 sailboat. Located on water's edge, the house is a small somewhat primitive place she refers to as the “The Shack”. After I arrived at the Shack, we had a quick lunch and I helped her clean up/get ready for the potluck dinner she was hosting for a group of her friends. My contribution was the molasses cookies I’d picked up from the Amish – and they were a great hit. After dinner, the group departed for a play at the local theatre while I went to bed, reflecting on the joys of past and current adventures.
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 425 miles (684 km)
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