July 6, 2018
Medina, NY to Four Mile Creek State Park, NY
Day 1
Weather: Hot & Windy
I woke up early as the birds were awake by 5 a.m. and as usual my first night in a tent is always restless. A thunder storm came through last night but took a long time to reach us. I would have preferred it to just rush on through but it took about an hour to reach us. Wisely we had camped under a pavilion and as it was extremely hot we didn’t have the flys on the tent, but we kept dry under the roof of the pavilion. The thunder storm did cool things off and later I had to pull out my sleeping bag and throw it over myself.
Up around 6 a.m. we had a quick breakfast. Cameron’s tire was flat from the day before. I noticed it last night when I took the bikes off the car rack but was to tired to deal with it. I put a new tube in and the new tube lost air as well. So I replaced the tube again. A good start to the day.
After getting the remaining gear out of the car we got ourselves organized and pushed off just after 7:30 a.m. Shortly afterwards we made our first stop at a Dollar General in Ridgeway, however it wasn't open which we thought was odd. We did find a gas station nearby where I picked up a bacon and egg sandwich.
After about 10 miles of heading north on quiet country roads we reached Lake Ontario, our first view of the lake.
From this point we headed west as we a circling the lake clockwise. Of course, I second guessed this decision as we started headed straight into the wind. However, as the day went on the wind became more at our side and unless we were directly beside the lake or out in farmland, the tress blocked most of the wind.
I guess when you ride in a big circle you will eventually run into the prevailing wind sometime.
Our first stop was Thirty Mile Lighthouse located in Golden Hill State Park and we arrived just as they were opening at 9:30 a.m.
After checking out the museum, we took a tour up the tower and through the keepers home and obtained two passport stamps.
Thirty Mile Lighthouse
In 1872, the Lighthouse Board recommended Thirty Mile Point as a site for a coastal lighthouse.
Construction commenced on April 28, 1875 and the light was first exhibited on April 27, 1876.
The lighthouse was built using limestone blocks quarried near Chaumont Bay and the two-story dwelling and lighthouse featured seven rooms and an attached seventy-foot-tall square tower housing the light.
In 1934, a foghorn building was added along with an addition to the east end of the building. The station was also electrified and a electric light bulb replaced the kerosene lamp being used inside the Fresnel lens.
In 1958, a metal tower was erected with an automated beacon and the Coast Guard personnel left.
New York State established the Golden Hill State Park in 1962. The lighthouse was transferred from the Coast Guard to the New York State in 1984.
The lighthouse featured on a USPS stamp in 1995.
On July 11, 1998, a new beacon was activated in the lantern room.
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To keep the fuel tank full we had a bite to eat at a nearby picnic table, leaving at 10:30 a.m. and cycling through to Olcott.
Arriving in Olcott we rode out to the lake and stopped at the Lakeview Village Shoppes to obtain the lighthouse passport stamp.
The replica lighthouse is nearby close to where the old piers were.
Olcott Lighthouse (Replica)
In 1873 a wooden, square, pyramidal tower was erected on the outer end of the west pier. This lighthouse stood 32 feet tall and was first lit on the evening of November 1, 1873. The bottom half of the tower was black, and the upper portion white.
By 1896, Olcott Harbor was abandoned by the federal government due to lack of commerce and while no dredging or repairs to the piers were performed after this, the lighthouse remained active.
The fuel for the light was changed to acetylene in 1921 and electricity replaced the acetylene gas in 1929. By 1930, the lighthouse had been replaced by a metal post at the end of the pier.
The old lighthouse, now missing it’s lantern room that had been used elsewhere, was moved to the grounds of the Olcott Yacht Club to be used as an observation post during regattas.
The lighthouse remained standing until 1963, when the club decided the tower could not be restored and dismantled it.
In 2002, the Olcott Lighthouse Society built a replica of the lighthouse using historical photos as a guide.
No keepers dwelling was ever built by the government for the keeper of Olcott Lighthouse.
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A quick lunch at Olcott Beach was not in our destiny. It was a busy small town as there was a Pirate Festival starting the next day and they have 3 old restored carousals so there were many small children around. After cruising around the streets we settled on a hotdog stand thinking this would be quick (it wasn’t). So consequently we didn’t leave there until 1:30 p.m.
With 16 more miles to go, we wanted to get done but did stop in the town of Wilson for a Gatorade. We arrived at the Four Mile Creek State Park just before 3 p.m. and after being told they had no sites, I politely told them we had ridden 45 miles on bikes and we would appreciate a site. Another guy helped out and we ended up getting a pretty nice site. The sites here are huge.
Tents up, we went for a walk down to the lake. There is no real swimming beach here although there were some that were swimming at the river mouth. We then did our laundry, ate dinner and settled in for the night. There were a huge soccer tournament going on so the camp was filled with soccer players, the good thing was they had to play in the morning so most went to bed early. But there is always that one guy! Runs his generator until after 11 p.m., plays music and lets his kids run around screaming.
Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 45 miles (72 km)
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