Crazy 'bout a bike ride

June 23, 2022

New York bike day

I'd hoped for another tandem ride today, but Don said he would rather stay home and take care of some things he needed to do there. So he fixed up my bike and looked at a possible route I could take.

It was a little cooler this morning so I wasn't in a big hurry to go. By 9:30, the temperature had finally risen to 70 and I took off, eager to explore some areas south of the state park.

Initially I took a road out of the park which ended at a bike/walking trail that ran along the lake. No one else was out on this beautiful morning, so I was just me and birds as I rolled along through the woods.

The trail was paved, but it hadn't been maintained in years, so it was a little gravely and rough in spots with weeds growing up between 2 tracks. Don wouldn't have liked taking the tandem on this, but it was fine for my little bike.

After a couple of miles, the trail ended at a gate as I entered a neighborhood. Don had told me about a hill I would have to take here and just around the corner, I came to the bottom of the climb that took me east away from the lake.

It wasn't too bad and I was able to pedal all the way up to the first section which brought me into the village of Romulus/Willard (I saw signs for both). As I continued climbing a bit more, I passed many large crumbling brick buildings and a newer building that had razor wire surrounding it. Don had mentioned I might go by a former insane asylum but the razor wire through me. Hmmmm.......???

Eventually I came to a sign that said this was the Willard State Drug Treament Campus. That didn't quite explain the prison appearance or razor wire. For drug rehab??!! Interesting!

Later at home, I read that this was a specialized state prison that focused on treating drug-addicted convicts. It provided an intensive 'boot-camp' style of treatment for men and women. The facility opened in 1995 on the site of the former Willard Psychiatric Hospital but was closed earlier this year.

That explained the razor wire but not the abandoned buildings. I found out those were part of an old insane asylum. At 1500 patients, it was the largest psychiatric hospital in the US and opened in 1869. I even passed the facilities cemetery which held the remains of over 5000 patients that had died during their stay at the hospital.

I soon turned south again, this time on a county road that had light traffic. It was mostly flat with a couple of dips down as it crossed a creek. I passed a boy scout camp, golf course and a few Amish farms. There were also many acres of grape vines along with fields of corn, wheat and soy beans.

It was a pretty area, but I wanted to return to the lake where I knew there was a road that ran along the water some more. After a few miles, I came to a road that looked like it would go to the road, so I turned west again.

The road started out paved but halfway down the steep hill, it changed to mostly washboard gravel. Luckily there weren't many cars as I tried to find the smoothest spot on this horrid road. I unclipped my left foot and held tight to my brakes so I wouldn't lose control of the bike.

I kept going down, down, down and was starting to regret my choice of routes! But I didn't want to go back up to the highway, so I kept going and crossing my fingers that the road I wanted was somewhere below me.

Down, down and down some more brought to a winery and eventually the road I needed which HOORAY, WAS PAVED!!! Yeah!!!

Back down by the lake, the road was flat as I rolled along past lots of little summer homes. Most had private docks for their boats but we haven't seen many people out on the water. Maybe that was due to the high cost of fuel?

I continued along enjoying the view for several more miles until I came to a public park. It had a handy bathroom and picnic tables next to the lake, so I took a break here to stretch, and eat my Quest bar and banana.

While the day had been partly cloudy, I could now see more potential rain clouds building up. Boy, I sure wish I didn't rain as I hadn't brought my jacket with me! Oh well, it will be what it will be.

So I didn't linger long here and continued south on the lake road. I thought that it ended at another road that would take me up the hill to the highway, but after a few miles of not seeing anything, I decided I had better turn around.

Fortunately I'd seen a road that was near the park that I knew would also take me where I needed to go. And it was paved vs going back to that horrible gravel road by the winery!

I started pedaling up the hill and it soon grew steep, so I got off and started walking. For the rest of the climb, I alternated between pedaling and walking, and after about a mile and a half, finally reached the top. Whew! That was a tough one! The clouds had also cleared out, leaving sunny skies.

From here, I was able to ride back to Romulus/Willard where I spent a few minutes riding around the seemingly abandoned buildings near the drug treatment center. Then it was down, down again as I dropped back to the lake level and the road/trail that took me back home.

It was about 2 when I rolled up to our site. WHEW!!! What a day - an interesting one for sure, but very challenging physically. I changed my clothes and collapsed in a chair outside with a cold drink. My legs were toast but I was happy with the ride. Who knew there used to be an insane asylum in this area?!

After I had recovered a bit, I took a shower. Then I joined Don at the happy hour being held for the rally attendees. We enjoyed the rest of the evening, visiting with everyone and making new Airstream friends.

At the south end of the park, I took this trail to access another road.

Although it was a pleasant ride, the surface of the trail left a lot to be desired.

This is one of the large abandoned buildings located on the former Willard Psychiatric Hospital campus. What a shame and waste to let these structures just fall down.

This one might have been a school but it was hard to tell through all of the vines and trees.

The drug treatment center had much newer buildings along with some SERIOUS razor wire fencing! Guess they didn't want those convicts to escape.

We heard that trout are common in this lake.

The buggies were parked today. There aren't nearly as many Amish or Mennonite living in this region vs down south in Pennsylvania.

Another Episcopal church with an unusual square bell tower. This one was in Willard.

The wild sweet peas were in full bloom along the roads.

One last view looking across Seneca Lake to the west.

Today's ride: 27 miles (43 km)
Total: 397 miles (639 km)

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