Life is better at the lake

June 22, 2022

New York bike day

It was already hot and humid at 5 am this morning when I got up. As it was only going to get hotter, we tried to get out early in order to get our ride in before noon.

Don had found a road that went north of the state park along Seneca Lake. We hoped it would be relatively flat vs the inland area to the east of us.

By 8:30, we were on the bike ready to explore this new area. While we've toured along Lake Ontario further to the north, we'd never been down by the Finger Lakes. We'd seen lots of farms north of Watkin's Glenn on our drive here, so that could mean quieter riding.

The pavement was pretty rough at the north end of the park and as we bounced and jounced around, I suddenly heard a strange chiming noise coming from our trunk bag followed by "911, 911, what's your emergency". Oh for goodness sake, here we go again! All the bouncing had caused Don's phone to dial 911 - again!!

We quickly came to a halt and he pulled out his phone to tell the operator that no, we didn't have an emergency and all was good. This hasn't happened for quite a while, but I told him maybe he really ought to turn the darn thing off on our rides!! Sheesh!

That was our excitement for the day and the rest of the ride was uneventful. We continued out of the park and followed the road into neighborhoods along the lake. It was pleasant riding and there was a light refreshing breeze coming off of the water that helped keep us cool.

The homes were all nice - many newer, larger ones along with older little bungelows and some turn-of-the century ones with little cupolas on top. Further north there were some farms with fields of corn, soy beans and wheat. It was really a great route, mostly flat and little traffic.

When our road ended at a busy highway, we turned around and reversed our route back to the state park. It hadn't been a long ride, but it sure was nice not to trudge up a lot of hills! Plus, I love riding along any water - lakes or rivers, doesn't matter to me.

After we had lunch, we spent a few hours during the afternoon driving to a nearby town to get gas and ice, and stop in a Dollar store and grocery for a few items. We also went to one of the many wineries located in this region. I'd looked at their website and saw that they made a number of sweet and fruit wines so we thought we would check them out.

The place was called Swedish Hill Vineyard and you could do a tasting flight for $12 for 6 wines. We each picked out the 6 we wanted to try and sat down on their patio area. There were several that we both liked, so we ended up buying 3 along with a cool metal sign for the trailer. I think this trip has turned me into a wino for sure as I drink a lot more wine than at home in Denver!

We didn't do much the rest of the day except prepare for rain which came during the evening. So far, the forecast is for cooler temps tomorrow followed by sunny hot days. It got up to 91 today which is pretty warm, but at least we have good air conditioners!

Read the caption on this picture. Sampson State Park was once a Navy base during WWII. Interesting that the new recruits were REQUIRED to send a letter home and go to the barber!

This little Episcopal church had a very unique bell tower.

One of many high-end vineyards located in the Finger Lakes area. I read that some offered a tasting "experience"! We passed on going to this one since they weren't open.

Every home on the water had its own private boat dock.

We've seen several of these older homes in this area. The cupola serves as a way to get ventilation and to provide sunlight into the main floor of the house.

Fun sign and some yummy peach wine we bought at the Swedish Hill Vinyard.

Today's ride: 20 miles (32 km)
Total: 417 miles (671 km)

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