May 25, 2021
Day 20: Hamburg, NY to Westfield, NY
“Hanging in there, one day at a time”
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Climbing Today; 1,073 ft Climbing to Date; 44,366 ft
The subtitle came from a fellow who was walking his dog this morning. As I rolled past I said good morning and asked how he was doing, and he replied with (the subtitle) “I’m hanging in there, one day at a time." A bicycle tour is like that; one day at a time, one small bite of the elephant. Otherwise it would just be too difficult to fathom the magnitude of the undertaking and you would be overwhelmed with the challenge. But this has been a luxury ride so far in that we’ve always been able to stay inside, and we haven't really had any difficulty finding food or having enough water - at least not yet. We had some mountains to climb, but there was only one climb that was like the steep hills of the Appalachians, so really it just wasn’t that bad.
The morning started out great. We had a good breakfast (as far as hotel breakfasts go in the COVID era) at the Holiday Inn Express, and then were delayed hitting the road because curious strangers wanted to ask about the bikes and the trip. We finally got away, and it was nice and cool and there was little traffic along Old Lakeshore Drive. We rode past luxury homes built along the lake bluff and enjoyed the cool breeze off the lake. We found our second breakfast at McDonald’s in Irving, and we were already 1/3 of the way complete for the day. So today was looking pretty good.
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Riding along Highway five after our second breakfast at McDonald’s it went from pleasantly cool to unpleasantly hot almost instantly. We stopped at a parking area and got in the shade and reapplied sunscreen; there's always those tricky spots like where your wrists aren't quite covered by the jersey and gloves.
We knew that heat would be the worst of all the challenges we faced, but didn’t expect to face it so soon. I was expecting it to get hot by the time we were in the Plains but not before we finished up in New York. The miles come with a much cheaper price in the morning, the price you pay per mile seems to double in the afternoon heat.
We made a Gatorade stop in Dunkirk, and I got a serving of cold macaroni as well. There was no place to eat, other than a small shade on the side of the store, but we were glad to have a cold drink. We have passed at least a couple of generating stations that no longer operate - I assume they were coal-fired stations that have been replaced by alternative energy sources and/or natural gas.
I stopped beside the road in a small shade and drank some of my ice tea I bought a while back - it was no longer cold but was cooler than the warm water in my bottles. The heat was taking it’s toll, and it was getting to be a bit of a march as we worked our way toward the match line of map 124 and then an additional 9 miles beyond to our hotel for the night. I guess if you can’t stand the heat you need to get out of the kitchen, whatever that means with regards to bicycle touring. We have been following the Great Lakes Seaway Trail.
We passed several large vineyards today; apparently this part of upstate New York has fertile soil for grapes.
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You see some interesting things when moving at bicycle speed. A dragon and a Hindu princess perhaps tell something about the culture and ethnicity of the architect of this garden.
We reached Barcelona, NY and began seeking some place to eat - everything (almost) was shut down and opened later in the week - many places around here are focused on weekend tourist activity. There is a nice harbor for small craft here.
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3 years ago
No twister, but we did shelter under the overhang of a back porch at the invitation of an unseen lady (she shouted to us from a window in the storm, I never saw her but we heard her) and were grateful to be out of the storm.
Bud
3 years ago
I scrounged up some food items at the local convenience store and had a hot pocket, doritos, and applesauce for dinner. Doc wanted something more civilized to eat, but nothing was open - finally he discovered a nearby bar that made burgers, so he ate there. We are hoping for an early start tomorrow - tomorrow should be a milestone day for us - I hope that you all reach a milestone of some sort as well. Pleasant dreams...
Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 955 miles (1,537 km)
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3 years ago
3 years ago