Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Post from Ithaca, NY!!!

Hello from New York everybody! We actually made it to this state after all. Deepest apologies for the lack of blog maintenance recently. We have been computerless for a few days, but no longer. Tonight until the end of the trip we have places to stay INDOORS with friends and relatives. It's good to be in familiar territory again. Tonight we are staying in Ithaca with Sheep, a friend of Goody. We are 3 days of riding and one day of rest away from the Big Apple and are all feeling happy to be (back) in NY.

From the location of our last blog post we have come a couple hundred miles and are now within 200 miles of the city. We last left you all in Fergus, Ontario after refreshing ourselves at the abode de Steve. From there we hit it hard to get to Hamilton on the coast of lake Ontario. After biking through the crowded Friday night downtown scene of Hamilton we slept on the beach of Ontario (the last great lake we would see on our tour). From Hamilton we beasted to the famous Niagra Falls! There we soaked in the kitchy tourist crap surrounding the falls and tried hard not to let it ruin those beautiful phenomena of nature (it still kind of did though, truly an American tragedy). We also got to enjoy an awesome Indian buffet on the American side of town; one of the best meals of the trip in my book.

After camping in the woods (somewhat illegally) of a state park north of town we hit the road once again with Brighton, a suburb just south of Rochester, in our sights. We took the Erie Canal bike path right along the old Erie Canal which was great. Well packed trail next to the famous canal that connected Victorian America. Awesome riding and no hills to boot. We made it to Rochester eventually, although the ride turned out to be 20 miles longer than expected. No worries though because Goody's friend from Binghamton, Mark, hooked us up with a backyard to crash in. Last night we would have to sleep in tents assuming our plans went accordingly (this is particularly exciting for me because my tent poles have been broken and I am sick of standing my tent up with sticks).

From Rochester we began a phase of light riding and rest days that we are still in today. We rode an easy 55 miles to Seneca Falls where we stayed with Will's Grandpa Frank. He cooked us Italian Sausage and grilled peppers! We said goodbye to David from there who put up with us for 10 days. One of the best parts of the trip! Thanks for accompanying us and lending us your wisdom and "maintenance". It was awesome to have you!

Anyway, from Seneca Falls we just had to go an easy 35 miles to Ithaca where we planned on chilling for the afternoon (a town worth chilling in). The easy 35 turned out to be a killer fast 35 because we were stoked about the short distance and decided to book it. Goody and Will averaged 19 mph to win the time trial with me coming in third averaging about 17 mph. Dan and Aidan had the brains to chill and enjoy the ride. They stopped for cider tasting and ice cream and were actually smiling when they rolled in to meet us exhausted types in Ithaca.

So here we are enjoying a relaxing evening with friends. Tomorrow we go to Binghamton where Will, Goody, and I go to school. Should be a good time! Can't get pics loaded now but they will come soon. Stay tuned for the final bit of our trip!

Peace

2 comments:

  1. I once read a great historical novel regarding the Erie Canal and the Second Great Awakening in Rochester, NY.

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  2. are you guys going to be in manhattan? that's what i got from reading this.

    - david malinowski

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