John Aylward Photography

Today’s Highlights:
We had another great day of cycling. Our route followed the Lake Erie shoreline for sixty miles of the eighty-two mile ride. There were many vineyards along the way, and wildflowers lined the roadside. The terrain was flat, with minor hills, varying only two hundred feet throughout the ride. The roads were also exceptionally smooth and the wind was generally in our favor. With the high humidity, I was quite wet, but that also kept me comfortably cool while moving. It was only a bit warm during stops, and I hardly stopped at all today. Overall, conditions were perfect for riding, and the scenery was quite pleasant.

At a few locations we were directly at the shore of Lake Erie and able to see the sandy shoreline and great expanse of blue fresh water melting into the blue sky. Most of the time, the road was far enough from the shore that we only got glimpses of the lake. However, between the road and the lake were nice vinyards, fields, woodlands or homes. The homes where generally modest, and there were only a small number of estates. I saw some vineyard being worked by tractors, and one man fixing grapevine posts. I stopped to chat with him a little. Otherwise, there was not much activity to be seen. The traffic was also very light on Route 5, which was nice.

I was moving along quickly today, starting out with both Kens. I also rode with Andy for a nice long run, and he kindly pulled me along at a faster pace until we reached the New York State boarder. I stopped there for a picture. For the next sixty miles in New York I rode alone, but saw a few riders at the SAG stop. One of them was George, who just joined us to ride the last segment of the tour.

We cross over several stream that feed the lake. The steam bottoms are layered sedimentary rock. Surprisingly, we crossed over a small canyon too. It was carved by the Eighteen Mile Creek. In the photo of that, you can see the layers.

It was nice to enter into New York State. Besides checking off another state on the tour, it certainly feels good to be close to home. Two of my children live close by and joined me for dinner tonight. John, Dalene and my three grandchildren came, and Stephanie and Tom too. We had an excellent dinner at the Waterstone Grill.

Day 45

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/16/2013, 4:03:0

Duration: 05:44:46

Ascent/Descent: 2535 ft 2505 ft

Distance: 82.32 M

Today’s Highlights:
Our fifth and last rest day of the cross-country challenge was spent in Erie Pennsylvania. I completed my usual chores in the morning. My son and grandson drove down from Buffalo and met me around 12:30. The three of us drove over to Presque Isles State Park to play. On the drive out, we checked out a couple beaches, and then walked to a lighthouse at the end of the island. To the north and east, Lake Erie stretched to the horizon like the ocean. To the south and west was Presque Bay, with the city of Erie on the opposite shore. A lot of people were swimming, boating, fishing and biking in the park. We went for a five-mile bike ride along the park road and bike path. Then my grandson enjoyed some beach time, swimming in the lake and digging in the sand.

When we returned to town, we went to the Tap House and pounded down a couple waters, some pizza and sandwiches. It was a very nice day.

Day 44

Today’s Highlights:
I had another awesome day of cross-country cycling. I rode one hundred miles from Youngstown Ohio to Erie Pennsylvania. The weather was perfect again. A light wind was at my back for the first seventy miles to help speed up progress, and a cool headwind off Lake Erie for the last thirty miles helped in the afternoon heat. The terrain was mostly flat, with a few sections of small hills. Overall, we dropped about eight hundred feet in elevation. All the roads were smooth. It was a very fast ride for me. All the riders I heard from at the end of the day agreed it was a good day and a great finish to our fifth segment of the tour.

I started the morning with a group of riders. There was a little confusion at a detour where a bridge was completely removed, and people got separated, so Gene and I pressed on together and continued at a fast pace. Later, Ken rejoined us and helped us cycle at an even faster pace. I had to drop from them after twenty five miles and slow down a little. I finally stopped for my first picture at mile 30. I rode a little more with Gene after reconnecting with him at the first SAG stop, and we sprinted along at over 20 mph for a while. Eventually, I slowed down again and tried to look for pictures. I didn’t take many today. The scenery was nice, but I was having fun trying to have a fast century and enjoying a less challenging ride compared to the previous four days. I passed a gathering of Amish families as they were arriving at church, and I stopped for pictures trying to be discrete from a distance.

Our second rest stop was at the White Turkey Drive-in, a root beer stand that is very popular. Everyone enjoyed some lunch or treats there. I had an ice cream sundae. One mile from the drive-in, I crossed into Pennsylvania. Hooray! One more state finished. We had rushed through Ohio pedaling 370 miles in less than four days, plus another 30 in Pennsylvania to finish day four. It was a tough week overall, but thankfully a relatively easy finish. Of course, we are all in very good shape now in order to say that any one hundred mile ride was fun and easy.

The Pennsylvania section of the route followed the Lake Erie shore, but roughly a mile away from it. I got a couple glimpses of the lake along the way. Once I got close to the hotel, I went off route to go see the lake. That also gave me some bonus miles to stretch the ride to 100 miles. The view from the shore at this location looks across a bay to Presque Isle, which is a state park, and therefore, I have only seen a tiny part of the lake so far. Tomorrow I will be able to explore the area more because we have a day off – our final day off of the tour.

Day 43

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/14/2013, 3:37:4

Duration: 07:06:36

Ascent/Descent: 4507 ft 4877 ft

Distance: 100.54 M

Today’s Highlights:
I had a pleasant ride today. I noticed that it was quiet on the roads this morning, and after a while I realized it was because it was Saturday. I really haven’t had to know the day of the week. All the days are the same routine, just a new route. Ken and I left first this morning, which isn’t unusual. He was out of site in front of me after a few miles, which is also an everyday occurrence. The difference today, is that I did not see a single rider after that. I was slow today, but I guess everyone got off on a slower pace also. Our first SAG stop was at thirty three miles, and it was special today. It was in Bud’s home town of Canton, so his wife and daughter brought extra goodies for the group. I enjoyed some treats, but was expedient as usual and got back to cycling. I heard that the other riders behind me took more time to feast out, which is why my usual riding partners did not pass by me later in the day. So, I enjoyed a lone Saturday cruise though the Ohio country side and suburbia. There were less farms on the route today. I cycled through more woodland areas and many residential areas. There were very few photo ops. However, I took a few photos of houses just to remember that at this point of our trip we are getting into the more populated eastern states.

Our route took us through the town of Canal Fulton and down its brick paved main street. It was fun to ride on even though it was a bit bumpy. It was only 8:15 AM when I cycled through, so there were few people out. However, the town was all set up for a big street fair and parade. I looked it up later and found out it is the Olde Canal Days Festival. We were too early to enjoy that fun event.

At one farm, I saw a nice horse and its colt. They were not cooperative about posing for a photo, but I got an okay one. In the same corral, some alpacas were more cooperative and came out of the barn to visit children at the fence. Another thing I enjoyed today was riding by a large reservoir. It has been a long time since we have seen a large body of water reflecting the blue sky. It made me remember Lake Taos and Donner Lake, and miss them very much. The little reservoir didn’t compare, but brought back some great memories of early parts of the trip.

I started the day feeling tired, but ended feeling much better. The eighty five miles felt easy compared to the previous two days of over one hundred miles each. I finished at 1:30 PM, giving me a little time to rest this afternoon.

Day 42

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 7/13/2013, 3:36:4

Duration: 07:03:09

Ascent/Descent: 3422 ft 3248 ft

Distance: 85.29 M