Day 31 – Thu/Jul 17 – Oneida NY to Latham NY

Today was scheduled to be a relatively flat ride, more or less a rest before the big climb tomorrow. The ride started down Hwy 5 with a quick climb (max elevation of 715 feet) over the first 10 miles at the start and then down hill with rolling hills and a couple of teasers toward the end. Seemed easy enough, but things don’t always go as planned. Just 27 miles into the ride we missed our turn onto old route 5 and wound up on a very busy road (Hwy 5 in New Hartford) with no shoulder. Enter tour director (Larry) with his trusty GPS. Within 30 minutes we were back on the right road (old route 5, not Hwy 5) with a smooth shoulder and low traffic, just a small hiccup in the grand scheme of things.

Then 33 miles later, our tour director located a shortcut on the GPS. We blindly followed his directions as we always do…our sole purpose on this trip is to ride our bikes, which we do everyday. At this point in the ride, we were at about 300-350 feet of elevation. Immediately after turning onto the shortcut, we started climbing…and climbing…and didn’t stop until we reached an elevation of 950 feet. A couple times during this climb, the grades ranged from 8% to 13%. As it turned out, despite the steep climbs, we cut across a ridge that was primarily Amish farms. It was like taking a step back in time…farming without John Deere tractors. And the best part was, after about five miles of climbs and rolling hills, we descended right back to 300 feet of elevation. Matt and I both think Larry was just getting our legs ready for tomorrow…he will not deny or confirm this though.

Aside from the distinct architecture of the big cities we went through, we felt like we were riding RAGBRAI back in Iowa. Once again the weather was great, 65 degrees at the start and 85 degrees when we finished. The humidity is starting to rise, but overcast skies for the early part of the day kept up comfortable until late in the ride. We rode a total distance of 106.5 miles, climbed 2,969 (thanks to the shortcut) and averaged just 17.4 mph (city riding again with lots of stop lights).

When we got back to the hotel, we took time to clean our bikes one last time in preparation of the climbs that tomorrow will bring. Hard to believe that we are down to 191 miles – 2 days

Day 30 – Wed/Jul 16 – Lima NY to Oneida NY

“…the hills go on forever and the party never ends.” Today we traveled along Hwy 5 all day long with lots of rolling hills. This is just a warm up for our ride on Friday which will have more than 6,000 feet of climb. Today we wound up with just over 3,200 feet of climb. We enjoyed riding the smooth shoulder most of the day, except for the stretch of road that went through the southern portion of the Syracuse metro area. We lost our shoulder and truly shared the road with the city traffic for over 10 miles and 50 or more stop lights. We were glad to get out of the city and back to the rolling hills which showed up as soon as the stop lights disappeared. Our average speed for the day was 17.4 miles – hills and stop lights. The total distance today was 114.2 miles. Once again, we couldn’t complain about the weather: temperatures ranged from 62 to 87 degrees (even though it was fairly humid); winds were out of the south early and SW later in the day; and no rain (severe storms passed south of us a few hours after we finished).

Matt had bike trouble today – rear hub (see details in his blog). Once again our tour director (as so named by Gill, the Scottish trans-America biker) saved the day. He took Matt’s bike to two different bike shops to get it back in working conditions. Both shops squeezed Matt’s bike in, even though both were very busy. We thank both of them for their help.

We have now traveled 3,162 miles with total climb of 80,243 feet in 30 days (you were right, Bud, we will probably do more than 90,000 feet of climb before we finish). The end continues to approach, but it won’t really be here until we actually dip our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. The weather forecast still looks like there is a better than average chance that we will stay dry the rest of the way, but the temperatures and humidity will be rising. We will need to get an early start the rest of the way as afternoon showers seem to be in the forecast.

Day 29 – Tue/Jul 15 – Westfield NY to Lima NY

Today we started our ride the same way we will start the next 4 days – this being the longest ride remaining. Today we rode 127.5 miles, climbed 3,982 feet averaging 17.7 mph. The next four days we will ride 113, 112, 103 and 88 miles. We were back to rolling hills, three or four were long and steep – 8% to 11% grade. We rode Hwy 5 and 20 today. This was perhaps the best roads so far on the ride. The shoulder was about 12 feet wide and smooth. If you had asked me which state would have the best roads for bikers before I left, New York would not have made my top five.

We crossed paths with a gal from Scotland who was biking across the US. She was doing her ride totally unsupported and has been biking for 60 days now – about 14 days left. She averages about 50 miles a day. She has business in Canada when she finishes the ride and hopes to be home by August 28th.

Our weather today was again ideal, sunny skies with crosswind in the morning and tail wind in the afternoon – maybe 10 mph. Temperatures started at 60 degrees and hit 81 degrees when we finished at about 4:30 this afternoon. It looks like the temperatures and humidity may rise by Thursday, but the chances of rain are still low – but like everywhere else, that could change in a New York minute.

Tonight we are staying at a hotel that has been at this site since 1790. The current structure is 150 years old – small rooms but does have running water and air-conditioning. A lot of history – see the pictures.

Today we topped 3,000 miles on our journey – just 420 miles left to Plum Island. We have one big day of climbs left. We have averaged over 100 miles per day since we left Oregon. Everyday since Oregon, our routine has been the same – get up early and ride about 100 miles. As I ride now, I’m starting to think about what will my routine be starting Sunday – can’t say now but I’m sure I will adjust.

Day 28 – Mon/Jul14 - Warren OH to Westfield NY

Today we finished off Ohio, raced through Pennsylvania, and would up in New York. We left Warren OH and headed straight north on Hwy 5/7 for 56 miles and then rode northeast along Lake Erie for about 50 miles. Over the last 20 miles we could see the lake. Another relatively flat ride with about three climbs of 8% grades. We rode 114.5 miles today with 2,254 feet of climb, averaging 19.9 mph. The temperatures started out at 62 degrees and would up at 78 degrees with a stiff wind out of the west all day.

About 80 miles into the ride we rode through Erie PA for the next 20 miles, we saw miles and miles of vineyards. The terrain was relatively flat, but you could see wooded hillsides as you looked away from the lake. Pretty country.

We now have only 5 days left to cover just over 550 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Plum Island (not Plumb as previously written) – this may add a few miles to our ride – recalculating (Garmin GPS).