Sweep team G started already at 5:30am this morning to help with breakfast. It was a really
cold night, but we slept snugly for the most part. Kobie left soon after 6am to go do his
road paint job. After finishing all chores we sweeps cycled out of camp at 8:45. The mood was happy and playful, and guys like Johnny sang out loud and teased and joked with everyone.
Earlier I did have a chance to go down to the water where I walked out on the fishing pier.
The water of Seneca finger lake was so clear I could see the water plants at the bottom and
even some fish lurking below. Dozens of white birds descended in a noisy squabble when I fed
them my leftover sandwiches of yesterday. Some are so sharp and able to catch a morsel in
mid air, but the young ones are too timid and missed out! Many boats were out on the water bright and early to fish. Lovely scene!
The very crisp air reminded us that this amazing adventurous summer is sadly drawing to a
close. Cycling through upstate New York is just so lovely, as it is green, green, green!The
route goes along some of the finger lakes, and many nice homes and cottages were interesting
to look at. The landscape became all the more forested and progressively more hilly. We
encountered some real steep ones, even up to 12% grade where we turned off to look at a high
waterfall at Taughannook.
I rode all day with my friend Claire Elgersma, as we are on the same sweep team. It was such a good day of sharing friendship and some memories from the past, as Claire did the 2005 bike tour, of which I did the last 3 weeks. Claire grew up in this area where we are cycling today and tomorrow, and has 3 siblings living in this area. Later we were joined by Anne Mushumanski and Jim Holwerda, also on sweep.
A good cup of coffee and lunch hit the spot at Ithaca, where the coffee shop looked out over
the water and eagerly begging ducks and small birds. The owner had a young and adorable
husky...more catlike than doglike in many ways. It watched us quietly but intently with those
deep blue eyes, and loved being stroked and petted.
Going out of Ithaca presented us with the hardest and longest hill of the day, aggravated by
the fact that our quads were now cooled off and stiff after lunch. So it was a case of "ogen
dicht en doortrappen".... Squint the eyes and pedal through and UP! Many of the cyclists that joined in GR struggled with the inclines, also the tandems and recumbents. On Thursday (3245ft) and especially Friday (6875ft) there will be lots of climbing. Friday we will reach the highest point in the state. For most of us that started in Seattle these hills do not feel like much, as we are so conditioned after almost 9 weeks, and compared to the mountain passes these feel easy. But we do have lots of empathy for our new friends' challenges and encourage them as much as we can along the way. The temperature today was mild and huge trees provided constant shade along the route. The road surface was good for the most part, which added to the enjoyment of today's ride. The last few miles went along the Chenango river and therefore flat road, except for the last couple of miles kicking up sharply, before we arrived at Chenango Forks School.
Tonight's dinner was catered to us by the hospitable members of Valley CRC of Binghamton: "Spiedies", spuds, salads & desert (brownies & ice cream) went down so well. "Spiedies" are a regional delicacy and consist of smoked pork and chicken kabobs served on italian bread after the meat cubes were removed from the sticks. Apparently the name was deducted from the Italian word "spiedo" that means "spit-roasted". All these meat sticks were cooked in an enormous wood fired smoke-oven built on a trailer, pulled behind a mini ex-school bus painted black.
Some rain was forecasted to possibly start during the night, and a 30% chance of rain for the next 2 days. I look forward to the last 3 days of cycling, as it is so pleasant to do in this gorgeous
part of the country! Kobie is having fun marking the roads and enjoys his job as he loves
playing with his Tom-Tom GPS.
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