Riley’s injuries appear to be worse than originally thought. His right leg continued swelling until the skin was stretched taut from his upper thigh to his knee. After Raquel, the camp nurse and I convinced him it needed to be done, I Googled Urgent Care X-rays Near Me and found one 10 miles away in Webster, NY. Bill, the night driver,who happens to be Raquel’s husband, loaded us in a van and drove us to Urgent Care Now where he was seen by a PA and X-rays were taken.
The PA said it’s just soft tissue damage so she wrapped it in ace bandages to help manage the swelling. It’s huge. She’ll call us if the radiologist finds anything. She said his big quad muscle probably protected his femur.
The rain is over, hallelujah! Overcast skies turned to partly sunny by mid- afternoon, perfect for a long ride day. Today’s 62 mile route went from Medina to Fairport with no road riding other than getting from camp to the trailhead in the morning.
It seems like everyone got up early today. I guess those who camped inside the school were ready to get out as soon as the sun came up. I can’t imagine that would be better than sleeping in your own tent, rain notwithstanding. The gymnasium looked like a homeless encampment with wet clothes hanging from every surface, sleeping pads and bags of belongings stashed in every corner.
I refrained from photographing personal spaces but this gives you an idea
After breakfast we loaded up our gear (except my bath towel I later discovered) and were on the bikes a little before 7AM. My rain jacket felt nice in the cool morning air and riding was easy as we made our way from camp to the canal and for the first few miles until we reached the canal. A stiff headwind for the first 30 miles made it feel a little harder than yesterday. The flat wide trail of crushed gravel sits higher than the canal on the right and open farm land on the left with nothing to provide a windbreak other than occasional clumps of trees. I ditched the rain jacket/wind sail and gained about 5 mph. What a difference that made.
The first event of the morning was riding through the Village of Albion, home of Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School which is the oldest continuously-run Santa school in the world. I’ll bet you didn’t know that! Santa himself was on hand to greet us with jolly good watermelon, bananas and bottled water. It’s so nice to see the locals come out to welcome us to their community. Everyone is so friendly and helpful.
Energized by their good will and generosity, we continued on. I was feeling really good and rode a little ahead. Riley makes a bigger target than I do so I had it a little easier in the wind. I passed a few groups of riders and was cruising along in the left lane when a fellow cyclist came alongside at a nice clip and said hello. Not wanting to be passed myself, I picked up the pace and we chatted for a bit. Serge and I communicated surprisingly well considering the wind noise, his strong French accent and my (hopefully not too strong) Southern one. I was relieved to be able to keep up with him for several miles but I don’t think I could have kept it up for the next 50 miles.
When we arrived in Rockport an even bigger crowd cheered as we rode in. People of all sorts, musicians, men, women and children, young and old rolled out the welcome. There were stacks of postcards to write to family and friends that they will provide postage for and send for you. Everyone is SO nice.
There are so many beautiful areas along the canal. The morning rest stop in Holley was one of those. The landscaping is gorgeous with lots of flowers and a gazebo overlooking the water. By that time I was really hungry, having only had watermelon since breakfast so a nice fat cinnamon sugar donut really hit the spot. Then I had a second one just to be sure. Yum!
Lunch was at Barton’s Hots, a roadside hot dog/burger stand in Spencerport. We had delicious sausage dogs prepared to order, Cheetos and Diet Pepsi. Lunch of champions.
Riding so long on the gravel path really made me appreciate the occasional stretches of pavement where less drag made it was easy to pick up speed. Eventually the trail became all pavement but was also curvy, hilly, rough and bumpy in a few spots.
The afternoon rest stop had the usual offerings AND hot coffee. Where was this yesterday when I was cold and wet? I would have killed for a cup of coffee then. Today, not so much. I was just ready to get the ride done and have a hot shower.
We passed an REI right on the canal trail in Rochester. We knew it was there and had been thinking of things we needed to get for the last couple of days. The only thing on my list is a new inflatable camp pillow since mine blew out Saturday night. Too bad I didn’t know then that my bath towel was MIA. The entrance is a little past the front of the store so I rode on and turned in just about the time Riley, who had ridden up the grassy bank instead, crashed beside the bike rack right in front of the store. Actually, he stopped while his shoe was still clipped to the pedal and he fell right over just like the old guy on a tricycle on Laugh-In (for those of you old enough to know what I’m talking about). The cyclists who were hanging out chatting ran over to help him up. Poor fella, how embarrassing. He scraped his knee and banged up his outer thigh on a corner of the concrete patio. He’s really sore and limping badly. I tried to convince him to take the SAG wagon but he persevered and rode the last 15 miles to camp.
One last stop in Pittsford to feed the ducks and share an ice cream cone before we arrived at camp. As luck would have it, the camp doctor and her husband pitched their tent right beside us. She took a look at his injuries and gave him a few doses of Ibuprofen for tonight and tomorrow morning. We both felt better after showers and enjoyed a delicious barbecue dinner with our fellow cyclists.
Another great day in the books! I doubt we’ll have any trouble falling asleep tonight.
Around 8 PM last night when the sun started sinking and the air turned cool, we suddenly realized the sleeping bag somehow didn’t make it into the duffle we’d so carefully packed. It wasn’t as if we were totally without cover but a single cotton sheet just didn’t seem like enough. Fortunately there was a Target about a mile and a half down the road so we hopped on our bikes and returned just before dark with a cozy fleece blanket. Crisis averted.
Notice the cute polka dot fitted sheet I made for the sleeping pads. Almost like being home.
Remember when I said we scouted out a place to pitch the tent away from annoying lights? Yep, that’s right. A big bright light suddenly turned on about 15 feet from our tent, illuminating the inside like a hotel bathroom nightlight. After some experimentation I found that bath towel draped between the tent and the rain fly is a great tent-darkening shade.
With all that settled, we slept pretty well if you don’t count the freight trains, occasional sleep talker and guys next door who stay up way too late talking really loudly.
It really wasn’t as bad as it sounds. I felt great when we got up around 6 AM, dressed, packed up our gear, loaded it on truck #1 and joined our fellow cyclists for breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, waffles, croissants, scones, yogurt, fresh fruits and veggies, oatmeal, juice, milk and hot coffee.
After breakfast we hopped on our bikes, loaded the route on the Garmin and took off. It took a few minutes to find the right balance between watching the map and navigation prompts on the Garmin, looking where I’m going and noticing the route markers painted on the pavement. Once I settled into a rhythm it was nice to just enjoy the ride. We rode through a beautiful Japanese Garden and followed the paved path along the canal and through a really nice neighborhood for awhile. The route followed the canal on a mostly paved bike path with occasional sections on the road. I’d say maybe a third or better of the 49’ish miles were on the road. The route was well marked, flat and easy to follow. The sections of bike path were mostly paved or crushed gravel. Geese also love to use the path. We had to navigate through a few goose obstacle courses this morning.
With such an early start, we made it to the morning rest stop at mile 17 by 8:30 AM. I wasn’t hungry but those port-a-johns were a welcome sight after having 3 cups of coffee with breakfast. My relief was short lived. Stepping out, I slipped and smashed my knee against the rigid plastic doorframe, leaving a bleeding gash on my left knee. Fortunately first aid was nearby and they fixed me up with antiseptic and New Skin liquid bandage. Naturally, Riley immediately snapped a photo and posted it on Facebook before my new skin had time to dry.
The weather was great for the first half of the ride with overcast skies and mild temps. It was barely after 10:00 when we arrived in downtown Lockport, too early for lunch and too early for our favorite artisan ice cream shop to be open. Bummer! We settled for hot coffee and shared cinnamon raisin bagel instead.
Downtown Lockport is pretty cool. You can watch boats traveling up and down the canal through a series of locks that fill with water to raise the boat high enough to drive into the next lock and then it closes and fills to match the level of the next. Last year we rode a boat through the locks but today we were happy just to watch a gondola make it’s journey.
A light drizzling rain started falling about the time we left Lockport. The trail was mostly crushed gravel and followed alongside the canal to the right and farmland to the left. It was very pretty. A steady light rain was falling by the time we got to the PM rest stop in Middleport. We stood under a tree to eat some delicious watermelon with the bagel sandwiches we brought from Lockport.
Too bad the bakery was closed for renovation
Tonight’s overnight was just a few more miles down the trail at Clifford H Wise Middle School in Medina. I was surprised to find we were one of the first riders to arrive. Tent City, the sea of rentals for people who’d rather have someone else do the dirty work, was still under construction. All of the bags from trucks 1, 2 and 3 were unloaded and lined up in long tarp covered rows.
Carefully, we lifted tarp after tarp, often spilling rivers of collected rain water off the sides until we finally found ours. With a light rain continuing to fall, we opted to pitch the tent before retrieving the other bags so we’d have a dry place to put them. It felt nice to have things all set up, ready for another evening.
More riders trickled in as we explored the campus. One lady was covered head to butt in mud slung up by her rear tire. Even her ponytail was crusted in dried mud. Ugh, so glad we were at the front of the pack before the trail got wet and muddy.
We scouted out the site and decided to move the tent closer to the showers, food and indoor bathrooms. I really don’t want to risk another port-a-john mishap in the middle of the night! Now that I’ve discovered the room-darkening towel trick I’m not so worried about close proximity to street lights. Also, it’s pretty much impossible to find a dark spot on a school campus anyway.
One benefit of arriving early is no waiting for the shower. Since middle schools don’t have locker rooms, the shower truck is the only option tonight. They’re actually cleaner and nicer than most locker room showers, it’s just that there are fewer of them. It feels great to be warm and dry again.
I’m sitting at a table in a hallway of the school charging my phone and catching up on writing while Riley takes a nap in the tent. Lots of people have opted to bring their sleeping pads and bags inside to camp in the hallways or gymnasium so I’m constantly being asked questions like, where is the men’s room? and what time is dinner? I guess they all think I work here.
When sleeping beauty wandered in we joined the rest of the crew for dinner. Once again the catered meal was pretty good. The pasta and meatballs were my favorite, probably because it was warm comfort food.
The internet service inside the school is pretty dismal so I think I’ll call it a night and share more photos from today later on.
We left Charlie parked beside the parking deck that he’s much too tall to enter mostly under an overpass so it wouldn’t get too hot while he waits for us to return in 8 days. Hopefully they won’t tow him away while we’re gone, but that remains a possibility.
The deal was that we could park in the open lot instead of in the deck and pay the daily fee on a phone app since pre-paying isn’t an option for the lot. It sounded like a good plan but when we tried to pay for today, the app just said “location not currently available” no matter what options we tried. Another troubling sign was the construction going on in the roped off area at the far end of the lot. A few other vehicles were scattered int the lot so it looked like it should be open for business but being a Saturday morning there was no one around to verify. On the advice of a young construction worker, we concluded the app wasn’t allowing payment because parking is free on the weekend. Hoping for the best, we grabbed our bags and headed for the shuttle buses.
We had dropped off our bikes and large bags a block or two away at the shuttle bus staging area before parking Charlie. A large group of riders, mostly couples and most definitely on the far side of middle age, were chatting while waiting to board one f three shuttle buses bound for Buffalo. We introduced ourselves to two couples standing in the sun where it was warm (the air was surprisingly cool this morning). Terry and Mike, and Terry and Rick. We’d met one of the Terry’s in the bicycle loading/bus ticket line earlier. Before long we boarded the bus and settled in for the four-hour ride.
Me and Terry #1
At the halfway point we stopped for a nutritious pre-ride lunch at the McDonald’s in the I-90 Travel Plaza. Only the best fuel for this group of athletes! Just to be safe, we grabbed a Butterfinger, a pack of Vienna Fingers cookies and sesame sticks in case we needed a snack back on the bus.
We finally arrived at tonight’s base camp at Nichols School in Buffalo. Everyone retrieved their bags, bikes and scouted out spots to pitch their tents on the beautiful campus. Ours is under a big tree conveniently located near the indoor bathrooms and away from annoying street lights that can keep me awake all night. After getting everything squared away we picked up our packets and shirts at Registration and relaxed before dinner.
Home, sweet tent
Music, wine tasting and meeting new friends rounded out the evening. I think I’ll take a shower and read a little before calling it a night. I’m looking forward to our first day of riding tomorrow.
Tent City for those who don’t want to pitch their own
Parks and Trails NY sponsors an annual 400 mile bike ride along the Erie Canal trail from Buffalo to Albany. We had so much fun riding the first half in 2019 we immediately signed up for the full ride in 2020. Obviously that didn’t happen, because well, you know why. Anyway, here we are ready for Cycle the Erie Canal 2021!
Yesterday we drove Charlie 11 hours from home to upstate NY where we met good friends, Chuck and Maricia Duryea, at his parent’s home and spent the night as guests in his sister and brother-in-law’s home in Kerhonkson, NY. We shared two huge NY subs and chips for dinner and Chuck’s mom went all out with the good napkins and cheesecake for dessert. She’s a lovely woman and it was clear how much Maricia and Chuck adore her.
Deb and Gil were gracious hosts and welcomed us into their home. We visited for awhile, watching a doe come almost up to the deck to eat apples Deb left for her and admiring Gil’s gorgeous landscaping. Soon enough it was bedtime. We’ll drive to Albany in the morning to park Charlie in a long-term parking lot and catch a charter bus to the start of the ride in Buffalo.
It didn’t take us long to fall asleep and we woke up bright and early to quiche coming out of the oven, the aroma of bacon and hot coffee waiting for us downstairs. We promised to come back the next time we’re in the neighborhood and I’m calling dibs on the bedroom with the super comfy mattress!
This is such a beautiful area of the country with rolling hills and gorgeous vistas. They’re very lucky to call this place home.
Spoonfeed 