So, we ran a test today.
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Since my “meltdown” back in August ’23, I’ve done very little motorcycling and it’s been entirely solo rides … not “two-up” as would be the case if we had tried to do our  Nova Scotia trip on the big bike. I haven’t been confident that I could really handle the thing with my bad shoulder while loaded AND carrying a passenger. But, Karen really loves riding on the back, so today, I pulled the rack off the Beast and reinstalled the luggage plate, sissy bar, and rear seat and we took a ride.
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​We went over to the Public Market parking lot to test. At the lot, Karen parked HER motorcycle and climbed aboard mine. We did a number of loops around the lot, weaving around corners and making sudden stops to approximate what it would feel like on the road. The only trouble I had was when Karen had to climb on and off. That tells me Karen will need to mount from the right side of the bike to avoid me needing to steady the bike with my right shoulder.

We headed back home, parked Karen’s bike (a Honda Rebel 250 … very nice), and took off on the Beast. It was a cool ride in the wind and we cut it short, but first stopped at Schutt’s Apple Farm to grab some cider.

It worked well. I felt good. No pain, no problem, except for the challenge Karen has swinging her leg way up around the back of the bike. We’ll try other techniques next time.

So now my brain is spinning with ideas for more “bike” trips. Which “bike” wins 1st dibs? Hmmm … this looks like fun!

https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/sierra-cascades/

Sorry Beast!

Oh yeah … lemme give a shout-out to MaxBMW. (https://www.maxbmw.com) in Troy NY!  Since my local BMW shop closed a few years back, leaving me w/o a local BMW service center, I contacted Max and arranged to have them come pick up my beemer in one of their Sprinter vans, do the 90,000 miles servicing, and return the bike a week later. Very Cool. Purrs like a kitten. Thanks Guys!

b

​Day 1: Thursday, Aug. 1
    Started out at 8:30am. Long hot driving day from ROC to Portland Maine. Day’s Inn Motel and dinner at a steakhouse.
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Day 2: Friday, Aug. 2
    On the road at 8am and crossed into Canada at Calais (US) / St. Stephen (CA) around 1pm where we stopped at an ATM to grab Canadian cash, a drug store for Karen to purchase a knee brace, and the Chocolate Museum to make our own chocolate bark … which didn’t last long (Brian’s, anyway).  After lunch in the park, we continued on to the ferry terminal at Black’s Harbor and discovered you need a reservation for the ferry to Grand Manan Island. Rather than wait on standby, we decided to catch GM Island on the way home, and continued on. Drove to Sussex NB and got a room at the Fairway Inn.

​Day 3: Saturday, Aug. 3
    Hot breakfast at the Inn’s restaurant, then headed to the Fundy National Park where we did some hiking. Stopped for lunch in the fishing town of Alma, then went looking for the Cape Enrage Lighthouse. Missed the (unmarked) side road to the lighthouse and continued on toward Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, famous for showcasing the extreme changes in tides and surreal rock formations. We scored a campsite at Ponderosa Pines CG which lies next to the park and hiked a two mile trail that leads to the parking lot of the park. We witnessed the “beach” at low tide.

​Day 4: Sunday, Aug. 4
    We had time to kill until high tide, so again went looking for the Cape Enrage Lighthouse … in the dense fog. We found it before opening time and met a hiker at the entrance. Romain, from France, has been hitchhiking all over New Brunswick and asked for a ride back to the highway. Still had time to kill, so we shuttled her back to the highway and the lighthouse park was open when we returned. Took a tour of the property and had lunch before returning to Hopewell Rocks. This time, we saw the “rocks” at high tide and the change was amazing!

Still thinking “tides”, we headed toward Burntcoat Head Park in Nova Scotia, site of the world’s highest tides … slightly higher than at Hopewell Rocks. On the way, we stopped to eat at Frieze & Roy’s “Mudslide Cafe” in Maitland NS, claimed to be the oldest General Store in Canada. As we left, violent storms set in, so seeing its track on radar, we scrapped the idea of camping at Burntcoat and headed toward Halifax. Safely arriving at a motel in town, we got two nights there so that we could spend the next day exploring.

​Day 5: Monday, Aug. 5
    Today’s first destination was Peggy’s Cove, perhaps the most visited place in Nova Scotia, and it’s easy to see why. 

Heading back toward town, we found the BLT / Rum Runners / Chain-of-Lakes rail trail and went for our first bike ride (30 miles) in Canada. 

The trail appears to be part of a long distance trail network that reaches all the way to Yarmouth at the southwest end of Nova Scotia. We had lunch at a coffee / bike shop right on the trail and chatted with a bike tourist using that trail before heading back to the motel. Great trail!

​Day 6: Tuesday, Aug. 6
    Today was a cloudy / rainy day and not far southwest along the coast from Halifax is the town of Lunenburg, a historic fishing port and a UNESCO Heritage site. We walked the streets, visited the harbor, and had the greatest seafood chowder (haddock, scallops, shrimp and more) at the Old Fish Factory … our first “seafood experience” of the trip!

Weaving around the bay, we got to the Ovens Natural Park and scored a (dry) cabin for the night. The privately owned park experienced a gold rush in the past, but also highlights a rocky coastline with caves that go “boom” when ocean waves plow into them.

After hiking the trails to the caves, we had dinner at the cafe where local talent plays nightly. What’s interesting is WHO the local talent is. The family that owns the park are musicians, and after seeing a CD for sale, we realized that the family is Harry Chapin’s family, originally from New York.

​Day 7: Wednesday, Aug. 7
    Breakfast in the cafe, then back across the island to the Bay of Fundy and the Digby Neck. After taking two free ferries to reach the end of the neck, we got to Brier Island and biked nearly every ridable road, paved and otherwise, on the island … a whole 14 miles! 

We got a room at the Brier Island Lodge which was up on a ridge providing a beautiful view of the harbor. After dinner, we took the car back out to the lighthouse to watch a spectacular cloudless sunset.

​Day 8: Thursday, Aug. 8
    Perhaps Karen’s most important stop of the trip is getting to Digby today, but on the way back up the Digby Neck on the “Long Island” is the hiking trail to “Balancing Rock”. Beautiful sunny day and a great little hike.

Getting to Digby, we got lucky and scored a motel room right on the main street. Lucky, because we’re in town for the town’s most important event of the year … the Digby Scallop Festival. Digby is the home of a huge scallop fishing trawler fleet and Digby Scallops are world renowned in all the best restaurants. They had fireworks to kick off the festival and we watched from the motel’s deck on the shoreline.

​Day 9: Friday, Aug. 9
    We stayed two nights in Digby to make the most of the weekend festival, but it was a rainy day to start, so we drove up to Annapolis Royal to see the tidal power station and stopped at another chocolate shop before returning to Digby in time for the real festivities. Hiking the local rail-trail, watching a scallop shucking competition, eating cupfuls of freshly fished and bar-b-qued scallops, watching the foam party then going to a restaurant after and ordering bacon-wrapped scallops made for a pretty nice day.

​Day 10: Saturday, Aug. 10
    We were leaving today, but the festival continued Saturday with a breakfast served by local pirates.

​Today was a mostly rainy driving day, all the way from Digby to St. Peters on Cape Breton Island where we scored the last available room at the Bras d’Or Lakes Inn.

​Day 11: Sunday, Aug. 11
    The reason to stop at St. Peters is St. Peters Canal National Historic Site. As a “Canal Buff”, I found this canal and its unique lock pretty impressive. On the south end of the canal is the Atlantic Ocean with its tides. On the north end of the canal, is the Bras d’Or Lake. At high tide, the lake is at a lower level than the ocean. At low tide, the reverse, so the lock was built with twice the number of gates as a regular lock, but facing opposite ways. Very ingenious!

After checking that out, we headed north along the lake toward Sydney, and went just beyond that to Grace Bay where we checked out the Cape Breton Miners Museum. This facility is above a now defunct coal mine that stretches deep under the Cabot Strait toward Newfoundland. We had a tour of the mine itself by a retired coal miner, and he had stories!

From there, we traveled to Baddeck which is kinda the start point of the Cabot Trail, and we found a really cool campground on the shore of Bras d’Or Lake.

​Day 12: Monday, Aug. 12
    Great weather today as we started our loop of the Cabot Trail. After getting out of town, we dropped Karen off at Lake O’Law Provincial Park and she started a 32 mile bike ride from there to Cheticamp on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

At Cheticamp, we stopped to eat yet another round of seafood chowder before heading into the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

 The road heading up the east side of park facing the Gulf is too spectacular to imagine. I elected not to ride this section due to the lateness of the day as it would have run us late to get to our destination for the day at Meat Cove. But I did hop out to ride up the dirt road to Meat Cove coming off the loop road. Even that 8 mile stint was a challenge due to the crazy hilly terrain. Beautiful, no doubt.

Karen arrived at Meat Cove first, had already got us a campsite, visited the beach, and our dinner was lobster rolls from the food truck parked there. Sweet! Beautiful evening and sunset at the northernmost point of Cape Breton Island.

​Day 13: Tuesday, Aug. 13
    A gorgeous sunrise started our day as we left camp.

Headed down the east side of the park facing the Atlantic, we first stopped at a trailhead and hiked out to an overlook above Ross Beach on the Atlantic. 

Looking for a breakfast place, we found a chocolate shop along the highway and stocked up. It was an off and on rainy day but we were driving toward our next adventure. Arrived in Pictou NS, found a campground on the edge of town, did laundry, and I finally got my first “Halifax Style Donair” (do a web search!) at a pizza joint in town. 

Back at camp, I saw that a section of the Trans-Canada Trail was passing just out the back of our campground so I went riding before sunset.

​Day 14: Wednesday, Aug. 14
    We’re in Pictou because the ferry to Prince Edward Island leaves from Caribou just north of there. We caught the ferry (w/a reservation!) to PEI and headed north to the Stanhope Campground at PEI National Park, right on the north shore facing the gulf. 

The park runs for 37 miles (sorry … we’re in Canada … 60KM) along the north shore highlighting the sand dunes in the area near our CG, and includes the farm known in the book “Anne of Green Gables”, which we weren’t particularly interested in since we didn’t read it. But we did enjoy some local humorous word-play.

We set up camp and went riding! Along the shoreline, we rode as far west as we could before reaching Robinson’s Island Trail System … A natural area with single-track trails looping the island and includes a few “challenges” for mountain bikers. Returning to camp, I continued for some extra miles (35 total) of exploring before getting back just before sundown.

​Day 15: Thursday, Aug. 15
    Today, we did a short drive over to Kensington, extracted the bikes from the back, and hopped on the Confederation Trail to Summerville. The Confederation Trail system on PEI is a network of main and branch rail-trails covering the length (273K) of PEI.

Had we planned it out, it might have been great to make a few days of it, but we got in 20 miles in beautiful weather and even made a stop at yet another bike and coffee shop along the way.

Time to head south. We returned to the car, loaded up and crossed the (8 mile long) Confederation Bridge ($40) to New Brunswick on our way back toward Blacks Harbor and Grand Manan. Grabbed a campsite at New River Beach Provincial Park, just a short drive from the Blacks Harbor ferry port.
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Day 16: Friday, Aug. 16
    This time, we have 11:30am reservations on the ferry and made it to Grand Manan Island. 

First order of business is grab a tent site at the Anchorage Provincial Park, THEN pull out the bikes! We rode back up to the ferry port and out to the trailhead to Swallowtail Lighthouse where Karen hiked out for a closer look while I waited, nursing a weird kink in my hip. 

Had dinner at The Seaquel restaurant right opposite the ferry terminal before heading back to camp (20 miles today) and sharing the campground with the hoard of bunnies who seem to own the place. Cute.

​Day 17: Saturday, Aug. 17
    Super foggy in the morning, we broke camp, left the car in the visitor’s lots near the CG office and biked over to the Ingall’s Head ferry terminal to catch a lift to White Head Island. It’s a 3 mile, 1/2 hour ride on the free ferry to White Head and we rode pretty much everything rideable on the island before returning to the terminal and back to Grand Manan.

Back on Grand Manan, we took a “shortcut” back to the car via a trail along the coast. The trail turned out NOT to be particularly bike friendly (fortunately at low tide) as we ended up hike-a-biking along the beach with loose rock, gravel, and sand. What a way to wrap up the biking for the trip!
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Back at the park, we packed up the bikes and headed to the terminal for the ferry ride back to the mainland. It wasn’t far from there to the US border, but it was late enough that we elected to stay at a motel near St. George and cross in the morning.
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Day 18: Sunday, Aug. 18
    Big travel day. No waiting required, we crossed the border right in downtown St. Stephen/Calais. Early Sunday morning, the US border guard was friendly and laid back. Probably sees mostly local traffic between the neighboring towns across the border since the main crossing is outside of town. Traffic, fog and rain made a slow go to Haverhill Massachusetts where we called it a day at a Hampton Inn. Nicest hotel of the trip, yet was shockingly reasonably priced. 

​Day 19: Monday, Aug. 19
    Took off at 8am (after a full breakfast in the dining room) to head west across the state on Route 9, which got us to North Adams in the Berkshires. Of course, we had to climb (uh … drive this time) up the twisties to Mt. Greylock, back down the other side, and then to Williamstown, a gorgeous college town where I introduced Karen to a coffee shop / cafe I stopped at a couple years ago on a bike tour. We crossed the MA/NY border on the Taconic Trail and wiggled through the Troy/Albany area to connect to the NYS Thruway. More heavy rain slowed us down again but we finally pulled into our driveway around 7pm where we found our friend/neighbor/cat sitter finally sitting with the kitties after NOT seeing them for a couple weeks. They’re shy.
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Life is good.

​The Horizons are rated 40-70psi. I started riding them “squeezably soft”, or roughly 25-30psi and I get away with that since I don’t ride this bike “loaded”, I don't ride it on "technical" trails, and I only add 130lbs to the mix. That was wonderful on trail surfaces but sloooooww on pavement. Eats up potholes like candy. That’s cool.

But for road riding, I started ramping up the pressure till I hit 60psi … 10 below upper rating. At that point, I didn’t feel like giving up any more of the nice cushy ride these treads can give, just for an insignificant speed boost. For me, the sweetest riding is right around 45-50psi.

The tire/tube pairing is significantly heavier than the Conti’s and I could feel that getting them spun up to speed. As it was anyway … overall average speed came in lower than average for the Conti’s, but not enough difference to matter.

I still pulled off another century today with tons of daylight left. It was a long-enough ride to honestly say I like the new Horizons enough to leave them on the rest of the summer. Maybe after getting used to the new sneakers, I might adapt and pick up speed. I’ll keep knocking off big rides when I can. Ten centuries so far this year contribute to about 6200 miles riding to date in 2024. Here’s what that looks like from space.

​Of course I carried a different colored torch with me on every ride.  ;-)

My (2nd) Favorite Day each year:  June 21st. The Summer Solistice. The Longest Day!

The BEST day to try a big long ride. If I could struggle through a ride averaging only 10mph overall, I could still technically knock off 150 miles before dark, if I started at sunrise. Yeah, even holding a 10mph overall average for 15 hours in the saddle could get “uncomfortable”, particularly on a hot & steamy day.

And it was. But I wasn’t shooting for 10mph.

For this ride, I pulled out the carbon FrankenTrek. I rarely ride this abomination of a bike, and with last year’s cassette swap (from a 36T big cog to a 25T), I shouldn’t think it’s a fun bike in the hills. But after doing some “experimenting”, I’ve realized that my overall speeds on this bike tend to negate the losses I have in climbing … assuming I can GET OVER the hill at all.

Last summer (before my meltdown in late August), I had ventured out to do Wayne P’s “5 and 50” club ride, so named by the primarily two speeds you’ll experience on the ride: 5mph climbing, and 50mph descending. I tried it with the teeny - tiny cassette and survived.

Last week, the club ran the Lima-Canadice Lake ride which again, has some good hills, but the “extra credit” version of the route offers up the extra challenge of climbing up out of Springwater. And one has three choices … Wheaton Hill, East Street, or Marvin Hill. I rode UP East Street last year, and Wheaton is considered the easiest way up, but I had my heart set on Marvin. Haven’t climbed it in years, but the last time was certainly with low gears. Not this time.

After a stop for drinks and snacks, the test began. No sooner than we turned UP onto Marvin, I dropped into my lowest gear and began the long steep climb … out of the saddle all the way to the top. Only because the bike is so light. (Well, it doesn’t hurt that I’m only 130 pounds, even if I do look emaciated.)

I’m convinced that the bike will be an advantage for a long fast ride, even if it isn’t as comfy as other bikes in the stable. So off I go …

The plan was to inject some hill climbing into the route,  because totally flat rides are boring. The Bristol Hills answered the call and were early enough in the ride that I recovered quickly once I got to the Byrne Dairy in C’Daigua (Stop #2 @ 52 miles) and got my chocolate milk. And a chicken salad sammy. I did stop briefly at the c-store back in Bristol Center (Stop #1 @ 42 miles) to restock water and grab a drink. I did NOT stop in Cheshire, even with the tease of a good cookie or slice of pizza. Not this time.

After C’Daigua, the pace picked up. I blew thru Seneca Castle, Geneva, and made Waterloo (1/2 way point) in short order. I swung south and approached Waterloo on Marshall Road so as to swing by my old home.

We moved into that house when I was 10 years old. The day the moving truck arrived, and as soon as my bike came off the truck, I was GONE exploring the new town and guess what I discovered just a few blocks from home!

The coolest damn thing! Watching boats go through the lock was the most fascinating thing this 10-year old from the mountains of Pennsylvania had ever seen! I still love watching the operation.

I turn north out of Waterloo toward Clyde, but avoid the traffic of NY414 and take a sequence of back roads. Great riding and no cars for miles! In Clyde (Stop #3 @ 92 miles) I have to refill water and take a short break in the (shaded) town square for a Coke. More quiet backroads from there, up through Rose and toward Wolcott. Crossing Lasher Road, I see this sign again …

Between the Mormons and Quakers and Spiritualists and Neversweats and who knows what else around here, I think a lot of people in the region were sharing the same (tainted?) water source.

Wolcott was the last stop (#4) at 105 miles in. I remembered that I STILL had a half package of Nacho Cheese Combos in my camelback, so I washed those (mostly) down with another coke from the Fastrac c-store on the corner at RT104.

(I STILL didn’t finish the bag … but I’m on it now.)   ;-)

From Wolcott to ROC, I’ve still got another 45 miles, but heading straight out to Sodus and Old Ridge Road, It’s a smooth, fast, straight shot home, no navigation required.

Correction … my last LAST stop was west of Williamson where I spotted a little boy with his mom, in their yard facing the road, and the kid was selling Lemonade! I blew past but quickly turned around. Best Damn Lemonade Ever! The day was hot but Lemonade was icy cold!

By the time I got back into town, I was so “outta gas”, I didn’t even think of stopping for a milkshake at Netsins. THAT was a long hot ride.

Here’s the stats:

Not surprising, today is a day off the bike and I’m still hungry. 152 miles powered by a bowl of Cherrios in the morning, a chicken sandwich, and a 1/2 bag of Nacho Cheese Combos did the job, but I DO need to eat better.

Well … I just finished the Combos!

It’s a good thing we get rainy days at least once in a while. Not just because we appreciate the abundance of fresh water supplies in the northeast (as compared to all the fighting over water out west), but it forces me to take a break in the riding and WRITE a little about how great riding is here in (Upstate / Western / Finger Lakes / Genesee Valley / whatever you call it) New York. Today’s “impressive” storm systems blowing thru made cycling less than ideal. 

(Although, fair enough, I decided to bag the riding today even before I saw the weather reports because my RBD raised it’s ugly head again at 2am last night. Nuff said!)

Unlike a couple days ago. A wonderful spring day … full sunshine, warm temps, (a good night’s sleep) and a bit of firm westerly winds to struggle against until I turned back east toward home and took full advantage of the tailwinds. I had plotted out a route for my 5th century ride (100+ miles) this season, but it turned out better than I had planned. Full disclosure: I DID start soon after sunrise, “just in case” I was feeling good and weather cooperated.

​It did!

Best way outta town heading west? Up to the lake and out the LOSP Trail.

Soon after getting out of town, I discovered why I’ve been battling a strange behavior in my rear shifting lately, even after cleaning the bike … yes, once in a while … and making several stops to mess with barrel adjustments. A strand of the shift cable was broken and kept poking me at the shift lever. Not sure if cable failure was imminent, and I didn’t have a spare with me, but geez … if I can handle riding across the country on a single speed (twice, actually), I’m likely to survive a day in billiards table flat Orleans and Genesee counties with the chain tied up in a middle gear. I wasn’t about to bag it on a perfect day. So, onward ho!

I get out to the Kendall area w/o incident and for my 1st stop of the day about 40 miles out, I swing down “Woodchuck Alley”, a seasonal use road …

… where I stop to eat a goo-pack to hold me till my destination, and pause at the supposedly haunted Beechwood Cemetery. 
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I DO find it interesting that nearly ALL the gravestones face west. THAT’s spooky.

Soon after, I’m headed south toward the Erie Canal and discover how I’m gonna title this ride.

Thereafter, I’m on Keitel Road and unsure if I can get on the EC trail from there. Nope! The bridge over the canal doesn’t have an access path to the trail, but crossing the bridge, I find I CAN turn west on an unimproved, yet nicely mowed double track on the south side of the canal.
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Pretty nice stretch leading toward Albion, but I meet up with a family of Canada geese and goslings and Dad wasn’t happy with sharing the trail with me so close to his peeps. He took flight and charged me! On my right side, I defended myself by swinging at him and threw my shoulder outta whack again.

I limped into Albion (stop #2), took some ibuprofen, and hoped for the best as I headed for Crosby’s … of course.
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Recharged with my high-fat pizza and no-fat milk, I head east, shift UP for the return home and enjoy a half century of tailwinds, smooth roads and almost no traffic. I got back on the Canal Trail in Spencerport, refilled water bottles at the trailhead (Stop #3) and I’m soon back in ROC with 100 miles in well under 8 hours. My planned route had me turning up Clinton Ave back into the city, but there’s no sense quitting this early, so I keep going.

I finally decide to call it a day in Fairport. Stopped (#4) at Perinton Park to lie down and do my stretches. Damn! I had my heart set on a Salty Bread from Amazing Grains but I missed getting to the bakery before closing. So I noodled into Fairport and found that Lift Bridge Lane had finally been resurfaced. Cool! Makes for a nicer ride to TK’s Pizza!

Yeah … my pizza addiction started many decades ago and it’s TK’s fault for being only a few doors away.

From there, I took a convoluted route back thru East Rochester, up East Ave, and stopped the clock at home at 126 miles (200K - a Double Metric Century) in under ten hours!

Whoo-Hoo! And the shift cable held!
Hmmm … what’s next? 150?

Ride On Baby, Ride On!

​Finally inspired to fire up the ‘puter, log in and share a few words. Haven’t posted since back in November ’22, but that doesn’t mean S*&% hasn’t happened. Au contraire, a LOT has been going on, and ’23 was “remarkable”, to put it mildly.

The first 1/2 of the 2023 was jammed packed with lots of great riding … as it typically is in the Finger Lakes / Genesee Valley / Western New York region. 
Nothing particularly novel worth writing about, as my regular followers have “heard it all” by now. And mixed in with all the riding, I was killin’ it at the gym and feeling pretty ripped … for an old guy, anyway.

I was on track for yet another 10,000 miles of biking for the year until “It” happened. Most all of the riding was much like years past: Big mile solo rides on both pavement and trail, plenty of riding with the bike club, and even another great overnight camping ride down the Genesee Valley Greenway to Sonyea State Forest to hang out in the Keshequa Creek gorge.

That’s when “it” dramatically changed the trajectory of the next few months, and potentially the coming 2 or 3 years of my life.

On our way home from camp, almost back in town, I experienced a bout of something in the dehydration / heat exhaustion / heat stroke spectrum that landed me in the hospital for 3 days. Once recovered enough to go home, I spent the next month managing severe neck, back and shoulder pain that I HAD to see my doc about, in addition to serious brain fog.

I’ve recovered from the pain aspect, and it seems I’m mostly recovered from the fog now many months later. But there is a lingering result. Since September of ’23, I’ve had to do daily physical therapy (and will for several years) for a “winging scapula” … a result of nerve damage to the brachial plexus that innervates the subscapularus and teres minor muscle groups, and the long thoracic nerve that innervates the serratus anterior group.

I’ve had TWO MRI’s of the neck, TWO MRI’s of the shoulder, TWO EMG/NCS tests and three different specialists trying to figure out what’s going on. Their best guess of the cause at this point is an autoimmune response that started in the hospital visit. End result: since they can NOT do surgery to fix anything because one of my RBD events could ruin their work, I’m stuck with the long road of physical therapy in hopes that eventually, the nerves will heal on their own and I might recover most (but not all) of my normal shoulder function.

Oh, joy.

So, all this really sucks, but I’m more motivated than ever to get ahead of this. My living room has become a gym of it’s own. But the biking?

Getting back on the bike at first was pretty tough. I’d be in significant pain after only 25-30 miles at first, but like I said, I’m motivated and I’ve been pushing it.

Like back in March, I took my CoMotion Pangea for a trail ride and knocked out my first century of this year.
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​A totally flat ride, but trails were rough enough to bug the shoulder even though I tried to remain upright as much as possible.

And just yesterday (April 10, sunny and 75 degrees!) I took the Rivendell out for a smoother road ride and jammed thru 108 mile hilly century to Naples … to get a slice of meat lover’s pizza at the Crosby’s C-mart. NICE! I came home from that feeling really good!
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To date, (4-10-24) I’ve logged just short of 1900 miles for 2024, and all things considered, I think I’m back on track, and flying with my “wing”!
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​Let’s see what develops in ’24!

So as the weather turns colder, I’ve returned to the gym now that COVID stats have dropped precipitously, and I’m sure to quit going if the numbers start to (inevitably) climb again over the winter. But for now, I’m one of “those people”: a Gym Rat.

I looked at my Ride-With-GPS stats this evening and realize that I’ve made no entries in over a week. I’ve done no real “rides” in 8 days, other than riding to (4 miles) and from the gym (and the coffee shop - bad boy!).

But the snow is starting now.

That changes everything!

B

Next up was a second annual running of our Beechwood State Park overnighter. Same route, same campsite, mostly the same crew, and same great time around the campfire.
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This could get to be a habit.  (OH ... it is!)

Mid-month, we managed to get in another Adventure Ride, but without rescheduling.  Just for kicks, I tried Yet Another bike for this annual suffer-fest, and I found that my “sorta-road-oriented” Rivendell was actually quite a nice ride on this route. But, I confess that over the years, the route of Lyons Hollow has suffered from rural exploitation, and surfaces are “improving” … in the eyes of county DOT’s, I assume. I won’t be shocked to see 75% of LH getting paved over within a few years. It’s already 50/50 dirt/pavement now, up from about 20% when Al Davis 1st suggested a “fun ride” he made up back in ’91!

It’s STILL fun!

The following weekend, we had ANOTHER Adventure ride that did NOT get rained-out! My own sick creation, the “Dirty Vertical” name is entirely descriptive, and THIS ride tends to draw the sick as well as the curious. But it’s worth giving it a shot in the fall when the autumn colors explode on South Hill.
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Of course, I do a ton of riding solo and sometimes I just like to putter around aimlessly on a fat bike. Fat-Bike puttering sometimes ends up pounding my way around in local trails like Tryon Park and enjoying the quiet of the woods, punctuated by the sound of crushing leaves under the tires.
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​Shifting gears from writing about “rides”, I’ll mention an “event” here that was certainly worth riding to: The 30th Anniversary of the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway. Just in time to also celebrate the re-opening of the Ballantyne-to-Canawagus section after getting resurfaced this summer!

​The “Friends” held the party at Johnson Park in Scottsville, but also offered a tour of the historic section of Scottsville, as well as an info-gathering at the now fully cleared Lock Two.
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Back at the party, the celebration HAD to include a cake!
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What I didn’t mention to anyone at the party was that I was gonna be ON the trail for the next two days. The following morning, I packed up my bike, hit the trail and headed for Sonyea State Forest. The trail to Mount Morris provided no surprises (I’ve ridden it how many times?) and I picked up a meatball sub at the Leaning Tower to take to camp with me. But getting down into the gorge requires snaking around past the razor-wire fences of the correctional facility and finding your way down forest roads to find the single track trail and THEN hike-a-biking it down the final slope into the gorge was worth the effort.
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Once in gorge, there’s a single-track trail that leads to the sweetest campsites.

​And of course, there’s plenty of loose fuel around to make The Perfect Campfire Next To The Creek.

I did sleep “well” in terms of my RBD issue, but woke during the night, startled the first time, when I heard slabs of rock falling from the rock wall towering over me across the creek and crashing / splashing quite loudly. This happened at least 7 or 8 times while I was there. Glad I was on THIS side of the creek. When I DID wake up, I had a beautiful view of the sky on a perfectly clear night. And, THIS view when I awoke in the morning.
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Part of the reason for the overnighter was to get another shot at using my new one-person tent that replaces my old ultralight. The ultralight died after almost a decade of hard use. The new one isn’t “ultralight” by any means. In fact, I NEED a more durable tent now, in hopes I don’t destroy it in the event of a nighttime “Dream Enactment Behavior”. For this night, clear, no wind, maybe a low of 50 degrees, I opted to go fly-free to skip condensation issues, but mostly just to stare at the sky.

It was perfect!

In the morning … ahem … in the LATE morning … I finally rolled out of my cozy warm bag around 9am,  broke camp and struggled back out of the gorge.
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In Mount Morris, I stopped for a quick breakfast (egg salad Sammy and a coke) at a c-store and called Karen to let her know I was rolling, as she planned to ride out to meet me. I found her waiting for me at Wadsworth Junction and we rode to the cafe in Scottsville for lunch before the last stretch to home. Another nice day, and I racked up another 100 miles in 2 days.

And then there’s this final October weekend! And when the weather is nice, I KNOW we can expect someone to post club rides even after the “scheduled” ride season calendar has come to an end. Saturday, the Rides Chair posted a 40 miler starting from Scottsville (Geez … you’d think I must live there now). Starting at 11am, the temp was about 50 degrees but warmed up nicely. Great ride, and then I rode home … yeah, up the Greenway! Duh!!

Then Sunday, Kathy R. posts yet another nice 40 mile ride to Cheshire, and yes, after that ride, I rode home again … up the Auburn Trail! I had to. Why?

Because I checked my math last night, checked it again today, and knew what I had to do. I had to do today’s ride, no short cuts, and I HAD to ride home to get the last few miles I needed.

Today, end of October, I scored my 10,000 miles for the year.
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Not too shabby for an old guy?

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​Camping in established campgrounds AFTER-SEASON improves dramatically in some places, with far fewer screaming kids, fighting drunk adults, and noisy RV generators. Oxbow was exceptionally peaceful … once the neighbors’ dog got pulled into his tent to stop his barking. We had a good night’s sleep.
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In the morning, I had a serious craving for a Real Breakfast and told Karen I’d like to find a basic breakfast diner. Sure enough, within minutes of leaving OxbowCG, we came across a Real Diner, that served Real Breakfast!
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​I was happy! And that breakfast held me till we got to the coast!

We checked out town, had a snack at the end of the pier, and Karen got in some water time … her first ever swim in the Atlantic!
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​That evening, there was a rider’s dinner at the start point and we got lobster rolls, of course.
When in Maine …

Part Two: The Ride

I got up early to get to the Century ride start (7:30am) but first joined plenty of fellow riders out by the beachfront for good reason.

At the century ride start, it appeared that 90% of the bikes at the start were carbon. So, it’s not surprising that my artistically lugged and brazed steel framed Rivendell drew plenty of compliments … and comments.
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​I can imagine a few guys in the crowd thinking “He can’t really mean to do a century, on THAT!” Well, yes, but not a FAST century by this group’s standards. Certainly not Gary’s and Larry’s speed. I confess, I left the carbon bike at home specifically so I wouldn’t be tempted to hang onto Gary’s wheel again, and pay the price later. And Sammy can handle the next component of our vacation plans much better anyway. My decision was validated when I arrived at a rest stop where I overheard staff talking about “those guys from Rochester NY who hammered out a five hour century last year, and maybe stopped … once?”

Yeah. Larry and Gary.
No. I ain’t gonna even consider that. I gotta walk later, ya know.

​At the start line up, I moved back into the second half of the crowd (117, did I hear?) and I’m sure Larry and Gary were up front. Off we go on a gorgeous day. Roads were great …

​… and rest stops were well stocked, including pickle juice! But the hospitality was over the top! Staff were asking people what they like, so as to better serve riders next year, and I confessed my addiction to peanut M&M’s. Finding none, the young lady apologized profusely, but while I was scouring the selections, she went hunting, ran up to me and granted my wish!

​I think I know where I can stock up on protein next year! On toward the finish, the route swings through Kennebunkport and visits the coast line for a couple stretches. I stop briefly at a food vendor’s cart to grab a cold coke and check out the surf.

​As I pull into the last rest stop, I see Karen who’s getting ready to take off. Karen did the Metric Century, and the two routes rejoin so that the rest stop serves both groups. We rode to the finish together …

​… and enjoyed more hospitality in the form of free food trucks, free beer and wine.

​And a free concert by a group that plays “my age” (not new-age) music! I was feeling particularly happy between the terrific music and knowing I finished the century in under 7.5 hours! Perhaps a personal record. Don’t know what got into me, but I had to go dance.

We followed up this great time by joining the rest of our “Pedalers for Parkinson’s”  team at a condo for more food and drink and good time.

Part Three: Acadia National Park

Again, no rushing in the morning, but we have our sights set on a short stop in Freeport Maine on our way north to Acadia National Park. We’ve been there before, and it seems like it’s expanded, but still, it’s an adventure all it’s own to visit the L.L.Bean HQ.
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​We found a local place to grab some breakfast before heading out and made our way to the island. Without a “plan” for lodging, we were wingin’ it again when we ran across a KOA right on the island. I’m no fan of grossly overpriced KOA’s but Karen’s mention of “showers” sealed it quickly. I’ll give KOA’s the credit for having clean and functional facilities.

Full stop.

Our assigned site was in a non-RV section … close to a marsh. Yeah, mosquitos. Crying baby on the opposite side of the loop. No privacy with sites crammed together. At least people respected quiet hours.

Except the baby.

In the morning, warm and sunny, Job #1 is to ride Cadillac Mountain. Drivers inside the park were generally behaving, but they did get frequent reminders.

​Turns out, the road to the top isn’t particularly steep so we got there much quicker than I expected.

​Being a clear day, we had excellent views.

​The ride back down off the mountain was as unimpressive as the climb. Not super fast, but a nice winding road with few obstacles. We went back down to the visitor center and got maps of the Carriage Roads that everyone talks about. Sure enough, these roads are a pure joy to ride.

​There are roughly 45 miles of carriage roads open to bikes in the park. We did the northern half after riding up Cadillac, and saved the southern half for the next day. The second day started out cool and foggy and got progressively more damp in the afternoon. We decided to do a loop around the island and visited an old, still operating lighthouse.

​Dinner was at a bar-b-que place we discovered on the way back to camp. Our dinners for the two previous nights were in Bar Harbor, a short drive from camp. Crazy place. Cruise ships dump their guests here to wander the streets full of craft and souvenir shops, and restaurants and breweries. $$$$$

Part Four: Return Home

Once again, no hurry to get home, so we headed out across New Hampshire. We were wingin’ it, yet again, and considered visiting Mount Washington, since it’s practically on the way. We were concerned about the wind as we drove that direction. And knowing that weather is much different on top than down in Gorham, we stopped at the town park to have a picnic and visit the info-booth. We thought about the cog-railway to the summit. We could simply drive up too. But when I looked up the weather station on top, it was reporting 83+ winds. Add the wind chill to current 40 degree temps and we agree we aren’t prepared for the arctic.

So we head on. And since we’re “almost there” anyway, let’s go do the Kanc! Yeah … The Kancamagus Highway. OK, it ain’t Deal’s Gap, but I HAVE done it on the motorcycle and enjoyed it immensely. Some day, I’ll do it on a bicycle. Kinda like a rite of passage, even though I’ve had plenty of those.
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​Entering Vermont, we wrap up the day in a frantic search for a room, since we’re not in the mood to deal with a wet tent. We scored a room at the Inn of Montpelier in the capital of Vermont and found dinner at a place just down the street. All good.

In the morning, we return to New York across the Lake Champlain Bridge at Crown Point …

​… and stop briefly to check out the Champlain Memorial Lighthouse.

The final stretch to home ran us through the familiar Adirondacks and Tug Hill Plateau.

The first three days of August were on the return from the Vermont tour. Six days in August, I didn't ride at all. But I got in a couple Centuries this month, and I've already blown by 2021's total miles ... by the end of August! At this rate, 10,000 miles for the year is a slam-dunk (barring any "issues") and maybe even beat 2020 (11,111.1 miles) ... We'll see!

And to think we used to do all this on paper ... before GPS, before bike computers, before mechanical odometers. Using state highway maps, we'd count the miles by measuring the mile-per-inch scale on a string, and using the string to follow the path we took.

No batteries required. No internet service. Full analog. Quaint, 'eh?

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