Number 20

So, I've doubled the number of Century rides I originally planned to do for 2020. I figured ten was plenty, but what the heck … Covid and all. And like many others, I had a "planned" route for today, but strayed from it again. No rules. Green line (102 miles) was the plan; red line (116 miles) was the reality.

It started late again … 7:00am … and I got through the city and Pittsford before traffic picked up. I've come to rely on getting in and out of the city on the multitude of trails we have around here, and the Auburn Trail through Fishers and Victor has had a number of improvements in recent times that made this morning's escape a real joy.

That got me all the way out to Route 332 leading to Canandaigua, but I backtracked a bit to avoid the 4-laner, and snuck into Canandaigua past the airport. Of course, no visit to Canandaigua is complete without a stop at Dalai Java for a coffee and an extra treat of a chocolate chip muffin today. That's the rocket fuel I needed. I headed to the lake where I was recognized by a lady who had seen me way outside town.

She was surprised to see how far I had travelled, but was really shocked by hearing I rode from Rochester, and especially where I was headed. I often get tickled by the response we get from non-cyclists when they hear about what is commonplace among us. Admiration when they hear of a 30 mile ride, incredulous when we mention a century, and thinking we need professional help if we wax on about cross-county tours. Always worth a giggle.

I headed up the hill toward Gorham and discovered that CR18 had been freshly paved nearly the whole way, and with a slight tailwind, it was glorious! (Once over the hilltop, anyway.) Not much happening in Gorham so no stop there. But I did stop and wander around a bit in Geneva. First stop was on Linden Street to get a shot of a gorgeous wall mural …

… another stop at the lake shore, of course, but then a surprise stop on Genesee Street where I discovered an old train station for the Lehigh Valley. And I could be wrong, but it looks occupied! At least there are two mailboxes at the driveway. Very cool. I can see myself getting to bed late after scouring the interwebs trying to find out what's up with that.

Leaving Geneva and heading north to Newark had me zig-zagging a series of quiet country farm roads till reaching the Erie Canal. Needed a stop, only my second for the day, and grabbed a coke, salty chips, and extracted a banana from my bag before it got smooshed too bad. By this time, I knew I'd be over the planned 102 miles by the time I got home and it would be closer to "rush hour", so I just decided to snag the canal trail back to the city.

Just past the Dog Days of Summer, today offered gentle (if any) winds, mild temps, not too much sun, and very little "climbing" of note and very little sweating, so today qualifies as just a lazy sleepy bike day.

​Hmmm …. do I stop at 20?