Day 44 -- I ♥ NY

August 2, 2005

ROUTE: Niagara Falls to Rochester, NY

DISTANCE:  80 miles

WINDS: Nice tailwinds most of the route

WEATHER: Humid; in the high 80s

TERRAIN: Flat west half; rolling east half

TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,830

RIDE OVERVIEW: New York, New York, I ♥ New York!  It's a Dutch dandy of a beautiful state, and also just so happens to be the state I grew up in. But, it is in the eastern time zone, and Mike claims he really starts to drag the last week of this ride every year. He doesn't know if it's just from all the time we've spent on the road already or just the time zone. Whatever it is, it's hard for Mike and many others to get going after our great day off yesterday (no blog entry) in Niagara. Someone quipped at the SS that the worst part about this last week of the ride is that we don't get any more rest days. Ha! 

Yesterday, staff didn't have time to do any sightseeing, but we were able to do our laundry, shop for SS food and supplies, and mark the first 7 miles of the departure route (thank Karen for this) before the 12 new riders came in for orientation and bike assembly. Their bios are complete, so click "Meet the Riders" (page 3) above to meet those who opted to join the ride for the eastern leg. We also had a mishap in the morning. On the way into the restaurant for breakfast, Barb fell and sprained her ankle. This meant a trip to the hospital, endless waiting, and a lot of anxiety as to whether or not Barb would be able to drive Box and set up sag. She is in an ankle brace and on crutches, but this morning she proved that the show will go on when she gamely drove Box to our motel here in Henrietta.

If you've never been to Niagara Falls, you need to go. Even though it is touristy to the tenth, it is still a spectacular natural wonder. It's a shame there is so much commercial building around the natural beauty the falls provide. It's hard to describe the power the water generates as it tumbles down the last few meters before going over the drop. And the colors of the water--and the intensity of the rainbows the spray creates--are ever changing. The water color varies from deepest emerald to deep teal to pale blue-green laced with foam to every shade of blue, even navy.  I don't think I'd ever tire of watching the water. The photo to the right is of the American Falls from Goat Island looking north toward Rainbow Bridge.

Here are a few quick facts about Niagara Falls:

• One fifth of all the fresh water in the world lies in the four Upper Great Lakes, and all the outflow empties into the Niagara River and eventually cascades over the Falls.
• More water flows over Niagara Falls ever year than over any other falls on earth.
• According to the USGS (US Geological Survey), it appears that almost 1/3 of the Canadian Falls lie within U.S. territory.
• The Falls attract about 1 million visitors a year.
• NF is the second largest falls on the globe next to Victoria Falls in South Africa.
• The first person to go over the Falls in a barrel and survive was a 63-year-old female schoolteacher.
• High wire tightrope acts used to be performed across the river. Most notable was "Blondin" who once actually carried his manager across on his back, stopping midway to rest!

I think the riders enjoyed their day off in Niagara.  Our motel was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 and was located within easy walking distance to the falls. If there was anything negative about the motel, it was the fact that it was a high-rise with only elevator access to the ground floors. This made getting luggage and bikes to the rooms and getting everything back down for loading this morning a challenge, particularly for those on recumbents. Bill's big "yellow submarine" just wouldn't fit in the elevator, so he stored it in a room reserved for such things. But this minor inconvenience was worth it because it enabled us to spend the two days conveniently located within sight of all the touristy things to do. We had only to walk across the street to get to Niagara Reservation Park, Goat Island, the American and Horseshoe Falls, the Wax Museum, and the balloon ride.

Because of a storm that blew though in the night, it was misty, close and muggy when we loaded at 6:15 for a 6:30 breakfast at Denny's down the street. You could have cut the air with a knife all day, and I think it's going to be that way until we get to the beach. On the good side, we had a tailwind most of the day and the windy conditions kept the temperatures down somewhat, though it was one of those days where even breathing brings on a sweat.

I was Sweep today so did not leave the restaurant until the last rider was out the door. I rode with several of the new riders for the first few miles and then stopped to catch up a rider who'd had a flat, which Josh was fixing. Then Josh had a flat, so I stopped and rode with him until we caught up with the Dairy Queens. They'd had a flat, so I rolled over and rode the last miles to the SS with them. All these flats were caused by a very bumpy and dirty shoulder in places, particularly along the urban route required to "get out of Dodge."  But riders--old and new--did magnificently all day long, keeping themselves alert and safe on the road.

To those who have never been to New York, it is not New York City as the common misconception holds it to be. The terrain is mostly forest or farmland, with lots of dairy farms and crop farms today growing corn, cabbages, and sod. Karen set up the SS at mile 40 or so at an intersection remarkable only for its rolling fields in all directions. One of the farms in the distance was a truck farm growing cabbages.  Flatbed semis laden with huge boxes of cabbages pulled through the intersection like clockwork (below).

In the afternoon in the village of Bergen, on Byron Road, NPR interviewed Byron, Mike, and a couple of other riders. The interview was to be aired tonight between 6 and 8. Having no radio in the room, we missed it, but I am going to ask for the tape of the interviews and if it's good, maybe we can burn it to the ride-end CD. Dunno.

We are in Henrietta for the evening. Henrietta sits in Monroe County, which is comprised of 19 towns, 10 villages, and the City of Rochester. Henrietta is also the home of RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), which in turn is home to the National Institute for the Deaf. And, as most know, Rochester is the home of Eastman Kodak. My first teaching position was at Brighton H.S. in Rochester, NY. I taught 10th and 11th grade English and was the school's Drama Coach for two years, which meant that I directed the school musical (Brigadoon  one year and Carnival the next), directed the Freshman play (which we took on the road to nearby grade schools and nursing homes each year) and was the faculty sponsor of The Thesbian Club, which also did a play (Waiting for Godot). It was a fine school and a great start for my teaching career.

This evening we shuttled riders about two miles to an Old Country Buffet in a nearby shopping mall. Also, Karen and Mike marked the route to the Erie Canal because tomorrow we ride to Syracuse, and riders will be routed along the Erie Canal for most of the morning.  I am in White so shall get only peeks at the riders on the trail until the last 10 miles to the SS which are back on regular roads. Tune in tomorrow and see how we do. Susan

P.S. Tomorrow I will give you some interesting facts about the Erie Canal.

P.P.S. During rap in Niagara, we turned on the applause meter and voted for the best of the Top 10 Lists. Below is the winning list, compiled by the Dairy Queens and Big Mike:

Top Ten Differences between ABB & the Tour de France

10   They have fans screaming "allez! allez!" along their route; we have locals screaming at us,

       "Get on the sidewalk, retards!"
 9    They have podium girls; we have Mike Munk.
 8    We're pretty sure Lance didn't have to load his own bags onto the truck, have to  

       redistribute his load into pink ribbon bags because he was over the 35-pound limit, wait 

       for  the blue pump, or carry his stuff to the 2nd floor.
 7    We get bonus miles for detours.
 6    Silver doesn't pull up beside us to hand us water bottles and fix our bikes on the fly.
 5    Our retirement rides are really retirement rides (actually aprés retirement for most of us.)
 4    They drink champagne at the Champs Elysees; we stand in dirt parking lots eating cheese 

       crackers from Wal Mart.
 3    We have a butt model!
 2    We have Dairy Queens!
 1    One word: Buffet.

HEARD ON THE ROAD:

*  Susan: "I'm on your wheel like a burr to fur."    
    Dianne: "That's better than being on my wheel like flies to s_ _ _."    
    Susan: "Well, I guess!!"

*  "Do you have a bathroom?"
    "No."
    "Not even for desperate customers?"
    "Can't we use the employees' bathroom?"
    "No. You'd have to go through the kitchen and we can't allow that."
    "Not even if I wear a hairnet?"    
    "That bush over there is the ladies, and that one to the right is the laddies." 

* "Montezuma? We're going through Montezuma tomorrow? Hope he doesn't take his revenge."

(Seems as though all of today's Heard on the Roads were bathroom humor. This may be what happens when one's been on the road for too long.)

DUH! OF THE DAY:  I've gotta have a little payback on Mike since he devoted an inordinate amount of space to my DUHs of yesterday, but can report only that he managed to lock the keys in Silver . . . or someone did. He left the keys on the seat (DUH!)  and the next thing he knew, he was looking at them through the window of the locked door. Someone or something had closed the door (could it be SATAN?). Not a fun way to start the day.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

The colors of Luggage Load, which was at 6:15 this morning.
Took a little longer than usual with the new riders and the
plethora of pink ribbon bags, which seem to be fooling
around in Box and reproducing when no one is looking.

The artful winged buffalo at the buffalo wings place near our motel in Niagara.

Bama Boy thinks he's home, but this is really Alabama, NY, 
a long, long  way from banjo-on-my-knee country, y'all.

New guy Mike Reilly (in green) rode his first day with pups Brian (in blue)
and Photographer Paul. Said he couldn't really tell ages with helmets
and sunglasses, but had a great ride with these two.

New rider Ray DeFiore, Jr. toasts photographer Karen with his ice cold water,
carried in a cooler on the back of his bicycle.

Josh, wearing his new Lance Armstrong jersey, helps Dar  and
daughter,  Joy, fix a flat, one of several that riders had today.