Saturday, Sept 28, 2013
Today was a great day riding. Not too cold in the morning. About 60 in the "heat" of the day. The roads were great. At the end of the day, the shoulder was wider than the lane for the cars. It is getting hillier.
Lots and lots of orchards. And thousands of trees just barely turning into fall colors.
Roadkill - 1 possum (and he wasn't "playing" dead).
In Wolcott, New York. A small town close to Lake Ontario. I may be out of touch for a while. Heading for the mountains. Sometimes phone and Internet service gets patchy.
Doing great. The tendinitis is still lingering, but seems to be getting better.
Til next time.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday, Sept 27, 2013
Friday, Sept. 27, 2013
Happy birthday to my brother a day early!!!
The biking has been good the past two days. Got to see the power of Niagara Falls, and a bit of history by riding for 40 miles next to the Erie Canal.
The tough part of the past two days has been logistics. Finding places to spend the night. Finding good things to eat. Finding a Laundromat before the clothes started to smell like a road-kill skunk. The biking is the easy part.
Got lost yesterday. Still don't know how it happened. Once I knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be, I tried to find someone to give me directions. That turned out to be a young flagman on road construction. Found out about a generational thing. He had no clue how to get me back to where I needed to be. He always relied on the GPS on his phone. Except it wasn't working. So he asked an older worker(30 instead of 22). He knew for sure. And gave me some incredibly confusing directions. I understood the first part, so I headed in that direction. Flagged down a 60 year old guy, and he whipped out a map and showed me where to go. Just up my alley. Turns out I was only about two miles off course. Maybe I need to get with it and get a smart phone with GPS.
Am currently in a town southeast of Rochester, NY. Will start to head up to Lake Ontario tomorrow, and then over to the Adirondacks.
Frustrated about logistics, but the outlook usually seems brighter after a good night's sleep and getting on the bike in the morning.
Oh, the animal report. Blue Heron haven along the canal.
Til next time.
Friday, Sept. 27, 2013
Happy birthday to my brother a day early!!!
The biking has been good the past two days. Got to see the power of Niagara Falls, and a bit of history by riding for 40 miles next to the Erie Canal.
The tough part of the past two days has been logistics. Finding places to spend the night. Finding good things to eat. Finding a Laundromat before the clothes started to smell like a road-kill skunk. The biking is the easy part.
Got lost yesterday. Still don't know how it happened. Once I knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be, I tried to find someone to give me directions. That turned out to be a young flagman on road construction. Found out about a generational thing. He had no clue how to get me back to where I needed to be. He always relied on the GPS on his phone. Except it wasn't working. So he asked an older worker(30 instead of 22). He knew for sure. And gave me some incredibly confusing directions. I understood the first part, so I headed in that direction. Flagged down a 60 year old guy, and he whipped out a map and showed me where to go. Just up my alley. Turns out I was only about two miles off course. Maybe I need to get with it and get a smart phone with GPS.
Am currently in a town southeast of Rochester, NY. Will start to head up to Lake Ontario tomorrow, and then over to the Adirondacks.
Frustrated about logistics, but the outlook usually seems brighter after a good night's sleep and getting on the bike in the morning.
Oh, the animal report. Blue Heron haven along the canal.
Til next time.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, Sept 25 , 2013
Am in Fort Erie, right across the bridge from Buffalo, New York. Tomorrow, headed towards Niagra Falls. Ended the day on 20 miles of great bike path and start the day tomorrow with another 20 miles. I LOVE good bike paths.
Biked for a while with a fellow bike camper. He instantly diagnosed my leg/foot issue. Tendinitis. I have had issues for about a week. I can bike ok, but by the end of the day, my leg and ankle are swelled up like a balloon, and I can't walk without a lot of pain. The good news is that the pain and swelling are getting better. I stopped taking pain medication. So hopefully, it will gradually go away. One of my tires blew out. After the riding was over for the day. Better than if I were on the bike, I guess.
I've really enjoyed Canada, but am ready to get back home to the USA.
Til next time.
Am in Fort Erie, right across the bridge from Buffalo, New York. Tomorrow, headed towards Niagra Falls. Ended the day on 20 miles of great bike path and start the day tomorrow with another 20 miles. I LOVE good bike paths.
Biked for a while with a fellow bike camper. He instantly diagnosed my leg/foot issue. Tendinitis. I have had issues for about a week. I can bike ok, but by the end of the day, my leg and ankle are swelled up like a balloon, and I can't walk without a lot of pain. The good news is that the pain and swelling are getting better. I stopped taking pain medication. So hopefully, it will gradually go away. One of my tires blew out. After the riding was over for the day. Better than if I were on the bike, I guess.
I've really enjoyed Canada, but am ready to get back home to the USA.
Til next time.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Tuesday, Sept 24, 2013
Great rhythm with the bike today. It was a treat to ride next to Lake Erie most of the day.
Saw three signs today warning of turtles crossing the road.
Passed the 3,000 mile mark. That is a lot of miles.
Was missing eating veggies, so I went on the prowl for a salad bar. Success.
Currently in Port Dover. A few more days in Canada. The riding has been great. Nice roads, and the drivers have been incredibly accommodating. Also clear and cool. A bit too cool early in the morning, but better than too hot.
Til next time.
Great rhythm with the bike today. It was a treat to ride next to Lake Erie most of the day.
Saw three signs today warning of turtles crossing the road.
Passed the 3,000 mile mark. That is a lot of miles.
Was missing eating veggies, so I went on the prowl for a salad bar. Success.
Currently in Port Dover. A few more days in Canada. The riding has been great. Nice roads, and the drivers have been incredibly accommodating. Also clear and cool. A bit too cool early in the morning, but better than too hot.
Til next time.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Monday, Sept 23, 2013
There are little things that give notice I am in a different country. The streets aren't named Washington or Jefferson or Madison. More along the lines of Trafalgar, Nelson, and King George. Then there is the whole thing with flying the flag. I saw so many American flags flying on this trip. Now there are just as many flags, but they are Canadian flags. It is just different. A lot of farmers fly the flag. And there are signs about supporting the troops, just like back home.
Lots of apple orchards. Harvesting going on. The trees are really short, and FULL of apples. One orchard today had the trees trimmed so they looked more like being part of a vineyard. But with LOTS of apples.
Dogs were after me today. Until the end of the day there was an interesting pattern. The dogs would give chase, but they wouldn't come into the road. I got a bit confident that ALL dogs in Canada were like this until the last dog today. By then I was assuming that I didn't have to worry about being attacked. Of course that is when the dog came after me on the road. And it was a big dog.
Besides the apple orchards, there were hundreds of pumpkins being harvested. And the usual corn, soybeans, etc.
There were llama's again. But the intriguing animals on the road were snails. I didn't see one of them squished. But lots. Seeming to be headed for the other side of the road.
Lake Erie is BIG, like the other Great Lakes. I am in Port Stanley. You can tell it is a big touristy area, but this time of year it is mostly deserted. I was one of two people on the whole beach.
Had some brief conversations with some locals. There is definitely an accent going on. Can't really place what it is, but it is a lot more pronounced than I expected.
Met another cyclist today. From Ontario, just taking advantage of the clear weather to do a bit of biking and camping.
Tired, but feeling good.
Til next time.
There are little things that give notice I am in a different country. The streets aren't named Washington or Jefferson or Madison. More along the lines of Trafalgar, Nelson, and King George. Then there is the whole thing with flying the flag. I saw so many American flags flying on this trip. Now there are just as many flags, but they are Canadian flags. It is just different. A lot of farmers fly the flag. And there are signs about supporting the troops, just like back home.
Lots of apple orchards. Harvesting going on. The trees are really short, and FULL of apples. One orchard today had the trees trimmed so they looked more like being part of a vineyard. But with LOTS of apples.
Dogs were after me today. Until the end of the day there was an interesting pattern. The dogs would give chase, but they wouldn't come into the road. I got a bit confident that ALL dogs in Canada were like this until the last dog today. By then I was assuming that I didn't have to worry about being attacked. Of course that is when the dog came after me on the road. And it was a big dog.
Besides the apple orchards, there were hundreds of pumpkins being harvested. And the usual corn, soybeans, etc.
There were llama's again. But the intriguing animals on the road were snails. I didn't see one of them squished. But lots. Seeming to be headed for the other side of the road.
Lake Erie is BIG, like the other Great Lakes. I am in Port Stanley. You can tell it is a big touristy area, but this time of year it is mostly deserted. I was one of two people on the whole beach.
Had some brief conversations with some locals. There is definitely an accent going on. Can't really place what it is, but it is a lot more pronounced than I expected.
Met another cyclist today. From Ontario, just taking advantage of the clear weather to do a bit of biking and camping.
Tired, but feeling good.
Til next time.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Sunday, Sept. 22 , 2013
In Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada. The trip today was good. Got to ride on bike trails again. It certainly makes a difference. It didn't rain today!!!! And it does look clear for 5 days or so. A bit cool this morning - low 40's. One more day of cool weather and then it will start to warm up a bit.
It is definitely fall. I finally found a store that sells long underwear. In Michigan they don't think it is cold enough yet.
Ontario is similar to the Michigan that I just left. Agricultural. Rode by some fairly large apple orchards. Then we have the usual corn, soybeans, etc. The speed limit seems to be lower here, so I feel a little safer on the road. I will need to practice my kilometer estimations. So far I haven't been good at it.
Very courteous people helping me to get where I need to be.
I am getting a bit homesick. The biking is still really good. It would just be nice to be around familiar things. Now at least 2/3 of the way done. Almost 3/4. In two days I will hit the 3,000 mile mark. Feels good.
Til next time.
In Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada. The trip today was good. Got to ride on bike trails again. It certainly makes a difference. It didn't rain today!!!! And it does look clear for 5 days or so. A bit cool this morning - low 40's. One more day of cool weather and then it will start to warm up a bit.
It is definitely fall. I finally found a store that sells long underwear. In Michigan they don't think it is cold enough yet.
Ontario is similar to the Michigan that I just left. Agricultural. Rode by some fairly large apple orchards. Then we have the usual corn, soybeans, etc. The speed limit seems to be lower here, so I feel a little safer on the road. I will need to practice my kilometer estimations. So far I haven't been good at it.
Very courteous people helping me to get where I need to be.
I am getting a bit homesick. The biking is still really good. It would just be nice to be around familiar things. Now at least 2/3 of the way done. Almost 3/4. In two days I will hit the 3,000 mile mark. Feels good.
Til next time.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Had a great surprise this morning. Someone from Frankenmuth ended up riding with me for the first hour. It had been a while since I had ridden with other cyclists, and it was really uplifting. Bill from Frankenmuth. We talked about hunting wild turkeys and pheasants. Michigan. Roads. Kids. Life. It made my day. I hadn't realized how much I missed that commraderie(sp).
It rained again, after the weatherman promised 5-6 days of clear skies.
Rode through Vassar, Brown(city), and am staying in Yale.
More bike trails today and a few more on the horizon tomorrow.
Last day in Michigan tomorrow. On to Ontario, Canada.
Til next time.
Had a great surprise this morning. Someone from Frankenmuth ended up riding with me for the first hour. It had been a while since I had ridden with other cyclists, and it was really uplifting. Bill from Frankenmuth. We talked about hunting wild turkeys and pheasants. Michigan. Roads. Kids. Life. It made my day. I hadn't realized how much I missed that commraderie(sp).
It rained again, after the weatherman promised 5-6 days of clear skies.
Rode through Vassar, Brown(city), and am staying in Yale.
More bike trails today and a few more on the horizon tomorrow.
Last day in Michigan tomorrow. On to Ontario, Canada.
Til next time.
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