June 19,'03 - Erie, Pa. to Jamestown NY

Well "Dreary Erie" lived up to its nickname this morning, as we awoke to constant rain.  I delayed my departure until 8:30 when it had lightened up a bit.  By the city limits of Erie, it had turned to mist and while it rained three more times during the ride, the rain was never as serious as forecast.  The ride today was along Lake Erie, heading in the direction of Buffalo. I rode through miles and miles of grapes, but the mist and haze were so great you were lucky to see more than a quarter of a mile off the road, so picture taking was not worth the effort.  I crossed into New York in the town of Ripley, and behind the "Welcome to New York" sign, was a golf course with absolutely no one on it due to the inclement weather.  The roads in New York have an even wider shoulder than Pennsylvania, which was a pleasant surprise.  So far New York has had eight foot shoulders, which are absolutely wonderful.  I haven't had shoulders like this since Nebraska.  I kept riding north until I reached Westfield, NY.  While Napolean, Ohio smelled like tomato soup because of the Campbell's factory, Westfield smelled like grape juice due to the Welch's facility there.  Westfield is a charming little village with some very unusual statuary on main street.  A Westfield 13 year-old girl wrote Abraham Lincoln, when he was President, to tell him he would look better if he grew a beard.  Lincoln did as was suggested and later when he was on a train that went through Westfield he stopped and met the little girl and asked her what she thought of his whiskers.  The statues on Main Street were done by a local artist.  It is most impressive.  Heading out of Westfield I immediately started to climb into the Allegany's.  After almost 400 miles of flat riding it felt good to climb again, as it gives you the feeling of actually doing something.  I rolled through Mayville, "Best Water in New York State-1996" (which must be like being Citizen of the Year in Bayonne, NJ as there isn't a lot of competition) and then rode for over 26 miles along the shore of Lake Chautauqua. As pretty as Westfield and Mayville were, the Lake Chautauqua area appeared to be a bit long in the tooth.  It has been a resort area over 200 years and looks it.  And Jamestown, New York isn't exactly your "Leave It To Beaver" locale either.  We are in a suburb of Jamestown, Ellicot, which is quite attractive.  Tomorrow it is on to Olean, NY.  Miles ridden today 64...total trip miles 3287.

June 20 , '03 - Jamestown to Olean

An easy ride today in the hills of western New York.  I am so glad that tomorrow is summer because today was still spring and it showed in the temperature.  It got all the way up to 53.  Of course I left Oregon early in an attempt to beat the heat of summer and I certainly accomplished that goal.  My ride today started by heading through downtown Jamestown, NY.  This city has seen better days...at least I hope so.  I would hate to think that right now is the pinnacle of Jamestown's history.  We, unfortunately, missed the Lucy-Desi museum in Lucille Ball's hometown.  So sorry, "Lucy-honey".  Lots of up and down today.  Twenty miles after Jamestown I rode through Randolph, Upper Randolph and East Randolph which were small, tree lined, very attractive communities.  Eleven miles later I rode into Little Valley, another postcard community.  That was followed by Salamanca, a prosperous village of over 3,000 that's populated mostly by Seneca Indians.  It was here I decided the state of New York ought to make up its mind.  Salamanca is on the edge of the Allegany State Park and in the Allegany State Park is the Allegheny Reservoir.  And then I came to the town of Allegany just before Olean.  The route, 417, detoured right through the campus of St. Boneventure, whom hoop fans remember from their salad days of Bob Lanier.  This is a beautiful campus that looks like you could freeze to death walking to class in January and February, and indeed even the local boosters admit the winters in Olean are grim.  Olean is an old community of approximately 18,000 that appears to be doing quite well.  It is amazing how just a few miles apart one town, Jamestown for example, can appear to be on its butt, while just down the road another town of approximately the same size seems to be prospering.  Miles ridden today 61...total trip miles 3348.

June 21, '03 - Olean to Hornell 

Yesterday in Olean, NY we found out that it is the only city in America that has a homecoming weekend for its high school alums, all Olean High grads, every year, instead of limiting it to just five year and ten year classes.   At the time it sounded so sweet, however, this was the weekend and all the Olean alums gathered last night at St. Boneventure University.   The whole idea seemed so nice.  After sitting among the conversations in the breakfast area at the Hampton Inn this morning, I now know who attends this celebration every year.  It is the retired dweebs weekend out.   I heard thrilling discussions like, "Well you should have seen how we decorated our living room
when we lived in Waco from '74 to '78," and "Well here are just some of the efficiences I introduced in the early 80's when I was in charge of the extrusion line at the Hamtramack plant."   These people made the Cambridge High Class of '57 get-together last year seem like a Mensa gathering.   

While we were at dinner last night it started to rain and that precipitation continued until six this morning.  When I left Olean at nine this a.m., it was sopping wet everywhere but nothing was falling from the sky.  I rode through Portville, NY, a typically picturesque western New York village, through Ceres, NY that sits on the Pennsylvania-New York border, and then rolled into Bolivar.   On the outskirts of Bolivar, I passed a beautiful golf course, remember this was Saturday morning at ten, that had absolutely no one on it.  There was standing water everywhere.   In Bolivar, "the home of derricks and deer," they
were celebrating Oil Pioneers Day.   You would never have known it was the first day of summer, as all parade watchers were bundled up like it was a late fall football game.   The bank in Bolivar said it was 45 degrees at 10:45 a.m.  I watched the parade for awhile, it was quite reminiscent of the Fruita Fall Festival Parade, and then headed for Wellsville.   I had some serious climbing out of Bolivar.  It was too bad I couldn't save those climbs for Krista and Pete when they arrive next week.   I rode through Wellsville and on to Andover, where Jan caught up with me for a bite of lunch.   While lunching the rain started again.  Once back on the road, the rain really got serious.   For a period of a half an hour, it was as heavy as any rains on the entire trip.   Jan waited for me on the outskirts of Hornell, which I appreciated.  I was in no mood to stumble around town on a bicycle in the rain looking for our motel.  So I loaded the bike on the trailer behind the Moose Drool Express, got in, and stumbled around town in the van.  Finally we found the Comfort Inn, and I got my hot shower.   Tomorrow it is on to Elmira, which if memory serves me, was a huge hit for the Oak Ridge Boys, "Elmira, oom papa mao-mao".   The high temperature here in Hornell for the first day of summer was 51 degrees.   The good news is that we're saving money by not having to buy Sunblock or Gator-Aid.  Miles ridden today 63...total trip miles 3411.

June 22, '03 - Hornell to Elmira

Finally good weather...for about 8 miles.  I rolled out of Hornell, NY and into the Allegheny Mountains under a partly sunny sky.  Eight miles later it was raining.  Ten minutes after it started it ended.  And then started again after ten o'clock. Finally we locked in on gray, overcast skies and it stayed that way.  I rode through two really neat New York towns today.  The first was Bath, New York with two of the prettiest churches you've ever seen.  And then came Corning, New York the "Crystal" city.  Corning seems quite prosperous while once again, a neighboring city Elmira, is on its butt.  Elmira has to be the largest city in the USA without a decent hotel.  If you didn't want to stay downtown at the Holiday Inn you don't want to stay in Elmira.  We were so impressed with Corning we loaded my bike on the trailer and drove back to Corning.  To allow Pete and Krista one more day to ride with us we are going to take tomorrow off and go explore the Finger Lakes region of New York, it's just to the North of Corning, and we might even play some golf.  The pedal n putt program has been all pedal and no putt since Iowa City, Iowa but the weather just hasn't been the golfing kind.  Miles ridden today 64...total trip miles 3475.

June 23, '03 - Day off to explore Finger Lakes region of New York

June 24, '03 - Elmira to Binghamton

What a day! The events of this Tuesday, nine weeks on the road, included a beautiful ride, beautiful weather and family. I rolled into the countryside east of Elmira sometime after nine.  Jan had dropped me off in Elmira this morning since I had ridden that far on Sunday.  Today's ride was gentle rolling hills under sunny skies.  By the time I had arrived in Owego Pete, Krista, Erin and Jan plus the grandkids, Blake, Brett and Hailey were headed west from Binghamton after checking in at the motel.  All we were missing was Emerson, Becca and Drew.  Owego is a beautiful little village on the Susquehanna River.  I wondered if Carol Vecesy taught English at the high school the town was so cool.  It's an "Ed" joke.  Pete, Krista, and the boys had left Seattle last night at midnight and arrived at the Newark airport at seven this morning.  Erin picked them up.  Thanks to Erin's husband, Gary for riding along so one person could watch Hailey and the car while the other looked for family arriving from Seattle. Gary then headed for work on the subway while the rest headed west.  Once the clan reached Owego, Pete and Krista rode to Binghamton with me.  Now the whole group is laying siege to the Red Roof Inn Binghamton.  Chaos reigns at Geezerpalooza.  It is wonderful.  Miles ridden today 59...total trip miles 3534.

June 25, '03 - Binghampton to Hancock

It was great to have company, but I do not know if the company really enjoyed themselves.  We rode through the heart of the Allegheny Mountains today in a day that we estimate included almost 6,000 feet of climbing.  While the distance from Binghamton to Hancock is but 37 miles on Route 17, our bike route was a circuitous ride of 75 miles, that included cross both the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers plus lots of climbing.  Of course, that meant there were some outstanding downhills also.  Summer has finally arrived in New York, as today temperatures were well into the nineties and the humidity had to match the temperature.  Nevertheless, after cold and rain it was rather nice to work up a sweat.  Tomorrow's ride will not be as long, and I think my fellow travelers will get a little more enjoyment out of the scenery.  We are quite close to Pennsylvania and this neighborhood is just a beautiful part of the world.  We had lunch in Deposit, New York, which calls itself the "Trout Fishing Capitol of the World," which will most likely come as a shock to folks along the Madison, Gallatin, Roaring Fork and Frying Pan.  Miles ridden today 75...total trip miles 3609.

June 26, '03 - Hancock to Port Jervis

Another day of climbing but not in the Alleghenies, I was informed today that we have been in the Catskills since Binghamton.  Not that I am sad to see the Allegheny's go, Ive murdered the spelling of the Allegany's since I first rode into them. You say how can you not know you were in the Catskills?  Just look at your map.  Well I lost the map in Binghamton.  It is actually a tribute to the New York bike trail system that we have not needed a map for two days.  The trail markings are outstanding, in fact I've only been lost twice.  That is a record for me.  Of course, I have had company for the past two days, which probably explains why I have only been lost twice.  We rode 75 miles today and maybe ten of those miles were on the flat.  This is the most climbing I have done since Wyoming. And while these grades are not nearly as long as those in the Rockies are, the grades are much steeper.  I am no judge of grade percentage but these were steeper than what Gere estimated to be nine percenters back in Idaho.  Much of today's ride was along the Delaware River, which was quite pretty.  And the Hawk's Nest area just outside of Port Jervis was spectacular.  Tomorrow it is on to the Hudson River Valley.  Mileage today 74...total trip miles 3683.

June 27, '03 - Port Jervis to Mt. Kisco, NY

Whataday....Whataday.  Left Port Jervis with only Krista, as Pete decided his legs could use a day off, and headed for the Hudson River.  A very quick 20 miles later we were in Goshen, NY.  What a lovely hamlet Goshen, former home of the Hambeltonian the Kentucky Derby of trotting horses and still the home of the harness racing hall of fame, is.  (Looking back the preceeding was just a killer sentence.   It was one that would have caused my high school English teacher, Elizabeth Westerlund, to gag...and my Iowa State creative writing professor, Pearl Hogrefe, to consider retirement...and she taught well into her eighties.  After lunch in Goshen, we wandered over to the local bike shop for directions across the Hudson River.   The consensus of the staff at the bike shop was that no one should cross the Hudson River and now that the experience is behind me, they were right.  We were told the Bear Mountain Bridge was just 20 miles from Goshen, while Newburgh was 25 and that the roads coming off the Bear Mountain were better than those coming off Newburgh.  We decided the roads off the Newburgh Bridge must be from hell because at the end of the Bear Mountain Bridge they were impassible...but I'm getting ahead of myself.  It was in the mid-nineties and quite humid, so ten miles out of Goshen, Krista and I stopped for Gatorade.  The gas station proprietor volunteered the information that we were thirty miles from the bridge and it was a ten mile climb.   We doubted his statement, as the map said we were 10 miles away.   He said he had lived in this spot all his life.   Evidentally he, too, didn't think one should cross the Hudson because it was a mile and a half climb and it was ten miles to the bridge...not that it was easy going.  We were riding through Harriman State Park, two miles from the bridge, when we were pulled over by a state park ranger.  Boy was this guy a cowboy.  He said he wouldn't allow us on the road, that we would have to take a five mile detour, and he didn't think we would be allowed on the bridge.  If brains were dynamite, this rent-a-cop wouldn't be able to work up a good sneeze.  So we took the detour and were lost the whole time, but it had a magnificent five mile downhill and came out at the bridge.  But the passenger walkway on the bridge was closed on the right hand side because of construction...and it was rush hour.  So they told us to cross over to the other side...that was open.   There were four solid lanes of cars coming off the bridge and they wanted us to play dodge 'em.  Finally one attendant stopped two lanes and for the other two said, "Your on your own."   What a public servant.   So we went over the bridge to find the only road, and this is rush hour in New York City, was two lanes with no shoulder.  Pete had anticipated the problem and, much to our delight, was waiting for us in a no parking zone at the end of the bridge.  Man, were we happy to see him.  I'm thinking to myself, "I've ridden all the way across the country, and I can't get across the Hudson."  And
this is up by West Point where the traffic is supposed to be the least of any bridge on the Hudson.   And while I want to ride coast to coast I really don't want to die enroute.  So we loaded our bikes and hitched a ride to the hotel.  Tomorrow is supposed to be the final day of the ride, but after today I'm just hoping we make the Connecticut border which is twenty miles away.  
Miles ridden today 53...total trip miles 3736.