Day 27
The wind, she blows...lucky for us it was blowing our way

I'm glad I have a route sheet to look at because all the days are muddling together.  I can't even remember where we were this morning!  Where did Ohio go?  I thought we rode through Pennsylvania?  Oh...we did.  It seems like a week ago we left Niles after breakfast at Perkins but that was just this morning.

Today was the longest day we've had since Kirksville and one of our longest days on the ride.  By now, this mileage is nothing to this group and it was made better by the weather.  A couple days ago we were forecast to have 25-30 MPH headwinds today so everyone was a little apprehensive but last night when we had rap I told them we should skate today.  Yes the weather Gods smiled on us today...a great big smile!  We started out with calm winds and mid 40s for temperature, but by mid morning everyone was shedding clothes as the sun popped out and the roads smoothed out.  By lunchtime, we were picking up a 15-20 MPH tailwind...sweeeeeeet!  I even rode my first triple digit ride today...so it must have been easy.  Several even said it was the best day so far...maybe, but if they were comparing it to our Kirksville day, they were right.

Our route started off to the north through quiet Ohio back country until getting to Lake Erie where we turned northeast along the shoreline to Dunkirk.  We were on highway 5 for most of the afternoon, but it's bicycle friendly with nice smooth shoulders and plenty of great scenery to watch along the lake.  We rode along the side of the lake off an on for several miles after getting into New York and you could always tell when you were near the water as the temperature would drop about 10 degrees for no apparent reason. 

Our first SAG stop which was at an old decommissioned covered bridge that we use on all of our rides.  It's a neat place to stop and I try to imagine what it was like in it's heyday when it spanned the small branch that runs beneath it's south end.  Last year, the branch was a raging creek as the heavy rains of the night before had put a strain on the banks to contain the water, but his year it was beside a tame brook with crystal clear water babbling across the cobbles.  The bridge stands on land owned by Mr Robert Benson who pulled Barbara out of a wet field 4 years ago with his trusty tractor.  It was good to see him again and to hear the history of the bridge.  We meet the nicest folks on the rides.

We got to see another bridge on our route that was still in commission (left).  There are several in the immediate area but most of them are on gravel roads so we usually don't go exploring.

Another of our favorite stops on this day is the White Turkey Drive-in (right) about 1 mile short of the Pennsylvania State line.  The White Turkey is an old time open air root beer stand that serves some mean hamburgers and has 60s tunes in the jukebox.  Kasper put about $20 in the jukebox listening to the tunes..."This is really neat," He told me even though most of the songs were popular before he was born.  They don't open until 11:00 so some of our riders rode by before it opened, but the riders that came by after 11:00 enjoyed the break in the ride and the smiling faces that served up a refreshing mug root beer.

Today was our second "3 state" ride...Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.  As I mentioned before, the first 60 miles of the ride today were on quiet, rural Ohio roads where the Amish influence was ever present.  This being a Saturday, the traffic was almost non-existent as we left town and during the rural portions, the traffic is always light anyway.  The afternoon found us entering New York.

Everyone was in by 5:00ish so we were able to get mechanics done fairly early and get to dinner shortly after.  Shane and I had to drive down tomorrow's route to check out a detour that we'll have to deal with tomorrow...it's always something.  Everyone seems to be getting used to the routine of getting up early and riding all day...but it's coming to an end soon...too soon for some.  We just have another 5 days before we'll be dipping our wheels in the Atlantic...the Pacific seems so far away now.  

Tomorrow we tour the bicycle museum in Orchard Park.  We'll eat late at 7:00 to be on the road in time to get there by 10:00 at the latest.  It's 40 miles so we will have to hustle.  I'm really looking forward to seeing it again...always learn something...see you then.   

PS:  Thanks to Elizabeth, Brian's sister for the goodies she brought the other day.  Also, thanks to Cathy, Ken's sister-in-law who also brought goodies for the SAG when she came to visit.