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Day 45
 ♪   15 miles on the Erie Canal  ♫

ROUTE: Henrietta to Liverpool NY DISTANCE: 89 Miles WINDS:  SW 5-10...a little push most of the day
WEATHER:  Sunny and a bit hotter than usual...high 88 and humid TERRAIN: Rolling to flat TOTAL CLIMBING: 1900 feet

DAILY REPORT:  Everyone loaded at 6:15 and headed to Peppermints for breakfast.  Every thing was going as planned when we experienced our first, and hopefully last, accident on this ride.  Bill P got clipped by a speeding motorcycle as he departed the motel.  The accident was definitely scary and had the potential to be very serious, but after a trip to the ER and a check over, Bill was released from the hospital.  We adjusted our support rotation to pick him and his friend Jim, who had accompanied him to the ER, and return them to our group.  He was diagnosed with a concussion and advised not to ride a bike for the duration of our trip.  He'll stay with us and finish with us on Monday, but he won't be able to ride.  The accident put a somber tone to the morning departure and the entire ride until we got the news by the first SAG that he was OK...what a relief.  Now for more less serious news.

Last night I told the riders about a change in route to the Erie Canal and went out last night to arrow the route to pick up the canal just outside Rochester.  The canal has a bike path that runs from Rochester to Palmyra about 25 miles down route.  The path varied from smooth pavement to town streets to hard pack dirt and gravel but it was very easily navigated.  Everyone that took the "alternate" really enjoyed the low stress 25 miles before the first SAG.  We passed lots of neat homes, both high rent and low rent, that showed the vast range of real estate along the canal.  A couple of small towns along the path were very quaint with lots of wildlife resting along the banks of the water...geese, ducks, groundhogs, and I thought I saw a beaver running across the path in one area.  Even though we didn't have a route sheet explaining the canal route, it was pretty easy to navigate since you just followed the canal...even when we were forced off the water's edge, all you had to do was work your way back knowing the water was to your left or right at times.  When you found the canal again, there was the path.

At the end of the path we were dumped right on the published route about 10 miles before our first SAG.  We had superb shoulders most of the day today.  I think New York gets the vote for the nicest roads to travel by bicycle...and the scenery is beautiful too with all the farms and animals dotting the landscape.  The shoulders were smooth, clean, and very wide most of the day.  I spent the day with Karen while she performed sweep duties.  It was a long day in the saddle with all the morning excitement, riding the bike trail, and then riding sweep.  We didn't get in until about 4:30...just in time to go to dinner and then get to rap.

It was a long day for several people today as they are starting to spend more time on the road sightseeing.  It's good to see everyone enjoying themselves in the last few days even if they are just looking at plants.  A couple years ago a local rider told us about a purple plant we've been seeing everywhere in the wet areas...Purple Loosestrise, a voracious plant that is taking over wetlands and leaving devastation in it's wake...even killing the wildlife the wetlands support.  It came from Europe and the government is trying several approaches to control the plant, but sometimes the cure is worse than the illness when it comes to controlling something like this.  He said it is one of the worst plants to come along in a long time...that's if you don't count the Kudzu plant we have in the south.  Now I'm familiar with that stuff...it grows so fast, it can chase down and smother a speeding car on a highway if the climatic conditions are right.  When it goes dormant in the winter, we discover new cities in Alabama!  Don't get me started on Kudzu stories.

Tomorrow we head to Little Falls.  Another day on good New York roads but we will be in busier areas tomorrow and all the way to New Hampshire from here.  As we close in on our destination, the riders are starting to realize the journey is almost over.  New friends we've made in the past 45 days will go their separate ways in just less than a week.  I think they will all start to slow down a bit and start smelling more roses than they have in the past...we'll see.  Tune in again tomorrow for a report.  Pray for a safe day.  See you then.

DID I REALLY SAY THAT?:

"After the last few days all I could think of was, 'Let's climb something!'  I don't care if it's a tree...we've got to climb something!"

"Did anyone else notice the milk and the syrup containers were just alike this morning?"
"No, why."
"Oh, just wondering."
"Nope, you were the only one who poured milk on her pancakes."

"Jean didn't set the alarm clock last night and didn't notice it was an hour off and was still on from last night's guest."
"Ouch, did you miss luggage load because you didn't wake up?"
"No, it went off at 5:20 on the clock, but it was only 4:20...so we all set in our dark room dressed in lycra waiting for the sun to come up."

"I really felt 'Erie' riding the canal today."

 DID I REALLY DO THAT?:

As the maintenance van was making it's rounds this morning, the phone rang.  It was the motel calling to tell us that a cyclist had left their luggage in the motel parking lot.  Jim was working in the van and took the call.  All he could think of was who in the world would leave their luggage at the motel.  There had been some excitement at departure of course, but how could this happen...Someone had signed in and not put their luggage on...who was it?  He asked if the motel could ID the bag and they said no, but it had biking stuff in it so it must be ours.  Meanwhile, we had just got the call that Bill had been released so Jim thought he would kill two birds with one trip...he'd pick up the guys and then go to the motel and pick up the bag.  When he got to the motel to get the bag, the first thing he noticed was it looked just like his...matter of fact, it WAS his!  "Boy, glad no one else knows about this or Mike might put it in the website," He thought.  Yep, good thing...oh yeah, Jim loads the luggage in the mornings with Jeff and Sandra.

DID I REALLY SEE THAT?

From the looks of this fish, they have some pretty potent stuff in the Erie Canal.

On our day off, I found this wheel...now if I could just find the bike that goes with it!  And someone to  help me put it on the bike...and a place to ride...

Jean, Colleen, and Cindy all made a pact.  I think Jean and Cindy will be steadfast in their commitment, but Colleen seems to be peeking a bit.  If Jean saw it, she wasn't saying and if she did say anything, Cindy didn't hear it anyway.

Fishing on the canal was a little slow...this couple haven't had a bite in a long time...maybe they are trying to 'hard.'

No wonder it took so long today...I had to help farmer Fred with his chores right after the first SAG.

When I was a kid, my mom would always warn me that my face might freeze like that someday.

Even the farmers are happy that Bill is OK.

New meaning to the term "Happy Feet."

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