TODAY'S TALES: 

Well, today is another day...only 5 more riding days until we get to the beach.  Doesn't seem possible, but it's upon us...the end, that is.  Today started with breakfast at 6:00 near the motel and a 7:00 load.  Our plan was to miss the early morning hustle of traffic and get out of town before it got to heavy.  Several riders ate at the motel and got on the road promptly at 7:00 while others got on the road about 30 minutes later.  With the departure in urban conditions, it's better if we string out a little so things were going well early.

Our route consisted of 10 miles of urban streets until we cleared Syracuse.  There were many turns on today's route even after we got out into the farmland and from what I understand, several riders got bonus miles because they misinterpreted their route sheets.  After the urban miles, though, it was a great route . . . lots of lonely country roads with a couple of small towns scattered along the way for pit stops.  The road surfaces were excellent most of the day while out in the farmland (some of them were freshly paved...sweet!), and when we got onto Rte 5, we had plenty of shoulder.  The only other busy areas were around Clinton, Utica, and Herkimer on Rte 5, but that just broke up the day.  We passed Onondaga Lake and just south of Oneida Lake, but did roll through the town of Oneida albeit the outskirts.  We paralleled the NY Thruway most of the day along with the Erie Canal and the Mohawk River, both of which contain locks and are part of the Erie Canal system.

I pretty much spent the the day driving up toward the front and then back to the rear checking on riders.  It was a pretty easy day in relation to terrain, but today wasn't without its challenges.  The terrain wasn't entirely flat as we did have a couple small hills to negotiate which allowed everyone to use some different muscles for a change, but even with that, I'd call today flat.  We'll have one more day of "easy" terrain with just a couple hills thrown in to get them prepared for the last couple days of monster climbs.  Yep...we're nearing the coast, but there's a wall between them and the ocean.  No sweat, they are waiting for the challenge of their "final exam."  I think they will pass from what I've seen lately.

Tonight we are staying in Little Falls which was settled long before the Revolutionary War by both Palatines and Yankees.  It was named for the falls on the Mohawk River which formed from Fairfield, Herkimer, and German Flats in February 1829.  A noted stage route from Rochester to Albany passed through Little Falls and in 1861 and while in route from Springfield IL to Washington to assume the presidency, Abraham Lincoln stopped in Little Falls and gave a few remarks from his train coach to a gathering...and now we are here.

Nearly as soon as they rode in to Little Falls, riders bundled up their wash and raced across the street to the Laundromat to get first dibs on the washers and dryers.  I think when we ride through it gives the laundromat enough income to survive another year.  I don't know what we'd do if it ever closed.  It may be the most conveniently located one the entire trip.  Hopefully, this will be the last rush for laundry.  We only have 4 more days to ride...hopefully they have enough riding clothes to finish the ride...we'll see. 

We're staying at a Knight's Inn tonight...it used to be a Best Western and we've used it every trip since I've been doing these rides.  The building has a two screen cinema so a few may go see a movie after dinner...at least they'll get a couple hours of sleep to quality entertainment.  They also really treat us right as they sponsored a nice reception in the function room...fruit, wine, and cheese.  Wonder if they could follow us the rest of the way to the Atlantic...probably not, but it was nice to have such a nice social hour.  After that, it was dinner and rap and then rest for another day.  Tomorrow we ride to Latham which includes a lot of bike path around a couple busy urban areas.  We're closing in on our journey's end...tune in tomorrow and see what's up.  See you then. 

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