Finger Lakes – Day 3  (Friday, June 14)

 

There was some concern that Thursday’s weather wouldn’t blow out of the area in time to set our wheels down at 7am. We decided to call for a 7am start, but we’d remain flexible until we saw what the day held. When we awoke, we were happy to see that it had dried out, even though the sky remained overcast.

 

Twenty two of us headed out (at 7:25). Three team members opted for the shorter 60 mile, less hilly route. Nineteen opted for the Cayuga Lake ride, listed at 112 miles. On our way to the start (~ 2.5 miles by bike) Rob noticed that Rick’s rear tire was approaching failure. After much discussion (there were 19 of us J) Rick, accompanied by Bryan, headed back to the hotel to change the tire. They’d then drive up to Taughannock Falls State Park to meet us on route. The timing worked out perfectly – Rick and Bryan pulled into the lot shortly after the team arrived by bike!

 

The full complement of us continued heading north on the west side of Cayuga Lake, touching lakeside in several spots. Each time we descended to lake level we felt the anticipation of climbing back out. Nineteen riders spread out over the climb was a great sight.

 

The only other tire-changing event came along our ride up Rte 89, when Rob noticed that Don's rear tire looked a little low.  It was Don’s second flat of the tour. Good thing he stocked up on tubes at the Performance Bike Shop stop on Day 0!  From this point on, no one wanted Rob to ride behind them.

 

We pulled into Seneca Falls, our lunch stop, at mile 48, shortly before noon. We broke into 3 groups based on dining interests. By this time the clouds had thinned out and it was looking to be a brighter, albeit windier, day. 

 

After lunch we rode by the National Women’s Rights Museum for the educational part of the day. Around mile 53 was a cut-off that could shorten the route by 11 miles. Although there had been much talk earlier in the day about several of the team opting for this shortcut, everyone was having such a great ride that no one actually did. From the time we left Seneca Falls, at mile 48, until be turned east to begin the ride back at mile 59, we were faced with strong headwinds. We entertained ourselves with the idea that these headwinds would be the afternoon’s tailwinds on the way down the east side of the lake. We did stop to view the Erie Canal, Lock 25, and an osprey nest, to catch our breath on the way north.

 

We were making pretty good time heading south when we decided that the Nice n Easy convenience store was a well-positioned rest stop (food and restrooms). After the rest stop we settled into a nice n easy rhythm, pedaling south along the lake with the wind at our back, with the idea that we were trying to hit our next rest stop – the Man in the Moon bakery – before they closed at 5pm

 

At mile 86 the route turned east, UP from the lakeshore for the better part of 10 miles – but we made it to the bakery before closing time.

 

After filling up on baked goods, and refilling our water bottles, we continued uphill just a short bit more before making a right turn onto an 8 mile straight downhill…. It was an incredible adrenaline rush.

 

On the final leg of the journey we passed Ithaca Falls, and the suspension bridge stopping for (more than) a few photos.

 

We pulled into the hotel parking lot just after 7pm, sat down on the patio, and partook of afternoon refreshments.

 

Eventually, we broke into 5 different dining groups, depending on preferences.

We barely had the mental capacity to develop a plan for the morning, let alone write-up our day’s activities.

 

The best we could do was determine that almost everyone that was planning on riding with the FLCC club in the morning would be driving up to the 9am start at Taughannock Falls State Park.  Steve S, Don and Barb would be rolling out of the hotel parking lot for the 12.5 mile bike ride up to Taughannock Falls shortly after 7am.

 

Today’s statistics:

Total miles:  2441 miles

Total climbing:  124050 feet

Average age of the 22 Team JSTS riders:   56.2

Average mileage/rider:   111 miles

Average climbing/rider:  5552 feet

Total Mechanicals: 2

Mechanicals/mile: 0.0008

Total hours in the saddle: 246

Hours in the saddle/rider:  11.2