Bicycling Coast to Coast

Stats:   Today's miles:  91.0  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   1,257 feet Total miles traveled:   3,286.7  miles Total feet climbed:   83,565 feet Today was a good ride. It started out cold..in the upper 40s but warmed to the mid 60s. The trail had started to dry out. The ride through Syracuse went pretty quick with few delays or traffic slow downs.

  Stats:   Today's miles:  68.0  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   1,142 feet Total miles traveled:   3,195.7  miles Total feet climbed:   82,308 feet I started the day with breakfast in the hotel at one of the larger tables. Soon I was eating with two couples from a Utah group tour. They had been seeing the sites and were heading to Niagara Falls for the day. When they asked my plan for the day, they were very interested in hearing the details of my trip. Later in the morning I passed the couple I met yesterday under the bridge. We joked about who was following whom. It became a standing joke when we kept leap frogging each other a couple times that afternoon. It was a challenging day of riding. It was cold with a strong cross wind all day. The trail was slow and in some sections slippery/muddy from the previous rain. At the end of the day I was glad I didn’t push on to the next location.

Stats:   Today's miles:  65.0  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   650 feet Total miles traveled:   3,127.7  miles Total feet climbed:   81,166 feet A strong cold front moved through today. The NW winds were 20+ mph all day (often at least a partial tailwind) and squally showers occurred throughout the day. The bike trail on the tow path of the Erie Canal is fine, crushed rock. It rides surprisingly well and is reasonably fast (unless it gets wet). There are several riders covering various segments of the whole route (Buffalo to Albany 350 mi). I met several either hanging out under bridges or in the pub waiting out rain squalls.

Stats:   Today's miles:  51.0  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   991 feet Total miles traveled:   3,062.7  miles Total feet climbed:   80,516 feet Riding through Buffalo and starting on the Erie Canal. Today I made my way through Buffalo on the bike trails along the lake-front, transitioned onto the Niagara river and eventually connected to the bike trail along the Erie canal. Between the road work detours, traffic and the late day rain & strong wind, I ended the day with a little less than typical mileage in Lockport. The count-down begins…At this point I have about 600 mi left in the trip. I’m shooting to be at the Portland shore on Oct 1…wish me luck

  Stats:   Today's miles:  99.0  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   2,812 feet Total miles traveled:   3,011.7  miles Total feet climbed:   79,525 feet ‘No hoof, no horse’ is an old cowboy saying... pretty self-explanatory. The analog for biking is all about wheels. I had only gone about 5 mi on Tues morning when the rear wheel got that squishy feeling. Sure enough, another flat!! (the last was two days earlier 10mi coming into Erie). This flat was bad, not just a simple puncture, the tire was cut with a half dozen cords cut. While I could change the tube, it would simply rub against the damaged area of the tire and quickly fail. I don’t carry a spare tire! I put a patch over the damaged area to hopefully buy some time/distance to get to a bike shop. Fifty miles later, just outside Dunkirk, the rear tire blew out completely. Oh sh##! I was out of options and planned on spending most of the afternoon walking to the nearest bike shop (7 mi). I ...

  Stats:   Today's miles:  0  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   0 feet Total miles traveled:   2,912.7  miles Total feet climbed:   76,713 feet The route through Erie PA was along the lake shore. In fact, the hotel was just across the street from the marina. The challenge was that everything along the lakeshore is somewhat isolated from “upper” Erie by a steep, tall cliff/ridge. This became a significant factor on Monday when I was locked down by the rain. All of the marina restaurants were closed on Monday and I needed change for laundry. I walked over 3 miles (large construction detour) to get some food and change at a Halal market about 5 blocks immediately above the hotel (kind of a sketchy walk). I was happy to pay the Dominos delivery charge when I got back to the hotel. The thunderstorms and rain were intense through the early afternoon. It was a good day to rest and catch up on some of the other tasks.

Stats:   Today's miles: 90.1  miles Today's feet of elevation gain:   1,768 feet Total miles traveled:   2,912.7  miles Total feet climbed:   76,713 feet Good bye Ohio, hello Pennsylvania! Another state down. Riding through Cleveland was really cool and relatively easy. The route stayed along the lake shore for the most part. It was amazing to see (from outside the gates) of the multi-million mansions. These were really beautiful homes, some from the turn of the century (1900) and some ultra modern. It was like a tour around Lake Minnetonka, but went on for miles and miles. The city was very bike friendly…dedicated bike lanes (even in the city center), bike route around the lake. It was fun to ride by the FirstEnergy Stadium, Technology Center and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.