september can be so hot...

from delmar new york to twinsburg ohio ...and new york state can be very hilly. we thought that after we got through the green mtns things would be less precipitous--we were wrong. jalil says he would rather be surprised by the hills than be able to see them for a mile or more before you have to go up. i love hills, but this heat is killing me. we left nancy and robert's house on friday am and headed for rt 20 west. we stayed on that for days three into a bit of six.

day 3 (75 miles)--plenty hot and hilly: that first day out from albany we ran into some really big ones...the kind you see from miles away. i can remember one in particular around carlisle, climbing about a thousand feet in three big jumps over four miles. i met two guys pouring cement with their hose out and got a wet down before going up a much smaller fourth climb. i took to wetting the shirt down two or three times a day when i could find cool water.

at the top of another particularly large hill, this one at the end of the day, we found a 'park' area for people to pull off and rest just before you drop into cherry valley. we took the truck stopped there as a sign that we should also. this was our first camp. picnic tables and grass made it all quite comfortable. jalil was not so sure about the bats, but i took them as a good sign. the only issue i had was with our soda can stove. i have to make a new one i think.

day 4 (65 miles)--still hot and plenty hilly: the next day seemed to get hotter and the hills kept coming. at some point towards the end of the day i realized we were close to cazenovia and a lake. now, we had only gotten in just over sixty miles but with the heat and hills, a lake side camp seemed like an appropriate reward. we pulled into the public swimming area and jalil discovered they even had a shower in the bathroom. we set up on one of the picnic tables and i tried jb-welding the stove while we cleaned up. we heated some beans and had tostadas of a sort.


day 5 (80 miles)--plenty hot and still hilly: at one point riding up another "big ass hill," as jalil calls them, i saw a sign for apple fritters ahead. jalil pulled in after me and said "i knew you would pull in here." keith oneil at oneil's orchard, and his wife pat, gave us access to a hose and water. i had a couple of fritters and licked the plate they were so good and jalil had some barbecued chicken and licked his fingers. keith got out his tablet and started looking at our route. he gave us the news that the hills got smaller after skaneatales. he was pretty right on with that. we went for a swim in the finger lake at skaneatales to try and cool our bodies down. jalil was wicked excited when he spotted a dead duck on the bottom. as we headed west from there, things seem to go faster.

day 6 (100 miles)--maybe not quite as hot and certainly less hilly, most of the time: at avon ny we turned off 20 and took 39 west (which ran mostly south for the first half). the same keith, told us about letchworth state park which we went right close by...only we didn't stop. it got to the point that we were so hot and wanted to make cleveland before october...jk but, we kept peddling and i made a deal to go back some day. from what i hear, we missed it. one reason we kept going was that the wind was picking up and directly into our face. a long climb out of a valley just past perry was particularly brutal. but at the top where i stopped in some shade, jalil came up and pointed out the two trees that form an arch. i actually didn't even notice but got a picture of him directly under it--only my finger is also in the frame and i have not learned to crop yet.

day 7 (80)--fresh fruit for sale and for the picking: speaking of crops, what we didn't miss was when 39 ended back at 20, i stopped at feinen's fruit stand. marcia feinen was selling the fruit and veggies and was super good to us. we bought peaches and grapes and chatted about this and that, mostly about how wonderful the fruit was, as we inhaled it in front of her. she filled up another bag to "send with us along our way." both jalil and i thought that if only jay could have been here with us--to eat a peach! i have never eaten so many peaches and grapes in one day, it was probably lucky that the librarian at fredonia, preferred that we not eat in the library. interestingly, we set up camp that night inbetween an vineyard and a 50-60 foot drop into lake erie. we hung close to the grapes though jalil did challenge me to dive in...

day 8 (75 miles)--suffering the crazy drivers in more and more traffic: well, we got up real early, packed, and rode into pennsylvania to breakfast at a table in front of mazza winery. it was a fine breakfast of bagels and peanut butter for starters, more fruit, and assorted things from our overstuffed food bags. as at all our prime stopping spots a well appointed bathroom was provided. the riding stayed pretty flat as we followed 5 down the coast. erie pa was a bit of a chore to get through but nothing like rush hour in astabula ohio (see later). we got a little sprinkled on but nothing drenching. the rain was easy to deal with as it came with wind and once the front got by us the wind died down to an acceptable level. we stopped for first lunch at a farm stand and i picked up some delicious pumpkin butter to add to the pantry. late lunch was just into ohio at the rainbow cafe in conneaut. we were a tad early for pasta night so jalil ate a pizza and i had a humungus hot veggie sub. (we have taken to eating foot long subs and wondering what else we could consume--this time i had a half-pound of "gamma's potato salad" i picked up at a local grocery just before...)

as we peddled away full, we came up to a road closed sign back on 20. the guy we asked about getting around it, gave us a hard time for missing all the signs that "we had to have seen for miles." we figured things out and got going again after flagging a friendly driver down for the local unmarked detour--"turn right at the 'mike's mowers' sign." (three or four other cars stopped when i waved, one of them even waving back, but rushed off as i approached to ask.) down the road we hit ashtabula at just the wrong time--rush hour--and with 20 under more construction, it was not at all relaxing. jalil was able to push through and we got into geneva at dusk. kim, a friend he has known since third grade (and reports that he is still the same jalil!) graciously came out and picked us up and drove us through any further traffic madness to jalil's mom's house in twinsburg.

day 9: today is a rest day...jalil has already done laundry and made me a grilled cheese. i am on my second pot of tea as i finish this and we get ready to watch the nina simone documentary. (this movie was really intense and highly informative about so many aspects of nina simone--i recommend it highly!) i also had to fix two rear spokes--of course they were on the freewheel side. we found a local shop and got it done quickly. he--curtis--also cut me two extra and i taped them on the seat tube. we are close to being ready tomorrow...

ciao