i stopped to chat up a farmer digging his potatoes and he told me i had made a fine choice. "it's a smooth road--for the most part, it has much less traffic than 46, and it will take you right to the lake!" he meant huron, and i decided to check out his "for the most part" as far as smoothness went. considering practically no cars had passed me so far, i knew his second point was bang on.
as i went along, i saw these large arms sweeping in and out of the low clouds and it took me a few seconds to figure them out. i took a movie, but it doesn't much do justice to the vision (mostly because you can barely see the "arms")...it was engaging though and i think i spent five-ten minutes just watching them. it was all very jack and the beanstalk-ish.
i stopped in deford at tea o'clock and had a snack chat with the local grocery worker and a county sheriff. the grocery guy was really taken with the idea of an extended bike tour, riding roads, eating, and sleeping when and where things felt right. "i've never met anybody like you before!" while i suppose it is sort of uncommon for a sixty year old to take a trip like this, i highly recommend the experience with its freedom and possibility.
like the apple trees i found at the edge of a freshly combined bean field. as i tested the varieties looking for a crisp one--i found it--i saw a bald eagle up in a dead tree watching over a tractor discing another field. the eyes, the tongue, ears, skin, and nose, get up close and personal when you are on a bike tour.
of course rural nature plays a big part of a trip like this, but i also enjoyed stopping in towns and talking to people--even when they spoke little english. three indiginous people gave me big smiles and shrugged their shoulders when they couldn't give me any information on a restaurant or road beyond town, "i don't know." a young man served me at a bar/grill and we got to talking about his future plans to leave port sanilac. the woman who drove me across the sarnia bridge into canada and then the canadian officers were super friendly and had all kinds of helpful information. when i apologized for not having signed my passport, he smiled and almost sang back, "no problem sir, it happens everyday."
after a grocery stop and making my way out of town, i found myself on another "adventure cycling" part of the journey when i had to detour because of a bridge out. couple that with increasing dark, and fewer and fewer houses out in the rural area beyond sarnia, and i started thinking about stopping for the night. as i was checking out a fairly flat but muddy spot in another bean field, a motorcycle passed me and pulled into the very next door yard. i decided asking them for a patch of grass was a more comfortable choice than i had in the field.
turns out brenda and mike were just the ones to ask. brenda invited me in and we looked at maps and chatted as i ate a late dinner. they gave me a bed and made me most welcome. brenda plotted a route to get me as easily possible down to king's hwy 3 without battling traffic. i went to bed and slept really well feeling lucky...
day 34 (115 mi.)--route finding with help: mike got up early with me and drank a cup of coffee as i had my tea and first breakfast. he opened his shed and i wheeled the bike out, finished packing, and pedaled away with a smile and wave.
brenda's route to 3 was perfect as far as i was concerned. i spent snack o'clock at a historical old church; another snack with a road question with a farm implement mechanic on a smoke break; lunch o'clock at a rest area and had a nice chat with a local kitchen installer; another snack talking with two flagmen as they cursed each other for not letting "the biker" through first!; dinner in a very quiet piece of woods beneath a huge radio tower; and finally pitching my tent behind a wooden structure at a paintball park.
in the last two days i had wheeled close to 250 miles and rather than being tired, i was wide awake and excited. ontario was mostly flat and the wind was not a problem as it had been. i had seen a lot of country and met a bunch of wonderful people. this is what it was all about.
day 35 (110 mi.)--far from and into the madding crowd: waking to another foggy morning, i took note of how heavy the dew and condensation made my tent fly. i shook as much off as i could, packed it away fairly damp, and pedaled off intent on rewarding myself with a restaurant breakfast if i could find one. about twenty miles later in simcoe i got my prize, at the shire restaurant and brew pub. the waitress was amused at the order--my usual: two eggs, as runny as possible on top of home fries with a side of salsa; toast, jam, and peanut butter; a belgian waffle with fruit and whipped cream topping; a mug and a thermos of tea; and a cinnamon bun to go. i thought of it as "eating like a hobbit" like their advertisement said, a hobbit about to go on a long adventure.
as the sun was starting to break through i wheeled away, not exactly full, but satisfied. i was aiming for cayuga and planning to turn off 3, and follow the grand river toward the north side of lake erie. the county rd i took was a joy--no traffic, plenty of sun, and a beautiful river, what could be better? i got into dunneville, found the library and emailed my friend kaleigh who had asked me to stop on my way back home. (jalil and i had worked with her at sead a couple of years ago, but had missed stopping on the east-west trip across ny state.) i figured at this rate i would be there the next day--well ahead of the rain due the next night.
after dunneville i found some really beautiful and nearly empty county roads that led to an even more secluded conservation trail. i stopped twice on the latter and chatted firstly, with three workers clearing trees and brush, and secondly, with an older woman biking home from visiting her parents at a home in the next town. she told me how to hook up with the friendship trail in port colborne: "turn right on cement road, ride to the lake and turn left, go to the canal and find the bridge--cross it and you'll find the trail!" riding ontario was easy!
indeed i did find the friendship trail, and it was as simple as that. it was paved and fast. a couple of bikers stopped at a crossroad, told me that the peace bridge to the us was just a couple miles further. at this rate i could get across and make it through buffalo before it got dark. unlike the sarnia bridge into canada, this one into the united states let you walk across. as i crossed the bridge i stopped to watch rowers sculling in the calm behind a break water.
far beyond the boaters i spotted a giant cloth structure which struck me as rather phallic looking. turns out it was the ferry street bridge to broderick park, under construction and covered. when i got across, the officer checking me in was not nearly as friendly even though he answered my greeting of how are you with "i guess i can't complain." he gruffly gave me back my passport and pointed me out the door, "do you know where you are going? right through that gate with the exit sign on it."
buffalo was busy but it was easy to navigate and before it got really dark i was past the airport on rt 33 or genesee street. with front and back lights blinking, i kept pedaling out of town. after testing two other spots but not being satisfied with flatness--by far the major parameter by which i pick a spot--i finally found some tall grass to set up my tent in a historic cemetery just west of millgrove ny. (the picture below was taken the morning after.)
this link will get you to the street view… i slept just about in the center, to the right of the flag, behind the multiple trunked tree next to a larger individual trunk…better to block the light of a street lamp right across rt 33. the spot came complete with:
- several raccoons chittering in the trees--one actually dropped down and scratched at my pannier. luckily i had thought to clip it shut
- rt 33 about 15 yards north with a steady stream of traffic
- the drone of I-90 not all that far off beyond 33
- an active train track to my south
- under the constant buzz of planes in a flight pattern connecting buffalo to the world.
day 36 (75 mi.)--headed for a friend to beat the rain: buttercrumbs bakery was the first stop i made the next morning. looking for a cafe, i noticed this place right off and went in to enjoy the goodies after talking to a local sitting at an outside table to smoke. three muffins, tea, and more conversation with harry inside, along with the gentleman with the ugly dog hunting, blaze-orange shirt on, …
the jell-o ("america's most famous desert") museum in leroy ny…what is in a jell-o museum you might ask? well we would both have to go in to find out as i was hungry and needed a computer, so i went down to the river by the library and ate first, then emailed kaleigh to tell her when i would be pulling into shortsville. i do wonder if they have removed all vestiges of bill cosby yet though…?
earlier, the crushed stone paths in ohio, wisconsin, michigan, and ontario had reminded me of what sawyer and hannah love in the dirt roads of western massachusetts and southern vermont; they rode the D2R2 again this year. these roads took me back to prince edward island and a canadian maritime tour i took years ago. coincidentally, soy and han also road pei this july.
the hills i mentioned were covered with horse farms, or whatever you call them. huge green expanses with miles of white fence spread out from the road, always with a couple of nice looking horses grazing within. several times one or two of them would run along their side of the fence, shaking their manes and tales when they got stopped at a corner but i kept going. i also kept pedaling when i passed a late 50's mercedes benz for sale. i took this picture from the internet, but it looked identical, sans the white fence in the background.i went by a really solid, beautiful looking barn that i was tempted to stop and pin a note to a post, "if you ever want to sell this barn, call…" right past that on the other side of the road, is the grave yard that kaleigh told me got hit by a tornado on wednesday evening. that must of been the huge, roiling storm system i saw pass just north of me as i came across the peace bridge. i guess i was lucky not to be more intimately involved.
rolling into shortsville, it was easy to find kaleigh's as her dad, ron, was indeed mowing the lawn as she had predicted. i got a warm greeting and a hot shower before kaleigh and evan even got home from work. a couple of huge stuffed peppers sealed the deal--it was a great place to stop and rest, especially since it was supposed to rain all day friday.
day 37--rest and relaxation: rain woke me early and i thought of ron who left for his cable job even earlier, he was going to get wet. i stayed inside and ate, mapped my route, blogged, and emailed. kaleigh's brother ryan and i made pizza for the evening, including the dough, one meat, one "salad" made especially for sue, ron's girlfriend, and myself. we finished out the evening with some rousing games of uno. i begged out of a second round to pack for the morning.
ciao
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