Day 44 - Sun, June 22 - Canandaigua, NY to Syracuse, NY - 68 miles - 3200 feet climbing

Today's 68 mile ride from Canandaigua, NY, to Syracuse, NY, was another beautiful, relaxing day. New York state is treating us well. There was a 50-70% forecast for afternoon rain but Randy and I arrived at the motel dry. It did shower later in the afternoon, though. Again, we had mostly nice bike-lane shoulders on which to ride. Flat tires did not seem to be a problem today. We did have some long grades to climb in the Finger Lake region of New York.

One of the Finger Lakes that we passed was Lake Seneca barely visible through the trees.


The Village of Waterloo is the birthplace of the first Memorial Day.



A street view in the Village of Waterloo.



A view of a reconstructed area of the Erie Canal.


A landscape view along today's ride.


A reminder of my home for most of my life, Montezuma, Iowa.


One of the scenic tree-lined roads on today's route.


Achim of Germany celebrated his birthday today with treats for the riders. His birthday was actually on the 20th but we celebrated it today in Syracuse. From left to right, Achim, myself, and Achim's son, Alex.



My sister and brother-in-law, Janet and Roger Hiemstra, of the Syracuse area joined us for Achim's birthday party, route rap, and supper this evening. Janet did Ragbrai 1996 with me while Roger did my farm chores. They celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this weekend and brought the remaining cake in for the riders - which was greatly appreciated. It was nice to see them again as I had not seen them since a family wedding a year ago.

George of England made a wrong turn again today which delayed his finish time somewhat. However, he still finished an hour before I did. George's ideal route would be to make a right turn out of last night's motel, ride 80 miles, and then make another right turn into tonight's motel.

Yesterday, some of the riders did get caught in the thunderstorm and downpour - mostly those who had stopped for a sit-down lunch. Some waited out the storm while others were sagged in.

Tomorrow's ride will be 78 miles to Little Falls, NY.

Thanks for the comments and bye for now,

Bob