Another good riding day, and a good day to talk to people too. The weather cooperated by staying cloudy, which kept it a bit cooler than yesterday. When I left this morning it was already in the 70s and humid, but it didn't get much higher than 80. That was a good thing. It tried to rain a couple of times, but never got any further than sprinkles.I managed to get on the road a bit earlier today - 8:30 - but that still didn't get me to camp before 5. I'm pretty much maintaining a 10 miles per hour pace. Today was relatively flat, but there were quite a few of those short very steep (15% grade and up - ouch!) hills to slow me down. Between my pace and stopping to eat, take pictures, and talk to people, I was on the road all day. But since my primary purpose is traveling by bike, it's OK if I'm on the road all day!
I met 2 cyclists from the Onondoga cycling club out for their Saturday club ride. We talked on the side of the road for a while, then ended up riding together for a few miles. They had to slow down considerably to go my pace! It was a nice change of pace to ride with someone for a bit.
I stopped for an early lunch in Fulton. I'm still trying to figure out the best things and times to eat for maximum energy all day. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting closer! I ended up getting an egg, cheese, & bagel sandwich at Dunkin Donuts. It tasted pretty good, and seemed to work pretty well too. Eggs don't usually give me enough energy, but I think the carbs from the bagel + the protein did the trick.
After lunch I stopped for what I thought was going to be a quick picture of a lake, but it ended up as a great conversation stop. It turned out that the spot where I stopped was the ending point for a triathlon. I stayed close to an hour chatting with 3 guys who were 3/4 of one of the triathalon teams. That was fun. My bike and trailer (as usual) were the conversation starter. What I find interesting is that the trailer seems to be attracting more attention than the bike. That's a little odd, since what people usually notice are the little wheels. Maybe it's because I'm riding with rear panniers, so the little rear wheel isn't as noticeable. Once people really look at the bike it attracts its own attention too.
I've been following the edge of Lake Ontario all day, but I didn't actually see the lake at all until the end of the day. And it is pretty much socked in with fog or haze right now. Maybe I'll see it tomorrow, and maybe not. There are quite a few campgrounds that are right on the lake, but most of them are a mile or more off the road. Guess that's one of the reasons that I haven't seen too much of the lake.
As I was grinding up one of those short steep hills coming into the town of Fair Haven, I noticed a sign for the Fly By Night Cookie Company. The sign said it was off of a side street 3/4 of a mile down the road, so of course I had to stop. What a dynamite place! It's in someone's house. The front room is a self-service cookie shop. You just take what you want and leave the money in the dish on the table. I spoke with another woman in there who had been going there for years. She said this appears to be a case where the honor system works well! They had so many fabulous cookies that I had trouble choosing what I wanted. I really wish there would be a store like that one every day of my ride!
The last 20 miles of today's ride was interesting navigating. Most of my route so far has been on numbered roads - until today. The end of the ride was a turn right onto Red Creek Road, proceed straight onto Furnace Road, Turn right onto W. Port Road, etc. Luckily the roads were well marked. I wouldn't want to rely on directions like that in the Boston area since there are so few road signs! I considered staying on the numbered roads instead of the back roads on the map, but I decided to stick with the map for the day. I'm glad I did because the route took me over some very pretty quiet roads, passing through mostly farmland with a little residential areas thrown in.
I'm staying at the South Shore RV Park tonight. I was a bit disconcerted when I pulled in to find the owner's house locked up tight, and the office and camp store signs on a building that looks like it was never opened for the season. There were people camping though, so I asked if they knew how to find the owners or the camp host. They pointed me to one of the permanent trailers, so I was able to get a site. I'm glad I didn't need to go on any further - it was definitely time to stop! There are only a couple of other people with tents here. As expected in an RV park, most of the folks here are in trailers, and some of them were joking with me about my trailer. There is a nice grassy tent area, not a bad place to stay.
I didn't see much wildlife today - only a raccoon, and that kind of freaked me out. I'm always a little leery of raccoons that are running around during the day. This one came from the side of the road, ran parallel to me for a while, then crossed to the other side of the road and disappeared into the undergrowth. It was a big dog day today though. Only one stayed with me for a while, but I really hate all of the dogs who think chasing bikes is fun. Today made me think I should pick up some HALT or other pepper spray. I did meet a couple of nice dogs in the campground tonight, including one miniature dachshund who was really tiny. Her owner said that she only weighs 6 pounds, which is tiny even for a mini.
I just had to move into the tent. I've been sitting at the picnic table with my electronic toys, and it just started sprinkling. Time to more "inside". It's odd, because what I can see of the sky (it's almost dark out, just a little dusky) doesn't look like clouds. But better safe than sorry - I don't want to risk my baby PC to the rain.
I'll be somewhere in the Rochester area tomorrow - and in a motel. There are no campgrounds for the next 100 miles, and after that they look pretty sparse for a while. It looks like there won't be too many until after I get past the Buffalo area.
The wonderful Fly By Night Cookie Company - you've got to stop there if you're ever in Fair Haven, NY
The back, back, back roads
