UGRR Day 36 Erie PA to Hamburg NY

Today's Acronym HAYF***

Part of the group crossing into New York from PA

Last night we had a margarita party in PA, tonight we will have one in NY. We will also be celebrating the last 80+ mile day in the whole ride. It will be our last Margarita party as apparently crossing into another country doesn't count.

Concord grape vines

More grapevines and a house along the shore of Lake Erie

Today's ride although long was at least mostly flat or gently rolling as we rode along the shore of Lake Erie. The area is full of vineyards but not wineries as most of the grapes are Concord grapes being raised on contract for Welchs Grapejuice. The soil is obviously very fertile, and the lake provides the proper moderating effect on the climate. Because of the very obvious vineyard development, the houses were few and widely scattered while the areas of woods separating the fields were fairly frequent. We spotted several bald eagles along with hawks, crows and a wide assortment of smaller unidentified birds along with cardinals, meadow larks, plovers, a couple of pheasant and some sort of buzzard.

Bald Eagle contemplating Lake Erie

We had cloud cover until about 11:00 which moderated the heat,but after the coffee stop in Barcelona, where we once again took over the local breakfast spot, the clouds cleared off and the day became hot and humid.

Over the days and weeks of travelling together, the group seems to have evolved a system that allows everyone to take a coffee break without terrifying or devestating the locals too badly. We settle into the seats, request pitchers of water and empty cups and proceed to serve ourselves water, silverware and napkins. We also usually order on one or two tickets rather than requesting separate tickets, and work out the cost of our individual orders, tax, tips etc. among ourselves while the orders are being made up. We space ourselves in the bathroom, only getting up to go as someone else comes back and we take time to make conversation with the waitress, server, hostess, cook and whoever else seems interested. By now it is a matter of common courtesy, just as not stopping in at a gas station to use the restroom without buying something, even if it is only a pack of gum. Again, it is a matter of common courtesy, and of making smooth the path for any bikers who might follow.

Coffee lust satisfied, water bottles refilled with water and ice and small snacks consumed we headed on out. Just outside Barcelona is the famous Barcelona Lighthouse. Constructed in 1828, it is and was the only lighthouse in the US that was powered by natural gas. It continues to serve as a lighthouse to this day.

Barcelona Lighthouse

As the day progressed and the clouds came and went, we watched the colors change on the water through every possible combination of blue, green, gray and lavendar.

In Silver Creek, just as we were beginning to look for the SAG after one of the more significant rolls of the day, Debbie got a flat. We found a shady spot on the sidewalk and pulled off to fix it. When we started to pump it up we realized the SAG had just parked down the street, so rather than fighting with a small inefficient hand pump, we were able to use a proper pump and get the tire up to full pressure with relatively little hassle. We refilled our bottles, checked ourselves off on the list and continued on.

A short part of the ride was through the Caratuck Indian Reservation, remarkable only by the Casino and a coffee shop named Native Grounds. Other than the one sign along the road declaring it to be policed by tribal police, it could have been anywhere along the ride.

Rebecca spent a bit of time reminiscing about the area as she had gone to college locally and was surprised to see how little it had changed. She was able to identify several familiar dinner spots and hang out spots as we passed by. At mile 65, a left turn to take us down along the lakeshore looked too much like going backwards, so based on Rebecca's general knowledge of the area, as well as notes on the Adventure Cycling map we opted to skip 12 miles, go off cue and get in to Hamburg directly. Part of the 12 miles was to keep us out of Buffalo traffic, but it was mostly to provide a more scenic route for the ride. At 3:00 pm on a 90 degree day however, sceninc loses interest, and a direct route to the Holiday Inn takes precedence. As it was we were exhausted from fighting headwinds and heat, and from the general continual attrition of 36 days of riding and were grateful just to be in small residential areas with shade and less traffic.

We stopped a schoolbus to ask directions, and as we followed the corrected route we spotted another biker from the group ahead of us so we figured we had caught up with the cue sheet and were able to proceed directly into town.

Apparently the Holiday Inn had lost its roof during the winter and not rebuilt the third floor. It made for interesting geography as those with room numbers in the 300s were actually out at the end of the 100 wing, while those of us with room numbers in the 200s were on the second floor above the 300s but not the 100s. At the end of a long hot day it just all seemed ridiculous and most of us were giggling if not guffawing out loud as we tried to figure out where the stairs were and how to get to the luggage which was out in the back parking lot where the "400s used to be."

Laurie expounding on the cue sheet-" no, there are no hills, you guys are animals, hills are your friends!"

Part of our evening post dinner routine is the cue sheet briefing for the next day. The first thing everyone does is check the total mileage, then we check for hills that are listed, followed by warnings, services available and historic notes. Laurie the guide has ridden most of the route while scouting it and so fills in any blanks that she happens to know about such as interesting sights to look for, evaluations of the hills and their difficulties and the general flavor or nature of the ride, country, urban, traffic, road conditions etc. Another part of the post dinner routine is the "Toni the Tiger" award. This is a pez candy dispenser in the form of a tiger, who because she is traveling by bike, wears a helmet and bike shorts ( a bit of aluminium foil and some black electricians' tape). Toni goes to the person chosen by the current Toni guardian as representing the most helpful, courageous, exceptional rider or person of the moment. Tonight it went to Michelle, who, in spite of having a nasty chest cold, has continued to cook gourmet dinners, protein heavy breakfasts, and ride most days as a sweep rider.

Michelle and the Toni the Tiger award

Todays Acronym HAYF= Hills are you friends

Todays Stats

distance 84 miles

ride time 4:41

speed 12.8 mph