May 27, 2025
Day 16 Boonville to Pulaski
Average speed: 10.8 mph
A very pleasant ride today.
I had hoped to start at 7:30, but discovered that my helmet mirror was missing. It was a mirror I picked up in Lewiston, Maine, and attached to the helmet, but had a ball and socket extension arm, that would fall out whenever I banged the helmet, usually dropping the helmet or sometimes even just setting it down. It happened almost every day and usually I caught it, found the extension and reattached it. But this time I did not. I lost it somewhere in Boonville. I had through perhaps it was in the O’Donnell Gray House where I stayed. So after I started my ride, I noticed the mirror missing, went back to the Airbnb, but of course was locked out. I texted Loraine at 7:30 am and she responded!! Then, 30 minutes later, her son Declan showed up to let me in, with a cheerful expression and let me look around. To no avail. The patience of Loraine and Declan to deal with my carelessness was very much appreciated.
I walked the streets of Boonville a bit, back to Stewart’s, the social center o the town, looked around at where I sat and asked the cashier if she had seen a plastic tube with a mirror on it. She had not. After some darting stares from the coffee-clatsch group of males sitting at the inside Stewart’s cafe table, I considered it a lost. No mirror today and probably none until Rochester.
Leaving Boonville on 294 the scenery changed. It was clear that technically in the foothills, I was in farm country. Barns, cows and field along the high-speed route with a 1.5 foot shoulder, a bit harrowing, but the traffic was not heavy and the cars mostly gave way. It was a decent stretch that then migrated into side roads that were very pleasurable. The weather was cool to start but I shed layers as I went, pretty much back to the clothing setup I had back in Maine when it was warmer. I deliberately took frequent stops so I could absorb the small “towns” I was riding through. It was a good strategy and I also pulled out the paper maps to gauge progress. This was a much better approach then tracking the miles with the Garmin.
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The pleasant ride and cooperating weather continued. Hot in the sun, cool in the shade with a nice breeze on the downhill slopes. Looking at the map, the next stop was Osceola, which on the map, showed some signs of civilization.
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However, there was nothing happened in Osceola. The hotel / general store was locked and there were no signs of life. My Airbnb host here in Pulaski tells me Osceola is home to the Fiddler Hall of Fame. Missed it.
Continuing on with some decent climbs but mostly rolling hills I entered RedField (not much) and Orwell. Prescient for these times.
Then it was a gentle cruise into Pulaski (Pu-las-k-eye; if you say Pu-las-k-ee then they know you’re not local). All along the ride today there were signs about the Salmon River and NY State Parks mentioning it. Well, Pulaski is THE Salmon fishing capital of NY (I’m sure surrounding towns with argue with that). The economy here is fed by these up-river swimming fish and the fanatical crowd that tries to capture them. The Airbnb host (Firehouse Inn, Anne is the host, and it is an incredible place - like a 5 star hotel) tells me that during Sept and Oct, the river is shoulder to shoulder with fishermen / women, in their deep waders, trying to catch one. And she has plenty of stories - e.g. the drunk Russian who fell into the river, started swimming and angered all the other fisherpeople. Busch Light had something to do with that.
Pulaski is a cute town, and don’t mean that in a disparaging way. It’s got a good restaurant (LDs), industry (Fulton), and pretty much all the amenities you need. It’s named after Casimis Pulaski, born in Poland but a Brigadier General in the American Revolution, where he gave his life. You can feel the Polish vibe in and around the town, and at this Airbnb.
And the town in very proud of its Polish heritage
The birds along the river were active (btw, saw a Kingfisher on the ride today) and good to watch. Especially a pair of Rough-winged Swallows.
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Tomorrow on to Fair Haven with a likely rain day on Thursday based on the current forecast.
A benefit of this blog is it’s a distraction from the Red Sox….
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 628 miles (1,011 km)
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I knocked mine off my helmet the other day but I retained it and reattached it with a spot ofcontact adhesive.
5 days ago
4 days ago