To Auburn

July 20, 2021

It feels like we’re at another inflection point in the tour. After our three day layover we’re on the move again, and in a different direction. After a month and a half of generally heading southeast we’re turning north now at the start of our loop around the north end of the Adirondacks.

And, we’re running down the clock on the tour. if everything continues as planned, three weeks from today we’ll be on the plane to Amsterdam. Increasingly discussions about Europe are entering our conversations. What’s our plan for shipping our suitcases south to Viterbo for the flight back to Portland in November? How will the recent catastrophic floods in Germany and Belgium affect our plans, since our itinerary cuts through the heart of the devastated area? And most importantly, how will we like Dutch cuisine?

But back to today. It’s expected to heat up again with a high in the mid eighties, and there’s a chance of thunderstorms moving in by midafternoon. Accordingly we get an early start and are biking north out of Ithaca by eight.

On our way out of Ithaca there’s this lucky capture. One of the items on the Cycle365 scavenger hunt challenge is a push mower. As near as I can recall, I’m the first to score a sighting of one actually in use rather than just rusting away in the weeds.

Leaving town, we stop to admire this bright mural. Nadia tuns off her garden tool, pulls out her earplugs, and comes over for a chat. It’s a nice encounter to end our stay in Ithaca on.

Just north of Nadia’s home I stop abruptly again to look at yet another small waterfall spilling down beside the road. Rachael stops for the same thing just a few yards ahead, but it’s not even the same waterfall. We’ll bike past probably 30 or more of these before the day’s ride is done.

After biking north along the shore of Cayuga Lake for a few miles we turn northeast and start climbing for the only significant work of the day - 600 feet in two miles at a very steady 8% grade. The climb isn’t too bad - it makes a big difference to have gotten our gears adjusted and not throw all that energy into inefficient and annoying grinding.

Once up we meander our way northeast on small roads, traversing the heights separating Cayuga Lake from Owasco Lake, the next finger east. It’s quiet, peaceful, green. Easy riding, and the best cycling miles of the day. We’ve seen this country before and some of the exact scenes in Susan Carpenter’s post of her own ride from Ithaca to Auburn last month. From the looks of it we must have taken basically the same route once we got a few miles north of Ithaca.

And from the looks of her photos she must have gotten a better day for her ride than we did. Today the sky is hazy all day, from what we will later learn is forest fire smoke drifting across the continent from the west coast and down from Canada. How nice - a whiff of Oregon, just in case we were feeling homesick. On the upside, it kept the day significantly cooler as the sun never did fully break through.

Looking west through the smoke to the heights on the far side of Cayuga Lake.

Great cycling conditions up here on the heights. We’re liking the riding around the Finger Lakes better each day we’re here.

Not much drama to the day’s ride - just a lot of fine cycling.

Some strange sculpture out in the pasture. What do you suppose this is?

I was excited when I saw an impressively large bird perched on a snag in the distance. When I zoomed in though it was just another of these old things. Yawn.

The best of the best - quiet, unstriped Creek Road. For a couple of miles we bike along the edge of swampy Hemlock Creek.

Here’s some drama. It’s scary seeing a bike down like this. I look around and don’t see any casualties, but maybe she’s crawled off into the trees.

Phew! She’s fine - she was just off in the brush looking for ticks. I recognize this spot, btw - Susan took a shot just ahead of here, nearer that warning sign for the steep descent ahead.

About fifteen miles into the ride we crest out about 800’ above lake level and begin the gradual descent to Owasco Lake. Passing through Locke, a man endears himself to us when he sees us coming and immediately dashes to restrain his large dog lying on the grass loose in his yard. He’s a biter, he calls out to us by way of explanation as we quickly bike past.

In Moravia we stop at a convenience store and I down a sports drink, part of my new campaign to try to keep my electrolytes recharged. A few miles later we have one last climb for the day and then a fast two mile descent brings us to the shore of Owasco Lake. We closely follow the shore the rest of the way to Auburn, arriving shortly after noon.

Beginning the descent toward Owasco Lake.

Video sound track: Just an Old Fashioned Love Song, by Three Dog Night

From the summit of the last climb of the day, looking east across Owasco Lake.

Looking across Owasco Lake. It’s too hazy from the west coast fires to get a good look today unfortunately. For a better look check out Susan’s blog.

Our room won’t be available for a few hours so we look around for a promising place to hang out for awhile and find one: Historic Grounds Coffee, a new business in town that’s only been open about two months. We like to the feeling of the place, especially when we find that the woman running it is training her young son - maybe eight years old? - to run the cash register. This is only one of her children though - she has six others, which is hard to believe taking in her youthful appearance and positive energy. She’s finally out of the birthing business and is trying something new in her life. This is her first business.

Very nice place. It deserves your business if you pass this way.

The beautiful Phoenix Building, built in 1871 as the Auburn Savings Bank Building.

A couple of hours later we learn that our room is ready so we relocate to it and hang out there for a few more hours while Rachael does our laundry and we wait for dinner.

Dinner is just a bit odd. It appears to be a fairly new Italian restaurant run by a Sicilian couple that immigrated about seven years ago. The menu is attractive, but they’re so new that they aren’t licensed yet. The server is a young woman - girl really; she can’t be older than about 17 - and she’s being shadowed by an even younger woman who’s a new employee today just learning the ropes.

The meal is fine, but I want a beer. Rachael heads back to the room while I go around to a corner for a a pint and to catch up on the blogs. When I come out a half hour later, everything has changed. The sky is darkening fast, it’s very windy with the flags all blowing straight out. I obviously don’t have much time so I head straight back to the room, stopping as few times as I can hold myself to. I hear the first rumblings just as I arrive at the hotel, and ten minutes later it’s pouring outside.

Auburn has its fair share of attractive vintage structures.

I was just a minute late for this shot. Right before this there were about a dozen vultures gyrating above the clock tower of the Phoenix Building.

In Auburn. It will be pouring in less than ten minutes.

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Ride stats today: 42 miles, 1,700’; for the tour: 1,899 miles, 54,700’

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 1,899 miles (3,056 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	8

Graham FinchEurope sounds good.... hopefully I will fly over next summer to the UK.

I do, however, worry about the increase in COVID cases there and elsewhere. Stay safe.
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2 years ago

Susan CarpenterThanks for the shout-out Scott. I was lucky to have a nice sunny smoke-free day.
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2 years ago

Rachel and Patrick HugensAhh...Dutch cuisine
From an Americans point of view: potatoes with just about anything mashed into them, and Brats. They like "Chinese" but it's really Indonesia more than Chinese. Sandwiches for lunch: everything (meat, cheese, bread) is on the table....and take a piece of bread and place ONE item on it....not like a subway sandwich. (Rachel did a sandwich placing meat and cheese and looked up to see all Patrick's family looking at her). If you have a banana split, start eating at one end of the dish and eat to the other side, don't mix it up :)

Beer! Trappist Beer!
Chocolate! (Dutch are number one chocolate eaters)
Bread!

Rachel
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Rachel and Patrick HugensThe places we are staying have very expensive breakfasts that are very large which doesn’t work well for me and because it’s going to be hot we like to get an early start. It looks like cafes and breakfast spots open after 8 am. Any suggestions?
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2 years ago

Rachel and Patrick HugensEating breakfast out is not very common in Europe. No cafes. I would recommend carrying something like granola for a light breakfast in the room, then stop at a bakery for fresh croissants or Danish. Carry nutella! Buy coffee at the roadside.
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonThanks for the information. I need to try to get a room with a fridge for yogurt and or milk to go with the yogurt.
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2 years ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Rachael AndersonYogurt will keep a day or two (or more) without refrigeration, although all bets are off if it's really hot. On kayaking trips, I've had unopened yogurts keep over a week.
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetGood info. Thanks.
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2 years ago