Liverpool to Little Falls

Rick and I had breakfast this morning at 6:15 at Denny’s. We shared the meal with John and Amy from New York and Kip and Carol Jean from Florida. A nice older lady waited on us. She seemed a little flustered at first and said she had worked late last evening and that they had called her in early this morning because of the bike riding group. We conversed with her and put her at ease. As we were leaving the restaurant we were approached by a young guy who wanted to know where we were going to and coming from. It was another “Oh Wow” Moment.

I left the hotel at 7:30 AM. Kip and I were riding together and as time went by I could see another rider in my mirror. When we stopped to change the map to the next page I saw that it was Jerry Griswold from CA.

Jerry has toured all over the world and frequently does tours self contained staying in hotels. I ate dinner with him last evening and got to talk to him some about his touring experience and how he prepares when he goes to a foreign country. One interesting technique he uses is to get someone to write the location of his next planned stop in the language so he can ask directions if he get’s off course. I asked him if the language has been a problem and he said, “I can’t hear anyone anyway so it’s no different than here”. Jerry is extremely hard of hearing so it’s a little difficult to communicate with him in a loud restaurant. Jerry is 64 years young, is from California and had a career as a barber. His wife is not into bike riding, but she is supportive of his adventuresome spirit.

Kip, Jerry and I rode together until we arrived at the first SAG stop at 24 miles. The ABB vans were parked next to the Erie Canal. From the first SAG stop the route took us along the canal on Canal Road. I followed Skip, Don, and Jose until they decided to get on the canal trail. I continued on Canal Road.

The ride today was not as hilly as some of our recent days. The attractive features were the Erie Canal and some nice farms along the way. The total distance was 78 miles. The air was heavy, just like at home. It looked like we could get another shower but we were spared.

As I was riding the last 25 miles by myself, I decided to stop and verify that I was on the right road and get a cookie from my onboard snack bag. After I saw that I was on route and was preparing to continue, a group of four riders passed me and asked if I was ok. It was Wayne from Wales, Steve from Australia, and John and Gary both from CA. They usually maintain a pretty fast pace. As I got underway they invited me to join them. I rode the last 25 miles with them. The pace was faster than I had been riding but was not difficult to keep since I was in their wind shadow. We arrived at the hotel in Little Falls at 1:15 PM.

My energy level has been good the last four days. I am eating more throughout the day. I had a strawberry milkshake and Big Mac when I arrived today. I'm trying to eat every hour during the ride. I am riding a little slower than I had been and smelling the roses a little more.