Hot hot hot. Also very humid.   It was a slog to say the least. We filled our water bottles more times than I can count.   Actually it was 5  times.  I read Willy Wier in his book, “Traveling with Willy”.  In the book he tells about how he was treated so much better when he was on his loaded bike as opposed to without it.  We are treated as adventurers or travelers, as opposed to tourists.  People go out of their way to be friendly and helpful. Brandon and I have found this to be true on all of our bike tours.  Today was just another example.

We stopped in the Bicycle Outfitters shop in Brockport, NY on the canal. The owner, Russell checked out Brandon’s derailleur and said it was bent.  He did not want to try to straighten it out without having a replacement in the shop.  He sent us to a shop on our route that probably would have a spare.  In Rochester, we happened upon a REI store. The wrenches were wonderful once they realized we were on tour.  They were able to straighten his derailleur in a few short minutes for nine bucks.

We did 50 miles and spent the night in Egypt NY at a funky Budget Inn. The Uzrati couple were very friendly and especially so when I started to converse in their native language.

We reenacted a photo of Brandon that I took in 2012.

 

 

Our goal today is to get as many miles in before the predicted storms his.  We want to make it to Palmyra, which will keep us on schedule to finish in five more days.  We’ll see.

Erie Canal Day 2 Albian to Egypt NY from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

We didn’t get to the hotel in Buffalo till 2 AM.  It was a late night 4 mile bike ride on a beautiful night.  Consequently we got a late start and decided to cut some miles by riding busy rt 78 to Lockport.  Twenty miles later we were having lunch with Lock 35 as a backdrop.

It was a slow easy 50 miles to Albion, NY with a couple of stops for refreshments.  Brandon did have a problem with his self sealing rear tire. It continued to leak and seal for the last 20 miles of the ride.  We will stop in Brockport, 16 miles into the ride this morning at the local bike shop and do some laundry and have breakfast.

Day 0 Travel Day

Erie Canal Day 1. Buffalo to Albion from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Day 2

There was lots of drama today.  Brandon’s flight from Austin to Philadelphia was delayed. It was going to be close, but doable, for him to make his connection to Albany, NY. His 2 PM arrival was more than enough time for us to catch the 7 PM train to Buffalo. Things deteriorated quickly.  He circled Philly for 45 minutes with the threat of being redirected to Pittsburgh.  His plane did finally land at 12:45 and he arrived at his connection flight to a closed door. The plane was still at the gate but about to be pushed out.

He did catch a later flight getting him to Albany at 6:15.  This was going to be a disaster.  When your on a bike, people treat you more of a traveler than a tourist.  That happened at the Amtrak station in Albany.  With a four hour wait for Brandon, I decided to drive to the station and see our options.  It looked like we were going to lose a day.  I was about the change tickets when another employee came over and suggested that if we drove to Schenectady, which was close to equal distance from the airport, it would allow us an additional half hour.  Everything fell into place.

We had a fun five hour ride on the train, drinking beer and making friends in the cafe car.  We arrived at the Buffalo Station at 1 AM and had a four mile ride to our hotel.  We finally got to bed at around 2 AM, happy as clams at high tide.

2019 Erie Canal Travel Day from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Day 1 Buffalo To Albion, NY

TRAVEL DAY:

I had intended to leave home at 6 AM for the drive to Albany NY to get there in time for the Woman’s World Cup beginning at 11 AM.   There is also the Gold Cup final at 9 PM. This could be a wonderful day for US Soccer.  Then again, it could be a disaster. The ladies are playing Holland for the title of World Champion.  That’s unusual for a US team because many of our teams simply win our league, and declare ourselves World Champion. Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, Patriots.  The Revolution doesn’t, well hasn’t yet one a title.  It could happen.  Some day

BEST LAID PLANS:  There are time when it just doesn’t work out.

The plan was for me to stay overnight in Albany and meet Brandon at the airport on Monday when his 2 PM flight arrived.  We were to drive to the Amtrak station and board the 4 PM train to Buffalo.  Lo and Behold, that train has been cancelled.  Now we will take the 7 PM train and arrive in Buffalo after midnight, bike three miles to the hotel and catch a few winks before beginning our bike ride back to Albany on the Erie Canal.

THE CHAOS OF THE BIG BANG:

Things happen in life that may you wonder.  Some call it coincidence, which is crazy, some call it divine intervention, which is just stupid.  Things just happen with no rhyme or reason.  For instance.  Brandon was riding home from the Driveway Series Criterium in Austin TX.  There was a guy on a bike waiting who struck up a conversation.  The subject of blogs came up and Brandon asked if he knew amidnightrider. “Are you Brandon?” he asked.  “Whoa” said Brandon.  It was A Dude ABikes. When Brandon got home he send me a text.  “Guess who I just ran into?” I went through the list of his past lady friends, people I met in Austin, relatives etc etc.  A Dude ABike was not on either my short of long list.   To keep this long story short, they both got a kick out of the meeting.

CRAZY GUY ON A BIKE  A web sight for touring bicyclists from around the world

I found crazyguyonabike.com in 2005 during the internet boom.  When you though you were alone in your fantasies, illnesses, hobbies etc, search engines could find you sites where there were thousand or even millions of like minded people.  It’s a site I use for easy access to all my bike tours, beginning in 2007. I’ll be linking this blog to crazy guy for the next couple of weeks.

The word  was spread through the usual social media outlet that a ride was planned for early Monday morning.  Eight showed for the 25 mile easy spin.  We had a couple of hammerheads join us for a recovery ride on quiet country roads of Tiverton RI.

The first remark I got at the meeting spot was “did you bring your camera?”  I wasn’t in the mood to put much effort into this ride which was a repeat of three weeks ago.  Some of the same people to boot.  A few photo opportunities got my attention but nothing earth shattering. A beach, a flat tire and a couple of sheep was pretty much the extent of it all.

I may get one more ride in before leaving for a bike ride of the Erie Canal, end to end, next week with #3 son.  It’s being documented HERE

Bike Ride in Tiverton and Little Compton!!
When: Monday, July 1st
Where: Meetup at the Tiverton Library – 34 Roosevelt Avenue (drive south on Stafford Road to 177, Bulgarmarsh Road – take left at Roosevelt Ave to the Library
Time: Meetup at 7:45am – Ride starts at 8:00am
Ride will be approximately 20+ miles – make sure to bring a drink and snack. Ride will go to South Shore Beach in Little Compton – All on road ride – Helmets highly recommended

June 21st was a wash so Ten Speed Spokes bike shop in Newport RI rescheduled the ride to June 27.  The turn out was great and the choice of four mileage options made this a wonderful event for all levels of riders.

*****We did have to send out a search party for a 19 year old in my group.  He went out with the hammerheads and got dropped early.  We located him two towns off the arrowed 45 mile route.

2019 longest Day of the Year Ride from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

Longest Day Of The Year Ride, Newport RI

Thursday: June 27.

Time:  Wheels up at 6 PM

Where:  Ten Speed Spoke bike shop in Newport RI.  Across the street from the Newport Gulls baseball park .   Store is located at 18 Elm St. Providence, RI

Postponed from last week due to stormy weather. Click Here for the web page.  It’s a really good ride for any level.  There are four mile options and the routes are arrowed and there are also volunteers directing riders on the city sections of the route.

CLICK HERE for a video of a past ride.

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Providence Critical Mass

Friday: June 28

Time:  6:30- 9:30 PM

Where:  Burnside Park, Providence RI.    Get Directions

A very casual ride through the streets of Providence RI.  It will be a very large group (safety in numbers), making a couple of stops for R&R and socializing.  The ride ends at a pub in downtown.  It’s different every month.  You can imbibe if you wish. Or not.

I will be leaving Ft. Hill in East Providence at 6 PM for the three mile ride to Burnside Park.

For directions to Fort Hill bike path access search for directions to intersection of Mercer Street and Veterans Memorial Parkway in East Providence through Google Maps or GPS. (1 Mercer St.) Parking is overlooking the river on the West side of the highway.

50 miles on the Tour de Creme with friends from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

Partly sunny. High in the mid 70’s. North winds around 5 MPH.

Tour de Creme Route Bike Ride

Monday June 17.  46 or 30 mile ride.  We will decide at the parking lot.

Meet at the Fairhaven Rec Center Next to Stop and Shop.  (227 Huttleston Ave)
CLICK HERE for map. This is a change from the usual Staples meeting place because of construction in the Staples lot. It’s easier too.

Time:  Gather at 8:15 for an 8:30 wheels up.

This is an on road 46 miles ride using the Mattapoisett Land Trust’s “Tour de Creme  route and arrows.  There are some spectacular sights and at least four ice cream shops on the route.  There are two near the end of the ride if the group wants to stop for a snack or maybe even lunch. Think lobstah and chowdah.  We’ll decide then.  There is a plethora of really good locally owned eateries close to the Rec center.  There is also junk food places like McDonald’s if that’s your preference.  Or you can go home and cook your own.

CLICK HERE for the 46 mile ride with GPS route

*****NOTES*****

This is a 46 mile route.   We will gather twice at bail out spots.  If the group wants to shorten the ride we will have two chances to do that.

Our final gathering spot is Captain Bonny’s Ice Cream on New Bedford Rd.  Here is where we deviate from the arrowed route.