Memorial Day
Monday we "slept in", all the way to 8:30! At noon we were in the post office parking lot in Hemlock, NY prepping for a long, hilly 30+ mile bike ride. Would my 20 year old 12 speed Schwinn with the new tires and rims hold up? Would my 50 year old quads give out? Maybe I'm not the right person for her to be training with? What do I know about biking? Could Jan do the ride? Would we pop a tire or two, get chased and chewed by dogs, run over by trucks, or have to fight the wind for miles?
Knowing we would have views of two Finger Lakes, Hemlock and Canadice, plus the gorgeous scenery along the way, provided motivation to begin our expedition. The roads really were good for biking, traffic for the most part wasn't a problem and the air temperature was nice. We set off, onto rt. 15A, uphill. Turning onto Stone Hill rd (notice a theme developing here), we kept chugging along.
Question one? Has the state, county, town ever heard of freakin' road signs? How many times did we double back or just wander aimlessly? Too many.
So we continue, past Purcell Hill rd, Bald Hill rd, Burch Hill rd, and no, not generally downhill. How the heck do those Tour de France riders pedal up the damn Alps? I'm in my lowest granny gear pounding on the pedals going soooo slowwww. This would be a pretty ride in the fall, when the leaves are turning colors and I'm in my car. Oh, and did I mention the payoff at the top of the hills? Probably not, since there was none. No lake. Just trees.
We finally make it to rt 37, which was a nice long flat and gradual downhills, but the whole time I'm thinking we are going to pay for this, this is too nice, don't get too happy, we still have 20 miles to ride!
We turn onto Wheaton Hill rd, a steep downhill. Think of riding down Pike's Peak without the guardrails. Of course we had no idea where this would end, if our brakes would suddenly give out, if we would die in the middle of nowhere. Next time (yeah, right) at least we will have an idea of what to expect.
After a Hammer gel break, we turn up 15A north, back to Hemlock, 12 miles or so away to the van and salvation. I've just ridden further than ever in my young life and only have 12 miles to go! I lovingly tell Jan, who is a bit tired herself after climbing Mt. Everest over and over, that there are no hills between here and Hemlock. Besides, we will have a magnificent view of the lake most of the way back. Oops.
A mile later the climbing begins. 2 miles later I hear Jan behind me. I think it's something like, "Fu.. this, you lied to me, I'm not going to keep going, this better end, I'm calling your Dad to pick me up...". My sweet wife, who never used the F word said this. I keep pedalling, yelling back at her that the top is at the Deer Ahead sign (please God let that be the top). So after about 3 miles we come to the top. Of one hill. Around the curve and, surprise, another incline. Past Johnson Hill rd, Coykendall hill rd, Bald hill rd, etc. Then I hear, "Drat you, Michael McCullough!" Now I'm in trouble. She never uses my whole name unless I'm really in the crapper.
Another curve, and then, down, down, down. We are pedalling and gliding like a couple of school kids, now averaging 24 or so miles an hour. Hey, that's what Lance averages, uphill, into the wind. Ohhh that was nice. Four or five miles, all the way to Hemlock, what a great way to finish. By the way, despite riding between two lakes, we never saw a hint of water. Our reward, besides the great workout, was to stop at Tom Wahl's for burgers and shakes. Next ride I'm taking a backpack full of shakes to have at the top of every hill.
Knowing we would have views of two Finger Lakes, Hemlock and Canadice, plus the gorgeous scenery along the way, provided motivation to begin our expedition. The roads really were good for biking, traffic for the most part wasn't a problem and the air temperature was nice. We set off, onto rt. 15A, uphill. Turning onto Stone Hill rd (notice a theme developing here), we kept chugging along.
Question one? Has the state, county, town ever heard of freakin' road signs? How many times did we double back or just wander aimlessly? Too many.
So we continue, past Purcell Hill rd, Bald Hill rd, Burch Hill rd, and no, not generally downhill. How the heck do those Tour de France riders pedal up the damn Alps? I'm in my lowest granny gear pounding on the pedals going soooo slowwww. This would be a pretty ride in the fall, when the leaves are turning colors and I'm in my car. Oh, and did I mention the payoff at the top of the hills? Probably not, since there was none. No lake. Just trees.
We finally make it to rt 37, which was a nice long flat and gradual downhills, but the whole time I'm thinking we are going to pay for this, this is too nice, don't get too happy, we still have 20 miles to ride!
We turn onto Wheaton Hill rd, a steep downhill. Think of riding down Pike's Peak without the guardrails. Of course we had no idea where this would end, if our brakes would suddenly give out, if we would die in the middle of nowhere. Next time (yeah, right) at least we will have an idea of what to expect.
After a Hammer gel break, we turn up 15A north, back to Hemlock, 12 miles or so away to the van and salvation. I've just ridden further than ever in my young life and only have 12 miles to go! I lovingly tell Jan, who is a bit tired herself after climbing Mt. Everest over and over, that there are no hills between here and Hemlock. Besides, we will have a magnificent view of the lake most of the way back. Oops.
A mile later the climbing begins. 2 miles later I hear Jan behind me. I think it's something like, "Fu.. this, you lied to me, I'm not going to keep going, this better end, I'm calling your Dad to pick me up...". My sweet wife, who never used the F word said this. I keep pedalling, yelling back at her that the top is at the Deer Ahead sign (please God let that be the top). So after about 3 miles we come to the top. Of one hill. Around the curve and, surprise, another incline. Past Johnson Hill rd, Coykendall hill rd, Bald hill rd, etc. Then I hear, "Drat you, Michael McCullough!" Now I'm in trouble. She never uses my whole name unless I'm really in the crapper.
Another curve, and then, down, down, down. We are pedalling and gliding like a couple of school kids, now averaging 24 or so miles an hour. Hey, that's what Lance averages, uphill, into the wind. Ohhh that was nice. Four or five miles, all the way to Hemlock, what a great way to finish. By the way, despite riding between two lakes, we never saw a hint of water. Our reward, besides the great workout, was to stop at Tom Wahl's for burgers and shakes. Next ride I'm taking a backpack full of shakes to have at the top of every hill.
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