Day 46 -- Every ride should have a "Little Fall" of rain

August 5, 2004

ROUTE: Syracuse to Little Falls, NY           
DISTANCE:  85 miles                 
WINDS: 6 to 8 mph tailwinds

WEATHER: Chilly with a few sprinkles in the a.m.; sunny and 70s for remainder of the day
TERRAIN: Urban flat to rolling in last quarter of route                 
TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,950 feet

RIDE OVERVIEW: Susan today, while Mike rides the route and then takes a breather.  There is no room for him and Barbara at the inn and there are no other vacancies in town (Elderhostel is here), so the Munks are in a motel six miles back or so.  Hope we don't need to shuttle to Route Rap.

After a substantial but confusing breakfast at the Holiday Inn (the wait staff had set up upstairs but we were scheduled to eat downstairs, so all had to be transferred and the table covers set up at the last minute), riders took to the road in a chilly light rain this morning.  It rained fairly heavily for a brief period and then cleared to a sunny day for the remainder of the ride.  By the first SS, riders were shedding their rain jackets, arm and leg warmers, and extra clothing.

Our route consisted of 17 miles of urban streets until we cleared Syracuse. After that, it was a great route on lonely country roads with a couple of small towns scattered along the way for effect.  The road surfaces were excellent most of the day while out in the farmland, and when we got onto Rte 5, we had plenty of shoulder.  The only busy areas were around Clinton, Utica, and Herkimer on Rte 5, but that just broke up the day.

I was pleased to find myself driving through Schuyler, NY--that's my maiden name and is pronounced "Sky·ler."  It's a pretty famous Dutch name in this area of New York State, which was settled by the Dutch.  Both Peter and Philip Schuyler were generals in the Revolutionary War (I think I'm descended from Peter), eight of the Schuylers were among the first mayors of Albany, and one of the Schuyler women married Alexander Hamilton. I'm feeding you all this genealogy to get to Mike.  The other day he was teasing me about the white terry cloth I tuck into my right glove and use to mop my brow. He told me that I must be descended from the aristocrats who used to tuck a frilly snuff hankie in their sleeves. Well now, that just may be, mayn't it?

Nailettes: Mary Jo, Evelyn, Pam, and Kate:

Barbara set up SS#1 on the banks of the Erie Canal in Canastota.  Four of our riders (the Nailettes) left the motel early and sailed beyond the SS before it was set up. The Hammer & His Nails--whom they always try to beat to the SS--told us that they had not passed the Nailettes, so thought the women were ahead.  Shortly after, the women called and confirmed this.  I caught up with them several miles down the road, and they enjoyed a "rolling SAG Stop," BUT...while they were wolfing their bars and bananas, The Hammer (dum, da dum dum!) caught up with them and sailed into the lead. Cheese whiz but they hate when that happens!

As I was contemplating our destination today, I realized that ABB should probably rename this route. Tour de Falls would be much more appropriate.  So far we have stayed in Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Sioux Falls, Niagara Falls, and Little Falls, and we've visited Shoshone Falls.  I'm sure there were others that I've missed.  I do remember that two of our SSs have been at waterfalls and one of our motel pools was fed by a waterfall.

I set up SS#2 on the southeast corner of a busy intersection in Whitesboro. No sooner got there than a guy in a D.P.W. truck pulled up and asked what was going on. When I explained, he asked to buy an ABB tee shirt.  I told him they were on Box , so he said he'd catch us in Little Falls . . . so far haven't seen the chap. Then a guy who lived across the alley came over. He was a bit of an airhead, but was fascinated with the helmeted and brightly clad riders. I gave him a brochure, and he said, "Oh, that was a mistake. Once a piece of paper gets into my house, it never leaves."  I asked if he had created aisles through stacks of newspapers and magazines. He claimed that he wasn't quite that bad, but somehow I didn't believe him. As I was closing down the SS, he returned, thanked me for the brochure, and wished us well on the rest of the ride. I think he'd been glued to his window for the duration.

Herb & Jean Insley, former ABB staffers, stopped by SS#2 also and brought us some delicious brownies.  Boy, have we ever been spoiled these past several weeks: cherry pies, birthday cake, cherries, blueberries, homemade cookies, homemade banana bread, peanuts, cheesecakes, donut holes, and now brownies. Thank you Herb and Jean!

SS#2 was noisy in a busy NY way--.noon whistle, ambulance sirens, fire engine sirens, and drivers meeting the "New Yawka" stereotype by impatiently beeping their horns:  "Hurry up, will ya?  Beep, BEEEEP!  Can't youse see I'm drivin' heah!"  Just down the block two front loaders were working together like broom and dustpan to pick up limbs from a tree that had just been pruned (left), their dump truck in attendance. Noisy place, as I said

Nearly as soon as they landed in Little Falls, riders bundled up their wash and raced across the street to the Laundromat to get first dibs on the washers and dryers.  Then it was Social Hour at 5 and dinner at the hotel.  Tomorrow morning after breakfast, Bill Gaither is organizing his Freightliner Contest. This contest consists of weighing both riders and their fully loaded bicycles.  The rider who has pulled the most weight across country will be the Freightliner winner; the person who has pulled the least weight will be the Lightweight Freight winner.  I don't think that Bill, who is tall and thin but whose bike and gear must weight about 70 pounds, will be the winner.  A couple of the Clydesdales weigh more than that before adding their bike and gear. Will report the results after the banquet Sunday night.

Tomorrow we're off to Troy and I get to ride--Sweep but riding nonetheless.  Think we ride along the Mohawk River on a paved trail for part of tomorrow's route.  This will be interesting for me because I grew up in Schenectady NY on the Mohawk River and also, my first teaching job was in Rochester, NY. Anyhow, good night Irene, I'm off to dinner.

DUH OF THE DAY (Maybe the ride):  Kate showed up in Niagara with a professionally packed bike. One problem: It has an aero seat post and the seat post binder collar was missing. Ooops!  It's a Specialized part that had to be ordered to allow her to ride her bike.  Bike shop miscue.  Kate jumped on the bandwagon. I need the part. Overnight it to Rochester! That's the answer. Well, it showed up but the bike shop didn't remember she had an aeropost and they sent her a regular collar. Heck! Mike had 3 of those he could have used. The shop called Specialized to have the part "overnighted" to Little Falls. When we arrived in Little Falls, Specialized hadn't mailed the collar. Guess they didn't see the hurry, but Kate hasn't been able to ride her own bike since she's been here and there are only four days left.  Hopefully, Specialized will overnight the part to Troy tomorrow. Stand by!  Kate's been riding our spare bike and doing well.  Hopefully, she'll be able to ride her bike the last three days.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

•  "You could put BBQ sauce on my legs right now they're so cooked..."   
•  "Lady, you're on my frequency!" [A truck driver in response to my "What are these truckers doing on our frequency?" question to Box and Red when I was interrupted by their broadcast on the radio.]  

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Dan's learned the quickest way to empty his aerobar water bottle.
It's kind of like what I do to clean out my freestanding tent...
just pick it up, upend it, and shake until the grit falls out out the front door.

Karen stopped along the way to lift some suds with a couple of real dogs! 
She fit right in as a groovin' party animal.

More SS goodies--this time from former ABB staffers Herb & Jean
Insley who brought three huge pans of delicious chewy brownies
on their way to Utah. They found the SS by feel almost, remembering
some of the way and running into riders who shared their cue sheets for the rest.

Jay finds the car for him...he's trading in his Ti Tandem and getting money back.

Couple of sad sacks that want to go along on the ride.
Can we go on the ride with you?
Woof, woof, pant, pant! Can we, huh, huh?

Yeah, right...as though Mikie would sell his beloved Roark...

Name the wearer of these socks and the ones below for a FREE
 route map and the privilege of being the first in line at dinner.

Add caption

Cov picked a good time to get a flat...to some it may be a major repair,
but when Mike gets a tire in his hands, it gets fixed pretty darn
quick. Mike claims he c an change out a tube in under 1 minute.