Photo Tour

Here are some pictures I got along the way:

Truckie, who now belongs to Dan, sits in the driveway at 415 Elm Street.  It was a grey morning, drizzling a bit.  Greenhouse and volleyball court in the background, with the barn!  Nice home, indeed.

Alright, this was my first stop, at Ludlowville Falls.  Just after, I went up Salmon Creek (Rd), but took no pictures ... hands-down the best scenery of the first 3 days.  Humble apologies to the rest of CNY!

Here's my sister Kelly at home in Weedsport ....  plus front yard.  Day 1's completion point, long rest.

Cows at A-frame barn, on Day 2 (between Weedsport and Cazenovia)

Next, I found out what real hills are when I pedalled out of Marcellus.  In Marcellus, there was a funeral going on across the street from where I sat and talked with the pizza shop guy.  cafe ladies filled my water bottle.  I made it up the hill, but regretted being on such a busy and narrow road.

After Marcellus, I stopped at a Farm Market and sat for a while.  The owners (a middle aged couple), her mother, and a younger worker (daughter?) chatted for a good bit with me, and were so cheery and real.  They also fed me!  I was feeling so uplifted as I left that my mind was elsewhere and I got my foot jammed against the front fender, and tumbled onto the driveway!!  That'll be my last accident, thank you very much.

Made it to Manlius and sat at this gazebo and garden for lunch and a nap.  Bikey is feeling swell, besides his bent fender.

Getting close to Caz, I had to catch a shot of this bog that was spilling out into the road.  Looking quite fall-like :-)

Steepest descent (seasonal access road) so far.  Made it down fine ... Tomi passed me in her car as I got to the bottom - then I went to her house to sit and chat on the front porch, looking over Chittenango Falls park land.  A lot of memories at this house, actually - hadn't been there in a while.

Chittenango Falls!

Alright, so I made it to the Belton's house in Caz for night 2.  Rte 13 from the falls into Caz was up there in the top 5 best parts of the first leg.  Love those river valleys.

George gave me an awesome route for my Day 3, along with maps for the rest of NY!  I took the Peterborough Rd. way, and it was so worth it.  Here's me at the top of the longest, hardest hill yet.  I threw it in the lowest gear and promised myself that I wouldn't stop until the top (even if there appeared to be new "tops" after overtaking each section).  I dug into my faith in breath work here, and got into a rhythm of 2 seconds inhale to 4-6 seconds exhale (or a ratio like this) - within a couple minutes, i was totally relaxed as my body got used to using its oxygen more efficiently.  plus my muscles weren't unnecessarily tense.  I earned this view from "The Hill."

Once I reached the top of the hill, it was a nice gradual plateau and descent for a couple miles.  These cows lived at "Top of the Hill Farm"

One last view before I descended into the valley.  This actually was much of the path I was about to take!

Made it to Hamilton College where I stopped in to see Dr. Gapp and his 1812 HC Bicentenial vegetable garden.  I also went into Root Glen.

Home!!  My mom was somehow peeking through the trees to wave to me at the top of the driveway.  Across the street is an apple orchard.

Mom and Moki.  Made it!  3 Days, ~140 miles.

      Success!                                                                   And a warm meal.

Nothing so sweet as home!

And I need to get comfortable here, because I should now explain why I have so much time to sit and put pictures up and write about them ....  The morning of Day 2, I noticed a soreness in my left Achilles tendon, and on Day 3 in the morning, it was "creaking."  I decided to pedal with as much relaxation as I could, so as to make it to Clinton and also find a better form.  It felt good by the end of the day, but as I cooled down, I realized that I was actually rather hurt.  I forgot that part of exercising is dealing with more stress-related injuries.

So I'm sitting here with comfrey leaves on my Achilles, as I try to nurse it back to health before I continue on.  I'd like to make it to Saranac Lake in time to Camp with Phil and company, but I won't sacrifice my body ....  Sending healing and lubricating vibes to my left Achilles, and trying not to walk around too much.  Everyone said, "You can just hop on a bike like that because you're young," but youth can only go so far.  I feel splendid, otherwise, but one serious injury would put a real jam into my plans of freely roaming.  My body is telling me to slow down and check back in with why I'm doing this (before I get carried away and lose track of things).  So it goes.  I sure have good company and a cozy home to relax in!

p.b. (post-blog) - First day of relaxing, I got to hang out with goats, llamas, wolves, owls, otters, etc ... at ft. Rickey.  cages/fences aren't great, but the opportunity for interaction is still valuable.  My mom's going to get goats for pony companions (and companion pasture-grazers)!!

see my facebook page for more pictures