Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 28-July-09

Mileage: 62 miles

Climbing: 2500 feet

Weather: Sunny and mild. Highs up into the upper 80s. Winds out of the WNW.

Highlights of the day:

- A beautiful day for the last leg of the tour. Winds primarily out of the west, pushing us nicely towards the beach.

- A few more New Hampshire style hills. Short but with enough of a grade to challenge the riders one more day.

- Riders gathered at the Rye Junior High at mile 50. One last group photograph and opportunities to say goodbye. All riders, including the staff, were then escorted to Wallis Sands Beach by a police cruiser. We owned the road and heard lots of cheers from passers-by, friends, and family.

- The beach ceremonies. Wheel dipping. Emptying the official water bottle containing seawater from the Pacific. Lots & lots of pictures. More hugs. More tears. And grins from ear to ear.

- The last day comes to an end. One more motel for the final luggage drop. Bikes prepped for shipping. Last dinner shared with new friends. Vans return to the ABB office. Time to go our separate ways but with a wealth of new experiences and friendships that will last a lifetime.

- This ends my blog for the Cross County Challenge 2010. I know I leave for home planning my next ride for this summer & looking forward to doing this again next year. I don’t think I’m the only one. Until then, Be safe, have fun, and keep the rubber side down. Cheers!

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 26-July-10

Mileage: 84 miles

Climbing: 5300 feet

Weather: Sunny. Low 60s to start. Up into the low 80s by the end of the day. This is July?

Highlights of the day:

- The weather was definitely in our favor. Cool temperatures to start. Low humidity and low 80s for a high. And (this is a big one), winds that were primarily behind us! Thank you Mother Nature.

- Crossed our 12^th (and final) border into our 13^th (and final) state. New Hampshire. That’s the official final. I think some riders will add Maine to their list of states visited tomorrow. But that’s “unofficial”.

- The feature of this day? Hills. Some of the steepest grades we’ve hit to date. Depending on whose cycle computer you believe, Sullivan Road bumped up to 15-20%. It’s enough to make just about any cyclist sit up and take notice but with the miles these riders have on their legs – not insurmountable. Add to that Pitcher Mountain and lots & lots of typical New Hampshire hill repeats and you end up with the second most vertical climbing day of the tour. According to my computer, it was 5300’. That’s right behind the day into Truckee.

- Another feature – small towns with lots of little white buildings and churches. We’re definitely in ye olde New England.

- We had our last official tour dinner tonight. A great barbeque dinner was followed by an opportunity for everyone to talk about their tour experience. Lots of warm thoughts, hugs, and tears were shared.

“Live free or die, baby!” (quoting Scott)

Best helmet hair of the day goes to…

Two-thirds of “Team Red Rock”

Michelle!

Because it was there. I don’t know…

The staff.

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 25-July-10

Mileage: 80 miles

Climbing: 5050 feet

Weather: Partly cloudy  Highs in the upper 70s.

Highlights of the day:

- Crossed the Hudson River today, seems we’ve finally made it back east. Roads were a bit rough in New York but the scenery more than made up for it. Rolling hills. Green and lush. Beautiful.

- Crossed our 11^th border and into our 12^th state. Vermont. Back into the mountains. Green Mountains to be exact.

- Bennington. Not as many as last year but there were a few painted Moose (meese?) sighted in town. I found a Van Gogh “Starry Night”.  A mamma and baby moose with Vermont scenes. And one with a blue face and antlers. Not sure about that one. I was driving the van at the time.

- A great 8-mile climb towards Wilmington, VT. Mostly gradual 4% with a few short kicks up to 8%. Put the strong legs these riders have developed with an overcast day and you get a really enjoyable climb.

- A shorter 4-mile climb to the top of Hogback Mountain. “100 mile view of three states.” Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

- A very nice descent into Brattleboro, VT. Mostly down hill for the better part of 14 miles. Non-technical. Just fun. A very nice end to great day on the bike.

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 24-July-10

Mileage: 76 miles

Climbing: 2100 feet

Weather: Cloudy and rather wet to start. Skies started to clear around noon and temperatures went up into the high 80s.

Highlights of the day:

- The weather. Wet again. Sometimes really wet but a warm(ish) wet. We had some breaks in the rain, something we had none of yesterday. We also saw the sun. A bright shiny object that has been lacking over the past day and a half.

- The route. Rolling hills along the Erie Canal and the Mohawk River. Not quite to the Adirondacks but bumps to our left & right seemed to indicate that we’re getting closer to the eastern mountains.

- Jumpin’ Jacks Drive In. Our second SAG stop and the food stop du jour was an old fashioned drive-in that has great burgers, clam rolls (we’re getting closer-ish to the Atlantic), fries, and all kinds of ice cream based drinks. Another highlight on our health food trail.

- Bike path. A beautiful quiet bike path along the Erie Canal for the better part of the last half of the ride. Tree lined. Views of the canal. More locks. Nice.

A Nutella Banana. Yum.

The annual “Maggie Simpson” portrait.

Dueling cameras. “No, I’m taking a picture of you!”

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 23-July-10

Mileage: 79 miles

Climbing: 1600 feet

Weather: Wet. Wet. Wet. Wet. Wet. Low to mid 70s.

Highlights of the day:

- This year’s CCC tour has had some rain before but never quite this persistent. One of our riders explained that “you’re a real cyclist if keep riding when it starts raining in the middle of your ride but if you start the ride when it’s raining, you’re just crazy.” Well, they were all just crazy today, the riders that is. It started raining steadily just before the first riders left the hotel. From there, it went from steady to hard and everything in between. I think I’ll let the picture of the local radar speak for itself. Squish. Squish. Squish.

- Both SAG stops were presented “ice cream truck style.” The table is set up on top of two water jugs inside the double side doors with the staff member behind table. Riders step up to the doors and “Order Up!”

- Our route followed the Erie Canal for most of the day and then took a parallel route along the NY Throughway. We’ll have more opportunities tomorrow to look at the locks along the canal.

- Interesting and/or fun sights of the day:

• Chatterbox Café. A restaurant that offers 20 different kinds of burgers.
• 911 Memorial in Canastota.
• The Worldest Smallest Church. Built back in 1989. It seats two people. Sits in the middle of a small pond.

- Talk has begun at route rap in reference to the end of the tour logistics. Hard to believe that we only have 4 more riding days. or ??

- Here’s to a slightly drier day tomorrow. Please???

Dark Green + Yellow + Red = Wet. Definitely wet.

Prepping the “ice cream truck” style SAG stop.

I’d like a double scoop of vanilla please!

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 22-July-10

Mileage: 70 miles

Climbing: 2150 feet

Weather: GEORGEOUS! Sunny. Highs in the 70s. Winds mostly at our backs.

Highlights of the day:

- The first part of the route followed along the top of two of the Finger Lakes. Canandaigua Lake and Seneca Lake. The early(ish) morning sun was just stunning on the water. Perhaps it was just the contrast to yesterday’s soggy start or perhaps it was just that gosh darned beautiful. Several riders took a few minutes off the bike to explore the park and pier at the top of Seneca Lake.

- At the top of Cayuga Lake, the route went through Seneca Falls. Here riders were able to visit Women’s Rights National Historical Park & Visitors Center. Seneca Falls was home to the first Women’s Rights Convention back in 1848.

-       Sunflower Walk. A maze created out of sunflowers. A bi-annual feature of Camillus at Gillie Lake. A rider was quoted as calling it (hold for it…) “A-mazing!” (sorry…)

- The route crossed paths with the Erie Canal for the first time. The canal will be a feature over the next two days. Locks. Bridges. Bike paths.

- Our visit to Liverpool/Syracuse will be capped with a catered affair at one of our rider’s brother’s homes. (Wow, hope you made it through that line of prepositions & possessives.) It’s an opportunity to taste some great local food from the Dinosaur Barbeque and eat somewhere that doesn’t require a menu! No menu? Is that possible? Thank you Robb & family!

“Team Road Kill” I just had to get a picture of this.

Show off! (do not try this at home…)

Linda & Rick our hosts. Robb – the rider with a great family connection!

Our feast!

And now the official news of the day.

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 21-July-10

Mileage: 94 miles

Climbing: 3850 feet

Weather: Mostly cloudy with some rain showers (see details below). Temps in the 60s to start. Warmed to the mid-70s.

Highlights of the day:

- We got the rain today we escaped yesterday. Not all day. Just 10-15 miles of steady to heavy in the morning and, for some, a brief but intense storm cell in the afternoon. Newspaper is in high demand to dry out shoes for tomorrow’s ride.

- Today, we worked our way into NY farmland and then into the Finger Lakes region. Lots of rolling hills. Corn fields. Grazing land. And vineyards.

- No long climbs but lots of repeats and a few steep ones tossed in for good measure. Total climbing was somewhere between 3500-4000, depending on whose computer you want to trust.

- Our second SAG stop was at Tom Wahl’s in Avon NY. A great place for floats, shakes, and burgers ala the 1950s. Health food heaven! Rick, the New Zealander on the tour, has picked up a bit of a liking for our root beer floats. Seems that tasty treat is not available in his land, he might have to fix that!

- Some riders enjoyed food & wine at the New York Wine & Culinary School on the shores of Canandaigua Lake.

A very soggy first SAG stop.

Rick showing his new root beer float habit. At Tom Wahl’s.

Shawn and new arrival Paul (AN08 alumnus). At Tom Wahl’s.

Proof of wet cyclists. At Tom Wahl’s.

A really big mannequin. Gerard, qu’est-ce que c’est?

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 20-July-10

Mileage: 85 miles

Climbing: 1450 feet

Weather: Highs in the low 70s.

Highlights of the day:

- Sometimes the Weather Channel can be the doom & gloom station. Bad weather is exciting and sells ads (I guess…). So today we were warned of rain and thunderstorms. We were dripped on for a few miles. Literally a few drops on the riders. That’s it. The rest of the day was mostly cloudy & in the mid-70s. Very nice!

- We crossed our 10^th state border and entered our 11^th state, New York. Only two more to go…

- The first part of the ride hugged the shore of Lake Erie. Riders had nice views of the lake and some cliffs (yes, cliffs) along the coast. We also saw vineyard after vineyard. Never thought of this area of Ohio or New York to have a wine industry. Lake Erie wines?? You learn something new every day…

- A nice long stretch on Route 5 & Route 20. Wide shoulders. Mostly good condition. Gentle rollers. A good day to just spin & relax or hook up with a few other riders to push the pace.

- Some of us ended the ride with a stop at Fowler’s Chocolate & Ice Cream. Chocolate shakes made with chocolate ice cream. Happy, happy riders.

Thumbs up from John H.

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 19-July-10

Mileage: 0

Climbing: 0

Weather: Cloudy and rainy. Highs in the upper 70s.

Highlights of the day:

- The last day off of the tour. A well earned one after riding over 480 miles in 5 days.

- Riders are talking about road trips (in cars) to Niagara Falls. Local trips to Presque Isle. Or just resting.

- Staff welcomes 3 new riders and preps for the last leg of the tour.

Crew’s Log…

Cycling Date: 18-July-10

Mileage: 98 miles

Climbing: 1450 feet

Weather: Sunny. Lower 60s to start. Warmed up to the low 80s. Winds out of the WNW.

Highlights of the day:

- The last of four long days. 3 centuries and a 90 miler. Some riders even extended yesterday’s route just to say they did 4×100. It’s crazy. But I understand. I’d do the same thing if I was a client.

- The roads of Ohio treated us much better today. A few bumps here or there but nothing like the bone-jarring potholes of yesterday.

- A great stretches of road for miles. Beautiful countryside. The usual corn, soybeans. A smattering of trees. A large portion was on an old chip seal road that has been worn mostly smooth by use. It was a great stretch to do a little cleaning and reorganizing in the head while watching the landscape go by.

- Tarsitano Winery & Café. For those who dawdled a bit and hit mile 62 close to 1pm, great cheese, olives, and homemade bread made a nice fuel stop.

- Our second SAG stop was at the White Turkey Drive-In in Conneaut, OH. A local favorite that’s been around since 1952 – it was a grand place to stop and truly appreciate a Richardson’s Root Beer float. I had my first Black Cow in years. Tasted like childhood – the really good parts.

- We crossed yet another state line today. A quick stop through Pennsylvania. That’s our 9^th border crossing and 10^th state. 28 miles today and another 21 miles on Tuesday & we’ll head into New York State.