On track

I looked over my maps tonight, and it looks like I've got about 3,260 miles to go. This is inclusive of tomorrow's 15 mile shortcut and an additional 100 mile shortcut I'll be taking shortly.

To hit my target of August 1st, that's a little over 54 miles a day (60 days).

To hit the max acceptable of August 7th, that's a little under 49 miles a day (67 days).

The good news is that I've been above what's needed for the last week (including rest day and shortcut). Also, the next two days look like I'll be able to get some big distances in since they span an over 900' elevation drop and day 2 looks to be very flat (and with an as yet uncounted small shortcut!).

The BAD news is that I've got no idea how I'll handle the Rockies. Hopefully by then I'll be in absolutley ridiculous shape and will be able to handle it. Utah looks incredibly difficult.

Fun fact: the max elevation I'll reach is about 10,500 feet. You've got to start worrying about altitude sickness at 7,000 :o

Was bound to happen

I finally got my first flat today after about 850 miles. I was under 4 miles from my destination, too. Bah. It was a small piece of glass that caused it. I'm going to have to figure out if I should replace the tire or not. I'm thinking not because the puncture was really small, but will investigate.

My legs don't have the energy they should have. I think I may take another rest day tomorrow to recover. That said, I only did 49 miles. Hilly again with a big constant headwind :(.

BUT! I'm taking a shortcut. The Underground Railroad path the ACA puts together isn't a straight line because it brings you to various historical sites. For example, it's 141 miles from Medina to Delaware following the map because it goes through Oberlin, but I can do it in 91 with most of the savings coming from today. So I'm calling today 84 miles (49 + 35).

I ended up out the door by 8 in order to avoid the rain. About 3 hours in, I got about 5 minutes of light rain then the sun eventually came out. It's supposed to rain tonight. Next few days aren't looking so great weather wise.

I'm southwest of Mansfield almost to Lexington.

Hilly and hot

I got through 59 miles today but man was I tired by the end. There were the most hills since the first few days, it was almost 90 degrees, not all the roads were that great for riding, and I didn't get the best night of rest since I was outside in a coffin all night.

The first motel had sold out between me calling and me showing up. I was so pissed that I'd have to bike 2 more miles to find the next place as my phone was dangerously close to running out of batteries. 2nd place is cheaper but has less stuff around. Guess I've gotta make it a point to make a reservation. I'm in Medina OH.

As for last night, I'd describe camping as bearable but not enjoyable. Maybe things would be different with a better tent and a big cushy sleeping pad, but I can't afford the weight. I was the only tent person there ("campin' pr'mative" as the owner described it). Everyone else was in those camper things you pull with a car or truck. Some seemed were there semi-permanently. I didn't ask though (might be a sensitive subject).

Normally I might wake up in the middle of the night in bed and just fall right back to sleep comfy and cozy. This time, I wake up, realize I'm trapped in a coffin on the ground with condensation building on the inside and bugs making noise outside and it's like "what am I DOING???"

Gotta get an early start tomorrow. PM
showers.

Hi Mae!

Camping (ugh)

Well I knew it would come to this eventually. There just wasn't any place nearby that wasn't well over $100. They have showers and bathrooms and I've got plenty of food. I should be alright if a bit uncomfortable.

Biking wasn't so bad. I went by the lake for a bit then south through a few Amish towns. I'm in Middlefield OH. I'll be in Ohio for the next few days.

I did 68 or so miles.

Holy shit a bee stung me on top of my head!

Finally out of NY

A flying saucer! Run!

...

Well it took me forever, but goodbye New York. Overall, I've got to say that NY is incredibly bicycle friendly. There are tons of state sponsored routes with a lot of shoulder and not many hills.

That said, I'm almost out of PA as well (and I hear Ohio's not the best biking state). I biked 71 miles and am now at a motel in West Springfield.

I also finally got that tailwind I've been looking for. It's been headwinds for the entire trip except day 3. I did 5 more miles than yesterday in 15 minutes less time than yesterday.

Only city/town I passed through was Erie, PA. Had to ride on the sidewalk for part of it and they seem to have a thing for frogs...

Along Lake Erie

I finally finished off the Albany to Buffalo leg of the trip. Northern Buffalo (at least where I stayed) kinda sucked. It reminded me of that TED talk about how badly America is engineered for civil life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1ZeXnmDZMQ&feature=youtube_gdata).

That said, I also went through downtown Buffalo and I liked that part a lot more (more city-ish).

I did 65 miles all together but it wasn't the most direct route in the world. I'm now in Dunkirk. I should hit PA tomorrow (finally out of NY!)

Hugged the lake the whole way so no hills, but a LOT of angled headwind.

Rest day 2

Last time I rode 3.5 days before resting. This time it was 5. Hopefully I'll keep extending it.

I just saw MacGrueber. Kinda funny but maybe I should have gone to Robin Hood though.

Diners drive-ins and dives!

I just biked a *ridiculous* distance and took a $20 cab to get to a restaurant (any restaurant) featured on Food Network's Diners Drive-ins and Dives! The place I found is the Lake Effect Diner.

This better be good. I got the haddock that was featured on the show.

I biked 87 miles today. I'm so tired. I'll be resting in Buffalo tomorrow.

That can't be healthy

I think I'm going to have to figure out how to cover up my left arm and calf.

Map error in your favor. Collect 25 miles.

My Albany to Buffalo maps have a matrix indexed by towns with each element a distance in miles. Under the Weedsport/Rochester entry it reads 89 miles. I rode 60 miles today and I'm 2 miles from downtown Rochester. At first I thought maybe it was because it was a round about route, but as the day wore on it became clear it's a bug. Woohoo!

The route today was almost all on the New York bike route 5 (on the roads with lots of shoulder). At times a bike path existed, but I just stuck with the roads (gentle hills). The road leading up to the motel was a bit dicey though. Rode on the sidewalk for half a mile.

One thing that I hadn't really thought of before is that since I'm heading west, I get almost no shade from the trees (being on the north side of the road with the sun passing to the south). Today was in the high 80s. Oof.

I didn't like any of the sides at the restaurant, so I settled on refried beans. I got through 2 bites. Gross.

I have the longest leg hair in the world!!!

Watch out!

You know you're at a nice place when they provide shampoo

I haven't washed my hair for days... but I will tonight! The only place I could find is a Best Western, and it's by far the fanciest place so far.

Did another 50 miles today. I probably could have done more, but I'd have had to camp and the forecast had some rain in it (though got no rain... again!).

Went through Syracuse. It seems pretty nice.

Outside of Syracuse I stuck to the trails again. Limestone sucks.

Not much other than that. Go Celtics.

Curse this infernal headwind

It's not too bad really, it just gets to you towards the end of the day (spent the last 5 miles angry at it).

I decided to stick mainly to the trails today. Limestone sucks. I wonder how much it would cost them to pave the whole path.

Other than that, lucked out with the weather. Light rain was in the forecast, but it never came and the clouds eventually broke.

55 more miles today. I'm at a motel in Canastota.

I'm having trouble accessing my email. I think something screwed up when sensing a picture on Edge yesterday.

Better

GeoTagged, [N43.01645, E74.99257]

Whew. Woke up feeling pretty good, so I ended up doing almost 67 miles on mostly flat terrain. My neck and back still hurt towards the end of the day. Hopefully that goes away at some point without having to buy a new stem.

My main dilemma now is whether to use the bike path or not. The pros are no traffic and very flat. The con is that it's now mostly crushed limestone which my bike can barely handle and I can feel my wheels slipping over time. There's a New York state designated bike route that mostly tracks the path (5S) that has a lot of shoulder and isn't too busy. We'll see.

My only other complaint is the westerly head wind originating from the great lakes. It's the main reason most people do this from Buffalo to Albany. It's not too bad though.

Time to go find some food. I'm at a motel in Mohawk NY.

Rest day

Feeling a good bit better. Tomorrow should be good.

Not so much

I should have taken a picture of some road kill and posted that because that's just about how I feel right now. I should have taken today as a rest day.

I woke up this morning with very sore quads and an extremely bad stomach ache. Due to rain and bad planning my dinner last night consisted of potato chips, power bars, and East Greenbush tap water. Other that that, maybe it's dehydration or just my body konking out (like when you work too hard at the gym and feel like throwing up afterwards).

As such, I spent the whole day feeling like I was going to puke with absolutely no energy in my legs. I had to force feed myself to eat anything. On top of this it was in the low 50s with a very mild mist (uncomfortably cold).

At mile 30 I decided in had to get to a motel asap and found one 6 miles away in Schenectady (keeps my miles per day at 50).

That said, there's a very good chance I won't be biking tommorow.

Let's try the photo again

I'm on Edge network. Seems the blogging app flaked out on the photo
upload.

Piece of cake!

Today was great. Almost no big hills! As a result my pace was 2.5 mph faster than the last two days (a blistering 12.5 mph) and I feel I could have done a lot more than the 59 miles I biked (though took a three mile detour to avoid a scary looking junction with rt 90). However, I didn't want to contend with the rain, the darkness, and Albany rushhour.

Started raining very lightly for the last 6 miles which kind of sucked (booked it to the motel). However, it was threatening all day long and I'm just glad that was it. For most of the ride I saw white clouds ahead of me and gray clouds behind. Not sure if I'll be so lucky tomorrow.

On the way a nice lady helped me avoid an 8 mile trap. I was on a country road which was completely shut down 4 miles ahead and the only way around was at the gas station where I stopped for 1st lunch.

I've really got to start packing to leave better the night before. It's taking me way too long to get out the door in the morning.

The nice lady at the motel looked terrified when I walked in the door decked out in cycling rain gear (tights, shorts, bright yellow cycling rain jacket, and funny shoes). She just stared at me when I first said "Hello."

I'm at a motel outside a town called East Greenbush (7 miles from Albany).

(picture is from a bridge (Radcliffe I think) when I re-crossed the Hudson. Made me chuckle).

Last time I ate a whole pizza I was backed up for days

Hope it doesn't happen again. I'm not sure it's even possible given the sheer amount of food I'm eating. That was the 5th meal of the day!

I eventually ate the crust.

Side note: Shop Rite has just about everything at really good prices. $1 powerbars and $0.45/pound bananas.

Mile long uphills can kiss my ass!

GeoTagged, [N41.94554, E73.99731]

Same goes for long downhills cuz they invariably lead to big uphills.

The site I've been using for getting to Albany seems to have 4 categories of hills: flat, gentle hills, moderate hills, and hilly. Today was mostly hilly. The worst is when you're near level with the Hudson and you're riding with a mountain to your left. That's when you know you're in trouble.

I'm pretty sure it gets easier from here to Albany. Maybe after Rhinebeck. I forget.

I forgot to take a picture with my iPhone today so all you get is a shot of my $50 motel room. Kingston is kind of a dump it seems.

On a side note, I had one of the longest lucid dreams of my life last night. It was awesome. I don't have full controll when I'm aware I'm dreaming so it's a bit disconcerting when I try to wake myself up and fail, buy overall well worth it.

I remember from an old Batman cartoon that you can't read when you dream, so I spent a large part of the dream trying to read stuff... I couldn't. It's really weird.

Almost forgot. Did 54 miles.

Made it!

It took me 45 miles but I finally found a (very muddy) place to dip my
tire into the Hudson.

Got off to a late start in last minute preparations. As a result, I
only did 50 miles today instead of my planned 60 (plus I was getting
really tired).

I paid for it too. The motel is 30 bux more than I was planning on.
I'm at a place near by West Point.

Everything went pretty smoothly except some really really big hills I
ended up walking (wussed out) and maps put me on a dirt path at one
point that I had to backtrack and bypass.

I really need a shower and some food.