Cross Country Tour by Bike: The Road to Syracuse

Not a big surprise but my legs were tired today. Although we only had 68 miles to cover and 2,700 ft of climbing, the legs just under-performed. Simple arithmetic: race with "Dick" yesterday, stay up late to finish movie, start ride an hour later in humid conditions and the sum is sub prime.

Still, new sights, - the Erie Canal, more Finger Lakes, the birthplace of Women's Rights movement, Llamas, - new challenges closed roads, looming clouds, and New York drivers. Other than the cranky legs who just needed some discipline to bring them in line, we pedaled onward and celebrated our 3,000 mile mark at our SAG stop. It almost didn't register as it was an ordinary riding day until I posed beside the 3K sign. Getting excited about how close the end line is and paranoid about what could possibly go wrong between here and the Atlantic. Think positive thoughts, be watchful, clean bike and chain.

Finished ride under gathering clouds but still stopped for a couple of hot dogs and root beer at a local joint "Heidi's". Got caught in some light sprinkles but nothing like a couple days ago when it poured for a couple hours.

We're starting to talk about what happens once we all return to our homes and our former patterns. Sure, we'll rest a bit but our constitutions will still be expecting daily 85 + mile rides. Our stomachs will still be looking for massive amounts of calories. We learned that the topic will be addressed in an upcoming meeting before we finish the tour. A little reassuring.

Tomorrow we go to Herkimer. We leave an hour later again. Looking at the mileage and altitude we'll cover between Albany and Brattleboro, and again between Brattleboro and Burlington, it seems a reasonable approach to prepare for the final push.