Travel-Blogue
Days 8 and 9
Erie to Cortland, and Day 1 of The Bon Ton Roulet: Cortland to Ithaca
After a hearty breakfast at The Breakfast Place in Erie with Mom and Nic, we loaded the bikes on the car, blew kisses, and rode off for New York to check in for our ride in Cortland. The drive from Erie was about 4 ½ hours, and would have been uneventful had the brakes not gone out as we passed through Ithaca. Fortunately, Rich spotted Ford dealer on the main drag, so we turned around and drove (gingerly) into the service bay which had closed 15 minutes prior to our arrival. Thankfully, one of the technicians came out, checked the car, filled it with brake fluid (which had apparently been overlooked when Rich had it serviced just before embarking on this trip), and had us back on the road in no time. We arrived without further incident to Cortland, completed the ride check in, and then checked into a nearby hotel to redistribute our gear and get ready for departure in the morning while catching snippets of the penultimate day on the Tour de France.
The forecast threatened rain, and it did rain overnight, but in the morning it looked ok. All 500 of us set off at 8 am, and our cycling adventure began! We rode through several small, quaint towns with a lot of cute homes, many of which were old Victorians with lots of gingerbread-eaves. The woods came up to the property edges, and there was (is!) so much greenery around. Cayuga Lake is quite idyllic, with houses around the edges sporting small piers, and local children splashing about in it. Part of our route took us through the historic Underground Railroad. I tried to imagine this area without the modern houses, and reflected on the courage of not just the escaped slaves, but of those who harbored them. Our second rest stop was at Cornell University’s bird sanctuary, which was stunningly lovely. Rich and I could only think about how much Susan & Bob would have loved it. When we reached the outskirts of Ithaca, we passed by many of Cornell’s old buildings. Their architecture reminded me of many of the colleges in Oxford. We stopped for iced lattes there in the university district and took in the ambiance; many summer students were sitting there with their laptops and textbooks, hard at work.
We pulled in to camp at Robert Treman State Park after 70 miles of riding, pitched our tent, and struck out for the swimming hole which was to die for. It is a large pond at the base of a waterfall, complete with a diving board. The water was cold (62 degrees), but as we were both quite hot and sweaty from the ride (the temp today was about 76, but the humidity was quite high), we both jumped in. I can’t tell you how good that felt!
After that we showered, and enjoyed dinner (I was STARVING!) with several other riders. One of the things Rich & I like best about these long tour rides, besides the opportunity to spend 7 days on our bikes touring gorgeous countryside, is having the opportunity to relish a hot meal with people we would never otherwise meet and share our stories. We sat with a pair of history professors from Massachusetts, one of whom teaches at MIT and did a project in the lakebed in Lancaster a few years ago, and discussed California’s budget, teaching in general, and cycling. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Tonight should be rain free, but tomorrow threatens thundershowers as we trek to Watkins Glen. We are well prepared for wetness, so whatever Mother Nature throws our way, we plan to have another great ride.
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- Sapsucker Woods Bird Sanctuary
