Paul Kramer's blog

89 miles, 2717 feet climbed

Today a steady rain began as we left the hotel and continued for at least two hours. We rode only the first 5 or so miles of the Erie Canal trail and then diverted to Route 31 for 60 miles or so. With the rain and needing to keep moving, I took only a few photos.

At the second SAG stop, Karen showed me the future weather radar track of a heavier storm. That incentivized me to put my head down and make some speed for our hotel. I just about made it when light rains began to fall again, but was able to watch the heavier rains from the lobby.

Continue reading “Day 45 – Rochester to Syracuse, New York”

104 miles, 1614 feet climbed

Unlike 2004, out route today took us north from Niagara Falls and along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, then eventually south east to the southern part of Rochester. Thunderstorms were a possibility later in the day. At the third SAG near Spencerport, the rain started. Kees and I took a break at a pizza place for paninies. The sun came out for a while but we got some more rain before we reached Rochester. We finished in sunshine.

Continue reading “Day 44 – Niagara Falls to Rochester, New York”

It has taken me a while to get to the backlog of daily reports. Rain on two days and bad WiFi have conspired to prevent me from catching up. Consider this a down payment.

The weather was not that hot but felt hotter due to the humidity. Nothing a shower couldn’t wash away. I started mid-morning at Goat Island, a short walk from our hotel on the New York side of the falls. Eventually I walked back over to the Canadian side.

Continue reading “Day 43 – Niagara Falls, New York (Rest Day)”

75 miles, 1588 feet climbed

Today was another day of pleasant weather. Headwinds and crosswinds again, but not too strong. We did get to climb a few relatively steep, but short, hills as we approached the Niagara area, the first after days of pretty flat terrain. We’ll have more, especially in Vermont and New Hampshire.

When we got to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, I left my camera in my pocket, knowing that I will return on our rest day tomorrow with the big camera. Look for those in tomorrow’s report.

Continue reading “Day 42 – Brantford, Ontario, Canada to Niagara Falls, New York”

69 miles, 1230 feet climbed

Agriculture, more of it, more variety. Corn and soybeans, of course. We also saw asparagus, tobacco, tomatoes, ginseng, and potatoes. We rode all the way across southern Idaho and my first sighting of potatoes is in eastern Canada?

The end of the route into Brantford was on the Waterford Heritage Trail. It began as packed gravel and sand but soon became a paved bike path. In the middle there was a diversion off the path in Mt. Pleasant to the Windmill Country Market. Most of us ordered sandwiches–I had pork belly and cheese with some tangy coleslaw.

Continue reading “Day 41 – London to Brantford, Ontario, Canada”

84 miles, 1306 feet climbed

We loaded quite early this morning at 6:15, all of us together rather than early and later groups, so that we could ride the Blue Water Bridge into Canada. They shut down the eastbound lanes for us, which is probably why we had to be on the road so early. The bridge has two expansion joints that have to be walked across. We weren’t allowed to take photos this time (like so many rules, some treated it as a suggestion), so I’m including some from 2004 below.

Continue reading “Day 40 – Port Huron, Michigan to London, Ontario, Canada”

90 miles, 1033 feet climbed

Another pleasant day, weather wise. I am revoking my praise for Michigan road surfaces, however. Today’s were some of the worst on the tour and a greater percentage of the day’s ride than any other day I can recall. I do have the general impression that they were not as bad as in 2004, but that is the kind of faint praise that only a narcissist would spin positively. No new crops along the way but some good frozen custard not a a Culver’s at the turn south near Lake Huron (along with pizza, of all things, thus the name Pepperoni Cow). And my first Boston Cream doughnut at Tim Horton’s.

Continue reading “Day 39 – Birch Run to Port Huron, Michigan”

75 miles, 449 feet climbed

Today was essentially flat. I can’t recall anything resembling a climb but my computer says there was that little bit. My camera was back in my pocket but there wasn’t too much new to see. The weather was, if anything, a little chilly to begin and quite comfortable throughout the rest of the day.

Continue reading “Day 38 – Mount Pleasant to Birch Run, Michigan”

113 miles, 3271 feet climbed

Coming after the ferry day and evening arrival at our hotel, this day had the potential to be a grind. Luckily it was not. Western Michigan seems to be less densely inhabited than Wisconsin. We began by heading pretty much due south, then turned to the east. The first third or so was lushly forested. Then we encountered open lands with more corn and soybeans, along with a bit of wheat.

Continue reading “Day 37 – Ludington to Mount Pleasant, Michigan”

7 miles (bike), 60 miles (Ferry)

Today was mostly rest, with a little casual bike riding mixed in. Not considered a real rest day by some in that they had deadlines to meet. We loaded luggage at 9 am but didn’t have to be at the ferry dock until 12:30 pm, leaving us with what we could carry in a backpack and on our bikes as our entertainment. I took advantage of the time to get closer to being caught up on these posts while my tablet PC was upgrading itself to the latest release of Windows 10. On the short ride to the ferry I grabbed a sandwich and soda at a convenience store and ate them on the dock while we waited to board.

Continue reading “Day 36 – Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan”