3000 Miles

3000 Miles
Saturday 22^th June, 2019
Day 43

Location: Hamburg to Victor, NY

Distance: 90 miles.
Temp:  54 - 78 F sunny

Dew point:  49 F

Winds:  14 mph crosswind to slight headwind

Cumulative climbing distance:  4,095 ft

Cumulative descending distance:  4,268 ft

 

I am so totally removed from time.  After 6 weeks on the road, we have lost all ability to know the day of week or the date.  Most days seem like a weekend day and you wonder why so many people are working on the weekend (when it really is a weekday).  Yesterday was Friday but I kept thinking it was Saturday and did not understand why the hotel was giving us a day old newspaper.  But the day actually was Friday and the newspaper was indeed the correct daily paper.  Today now seems like Sunday, which again is 1 day off.

 

 

As of this morning, we have now traveled 3,000 miles from our starting point in LA.  I have biked 2,810 miles and all of the last 1,000 miles.   This missing 190 miles all occurred during early stages of the trip. 


Another flat rear tire today and I had 1 yesterday also.  The tally is now Ken 10 and Judi 5.  Interestingly 9 of my 10 flats have been on the rear.  Of course, the harder tire to change on the road and the one that results in oily fingers from the chain and derailleur.  This evening I am installing a new tire as the old tire was showing major tread wear, which makes the tire more susceptible to punctures from road debris.

 

Today’s bike route was primarily on US highway 20, which runs parallel with the New York Thruway (Interstate I-90).  We biked around the southern suburbs of Buffalo and now are just south of Rochester.

 

 

The terrain is more hilly, especially as we transitioned from the Lake Erie watershed to the Lake Ontario watershed.  We biked 4,095 cumulative vertical feet but are within 170 feet of the same elevation, e.g., lots of up and down.

 

About 25% of the countryside appears to have returned to woodlands.

 

 We know we are in the northern US when we signs for snowmobile crossings.

 

We know we are in the northern US when we see maple sugar.

 

We know we are in the northern US when we see rocks, resulting from glacial action, in farm fields.

 

Biked 3 miles of milled road surface.  A jarring way to start the morning.

 

Judi's favorite early summer flower.  She has remember me several times on the trip that we would miss our peony blossoms.  Given the late spring we were able to see them in New York.

  

 High water at old mill dam.