Fall 2010

It's been three months since the last post - school work and the holidays filled much of my free time. But I promised myself that before the year ended, I would mention a few memorable rides that I took this fall with friends. The one that stands out most is the ride that started at the Pittsford Community Library and took us to Ionia and the historic beautifully landscaped home of my dear friends Olga and Brian. They were gracious enough to have us for coffee and cookies when we discovered the Sweet Solutions Bakery was closed for the day (off to cater the 10/10/10 weddings). Enjoying this spectacular ride through a colorful fall setting were Terry, Brian, Brian's friend Dan and myself, of course. Olga rode a short distance with us after the break, but she was having problems with her knee, so had to turn back. It was still nice to see her and the garden at her house. I really must grow dahlias again - they are the best fall flower!

Another nice ride that I lead with Gary was from Irondequoit Plaza to Greece. The best part about this ride is the trail and boardwalk that we take along the river. I also like the section that cuts between the lake and the ponds; the most scenic part of Greece for sure. This ride started at 10:00am and did bring more riders out; eleven I think. Beautiful sunny day, stopped at Bruegger's Bagels, but did not finish until about 2:00pm. This may be the trade off if we want to get more of the group out to ride on Sunday's. I would not mind hearing how others liked this starting/ending time...anyone?

My last ride with friends was in November with Gene and Brian. Great ride out to Macedon on a beautiful unseasonably warm day. This ride could have ended painfully as Brian and Gene both went down when Brian lost a wheel on his bike. Fortunately, they were not going fast and neither were injured, just sore for a few days. Brian has since taken his bike to the shop to ensure the stability, safety and performance of his older bike, including the essential rear view mirror!

Overall, the number of fall rides with the group was way down this year. Partly because of colder than usual, rainy days, but also because of the cancellation of the RMSC fall ride course. I also took a few Sunday hikes with friends and family this year, which was a nice change of pace. Karen and I had fun running our first Turkey Trot in Webster on Thanksgiving day. I may continue to run during the winter when the roads are dry as it is a great workout, using a different set of muscles. The fact that it is weight bearing is another benefit.

The snow came early in December and gave us near record accumulations, so cross-country skiing has been our best outlet for exercise and social contact lately. Unfortunately, it is melting rapidly today. On the plus side, I got out on my bike and it felt very good!

Never Say Never

The opportunity to ride on Tuesday nights has come to an end - or so we keep saying...
Just a few folks were able to get out again this Tues., Sept 21, as we needed to start by 5:30pm. Excellent night with warm temps., a beautiful sunset and a full harvest moon in the sky on our return. I rode most of the ride with Del, my former right-hand man leading for the long group; so it was nice to do this again. We had a new rider join us for a second time. Her name is Carol and she handled the 20 mile route quite smoothly, so another female for the long group?

Rejuvenation

After weeks of not getting out for a group ride, I finally got what I needed - a really nice long ride with friends. Sunday, September 19th started out wet and cloudy, but the forecast was not calling for additional rain, so Gary, Steve, Brian and myself rode from Black Creek Park to Leroy and back for a 38 mile ride. The sun even came out for the last ten miles, making this ride absolutely perfect. This was only the second time we have done this route, so I am still enjoying the new roads and the more familiar, favorites, such as Oatka Trail and Stewart. We also have found a gem of a restaurant in Leroy; The D & R Depot, an old train depot that has been nicely restored and serves very good breakfast fair with REAL maple syrup - yum!

It really was incredibly good to get in this ride; the difference in my mood and energy was remarkable. September has been busy for many reasons and the weather played a role here too, with plenty of rain and much cooler temps. I also have taken a job with the Pittsford Community Library this month, which I am happy about, but it is one more thing to incorporate into the week, along with my UB classes and school starting for my kids. Many more miscellaneous items too. Most of the time I am able to maintain a good balance in my life, but September, December, May and June are always challenging!

A Century, At Last

I did not have a good excuse and was overdue to ride another century, so with Michele as my accomplice, we completed a 100 mile ride on Sunday, Aug.29th. This was Michele's first century and I was glad she did it with me; hopefully a memorable occasion for her. It was only my second century, as I only want to do it if the weather is ideal and if I can get a good night's sleep. All the stars lined up this time and it was a very good experience. We shared a large portion of this ride with Dan, an enthusiastic, cheerful guy, who is an old friend of Gary's. This ride was scheduled to start at Island Cottage and Edgemere Dr. in Greece at 7:30am. Michele and I rode from her house in Irondequoit to the start location, to get in extra miles, where we met up with Gary, Dan and Rosemary. The ride took us out to Brown's Berry Patch, near Lyndonville, on very quiet open roads. Gary and Rosemary rode together at a nice pace and were not far behind us when we stopped for lunch. We did have slightly different routes and our group missed a few turns, stopped for water and restrooms, dealt with a long gravel road and had to patch up my scraped knee after I took a spill on the gravel, so when you add that up, I guess we did loose some time. But, that is to be expected on such a long ride, especially with many unfamiliar roads.

At Brown's Berry Patch, we had a nice lunch on a picnic table under a big shade tree, where Rosemary announced that this was her last long ride and that she was giving up the bike! If you know Rosemary, this is so hard to believe, as she is the most ardent cyclist I know. But she is turning 80 this year and thinks that it is time to give it up. I'm sure she is making a wise decision, but still... Fortunately, she likes spinning at the gym and will continue riding indoors. We will miss her presence on our longer rides; hopefully we will stay in touch.

The ride back went smoothly, for the most part. It was hot, but not muggy and I think we had a little breeze behind us pushing us along. I had a few leg cramps that forced me off the bike temporarily. I also felt a bit ill at mile 96 and had to stop for a while, before we finally hit the big one zero zero. No complaints from Dan or Michele. I did hear from Gary that they made it back without any problems. They rode 77 miles in all. Nice accomplishment to end the summer!

Tom's Ride

On Aug. 23rd, we were fortunate to start and end our ride from Tom and Denise's home; great area to ride in and the backyard setting was perfect for the group. We took advantage of the quiet country roads of Macedon, Palmyra, Pumpkin Hook, Farmington and Egypt for a scenic 20 mile ride. I was glad Tom lead this ride as he knows the roads well and I found my sense of direction a little off as we were riding in the reverse direction from many of my previous adventures in this area. We rode out the last few miles with the short group, helping out with a few lost chains along the way. I will have to remember to put another old sock in my bike bag, as I gave mine to Christine so she could get the grease off her fingers after replacing her chain. Cotton fabric works so much better than those little packages of wet wipes!

At Tom and Denise's place, we had plenty of food and beverages to choose from including a hot sheet of pizza compliments of our hosts. Many thanks!!! Another surprise was the appearance of a lovely cake thanking the four ride leaders for the summer rides. I heard Barry dropped it off early in the evening, but did not stay to ride. Thank-you Barry, that was very thoughtful of you and whomever was involved in this. The cake was sooo good! I also had the pleasure of eating someone's homemade cookies...just melted in my mouth...definitely worth the calories.

Once it became completely dark, those that remained settled ourselves around the outdoor firepit under a full moon to enjoy a little more conversation before heading home. What more could we ask for on a Tuesday night?!

Karen's Ride

I am getting a bit lazy here, not posting for a WHOLE WEEK! I blame it on the difficulty in trying to figure out how to incorporate a slide show into the blog; NOT easy, but if you go back to our Penfield Town Hall ride you will see a good one and there is a short one from last Sunday's rainy ride as well, finally. Technology would be so much more fun if it were a little more user-friendly.

The ride on Aug. 17th from Karen's house in Penfield was really fun, with perfect weather and a great turn-out of riders. The nine that rode the hills of Penfield with me were Erica, Gene, Michele, Glen, Tom, Steve F, Steve W, Brian and Olga. The route worked out well, despite some busier roads at the beginning and gradually turned into very quiet and hilly country roads. Nice! Brian took a really cool photo of the group as we rested at the top of Furman Hill, by climbing up to higher ground to capture all of us at an interesting angle. There are more pictures from this ride and the party at Karen's that I hope to put into a slide show soon.

After the ride, we were able to comfortably relax and socialize on Karen's back deck with plenty of food and drink to satisfy everyone. My favorite treat was made by John's wife, Linda; decadent shortbread loaded with honey glazed nuts, so healthy and sweet, yum! I brought carrot cake muffins to celebrate Karen's birthday - wanted to sing the corny birthday song to her, but she begged us not to. Happy Birthday Karen!

Heather shared with us her adventurous and successful experience in the Iron Girl competition; she has inspired both Karen and myself to consider doing it next year. Really, I just want one of those beautiful jerseys that participants receive for completing it - looked great on Heather ;)

With moving day fast approaching, Del brought a nice collection of ceramics serving dishes, vases and other miscellaneous items to Karen's and let us take home anything that caught our fancy. I found some nice wood pieces that will look lovely on my table. Thanks Del!

It was too bad that the temperature dropped after the ride, as we finally had a pool to cool off in. Brian was the only one brave enough to take a dip and he did not seem chilled at all. That hot tub would have been irresistible, had it been opened. Next time I shall speak up!

Riding in the Rain

It should not have been a wash out. Forecast showed only a 40% chance of rain and the radar in the early morning hours looked fine, but mother nature likes to surprise us occasionally. We were not able to get back to the park quickly, so we rode out the second half of our ride in a persistent steady rain. For me the worst part of riding in the rain was having the sunblock on my face wash down into my eyes and my mouth; my eyes did not suffer too much, but the taste of the sunblock was awful! On the positive side, our ride on Sunday, Aug. 14th was exhilarating with big hills and beautiful scenery on many roads that we have rarely, if ever traversed. At times I felt like I was on a roller coaster and now that I am familiar with the roads, it would be even more fun to do this again and throw caution to the wind! I'm not sure everyone else liked the challenge of this route, but all survived, staying relatively close as a group.

I saw more animals than usual on this one; fox, red-tailed hawk, heron and lots of deer. Brian pointed out a barn full of cats staring out at us as we passed in the rain. It was tempting to join them. In Ionia, we split up as a group with Erica, Lydia and Gene preferring to get back to the cars and home to dry clothing, while Gary, Brian and myself elected to stop at the Sweet Solutions Cafe to warm up, dry off a bit and get a bite to eat. This was a nice place with lots of character and all the food was homemade and delicious, (check out the story behind the cafe with the link below). Gary had waffles that came with real maple syrup and Brian had an gourmet omelet that looked so delicious, I forgot why I ordered a muffin?

Stopping at the Cafe did not leave that break in the rain that we hoped for, so with a great deal of will power, we got back on the bikes to complete the last 5 or 6 miles back to the park. Still,
I can't wait to try this route and this cafe again soon.
http://sweetsolutions.littlefingerlakes.com