Cycling the Erie Canal - Day 1 - Buffalo to Medina

What a fantastic first day I had today, despite the little downpour of rain I had leaving Lockport!  It started off with everyone gathered at The Nichols School in Buffalo. After breakfast and a welcome, we all hit the road. How cool it was to have a mass start like that, with the Buffalo police manning all the intersections for us. We rode down to Lake Erie and along the Niagara River for a while and then met up with the canal. We were in and off the canal trail with some riding on roads too. It was cloudy, and sometimes breezy, but a nice temperature and mostly dry. 

In Lockport I visited the Canal Discovery Center with a short multimedia presentation about canal history and the "Flight of Five" canal locks in Lockport that raised (or lowered) boats 50 feet up the Niagara Escarpment. Then I also toured the Lockport Caves. This was a manmade cave through which water from the canal was run, to use hydro power to run a series of factories. We actually entered the cave through one of the huge pipes that brought water down to a water wheel that powered mill stones to grind wood pulp. This was a very interesting, very cool tour. I had heard about the Lockport Cave but had no idea why it was created or what it was used for. 

Leaving the cave tour is when I hit some rain, but it only rained heavily for about 20 minutes, then was a very light drizzle for a bit, and by the time I hit Gasport, it was no longer raining. And by the time I made it to the afternoon rest stop in Middleport, the sun was peeking out. From there it was a short distance to our tent city in Medina and a refreshing shower and dinner. There is even a cycle powered ice cream truck and a smoothie-mobile here in the tent city!

This evening there was a great presentation about canal history and now I'm sitting in a cool breeze by my tent listening to music from the live performers in the center of the tent city. Once I finish this blog post, I'm going to hit the recharging station to charge up my phone. 

I'm trying to be very good about eating regularly and drinking lots of water as I go. Both are kind of hard for me, but I know how important they are so I'm trying to make a conscious effort. And by the time I got to dinner, I was very hungry and at a full plate!  At dinner I sat with a very sociable 12 year old who is also making his first Erie Canal Tour. He is from Lansing, Michigan and is riding with his grandmother with his grandfather manning one of the sag wagons. We had a terrific conversation while we ate!

Below are some pictures from my first day. Not sure if I'll be able to resize them using the Blogger app on my phone, so they may be large. Sorry about that. 

Cycling the Erie Canal 2014

Well, I've been away from my blog for a while, but I haven't been away from my bike!  I've ridden 795 miles since May 1st, enjoying commuting by bike to work and other places, riding solo and with friends, organizing a weekly group ride on Fridays from the end of April until the end of June, enjoying the outdoors and the sunshine, and preparing for the Cycling the Erie Canal Bike Tour.  After looking forward to it and eagerly anticipating it for the past year, the time has finally come!  Sunday morning, at 8:00 AM, I will be on my way to a great new adventure!

I am all at once incredibly excited and a bit apprehensive!  I've never done anything like this before, and to set out on a grand new adventure like this, without a friend or family member with me, is definitely outside my comfort zone.  But I certainly won't be alone!  I know I'll make new friends.  There will be so many new experiences and I've made my mind up to just relax and go with the flow and put my whole self into it, take advantage of every opportunity, and see where it takes me.  

I'm going to try to blog each night about that day's adventures and share some pictures as well, assuming I can get my phone charged up each night sufficiently.  So stay tuned for more!

On the Road Again

Well, spring has been very elusive this year!  Immediately following my ride on March 7th, we fell prey to weeks and weeks of more cold, snow, wind, and generally very wintery weather!  So, no outdoor riding for the rest of March for me.  I did manage to log 217 miles indoors on my trainer though, so all was not lost.

Today, April 1st, I finally got back outside!  It was a little warmer, in the low 50s.  I joined 2 friends and we did laps in a senior housing tract in the Village of Hilton.  Just a nice easy ride with great people!  We clocked about 8 miles together.  Then, as my friends went home, I too headed back towards my house, but being outdoors on a bike again was too much to resist.  So I took off on the familiar village bike route and did another 5 miles on my own.  I can't begin to put into words how great it felt to be outdoors riding again, minus all my winter gear!

I've signed the 30 Days of Biking online pledge to ride my bike every day during the month of April.  I've also registered for the National Bike Challenge again, which begins in May.  I'm so hoping the weather keeps improving so that the majority of my miles can be outside miles!

Enjoying a Spring Day

Today was a glorious day that makes one believe that spring just might really be around the corner!  It was 45° F and sunny, with no wind.  The roads were dry and snow free.  It felt so good to be outside riding instead of inside on my trainer!  First time in 2 weeks!  And the best part was being able to dress light weight.  Instead of my winter riding gear, I was able to wear just a thin turtleneck with my new bike jersey (that I won from The National Bike Challenge) over it.  I wore jeans and sneakers and didn't need gloves or a balaclava or a skull cap under my helmet.

I had one of my longest rides this winter, nearly 13 miles and I increased my average speed by almost 2 MPH!  And since this morning I did my longest indoor ride to date (8.35 miles), I'm feeling just a little bit proud of myself today!

Please spring, keep these days coming!  I ache to go for longer and longer rides outside in the warmth and the sunshine!

Scenes on a Spring Bike Ride

Okay, maybe it isn't quite spring yet, but today felt like it could be around the corner!  I had a great, brisk bike ride.  It was warm (42 F) and the roads were clear and dry.  The sun was shining.  The wind was the challenge today, for sure, at 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph!  I only rode 6 miles instead of my usual 10-12 miles for an outdoor ride, but it sure felt like 10 or 12!  When you have to lean sideways just to stay upright, "leaning into the wind" takes on a whole new meaning!  And when I stopped to take this picture, in what I thought was a fairly protected spot, a couple of gusts came along that knocked both my bike and me off balance and we nearly fell over!  And I had both feet on the ground at the time!  But 6 miles outside today in the wind and the sunshine was still better than doing 5 miles on the trainer inside.  I do think I'm finally yearning for spring!

Which Path on a Snowy Day and Lesson #7

I had not been riding for several days so today I was determined to go, despite the snowy weather.  It was about 23° F and there was lots of fresh snow on the road, but no wind, so I went for a 9 mile ride through the Village of Hilton.  I decided not to head out of town for fear of having to share the road with snow plows, which is not my favorite thing to do.

Lesson #7 - Which Path to Take?

Cycling Lesson - I think one of the things I really like about riding in the snow is that, although I am going much slower than I do on dry roads, I am definitely improving and refining my skills as a cyclist.  Riding in snowy conditions is hard.  I need to really concentrate on what the bike feels like, anticipate what lies ahead and adjust accordingly.  I need to constantly be monitoring and adjusting and learning as I go.  Although I know the route, there are many choices in terms of the tracks to take.  Fresh snow where no car, person or bike has gone? A slushy, brown track from a car?  A packed down snowy track from a car?  The ghost of a track where freshly fallen snow has covered the track from a car?  A track that has footprints?  A track, once packed, that now has lots of loosened snow?  What I've learned is that there is no perfect single answer to this.  I'm constantly adjusting and changing as I ride.  A lot depends on the terrain under the snow, whether I'm coming up to a curve or a hill, going downhill, approaching an intersection where I might need to stop, whether the road dips down toward the shoulder, etc.  Today, I looped back on part of my route and discovered that I didn't even necessarily stay in the track I had chosen previously.  Conditions, weather, time and knowledge change things the second time around.

Life Lesson - The path I take, even if familiar, also has many track choices along the way and it's okay to go more slowly at times, to change tracks, to not go a certain way just because I did previously.  I need to monitor and adjust and learn as I go.  Challenges help me to improve and refine my skills to deal with them.  Sometimes the path well trod, sometimes the one less taken, sometimes one in between.  They all take me to where I want/need to go, just in different ways.

Sun and Wind and Freedom

My beautiful Salsa Cycles Vaya with its new rack and fenders enjoying the sun!

I've been hesitating to go out riding my bike during the day while everyone is at school.  I know that my doctor has approved me for driving and cycling, and I'm not approved to go back to work until next week, but it still feels awkward to be out publicly riding my bike instead of being at work, especially in a small village where so many people know me.  So, I've been waiting until late in the day and then it ends up getting too dark and cloudy or too cold or too stormy or too close to a time I have to do something else, and I've been missing my opportunities to ride.  Today I just said hang it and I took advantage of the time and the sun and one of my last few days of freedom and went for a 10 mile ride.  It was GREAT!  I decided to ride mostly north of the village so it was on roads a little less traveled.  It was sunny and about 35°, which was wonderful.  Dry roads, no snow, no unexpected adventures.  The only issue was the wind, gusting to 30 mph.  In hindsight, I probably should have done my route starting out in the opposite direction so as to not be heading uphill and into the wind on the last leg of the ride.  It was quite a workout and slowed my average speed by 2 mph!  Still, it was a great ride!  Now for some Advil and a shower and then off to PT.

It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times

It Was The Best of Times

It finally got up to 20° today (which is my cycling line in the sand, or should I say my line in the snow and ice) so I was back on my bike outside again.  I got a late start, a bit after 4:00, but I went anyway.  I started out to ride to the Northwood School and back, about a 10 mile ride.  I made it over to Northwood just fine.  Made all the hills, seemed to be finally understanding how to shift appropriately and so on.  It took me about half an hour to go the 5 miles.  For my ride back, I knew it would now be starting to get darker, so I turned on my back blinky red light and started back. I made it up Frisbee Hill, pedaling all the way without stopping even once!  Victory!  The best of times!

It Was The Worst of Times

At the intersection at the top of Frisbee Hill there was so much traffic in all directions that when I finally had a chance to go again, I decided not to turn onto Frisbee Hill Road at the jog half way down the hill as I would have to cross in front of a lot of cars or spend a huge amount of time waiting.  So I decided to go straight north on North Greece Road instead.  Poor choice.  The ride was fine, but it lengthened my ride enough so that it was getting much darker than I had planned.  I had forgotten to put my new front light on my bike and although I was wearing a neon colored jacket, I had forgotten to put on my reflective vest.  I had nothing reflective on.  And for some reason, my bike stopped shifting.  I don't know if it was something I did or didn't do, or some other issue.  I didn't want to stop due to the falling darkness.  And besides, unfortunately I don't really know enough about bike mechanics to be able to diagnose or fix a problem.  So I just kept pedaling.  Kind of had myself a Fixie.  Almost home, back in the village again, with street lights, someone in a passing car yelled at me.  I couldn't quite make out what they said, but it had something to do with being seen.  I wondered what his problem was.  I knew I had turned on my back blinky light.  Well, when I got home, I discovered that, for some unexplained reason, my light had stopped working!  Ugh!

So, Now What?

From now on, if I'm leaving the house in the late afternoon, all my lights (and backup lights) AND my reflective vest are going with me!  I plan to have 2 or 3 red blinky lights on my back!  I plan to ride again tomorrow and hopefully my shifting will work.  If not, it will be off to the bike store on Saturday to have it looked at.

What to Do When the Temperature Falls Below Zero

I do like riding in the winter, but it think I have to draw the temperature line!  I'm good riding in temps in the 20s (Farenheit), but when the temps fall into the single digits or below zero, like they have today, I'm going to stick to my indoor bike on those days!

So what did I do today?  I was excited that my new bike socks arrived in the mail from The Sock Guy, and I began dreaming of sunny days and warmer weather and I registered for the Cycling the Erie Canal Bike Tour!  Now I'm officially committed!  July 13th - 20th I will be on my bike, cycling 40-50 miles a day, enjoying the views, tours, and the history of the Erie Canal.  We will be cycling clear across the state from Buffalo to Albany in 8 days, approximately 400 miles.  I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!  Now the task that lies before me is to cycle my brains out between now and then to lose weight, get in better shape, and build my endurance!  Ready, set, GO!!!

Welcome 2014!

I decided to start the new year off right - with a bike ride on a snow globe snowy day!  My little biking buddy went with me for just over 2.5 miles.  I will say she does not love winter riding as much as I do, but I'm sure it was much harder for her in snow pants and winter boots.  I wanted her to be warm, and she doesn't really have winter biking clothes like I do. But 2.5 miles in the snow for a 7 year old 'ain't bad!  After dropping her off back at home, I went out for another 6 miles of riding.

It started snowing with more vigor, but the air was as calm and still as can be.  The quiet residential village streets with the freshly falling snow are more peaceful and serene than I can possibly describe in words.  

I have to say, it's almost spiritual!  2014, so far I love you!

A Little Snow in my Tires - Winter Riding Lessons Learned

I've gone for 3 winter rides - one at 30°, one at 40°, and today's ride at 20°.  Low and behold, it turns out that I LOVE winter riding, which is quite a surprise to me!  And I've learned a few things in a short amount of time.

Winter Lesson 1 - If you are wearing a scarf around your neck and over your nose, your glasses get totally fogged up immediately.  I had to ride without my glasses on.  Luckily I can see well enough without them to make this okay.

Winter Lesson 2 - My knit gloves and short boots with regular socks on are fine in 30° and 40° weather, but not in 20° weather!  Going shopping tomorrow for better winter riding gloves and definitely planning to wear 2 pairs of socks next ride.

Winter Lesson 3 - People who recommended fenders for winter riding around here were correct!  Also going shopping for fenders to help keep me and my drive train a little cleaner and less slushy.

Winter Lesson 4 - Sights like those below and the quiet peacefulness of winter riding in my small village and just outside of it on country roads make all of the above so worth it!

I'm Baaaacckkk! And so, SO happy about it!

Well, it sure has been a while since I have posted here.  Shoulder surgery at the end of October, put me on a bike riding hiatus for a bit.  And of course the holidays also consumed a bit of time.  While I was restricted from outdoor bike riding, I did put my bike on a trainer and "rode" inside.  Not nearly as much as I had planned, or should have, though.  Again, the holidays got in the way.




I bought a CycleOps Mag Bike Trainer from REI online.  Because my bike spits black something when I ride, and I'm not sure why or how to stop it, I also bought a mat to go under it.  I added a CycleOps Climbing Riser Block as well, to stabilize the front wheel and make the bike more level.  This set up has worked pretty well for me.  It's fairly quiet and I can adjust some of the tension by shifting.







My grandson wanted to get into the act too, although he didn't quite understand why I couldn't move across the room with him!









Well, time passed and Christmas came and my son and his wife gave me a new bike for Christmas and my upcoming birthday!  Yippee!  It's a Salsa Vaya 2.  My son customized it just a little bit for me, but in general it is described as
"a touring and road adventure bike, designed to handle any 'road' surface, from pavement, to gravel, to dirt." 
I LOVE it!  It's lighter than my old bike, and is a bit more responsive.  I have much different handle bars as well that give me a variety of positions to use.  It also has disk brakes.  So, my new bike and I have to get to know each other a bit.

Today I went on my first outdoor ride since my surgery!  And it was also my first ever winter ride!



 I had guessed back at the end of the summer what type and weight of clothing I might need for winter riding so that I could take advantage of closeout sales online at REI to purchase last year's models of winter wear.  I guessed pretty well, I think.  Today's ride was in about 30 degree weather.  I wore my chamois and some biking pants that had a very thin fleece lining and were waterproof/windproof in the front.  On top I layered a turtleneck, a long sleeve bike jersey, and a lightweight quilted jacket.  I bought a thin fleece skull cap to fit under my helmet and that along with a scarf kept my head and neck warm.  I wore ankle high boots instead of sneakers, which is what I usually wear to ride, and a pair of knit gloves.  I was warm and comfortable for the whole ride!


It was a mostly cloudy day with no wind.  I rode 9.34 miles.  I didn't go very fast, but I did take some mild hills and continue to learn how to shift and what gears to use on my new bike.  My old bike only had 7 gears, and my new bike has many more.  It wasn't my fastest ride, only about 10 mph, but since I haven't been on the road riding in 2 months, I thought it was pretty good.


 My goal is to ride outside now as much as time and the weather will allow me to for the rest of the winter.  When I can't ride outside, I need to force myself to ride that old friend on the trainer in the family room.  That way, hopefully, by spring I will be in good condition, will maybe have lost a little weight again, and will be really ready to roll!

My Mom, My Hero and Lesson #6 - Lean into the Wind

I haven't been out on my bike in over a week.  Today I took advantage of a sunny fall afternoon and went for a ride after school.  It was chilly and very windy, but sunny and I had a good 15 mile ride.

Lesson #6 - Lean into the Wind

Cycling Lesson - When cycling you often meet up with obstacles - hills, a stiff wind, debris in the road.  Sometimes you can avoid these by re-routing, shifting to a lower gear, or a quick steering move.  But sometimes you just have to persevere and endure and push through.  Leaning into the hill or leaning into the wind can help, and although it is difficult, and you might slow way down, you do ultimately make it through the challenge without giving up. Hence today, I made it up all the hills on my route, in a rather stiff wind, by leaning way forward, hunkering down and pedaling hard.

Life Lesson - This life lesson I owe to my mother, and this is why she is my hero.  

Chapter 1 - Over the last few years, as my dad's mental capacity was declining and his anger and frustration with the things he could no longer do increased, my mom had to not only take on a lot of tasks she had never done before, but also had to endure a lot more stress and unpleasantness than any of us fully understood.  And she did it with grace, protecting us from knowing our father in this way.  Mom leaning into the wind.

Chapter 2 - When my dad passed away this summer, my mom had to take on all the responsibilities of running her household alone.  My dad and mom were an inseparable couple for 60 years, and now she is alone.  You might expect her to be helpless, lost and lonely, and of course she is sad and has her lonely moments.  But instead of giving up, she has embraced all this, fiercely independent, reaching out for help when she needs it, handling things on her own when she can, connecting and reconnecting with friends and family, and moving forward, living life fully.  Mom leaning into the wind.

Chapter 3 - Today my mom lost her remaining companion, her dog that has been with her for 12 years, since it was a small pup.  He had had a stroke and was half parylized and nothing could be done.  Although the vet didn't want to say it, my mom said it was time and held his head as they put him to sleep.  Then she brought him home and went to find someone to help her dig the hole to bury him.  Although obviously very sad, she told me, "It's okay.  I can handle it."  Mom once again leaning into the wind.

I can't begin to express how much I value my mom and this important lesson she is teaching us all by example - lean into the wind!

A Transformation

I've seen this quote by Susan B. Anthony in several places, including in the book I read when I first started riding, Every Women's Guide to Cycling, by Selene Yeager, and I thought it was an interesting quote, but I didn't really get it.  However, I think now I do.

I believe that I've undergone a sort of a transformation.  In the past when I got to feeling over stressed and overwhelmed by life and work, typically I would wish to find a way to curl up on the couch, shut out the world, and watch movies on TV.  And some ice cream or some peanut M&Ms couldn't hurt either.  Now when I find myself in these situations, and lately I have been literally drowning in personal and professional stress and worry, all I can think about is getting out on my bike and riding, riding, riding!  I just want to ride long and far and scream into the wind!  

And when I do get the chance to ride, I feel clearer, calmer, brighter, freer - emancipated from the negative feelings pulling me down!  Susan B. Anthony really had something there!  And I am further along on my journey to "becoming."

A Good Day on my Bike! And Lesson #5 - Just Keep Cycling, Cycling, Cycling!

Today was National Walk to School Day.  Who knew?!  Well, I didn't have enough time in my day to walk to school and between schools, so I packed up my pannier and rode my bike instead.  I rode to the Northwood Elementary School where I spent the morning and then to the Village Elementary School where I spent the afternoon. It was a total commute of 10.89 miles. It was my fastest ever commute to and from Northwood and I took EVERY hill under COMPLETE PEDAL POWER without stopping once - even my arch nemesis, the great and powerful Frisbee Hill! First time ever that I've made it up that hill without stopping and this time I even had my pannier packed with an extra 10 lbs. of computer and iPads and more! Do you hear the Rocky theme music?! I do!! 

Lesson #5 - Just Keep Cycling, Cycling, Cycling!

Cycling Lesson AND Life Lesson (rolled into one) - Being persistent and facing your challenges over and over can eventually lead to success!  You can accomplish things you once wondered if you ever could!  That line from Finding Nemo where Dorey says, "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming," comes to mind so often and definitely today.  I think "Just keep cycling, cycling, cycling," has become my new mantra!

National Bike Challenge Ends

The National Bike Challenge ended yesterday.  From May 1st to Sept. 30th nearly 35,000 Americans biked over 18 million miles and 683 of those miles were mine!  I didn't even start until a month into the challenge.  Not too bad for an old lady!