The kindness of strangers: Dee and I have had two great experiences happen to us on this trip, both with people we did not know. The first was in a campground in Conneaut, Ohio, where I admired a fellow camper's bike and struck up a conversation about my ride. We shared stories of biking and headed off to our own campsites. Some time later Kent strolled over and knocked, said "please treat yourself to dinner when you get to Bar Harbor," and handed me sufficient cash to make that happen. He insisted we take it.
The second time was last night. A few days ago there was a comment on my blog from a former bookstore owner in Brockport, NY, who we did not know. He asked if we would let him and his wife prepare a meal for us, then when we made contact by phone, he extended the invitation to spend the night. We accepted, and Archie and Patty served us a garden-to-table dinner that was out of this world and we had great conversation until bedtime, when we retired to a beautiful guest room. By the time we left this morning we were no longer strangers.
The entire day today was along the Erie Canal. I rode the first fifteen miles from Brockport to Rochester, then went to the bus station and picked up our friend Matt Baldacci. Matt had gone to great pains to disassemble his bike, pack it into a bike box and bring it by bus from Syracuse, where he had driven this morning from his home in New Jersey. After reassembling the bike, Matt and I headed off along the canal.
With a plan to meet Dee in Fairport for lunch, we wound our way along the paved trails through the city of Rochester. At the juncture of the canal and the Genesee River, trail signs failed us and we spent quite a bit of time "exploring" the area. We wouldn't say we were lost, but it did take us some time to find our way back to the eastbound canal trail.
Finally arriving in Fairport we had a late lunch that included chocolate shakes for Matt and me. Re-energized we hit the trail again for the final part of the ride to Newark. One of the interesting sites we saw from a bridge on the canal was this dam off to one side.
I took that photo, but Matt was also intrigued so I took this photo of him taking a similar photo.
An unusual sign that we saw repeatedly along the trail was this one.
We could never quite figure out what its purpose was. The trail seldom had anything that could remotely be called a trail. Occasionally the placement of one of these signs was somewhat understandable — e.g. when there was less that a yard to the edge of the canal. But, they appeared in other places that just had us scratching our heads to figure out their meaning.
Tonight was a very special night for me. My friend Chris Wirth, with whom I went to school from first grade through high school, lives near Fairport. She came to Newark, picked us up, and took us to dinner at Richardson's Canal House, which was originally a tavern, built in 1818, and served as a public house for more than 100 years. Dinner was terrific and Chris and I got to catch up on news of old friends and times past. Dee and Matt were gracious enough to tolerate our reminiscences. It was such a treat to see Chris again. It had been about seven years since she and another classmate visited us in Bellingham.
It occurs to me tonight how much this trip has been enriched by spending time with longtime friends, and newly-met ones as well.
Matt and I will ride to Syracuse tomorrow. We had such a good time today, talking as we rode. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's ride.
Ride Day Twenty-Four by the numbers;
53.5 — miles ridden (you may have noticed the asterisk in the blog title. Because of our "exploring," and my failure to "un-pause" my app at one point, it's likely that a few miles should be added to this total, but this is the official distance if we'd ridden the canal in a straight line, or at least a line as straight as the canal allows.
750 — feet in elevation gained (this is a approximate number since the app was not working part of the time)
5000 — calories burned (once again, just an estimate)
0 — falls
1 — dog ( though this one was a cute little dog at the motel in Newark that climbed up on the motel counter, catching Matt's attention and getting some petting from him)
Love this news, we're with you all the way. Oh, except we do not have to do any of the actual WORK. Hugs to Dee ❤
Posted by: Kris Ekstrand | 09/30/2017 at 08:46 PM
Chuck & Dee, I was thrilled to see you last night and feel so honored that you included me in your incredible journey - and blog! You're having the times of your lives, and I could listen to your stories all day. Sending you good vibes for sunny days, smooth tails, minimal traffic, and happy destinations! Keep having fun, and take good care, you two. Chris xo
Posted by: Chris | 10/01/2017 at 06:59 AM