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Daniel and I rode off early onto the Canalway Trail, just a block from where we spent the night.  Initially, the Trail was paved alongside the Erie Canal, and later turned to smooth limestone gravel.  We biked along at a modest pace, as we planned to meet with Cathy at the Muddy Waters Cafe in Palmyra, which is by the Canal.

Daniel and I came across an excursion group that had been biking from Lockport.  The group included an 80-year-old and a 90-year-old!  The director shared that the route I’d be taking through NY/VT/NH/ME was often considered the ‘most challenging’ by cross country riders, as the climbs did not include switchbacks as the climbs across the Rockies and other Western mountains.  He also said that Muddy Waters is the best place to eat lunch in Palmyra!

We met up with Cathy at Muddy Waters for delicious paninis!  Daniel rinsed his bike at the dock, and we exchanged well wishes for the remainder of our journeys.  Daniel headed on toward Albany, and Cathy and I headed toward Maine.  Traveling together on and off has been great fun!  Whether or not my ‘funny’ stories or comments are truly funny, Daniel will chuckle!  Also, his observations of American customs, signage, and what-nots causes one to think and question!  I am sure that Cathy will miss her beer-tasting partner!  While we will miss our riding together, we each have some folks along the way to visit.  Daniel’s most of all as he will meet up with Veronika in New York City for some fun time before returning to Sweden (to plan for Cathy and my visit!).

Jordan and Andrea in Wolcott gave me the focus for the area on apple orchards, which were quite a change from the fields and vineyards preceding.

In Fair Haven (Sterling), Cathy and I stayed at the Stick and Rudder, hosted by John.  Cathy enjoyed a Juicy beer while I had an old-fashioned.  We met Brandon and Jana, the owners of the Stirling Cidery (unfortunately closed for their vacation).  We dined at Pleasant Beach, served by Penny.  We ‘topped off’ our evening with Perry’s ice cream served adjacent to the Cidery!

A quiet night for Cathy and me along the Little Sodus Bay / Lake Ontario!

Adjacent to the Buffalo RiverWorks is a great place for breakfast, the Wonder Coffeehouse.  There one can enjoy the ambiance inside, or breeze through the drive-through.  I had a waffle with egg, bacon and maple syrup plus an Americano.  Delicious!

Stopped at the Salty Dog Barbershop for an excellent cut and conversation with Gamy!  He’s been cutting hair since he was 18 (now 38) and has never had a rating below five of five!  Great stories were shared.

From downtown Buffalo, we drove to the West Seneca Community Center and Library for some work time for Cathy and some catching up on blogging by Phil.  We journeyed to the Rusty Nickel Brewery, where we would be enjoying their Harvest Host hospitality.  After numerous beers were tasted by Cathy and Daniel, we went to the adjacent Ebenezer’s Ale House for dinner.  It was raining hard, and Daniel had received a round-trip ride. to and from the Rusty Nickel by his Warm Showers host!  We agreed to meet at the West Seneca Denny’s, near the Northern Tier route, for breakfast the next morning.

After ‘packing up’ for the day, Cathy and I drove to the Denny’s, and all three of us enjoyed the Endless Breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes.  Daniel and I rode onto the route just a block from the restaurant.  We headed through Buffalo looking to get onto the Empire State Trail.  Sections of the Trail were closed for construction, and the signage was not clear, but Daniel had ridden some of the Trail after he crossed into the United States from Canada.  Eventually we got onto the route after a couple of ‘wrong turns.’

Once found, the trail was away from most traffic and along Lake Erie.  We passed the Peace Bridge that would take one into Canada, and continued up toward Lockport on the Erie Canal Heritage Trail.  Daniel and I stopped at Papa Leo’s for pizza / meatball sub lunch, and were served by Duane.  He inquired a bit as to our journey, and was impressed by some of the mileage we had accomplished.

We continued along the Canal Trail, saw a lock in progress to transfer a boat, and experienced some of the limestone and rocks along the Trail.  We did grow tired of the rocks, and deviated from the Trail to take Route 31 (?).  Along the road, we stopped in some shade, and were greeted by Matt, who has property, two apartments that he rents out, and had been working as a dental hygienist.  We had a lively conversation, he offered to top off our water bottles, and he was helpful on what to expect along the road!  We also stopped at a convenience store/gas station in Wolcott.  There we met Shaun, who served us and also does work as a graphic books (comic books) artist!  

We made it to our destination for the evening, after being mis-directed by Google Maps.  (It is tough to be 100% when providing directions around the globe!!)  Once we took some quick showers (and Daniel had checked in with Veronika), we Uber-ed to Nick Tahou’s for cheeseburger garbage plates.  Tahou’s had been recommended as a not-to-miss in Rochester.  StirLynn served us, and offered multiple times that soda refills were included!

Alex (previously Alice??) Tahou stopped by our tabled, and we engaged in conversation past their closing hour.  We exited through their back door, as the front doors had already been locked.  Alex shared a number of his stories including his experience canoeing with a team on the 90 mile four-person canoe race that started in Old Forge.  He has been recovering from a stroke, and was concerned that he would hamper the team, which were actually focused on finishing rather than placing.  Wonder-filled conversation, and he wished us well on the balance of our journeys.

From Tahou’s we walked to Fifth Frame, for some beer-tasting.  (In case you haven’t followed the theme, Cathy and Daniel are beer-friends enjoying the variety found at craft beer locations along the way!)  I had a Bath Bomb Grapefruit that tasted like spiked orange juice to me, and acquired my first four pack of beer for the trip!  We Uber-ed back to our resting place for the evening, and a good rest with sweet dreams for the next day!

I was off riding early, excited to complete another state (Ohio) and add to our number of states (Pennsylvania).  Was blessed with another cool morning to get started, and light traffic along the route.  Stopped briefly (either in Conneaut or just West) at a convenience/gas station.  Aubrey was very helpful, greeted me with a wonderful smile, and we chatted for a bit while I downed an electrolyte drink.  (She promised to check out the blog, and she shared with the patrons that came in that I was riding across the Country!)

As I crossed into Pennsylvania, the North Coast Inland Trail ended, and it gave way to the the Western Reserve Greenway Trail/North Shore Trail/Great Lakes Seaway Trail.  The route took me through Painesville Harbour, and overlapped the Lake Erie Circle Tour/Great Lakes Circle Tour.  (I am not ready to be quizzed as to the distinctions between the varied trails, but it was nice to know that I was not on the roads least traveled by cyclists!).  Once in Pennsylvania, the cash crops of corn and soybean, prevalent from South Dakota, gave way to vineyards!

In Avonia, I met up with Phil, Senior.  He was dropped off by his daughter Maureen.  I met Phil last Summer during RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), as he and his son, Phil, Junior, rode our team buss.  To make a distinction, I christened myself Original Phil, though there was some discussion, negotiations and verbal arm-wrestling as to who was Original!

Last Summer, I was still in the planning stages for the journey, and thought that I would miss RAGBRAI and would not be taking a route through Pennsylvania.  Well, circumstances intervened, and not only did Cathy insist we include RAGBRAI, but the weather in Eastern Kentucky/Western Virginia led to changing course to indeed travel through Erie, Pennsylvania.  Phil, Senior had said if I would ever be traveling through Erie, to be sure to contact him.

Subsequent to RAGBRAI this Summer, Phil, Senior had a bout of COVID.  He was not sure of his readiness to ride along for a bit.  Well he said he would lead for a bit so that I could get a sense of his speed.  He took off directly, and I was just hanging on.  Eventually he relented of his pace, and we were able to converse while riding.

We stopped for a bite at Avanti’s, and imposed ourselves upon Roberta and Mark (from Pittsburgh) to join their table in order to shorten our wait.  My hope is that Roberta and Mark enjoyed the conversation as much as Phil, Senior and I.  Cathy also showed up to meet them, and see that we were OK.

Phil, Senior provided a great though brief bike tour of Erie on our way to Courtyard Winery, where he knows the Sales Director!   We covered the relocation of some of General Electric’s facilities from Erie to Louisville, KY (where I had lived, and had many neighbors engaged at the GE facility in KY).  We went by the Bay and the (most visited) Park, and went by the Convention Center and Hospital!  He shared with me why vineyards do so well in this part of Pennsylvania and New York (cool lake air in the Spring leads to late budding, and warm lake air in late Summer leads to high sugar levels).

Cathy and I did a Harvest Host stay at the Courtyard Winery in North East, Pennsylvania.  After some wine tasting, along with bruschetta, we ‘checked in.’  Randy, the owner of the Winery with his wife Laura, showed us to a remote location off of Catholic Cemetery Road where we could camp for the night.

Phil, Senior, and his wife Liz, picked us up to treat us to great views of the point, the Lake, and a FaceTime introduction to Liz’s brother, Frank, who attended Notre Dame when I did.  Frank’s daughter now plays golf for the Irish, and Frank holds the Irish in great esteem.  We had a great time at dinner, and stopped to visit Sasquatch and have ice cream (including a mystery flavor) on the way back to our campsite.

The train ‘whistle’ during the night was sufficiently distant to be more reassuring than annoying.  The night was cool and comfortable, and all is well.

After a cool night, began riding at sunrise with plans to meet Daniel in Dunkirk.  He has been riding through Canada, and returned to the States through Niagara Falls.  He was riding backwards to meet me after a rest day in Buffalo, New York.  I gave him an approximate ETA, and was two minutes early.  I had already ridden through Barcelona, and in addition to Dunkirk, we rode through Hanover and Angola.  Not quite a world tour, but worldly locations!

I started closer than I had thought to the New York State border, and continued to hug the Lake Erie coast.  Once again together, we ‘meandered’ a bit using the Adventure Cycling route.  We varied to a ‘short cut’ that ended up a little more exciting than planned.  It seems that the New York drivers are more aggressive in not giving space or deference to bicyclists!   As I rode, I tripled the near misses from passing vehicles over the first 4,000 miles!  

We met with Cathy at a local library, with Daniel heading to his Warm Showers host as Cathy and I went to our Harvest Host “Buffalo Riverworks” near downtown Buffalo.  After settling in, we picked up Daniel in the van, and drove to a dinner location to meet up with Bob and Chris for re-unification dinner.  Bob and Chris are heading out from Buffalo tomorrow, and Daniel, Cathy and I are taking a rest day.  We had dinner in a building from 1864 or approximately.

Chris and Bob are heading to Boston, while Daniel and I will travel through Rochester to Palmyra together.  He’ll head to New York City, while Cathy and I head to the Coast of Maine.  It is amazing to me how we have been able to get back together over so many miles.

So far:  Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and now New York!

Rest day haircut, coming up!

(I think I may have the day-count back in sync, but am not sure!)

On our rest day, had a wonderful massage (and conversation with) from Endia (A Touch of Relief by Endia), which I followed with a next door visit to the Goodwill Bookstore in Westlake.  The night before, we were treated to Parma’s best pierogi and stuffed cabbage dinner, that was only topped by the company of my sisters and brother-in-law.  The stop at the ‘new’ Mitchell’s Ice Cream shop in Westlake was only icing!

We also were given a tour of my mother and father’s house that was sold to the neighbor’s brother.  They (mostly Kurt?) have done much work on what they have recognized as a solid house.  Kurt and his brother ‘only’ hauled three dumpsters worth of some of what my father had collected over 63 years of residency.  Much though has remained as very useful!  Kurt commented that my father likely used two screws where one nail might have done the job.  Driving to the house and later dinner, we passed by my childhood parishes and schools.  MUCH nostalgia and reminiscing!!

After dinner again with sisters and brother-in-law, and a great night in a real bed, I rode away full to skirt the South Shores of Lake Erie.

Traveling North and East along the Lake, there was much that is familiar, and many things that we had passed too quickly in cars to have earlier noticed their beauty.  The Lake, Lakefront and some of Cleveland’s industrial history have been preserved or positively changed!  (The stadium for the Browns is no longer the ‘mistake on the Lake.’  The Flats have been resurrected as ‘hip.’  Edgewater Park has been transformed and is beautiful.  …)  North of Lakeshore, the old homes are still such, and are well-maintained.

While riding, I came across a couple that are also crossing the US, Pat and Owen.  They are from the Oxford-area in England, and work for a travel company.  They are on a five-month sabbatical that their company provided, with some three or so moths being spent biking, and the balance vacationing in the States.  We discussed their experiences, of which intersection protocols remained a bit challenging.  They also wonder why American drivers tend to speed up when passing bicyclists, whereas their experience in the UK is that drivers will slow down when passing (so as not to create a bow-wave impact on the riders!

We arrived a bit early for check-in, so spent some time in the shade at the park, where there was a car show, with awards as to the farthest some had driven their restored cars!

We spent the night at a motel in Geneva-on-the-Lake, and were joined for dinner by Carm and Steve (who made the trip from Westlake to join Cathy and me).  The count was at ten, as I recall, of bachelorette parties dining and barhopping along Lake Road, the Main Street there.  Some of the bachelorettes, as the evening progressed, looked to be a ‘little worse’ from the festivities.

After some goodbyes-for-now, they returned home and Cathy and I retired for the evening.

Ed startled me this morning with a “good morning” while I was unlocking my bike for a bit of maintenance.  He inquired as to our experience with the van, as he is considering ‘downsizing’ from his camper-trailer.  He works in Bowling Green as an inspector, and would have ridden with me for a bit, except his bikes were away in his storage unit.  He has children in Bowling Green, and is a ‘seasonal’ resident at Fire Lake.  He’s a well-traveled guy, and has provided security to a number of elected officials.  very interesting discussion.

Off on my bike, heading back and through downtown/Main Street from the Slippery Elm Trail.  Skirted the Portage River, and cruised across village and roads between fields of corn and soy.  In Ohio, for the first time on the journey, there are a number of homes/farms with ‘personal gardens’ of edible produce in addition to the cash crops so prevalent.

Had my front tire come out of the rim, and the tube explode just after stopping.  Cathy found me to bring the pump to inflate a changed tube, and provide another to bring along.  The front wheel has come out of alignment and needs attention.  The plan is to switch bikes for the remainder of the trip, as we are approaching less than 1,000 miles of riding to get to the Maine coast.

Missed connecting with the North Coast Inland Trail on the first pass, as was confused by a ‘closed road’ barricade.  Saw I cyclist flash by on a ped/bike bridge, so circled back to pick up the trail.  Noticed the rider (in a bright green jersey) a bit ahead of me.  Eventually caught up to him, and we (of course) started a conversation.  He is a retired firefighter named Ben.  He and his son had crossed the US using the Southern Tier.  They started in June, since they were supported by Ed’s wife and daughter-in-law, who are teachers.  When crossing some of the desert areas in the Southwest, they would start biking at 3:00AM, and bike till possibly 10:00A to avoid the 100+ temperatures.  It was the timing that Ben suggested against, and hearing of their experience, I was glad that Cathy and I had not chosen the shorter, Southern route to transverse the Country.

I was reluctant to have to turn off the trail to get to our ‘home’ for the night.  It was a good day riding, sandwiched with some great conversations.

We drove back to Payne to start my day of riding.  Met Brian (the owner of Puckerbrush Pizza) before starting to pedal, and he noted the favorable weather and the route that I would be taking for the day.  I reminded him that he should be dusting off his 10-speed vintage Schwinn, and have some fun on his bike (even though the distractions of two small children and two businesses could be significant)!

Crossed through Florida, Texas, and even Grand Rapids.  Experienced Defiance and Independence.  All without leaving Ohio in a day!  The multitude of small to medium towns and villages sprinkled across the United States, and every one with its own history and idiosyncrasies, is fascinating!

Have stopped at a number of Marathon/Convenience stores in Ohio.  Terri, Lillian and ____ all had Ohio State football programs on their counters, but each of them professed allegiance to University of Michigan!  Today’s travels took me through the section of once-disputed territory between Ohio and Michigan.  Depending on your perspective, it can be argued whether Ohio won Toledo-and-environs or lost in the agreement.

I traveled along the Auglaize River through to Defiance.  The Auglaize on its own is a significant river.  Once it feeds into the Maumee at Defiance, the flow continues to Lake Erie, proving some 5+ percent of the Lake.  The ‘trail’ along the rivers is smooth and the ride was significantly shaded.

We entered Bowling Green, and I biked the Slippery Elm Trail on the way to the campground for the night.  Am amazed at the ‘seasonal’ campers that are set up for nearly year-round habitation, and the trailer-parks along the Trail with single- and double-wides.

We enjoyed Bowling Green, and Eric’s Homemade Ice Cream (I ‘suffered through a triple-dip cup.).  We marveled at a couple of homes-from-churches, and continued our experiencing neighborhood craft beers.

Cathy had considered Bowling Green State University for her graduate work.  We met a trio of graduate psychology students, and wondered how her life would have been different If she had attended BGSU versus her years at the University of Kansas.  The grad students remarked that she should not look back, as she had made the ‘right choice!’

Our journey continues, enjoying the experiences and conversations!!

After a wrong turn departing from the State Park, on my way back to the ‘route,’ made a bit of a wrong turn.  Recovered fairly quickly, and crossed the bridge across the Lake.  The Indiana State Park was very nice with great staff!

Back on the road, I slowed a bit to let a trailing rider catch up.  We rode together for nearly 20 or so miles.  Mike is primarily a local rider, and does about 200 miles.  That day, his local riding club would have an evening ride, as well.  We talked about our journey, but he also shared about his family.  He has a son that lives in the Denver area, and how he would like to get out to some of the ‘hills’ of Colorado.  He son graduated from the Naval Academy as a Marine helicopter pilot, and has piloted for presidents and their entourage.  

It was great to have a riding partner for a good while, especially one familiar with the local roads.  I wished I could have been more conversant of where my route would be taking me, at least more so than ‘to Ohio!’  He’s a retired High School PE teacher, that stays in good shape (at least his comfortable pace would indicate endurance)!

Mike rode with me nearly to the state line.  Unfortunately, after that guidance, I encountered a ‘closed road’ that straddles that Indiana/Ohio border.  Since the road re-construction was across both lanes, I needed to turn around and find a different route.  The construction worker that turned me back was of little help, as she lived more than an hour away from the construction.  After using Google Maps, I meandered to try to find a way ‘to the other side of the highway.’  Google Maps took me to several other ‘road closed’ dead ends, and even a non-existent road.  Eventually, I did ride a bit on the highway to find an exit that would take me to Payne/AKA Puckerbrush, OH.

Payne is a cute town, with a wonderful pizza+ shop owned/managed by Brian.  Cathy and I arrived there nearly simultaneously.  We had pizza, and also I had a smoothie from the coffee shop adjacent to the pizza shop.  We talked with Brian, the owner, and he rides a vintage (1979) ten speed Schwinn.  He said that juggling two businesses, and two small children (with his wife) doesn’t provide him the time he might want to ride ‘like I do!’  We did see Brian again the next morning, when the weather was cloudy and cool.  He wished us well on our journey, with a tinge of envy (possibly)!

 We drove to Van Wert to spend the night at an ABNB, that was clean and luxurious.  Van Wert is the home to the first county library in Ohio.  We were disturbed overnight by a livestock tractor-trailer that was stuck with squealing pigs/hogs just below our windows.  The local police were even trying to direct the truck away from the area.  Livestock transport has been prevalent on the roads, but this was the first encounter with the ‘passenger’ complaints.

In the morning we drove back to Payne, to start riding the next day, but not before stopping for breakfast sandwiches and both an apple and a cherry fritter for the trip!

Leaving the campground this morning, it seemed to be misty to the East.  Nice to get an early start to have some miles melt away while it was cooler.  Very little traffic on the route that early.  The crickets and cicadas started to warm up for their competing choruses for the day.

At just after 8:30A heard a dog barking, and then chasing me!  It was the closest a dog had come, and certainly got my adrenaline flowing!  The roads were grand through to Deetsvile, where the route took me onto what seemed like a very well shaded rails-to-trails, non-motorized section.  Unfortunately, the route had a turn onto a closed road.  Not seeing any detour sign, I continued on the closed section, evading parked road equipment, riding on alternating dirt and surfaces prepped for chip seal.

Shortly after the closed-road encounter, I stopped by the side of the road to consume the lovingly made PB&J sandwich Cathy had packed for me.  While stopped, a nice woman driving by, stopped her car to ask me if everything was OK.  It is nice to encounter caring folks!

Not too long after that, Cathy had stopped by the route to check on my re-hydration.  Since I had been traveling on less-traveled roads, I had yet to encounter any opportunities, so the sight of her was very welcomed.  She plied me with beverages, and re-filled by bottles, and sent me on my way to meet her at our campsite for the evening.

In Lagro, I did come by a Mobil One-Stop.  It was good to hear of the source for the town’s name from Jim, who welcomed me enthusiastically!

From there, the route took me to the State Forest and the State Park.  Gorgeous, well-shaded roads, outside of the ‘mostly flat’ that had been prevalent across the Indiana route.

Christina greeted me at the entry station, and provided impeccable directions to our campsite, and wonderful suggestions to have our stay be more comfortable!

After our dinner, Cathy and I took a stroll to see some of the Lake.  The Reservoir is large, and there are many boats stored at the marina.  There were also quite o few boats seemingly set to spend the night on the Lake.

Dewey stopped by our campsite with their mini-Australian Shepherd.  We discussed some of their travels, and we shared some of our experiences.  He and their dog were surrounded by a number of children, most of them with red hair.  Their dog very much enjoyed the loving attention from the children.  Before he went ‘home’ for the evening, we gave him a story to share with his wife.

Cathy and I enjoyed a viewing of an episode of ‘How to get away with murder’ broadcast through her new projector/screen, while savoring ice cream topped with Huckleberry Cream Liquor!

Tomorrow will be an early start!

The rest day in Winnetka with Deanna and Steve was a needed and appreciated day off the bike.  Did take the Trek to the local shop (Green Bay Cycles) in Winnetka for some tweaking and tire change.  The shop, owned by Pam and Larry, is a great place, and the mechanics are skilled.  After a heads-up call, Julie and John were very accommodating and quick with the service!

Departing Winnetka by the van to return to Ashkrum and continue the biking journey, was preceded by a quick trip to the local farmers’ market.  Some great Brie/bleu cheese was procured along with some fresh produce.  Arrived in Ashkrum and started biking at about Noon, the latest start for the trip (at least it seemed so with the temps already in the 80’s).  Arrived at the well-shaded Tall Oaks Campground, and was greeted by Cathy to walk with me to our campsite.  We did stop at the ‘host house’ to get me introduced to Brian.  The campground is along the banks of the Tippecanoe River, and many of the campers are ‘seasonal,’ with campsites equipped with much more than what would be needed for a night or week.

I felt quite ‘sticky’ after the ride, and the shower felt grand.  Cathy’s prep of spaghetti, focaccia with meat sauce hit the spot!  Being ‘plugged’ into the website, and able to use the air conditioner, provided a enjoyable night’s rest.

Be safe.  Have fun.  Spread joy!