88 mi, 3,1271ft gain, 66-86F / headwind & clear
Rolling out on the route we realized quickly we had a headwind. This slowed us quite a bit, along with the uphills for majority of the first 20 miles. It was very hilly, through farm areas. Big enough shoulder to feel comfortable, so I was happy. Funny how the headwind is bad but never can compare to Kansas!
Our first SAG was at mile 31 ish. I stopped 3 times before that for pictures. One is of red barn doors.. it could be from Kansas all the way to New York with all the red barns we’ve passed.. but it’s from here. The next picture pause was for this amazing octagon house I rode by. I’ve never seen one other than the Hogans in Arizona. When I got to the hotel I googled about it. Happy it caught my attention!
Geneva’s Octagon House: In Geneva, NY is one of the most spectacular octagon houses in America. This amazing place was built in 1853 at a time when these 8-sided homes were becoming somewhat of a “thing”. Inspired by a book authored by Orson Fowler, about 1000 were built in the East and Midwest in the 1850’s and 1860’s. According to the Geneva Historical Society, 173 were built in New York State—few as ornate and spectacular as this one. The home was built for agriculturist Nehemiah Denton, who later lived there after selling his nearby farm and homestead (see yesterday’s Friday’s Farm post). The current owners have maintained the integrity of this property, keeping it in exquisite condition.
Another stop was for the Scythe tree..
In 1864, Johnson abandoned his scythe forever when he died in a Confederate hospital after a skirmish in Plymouth, North Carolina. His parents never accepted the report of his death, and left the scythe in the tree for a homecoming that never happened.
Onwards to the Long Pier. I had googled for spots to stop on today’s tour as if I was going to be guiding it. The pier looked like a great stop to ride out on! Also uphill on Main Street from the pier in Geneva, there is a historic district with houses dating back to 1820’s. Houses around the area had carriage steps! I regret not stopping for a picture of one, but I knew what they were right away. Concrete curved single and double steps right by the road. How cool!
Here is a short video of me off route to see the historic area:
I had about 10 more miles to my next stop, Seneca Falls, self proclaimed location of the It’s a Wonderful Life movie! They have a museum there of items from the movie, but they are closed on Sundays. So I rode to the bridge they say inspired parts of the movie when the writer stopped in the town while writing the movie plot. There is a bridge that looks just like the one in the movie with a memorial for a man who jumped into the river to save a woman who was trying to end her life. She was saved and he didn’t make it. They say this is where the idea for George jumping in after Clearance came from. People now tie small bells on the bridge for those that have passed.. so they get their wings.
I pedaled on, now at the end of the group with my stops. A truck pulling a trailer passed me with a strange noise, I looked up and his back right trailer tire was shredding. Thankful it fell apart about ½ mile up road from me. Lots of smoke and rubber pieces. Issues avoided, I smoothly went around him to continue on to the next SAG around 57 miles in at an ice cream location. I tagged up with Maggie & Tanny to ride to a few more sights.
We made our way to the Erie Canal park, where the local volunteers told us the history of the canal building and all the versions (3) they had in the region. This location we stopped at was in the middle, halfway between Albany & Buffalo. Our route took us along the canal for a little bit and I snapped a picture of it from afar. These roads are some of the best we’ve had the whole trip.
After this we continued on towards Syracuse.. I had one last stop just miles from the hotel at the Salt Museum. It’s free and only 2 blocks from the route. This area used to provide salt for the nation using under ground salt brine. To turn this into salt was a huge undertaking. Interesting history in the area. I took pictures as if I’m FAMing it. Haha. Small inside to how my guide brain works.
This was my attempt to see what this trip could be if it ran how I run trips. What would I add, what would I change, etc. It’s challenging to be on a trip being guided by someone else, as well as eye opening to be a guest. I’ve led over 100 trips between Backroads & REI in my career as an Adventure Tour Guide, this has been a good experience for me professionally to see the differences. Call me naive, but I didn’t think there would be much difference. Pocketing my feelings and ideas away for the future.
Total mileage to-date:
3,100.9 mi
Total elevation gain to-date:
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