June 15
The route:
I added the view below that I made when we were about to start the trip. It shows all of the stops along the way, and you can see that we are almost out of stops...amazing.
Gradient chart:
The barns up here are pretty impressive.
I sound like a broken record over the past couple of weeks: great weather, good roads, and beautiful scenery...yep, that was today. We did a little climbing today, but there was nothing major. Bill did get a flat from a piece of glass, and I lost air in my back tire a couple of times. I think my issue was user error by not fully tightening the valve after adding air before the ride today; we just pumped the tire up from the road, and it held. We rode with a few other folks in our group today and did the same as we have the past few days - rode social and kept the pace manageable. Today was the last Saturday that we will ride...crazy. I was thinking today about how all of us have ridden the same routes and mileage but how different the trip is for each of us: we are all here for different reasons (even if many similarities), we are all in a different headspace during each day, some are alone, some are with old friends, some are with new friends, and we all feel physically different. I do think that it will be some time before you can fully process the trip and how it affects you because each day is so full. Time will be needed to digest what we are doing, and I do know that the trip has been a gift with many layers for me.
I listened to Luke Combs new album (Fathers and Sons) today, and it is unreal...I am not sure if he purposely released this around Father's Day or not, but man, this dude can sing and write some great redneck poetry. I highly recommend that anyone who has sons (or daughters that you treated like sons - sorry Ashley...) listen to this album.
Gina sent me a great quote for today from Deepak Chopra "In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." This reminds me of Arya in Game of Thrones and what her sword trainer, Syrio, taught her about being as still as calm water.
Have absolutely loved journeying with you, and I hope to hear how you process the layers of your travels once you have time to. I would imagine there have been some deeply impactful things along the way. Gonna check out Luke’s new album, thanks for the rec! And love the references from Chopra and Syrio. Keep choppin and finish strong! Proud of y’all! What an epic adventure!
ReplyDeleteAh Victor, NY. I spent quite a bit of time in Victor building a call center while at Kodak. Cool fact, Genesee river flows through downtown Rochester and forms what they call the Grand Canyon of the East just south of Victor.
ReplyDeleteGreat biking trails on the Erie Canal and you are entering the Finger Lakes region which is beautiful.
Keep stroking the pedals and keyboard. These updates are awesome.