Day 48 -- Liverpool to Little Falls -- 80 Miles

"They don't call it the 'Cross Country Easy,' they call it the 'Cross Country Challenge!'"

Michele Sahli, Tour Director - 2010

What a day! We endured non-stop torrential downpours for 80 miles. No exaggeration --it was teeming from the moment we left our hotel in Liverpool, to the moment we arrived in Little Falls. Unfortunately, it never really warmed up either -- temperatures remained in the low 60's throughout the course of the ride.

As you would imagine, I become much more cautious when it's raining and I am in the saddle. I don't like to ride too close to anyone, and I don't like people right on my wheel either. It's not worth it. This is especially true since we have come so far on this trip -- the last thing anyone needs is a careless accident resulting from riding too close in bad weather.

That said, I managed to ride a reasonable distance from other riders, and at a very comfortable pace. Admittedly, it was slower than my normal pace, but there was no reason to rush -- after all, we were drenched from jump street, so what's a few more minutes going to matter, right?

The ride was not very taxing from a physical perspective, and I felt great after 80 miles. Aside from the normal mental challenges of riding in the rain, the only thing that really bothered me was dealing with wet socks. Seriously, is there anything in the world worse than wet socks? I think not. I know "Mama Hurls" would agree with me on that one.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Latham, NY, where I will meet up with one of my best friends (and 4-year college roommate) -- Mike Smiley -- a current assistant basketball coach at nearby Union College. I am looking forward to it -- should be a lot of fun!

Day 47 -- Canandaigua to Liverpool -- 70 Miles

I am running out of positive adjectives to describe our daily rides. Honestly -- at the end of each ride, I sit back and think about how enjoyable it was, but I am afraid that I never am able to properly convey it on the blog without coming off as a broken record. Oh well -- I am having fun every day, and you'll just have to take my word for it -- repetitive as it may be.

Anyway, relatively short day today -- yes, 70 miles equals a short ride these days -- strange, I know. Conditions were favorable throughout the day, and I managed to ride at a comfortable pace for the duration.

Some of the highlights of the ride include: pedaling along the Erie Canal (we will be doing that again tomorrow), visiting the first house that One Eleven Robb and his wife owned (in Liverpool, NY), and enjoying a post-ride lunch at Heid's -- a famous landmark in central New York.

A couple of other interesting moments included riding along Farrell Road as we entered the greater Liverpool area. Also, when we visited One Eleven Robb's old house, we chatted with the current owner -- whose last name was Farrell. Any "Farrell encounter" is a good one -- two in one day is special!

We have some fun planned for tonight. One Eleven Robb has a brother, Rick, who lives 15 minutes from our hotel. Rick and his wife, Linda, have invited the entire bike group to their house for dinner and drinks. It should be a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to it!

Day 46 -- Hamburg to Canandaigua -- 100 Miles

Please don't let this scenic photo by Canandaiuga Lake fool you. Yes, the sun is shining and evertyhing looks peaceful and serene, but we battled the weather to get to that point. We pedaled through approximately 35-40 miles in some pretty heavy rain.

There was really nothing great about the wet miles, except for the discovery of my new favorite sign of the trip (I'll bet that only my wife and I appreciate this, but oh well). Once things cleared up, however, the ride was phenomenal.

I spent the dry half of the day with Georgia Joy, Pam (staff), One-Eleven Robb, Sooner Rick, and Chevy Chase Phil. As you can tell from the picture, we are becoming so cohesive as a cycling unit that we even eat lunch in a paceline (actually, as we ate our post-ride meal outside, it started to look stormy, so we were all forced to move the side that was protected by an awning).

Overall, it was another great day. This might sound crazy, but I think that the rain in the beginning of the day was a blessing for our group. There has been a lot of chatter about how the trip is winding down, and I felt a sense of complacency beginning to loom. Even though there was only 35-40 miles worth of rain, I think it was enough to serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go, and need to stay focused at all times.

Today marked the final century of the tour -- I mean it this time! Actually, our cue sheet only had us scheduled for 94 miles, but after detours to downtown Canandaigua and the lake, we arrived at the hotel with 98 miles completed. Tacking on another 2 and making it an official century seemed like the right thing to do.

Day 45 -- Erie to Hamburg (NY) -- 86 Miles

Today was a great day to be on a bike. There were slightly overcast skies that kept the temperatures extremely comfortable throughout the day.

I spent the day riding with Judy (staff member), Sooner Rick, and One Eleven Robb. When we weren't fixing flats (both Rick and Robb fell victim to a punctured tire), we were moving at a very nice, but brisk, pace.

We pedaled along Route 5 for the majority of the day, and were able to see some fantastic views of Lake Erie -- the largest body of water we've seen since Pacific Ocean (in San Francisco) -- as we rode. Once again, I found myself thinking about my dad (pictured right) throughout the ride, and how he felt as he traveled along the same roads 20 years ago.


As usual, it felt great to enter a new state -- our 11th on the journey. I thought Pennsylvania sounded close to home -- New York sounds even better. We will be spending 5 nights in New York, and hopefully the reamining rides in this state are as comfortable as the one we had today!

Day 44 -- Erie -- Rest Day

Not much to report -- much needed rest day today, and I took full advantage of it. I need to make sure that I am physically ready to pedal home.

I just returned from dinner at The Pufferbelly Restaurant with Scott, Robb and Larry. We enjoyed a great meal at a place that seemed to have a lot of history associated with it. After dinner, Scott treated the group (even our cab driver, Howie) to gelato. For all of my Southie/Irish bretheren reading the blog, gelato is Italian ice cream, and it is delicious. It was my first experience with gelato, but it won't be my last.

Today does, however, mark the last rest day of the trip. At dinner it was briefly mentioned that, as a group, we will be undergoing a "series of lasts" over the next 8 days. The rest day meal tradition that Scott, Robb, Larry, and I have had throughout our cross country challenge is something I will certainly miss. Like so many of the rest of the group members, Scott, Robb, and Larry are great people, and a lot of fun to be around.

Ok, enough of this mawkish gushing. It's time to put the game face on, and get ready to ride tomorrow -- the countdown to completion is on!