I initially thought
that maybe I shouldn’t be writing this week and should instead devote all my cycling
energy to working in my shop. My hometown of Royersford hosted a block party on
Tuesday’s National Night out, and I took the opportunity to display the bikes I
currently have for sale and let people in the neighborhood know about the
services I provide. I won’t say that the results have backfired on me, but my
intent had been to sell and have bikes move OUT of my shop, but instead I’ve
ended up with people bringing their bikes IN for work!
Now, I wasn’t
expecting miracles, since most folks around here don’t walk around with their
checkbooks in hand or with big wads of cash in their pockets. I didn’t
realistically anticipate several of my bikes being wheeled away during the festivities,
but I did hope some inquisitive people would be drawn to the "flash" of the Cipollini bike (photo below), which I placed strategically out front. Maybe they would wander through my display, see something among my collection that they liked and make an offer?
Not to sound mean
or anything, but it wouldn’t take long for a visitor to observe that Royersford
isn’t exactly the most fit neighborhood in America. There were a whole lot of
people lumbering by who looked like they would clearly benefit from more
(some?) time in the saddle. Many food vendors were lining the streets, and the
fact that I had no edible items on offer didn’t help me to draw attention.
The great thing
that happened was that a few of my neighbors stopped by to chat, and other
people are sometimes drawn to a crowd. Besides the curious, or those interested
only in the trivia contest I had set up and whatever prize they might win, I
met several parents who wanted advice on buying bicycles for their growing
kids. I also met a woman whose husband has a similar repair business set up for
his community. She even mentioned that
sometimes he has too much work to handle and that she would pass on my name to
him!
Sue told me later how unhappy I had seemed during the first hour when things were progressing so slowly. I had put in so much time setting up all the bikes (seven sale bikes
outside and three of my own), printing out signs, arranging tables, etc. with not much to show for it. However, my mood brightened as many people took business cards, and a few have already scheduled tune-ups
on their bikes. I also made a couple contacts for sales, but we’ll see how that pans out.
We were a bit
disappointed that our Finger Lakes vacation had to come to an end, as it was so
peaceful out by Cayuga, away from family stresses and a neighborhood of
constantly yelping dogs. The weather also turned a bit poor, becoming rainy and
very humid. Not being able to ride turned out to be a bit of a blessing because
I twisted my knee on a challenging hike we took around Lucifer Falls in Robert
Treman State Park, and ended up with a sore ankle compensating for the injury
(very minor hurts – all cleared up now).
I did get in a
fantastic ride in the late afternoon on day #1, after we had unpacked. I would
have thought about four hours of driving would have made me a bit sluggish, but
I felt great. One problem with staying in a lakeside cabin around here is that
there is NO WAY you are going to ride out from where you are staying, as the
climb up from these glacial lakes is long and impossibly steep. Sure, I’m used
to hills, but hitting them cold, as the first part of your ride, is not the best
way to start off – probably just asking
for a muscle pull!
Anyway, I drove out
from our cabin in Lansing (just north of Ithaca) to a plateau-ish area in order
to ride a scenic thirty mile loop, part of which follows the route that the now-abandoned
Lehigh Valley Railroad followed between Cayuga and Owasco Lakes. There has
always been this 3:00-5:00 pm groove within which my body performs optimally, and this
afternoon was no exception, as I was just flying! It helped that air was cool
and dry, especially compared to the conditions we had been facing back in the
Philadelphia area. We laughed to hear on the radio about the temperatures DNC-goers
were facing.
A couple days later
Sue joined me on part of a sixty mile ride that I was taking along the eastern
shore of Cayuga and across to Auburn and back. This route promised to be fairly
hilly, and she wasn’t that interested in the distance or terrain. The
significant headwind we faced going north didn’t add to her enthusiasm, so she
cut our togetherness short to complete a flatter twenty-miler of her own. I hammered
on by myself, inspired by the thought of when I would eventually turn around
for the return leg of the trip and have the wind behind me the whole way back!
Again, the scenery
was wonderful, as I passed several vineyards/wineries with overlooks of Cayuga,
then descended into the village of Aurora past charming lakeside homes and
boathouses. I also managed to spot a couple of former Lehigh Valley Railroad
Stations and snapped some photos.
 |
| Aurora |
 |
| Union Springs |
I did not enjoy the
constant, overwhelming scent of manure when I turned east into some major farmland, but I didn’t mind the
company of a handful of cyclo-tourists riding towards Auburn. I don’t think
they appreciated my pace and gave me not-so-subtle encouragement to head off on
my own.
Not being
completely familiar with the route, I knew that there was about 500 feet of
climbing on the way back but had no idea how the elevation would be dispersed
along the way. Turns out that I shouldn’t have been concerned as the grade was
very gradual, and as predicted, the tailwind was a fantastic ally. Other than
dealing with the usual shoulder/neck stiffness, I was feeling really good
throughout the ride.
I will say that coasting
back down to the cabin, a 450-foot drop in less than 1½ miles, was a bit unnerving,
especially when there was a sharp left-hand turn to negotiate near the bottom. I
tried to keep my speed under reasonable control, and as I neared the turn, I
slid way back in the saddle and squeezed the levers firmly, careful not to lock
up the brakes. I kept an eye out for cinder piles – a constant presence at
intersections around these steep lake roads – picked a good line and leaned
safely into the turn.
When I later did a
comparison between this ride and some of my regular home routes I found that,
although the Finger Lakes provided a much greater elevation change overall, I
ended up doing less climbing than on
some loops I frequent around the Schuylkill Valley, due the constant up-and-down
profile of our area roads. The true challenging nature of my home terrain really stood out when it occurred to me
that some of the climbing totals I had considered were happening on loops that
were only about half of the distance of the Finger Lakes route!
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