Incoherent ramblings from somewhere in New York - by Robin

Sodus Point, NY

Like Wile E Coyote, we went back to the drawing board and came up with a new master plan. Since staying at a hotel last night put us another day behind, we couldn't possibly ride the entire 100 + miles today to get to the next campground (at least given our track record so far).  We also couldn't stand the thought of driving it all, so we compromised.  David drove the kids and I up to the Lake Ontario shoreline and dropped us off for a scenic ride along the waterfront while he sought out a bike shop.  By the time he finished having his tire repaired, we had found an amazing place for lunch.  We didn't notice that David had passed us by when we stopped at a Farm Market that included a Garden Cafe for lunch(fresh produce from the farm included in all of their dishes), so when David called to find out where we were, he only had to backtrack 10 minutes to join us for one incredible lunch.  Turkey BLT with cranberry mayo, fresh veggie pizza... toasted oat bread... fresh fruit salad.  Food is very important when you're cycling.  I'll talk about that later. 

Through cool temperatures and a light rain shower here and there and an occasional head wind and WAY more hills than I would have preferred, we finally completed a ride.  51 hilly miles (I kept telling myself between pants that I love hills because they're good for my heart and lungs, but I wasn't very convincing) later, we arrived at the camp site David had all set up (We are at the top of a hill this time instead of down in a swamp.  Shrek would be disappointed in us.) Before leaving the Farm Market, David purchased strawberries and veggies for our dinner and prepared us quite a healthy feast this evening: a fresh assortment of stir-fried vegetables and pork with egg noodles. The strawberries and biscuits he bought at the FM made a tasty strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Even Emily went back for a third serving of the noodles and veggies, and she's a light-weight. 

Speaking of food, I have to mention numbers again.  Among other things, like speed, average speed, trip timer, etc, my bike computer has a calorie calculator.  Whenever we stop the bikes for a break, I like to tell the kids how many calories I've burned so far on the trip.  It's obnoxious, but I find it entertaining to announce every now and then, "Hey, I've burned 1630 calories so far," because no one else has this feature on their computer.  Knowing this number is probably not good for me because I don't feel bad at all at the end of the day when I think I've burned over 1800 calories on the bike and I want some milk and cookies.  After riding over 50 miles, I can wake up in the middle of the night with a growling stomach and wish it was time to eat. 

That's really the unfair part.  You can burn some serious calories doing this exercise, but then your tank demands to be fueled, so you don't really lose weight. Well, I suppose you could if you ate the right things.  This is hard to do while traveling, which is why I appreciated finding the Farm Market today and eating a healthy meal instead of fast food.  Well, they also had ice cream, and who can resist toasted coconut, right?

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Maybe just to show how much I really appreciated the great dinner that was waiting for us when we were finished with the ride today.  After a cold day on the bike, a hot shower was also a miracle.  It's pretty cool how luxurious simple things seem when you've worked hard before receiving them. I feel rewarded today and satisfied. 

Tomorrow we drive through the Adirondacks and then jump back in the saddle the next day for more biking... in Connecticut this time, I believe.