Day 59. Redfield
61 miles 2,943 feet
After 9 days on the shore of one of several Great Lakes, and a month in which I have been traveling around them (beginning in Moorhead MN), today I left them behind.
As I did, I passed by signs for Salmon River and saw street names including salmon. It turns out there are lots of salmon in Lake Ontario and Salmon River, and I was in the area with highest density. These are not Atlantic salmon—those were overfished and their migration blocked by dams—but introduced chinook, coho, steelhead, and brown trout, all stocked. The woman who runs the motel where I'm staying tonight in Redfield NY says in September the motel will be filled with salmon fisherman.
As I biked east I noticed subtle changes: First, I heard the sound of a stream at the side of the road. For weeks, no stream had enough speed to make much sound. They were all brown and languid. There were more conifers mixed in with the deciduous trees, and eventually I was climbing noticeably, in forest. I'm on the western edge of the Adirondacks but it looks like mountains and is quite pretty. I'll spend 3 more days traversing them before reaching Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.
I began to check for convenience stores or restaurants along the route, but towns indicated on my ACA map as having one did not—they were closed. I was getting hungry and a little discouraged. I checked Google and it showed there was a restaurant a few miles ahead. This seemed unlikely in this isolated area, without towns or even many houses or farms. But there, unexpectedly, was a golf course and a clubhouse. On the back side facing the greens and away from the highway, was a restaurant with an open sign. I entered and saw a nice setting, with one other customer. They had a great menu and an even more wonderful server who recommended a sandwich, served me, and kept filling my ice tea. It was a great sandwich, too much even for a hungry biker so she wrapped the uneaten half and that served as my dinner at my isolated hotel tonight. Just as I needed a restaurant, a great one materialized!
Later on, I stopped at a gas station/convenience store for snacks and coffee and a man in a car taking a cigarette break asked me about my bike trip. He was amazed and impressed when I told him my route. He grew up in the area and has lived his life within about a 100 mile radius of the store. He knew Albion, where my mother grew up, and Rochester. My long trip was new to him, and he thought it would be a great way to see the country. He was very nice, and very different from my circle of friends.
Tomorrow I continue east. I've made reservations at roughly 70 mile intervals all the way to Hanover NH where I meet my sister on Saturday! This map shows my progress; the last 4 dots are where I have reservations. I'm getting close, but still have some long days ahead with some tough climbs.
After 9 days on the shore of one of several Great Lakes, and a month in which I have been traveling around them (beginning in Moorhead MN), today I left them behind.
As I did, I passed by signs for Salmon River and saw street names including salmon. It turns out there are lots of salmon in Lake Ontario and Salmon River, and I was in the area with highest density. These are not Atlantic salmon—those were overfished and their migration blocked by dams—but introduced chinook, coho, steelhead, and brown trout, all stocked. The woman who runs the motel where I'm staying tonight in Redfield NY says in September the motel will be filled with salmon fisherman.
As I biked east I noticed subtle changes: First, I heard the sound of a stream at the side of the road. For weeks, no stream had enough speed to make much sound. They were all brown and languid. There were more conifers mixed in with the deciduous trees, and eventually I was climbing noticeably, in forest. I'm on the western edge of the Adirondacks but it looks like mountains and is quite pretty. I'll spend 3 more days traversing them before reaching Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.
I began to check for convenience stores or restaurants along the route, but towns indicated on my ACA map as having one did not—they were closed. I was getting hungry and a little discouraged. I checked Google and it showed there was a restaurant a few miles ahead. This seemed unlikely in this isolated area, without towns or even many houses or farms. But there, unexpectedly, was a golf course and a clubhouse. On the back side facing the greens and away from the highway, was a restaurant with an open sign. I entered and saw a nice setting, with one other customer. They had a great menu and an even more wonderful server who recommended a sandwich, served me, and kept filling my ice tea. It was a great sandwich, too much even for a hungry biker so she wrapped the uneaten half and that served as my dinner at my isolated hotel tonight. Just as I needed a restaurant, a great one materialized!
Later on, I stopped at a gas station/convenience store for snacks and coffee and a man in a car taking a cigarette break asked me about my bike trip. He was amazed and impressed when I told him my route. He grew up in the area and has lived his life within about a 100 mile radius of the store. He knew Albion, where my mother grew up, and Rochester. My long trip was new to him, and he thought it would be a great way to see the country. He was very nice, and very different from my circle of friends.
Tomorrow I continue east. I've made reservations at roughly 70 mile intervals all the way to Hanover NH where I meet my sister on Saturday! This map shows my progress; the last 4 dots are where I have reservations. I'm getting close, but still have some long days ahead with some tough climbs.
My incredible dinner last night in Fair Haven. Nothing fried!
Dinner view
Detail of Pleasant Beach Hotel, where I stayed and had dinner on the deck.
Rural New York struggles with the same problems as the rest of our country.
This small town has beautiful buildings. Some are restored and filled, and other such as these, are not.
An amazing sandwich in a restaurant that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, just when I needed it.
Check the price: This would be a down payment for a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Scenes from the western Adirondacks
