607.865.6532 - Year round
607.746.2004 - In Session
ITINERARY
Sunday leave Camp for Grand Gorge as soon as possible 32 mi.
Travel on east side of Delaware until Hobart. Use SR 10 to Stamford
and SR 23 to Grand Gorge. Stay at Northern Catskills Occupational
Center.
Monday Grand Gorge to Haine's Falls (North-South Lake St Pk)
32 mi.
Use SR 23 and SR 23A, lunch in Hunter or Tannersville. Swim in
Lake at St Pk. Enjoy sweeping overlook of Hudson Valley from the
site of a Victorian Hotel formerly patronized by Te
ddy Roosevelt
and other Presidents.
Tuesday Haine's Falls to Wittenberg (Kenneth Wilson St Pk) 30
mi.
Use SR 23A and a network of county roads until SR 212. Lunch
in Woodstock, time for some shopping and laundry. Swim at St
Pk.
Wednesday Wittenberg to Kingston and back (Tour Kingston) 52
mi.
Use SR 28 into Kingston, breakfast in Boiceville. Boat ride
on Hudson River from Rondout at D&H Canal terminus. Lunch
in Kingston. Bike back to Kenneth Wilson St P
k via roads following
Sawkill Creek.
Thursday Wittenberg to Margaretville 32 mi.
We will be staying with trip leader Mike Porter family in Margaretville.
They have offered to let us camp on their property.
Friday Margaretville to Delhi (campers picked up between 5 &
7 pm) 35 mi.
A bit of Route 30 then county roads to lunch in Andes. Arrive
at camp before 5 pm. Campers will be served supper at camp if
they want to eat while waiting to be picked up. All campe
rs must
be picked up by 7 PM Friday evening.
Approximate total 213 mi.
Please note: Itinerary changes are possible to accommodate the
varied of skills and endurance of this group which includes novice
and experienced riders. For instance we might stay two nights
at North-South Lake rather than two nights at Kenneth Wilson Park.
Doing this would cut out the 50 mile round trip to Kingston,
but there are lots of good things to do without going that distance.
If any changes are ma
de to this itinerary the camp will be made
aware of them.
Communications: Campers will be writing daily until Wednesday. If you must contact a camper call the 4H office before noon and leave a message for the camper. A leader will call camp once a day after lunch to check for messages. Phone (607)746-2004
A bike trip a week long through three counties is a big adventure.
A lot of things have to fall into place for it to happen
. I'd
like to take a second to thank some of the parties involved.
First, the parents of the cyclists for allowing their children
to engage in such an adventure.
Second, the cyclists for getting off the couch and leaving the
TV remote control devices behind to sweat or freeze their way
across the valleys and mountains of our beautiful area of upstate
New York.
Mike Porter did a fantastic job in his first year as co-leader.
The new 4H Camp Shankitunk secretary Cathy Sco
field did a great
job juggling a changed trip schedule. Also at the 4H camp we
had great support from the executive director, Jim Rice, who has
encouraged us to go farther and do more each summer and from the
director, Patti Hoyt, who helps us in every way possible at camp.
Many others lend a hand in making our trips a success such as
Joey Albano who lets us into NCOC on Sunday nights. Without any
of these fine folks and others not mentioned here, life on the
road and off it would be a lot to
ugher for us.
The creation of a bike trip journal is a task I have added to
help the trip live on in the minds and lives of the cyclists.
The only compensation for all this voluntary typing and collating
is the writing on the postcards that I ask the cyclists to return
after receiving the journals. Please write back and let me know
that you got the journal! I put all the postcards I get in the
back of my copy of the journal.
The journal sometimes has some gaps and omissions that would
make understanding difficult to those not directly involved in
the experience of the trip. In an effort to fill those gaps I
have inserted additional comments in italic type. - Bicycle Bob
Sunday July 5th 11:30 at 4H Camp Shankitunk - The cyclists are picking out their messkits and with that choice they get a state abbreviation associated with their name. The names below are in the order that they were recorded - roughly in the order that the cyclists arrived in camp and realized that cups, bowls and silverware would be useful for a week long trip.
Mike ME David MA
Bob PA Giff OK
Matt NY Brent NJ
Priscilla CA Peter RI
Casey VA Erik VT
Ron MD Gerrit NC
Jason WA
2:00 pm 4H Camp - Packing has gone well and we are able to walk, yes, walk not ride up the steep gravelly camp driveway to the road. The weather is decent with a mixture of sun and clouds. The morning started quite overcast after a very rainy 4th of July. We are all glad that the trip didn't have to start in Saturday's rain.
2:40 pm Fitch's Covered Bridge - Getting to the bridge is always an adventure, more than once we have had rain delays before even reaching the golf course. Casey had a tough climb up the hill near the golf course since she was still learning about her gearing and cranked up the hill in a much larger gear than necessary or comfortable. Giff dropped his bike and his saddle worked loose when he caught it.
We p layed the name game - most of the five folks doing a second trip decided to keep their names from last year. The five new folks had to come up with names. Gerrit actually joined the trip on Monday morning so he missed some of these antics and I don't recall that he settled on a name.
Bicycle Bob
Mister Mike
Brakin' Brent
Cruisin' Casey
Dangerous Dave
Excited Erik
Gel Giff
Pacin' Jason
Mighty Matt
Pedalin' Pete
Perky Priscilla
Raptor Ron<
/P>
After the name game we had to fix Giff's seat which had popped off its metal frame, I've never seen a seat with that exact problem before, but with Mike and I both tugging and pulling we managed to get it back in place. We also broke the string of 12 bikes into 3 groups so that cars could pass one group at a time and then get back into the right lane before passing the next group.
4:25 pm South Kortright (at a cookie break sitting on one
of the stone walls that bound Belle Terre
in the shade. During
the break I got out some allen keys to tighten Giff's SPD cleats.
It was good that he noticed they were lose. If they had gotten
much looser he might have lost a bolt. The first bike shop that
might have had a bolt was in Woodstock - two days away and they
are closed on Tuesday! We also raised some other seats. Basically
the bikes were in very good shape and not a problem.) This is
the first entry in the journal, and all I would like to say is:
Assemble pack cry at weight
say bye bike bike bike bike stop play
name game bike bike bike bike bike stop eat fig and oreo and write.
Talk to you later - Adios, Giff
4:30 Howdy! I can't believe it's only just the beginning! Sob! Sob! Sob! - The One and Only Dangerous Dave
4:35 It's the first day. We are on our cookie break. I am the cookie passer outer. We have gone about 17 miles. Bye for now. From, Mighty Matt
5:20 pm at the Hobart Quickway - Three cyclists took Mike's offer to ride on the rail trail which parallels our road route. They rode it until a dog took exception to their presence and then they rejoined us. - Bicycle Bob
5:22 pm The rail trail was great!!! It wasn't as hot as the road. Pool should be great and cool! - Pedalin' Pete
5:23 pm We just got off the rail trail. We had a lot of fun. - Raptor Ron
6:04 pm Municipal Pool, Stamford The pool officially closes at 6 pm, so I was a bit worried that folks wouldn't be allowed swim, but the lifeguards and their supervisor kindly let us take a dip. While 4 or so swam others wrote postcards and two or three went with me to shop for dinner at the Grand Union nearly in sight of the pool.
9:30 pm Northern Catskills Occupational Center, Grand Gorge
- So far so good. Dinner was very good. My bike is very heavy.
I have run over a lot of road kill. - Pacin' Jason
9:35 So far so good. Earlier today I had some trouble getting
up hills. But after the pool
the weather was cooler and it was
better. I'm glad the day is over. Tomorrow should be fun. -
Cruisin' Casey
10:23 Tent training is over almost - the guys are taking down the last tent. Most people have had their showers. There are now two showers for us to use at NCOC. That really speeds things up. Last year showers were shorter in duration - the water heater was being repaired and we took ice cold showers. This year the water was very comfortable. We got to use the ‘big' kit chen with the big stoves - it was great! Usually we have to use a little kitchen with limited counter space.
Spaghetti dinner. Twelve people dividing 3 lbs of angel hair pasta - just one bowl full left over, two quarts of sauce, three all turkey sausages per person, a large container of grated cheese, salt and pepper and garlic salt on the table, too, two loaves of bread, a stick of butter, a salad, add the ingredients yourself - a head of lettuce, 7 tomatoes - 3 would have been enough, 4 bell peppers - a bit left over, 1 lb of baby carrots - only 5 or 6 left - some iced tea to drink. - Bicycle Bob
Reactions to the day: I went around the group to get a reaction from each about day one. We rode along a very quiet county road half the day. Then we were on NYS Route 10 and NYS Route 23 where the traffic is a bit busier. The scenery was very pleasant, corn fields and hay fields, some pastures, a lot of woods. - Bicycle Bob
Cruisin' Casey - I have no idea. I'm glad that I survived.
Perky Priscilla - I'm tired.
Dangerous Dave - It's swell.
Raptor Ron - It wasn't that hard.
Mighty Matt - Good.
Pacin' Jason - I don't know.
Brakin' Brent - It's gonna be a long week.
Excited Erik - Lot's of road kill and easy riding.
Gel Giff - The riding is nice. My sleeping bag seems even nicer.
Pedalin' Pete - Going down the hills was better than going up them.
10:30 My first day as a n assistant went well. I tipped over because of my locking pedals, shades of Maine stories. Kids are all fairly strong riders or improving rapidly. We should have a good week. - Mister Mike
Sunday's statistics:
32 miles covered
900 feet climbed
9.2 mph average traveling speed
Monday July 6th 8:05 am Grand Gorge - Gerrit has joined us. We went to the convenience store at the intersection of Route 23 and Route 30. The manager lets us use three booths to eat our breakfast of cereal, juice and milk. We have filled our water bottles from the ‘bubbler' at NCOC before setting out.
10:45 along route 23A at a fishing access parking area beyond Lexington - We are taking a few minutes to sit down and rest. We are also having a snack of apples and oatmeal raisin cookies. At the other end of the rest area a retired couple stops and putters around their car for awhile - not snacking, napping or preparing to go f ishing. What could they be doing? As they drive out they stop to tell us they have been releasing some chipmunks they have trapped at their yard where they are being over run by the little creatures. - Bicycle Bob
10:51 Those cookies were real good! So far the road kill count is now at 23 and we've just passed 6 rest areas in the last 6 miles! So far so good. - Adios, Gel Giff
p.s. I love you mom.
12:44 At the top of a hill overlooking ‘the notch' between Hun ter and Tannersville - We just went up two big hills and so far we have climbed 1070 ft. I'm tired but hungry so I say that we go get lunch. - Adios, Gel Giff
1:30 pm Tannersville Grand Union - We bought a lunch of sliced turkey and Swiss cheese and a dinner of macaroni and cheese and salad. We ate lunch on the lawn in the shade of the Grand Union. We were on the far side away from the highway and it was very still and quiet. As lunch settled postcards were written to be mailed as we passed through Tannersville.
5:30 at North-Lake State Park - Day two is over! One day of all up hill climbing. Tomorrow we will have a 4 mile downhill that will take 30 minutes at the most. - Pacin' Jason
6:37 Day two is over. All day we climbed the hills. It was horrible. At least tomorrow is Tuesday. Fare well - Brakin' Brent
The ride from Grand Gorge to North-South Lake is gently uphill along the Schoharie Creek until Hunter. Then things get serious and you h ave two significant climbs. Leaving Tannersville is a bit of a pull. Then when you get off NYS Route 23A to take the side road to the campsite you have a climb that takes a good 45 minutes and can raise a good sweat.
Before we started up the road we stopped at a General store that has some camping and cycling supplies. Erik bought some climbing bars to put on his handlebars for another place to hold his hands. We also picked up some salad dressing that we had forgotten at the Grand Un ion.
Nearly as hard as the climb is the detailed process of registering for the campsite. For each site you have to list an adult leader with address and phone number. Then you have to list the name of each cyclist who will be staying on that site. The software assumes that you are a family and tries to put the adult leader's last name after the first name of each cyclist. The wrong name must then be deleted and the cyclist's correct last name be inserted. Presumably all these detailed records are enshrined on some hard drive in Albany or Timbuktu and you could ‘prove' that you spent the night camping some years later if asked to do so. Once you have gone through this process you can just hand over your receipts to the officials at the next site and then they can just copy it from the printed receipt which saves a great deal of time.
After completing the registration process we made our way to the campsite and set up our tents. Then most of the cyclists put on their swimsuits and we all walked over to the beach on North Lake. The water felt good but the air was quite cool. The lake has a nice sandy bottom and it was a refreshing swim.
After the swim we walked a .22 mile trail to the site of the
former Catskill Mountain House. It is right at the edge of the
escarpment of the plateau above the Hudson Valley. Eight miles
away and a couple of thousand feet down you can see the Hudson
River with tugs pushing barges along it. You can see the NYS
Thruway and the rail line on the other side of the river. You
can see the towns of Catskill, Hudson and Kingston. The piers
of the Rip Van Winkle and Kingston Bridges showed up well in the
sunlight. In distance are parts of VT, MA, and CT. It is a great
place to take a break and let the world spin on while you rest.
8:07 We're bear proof!
I know that North-South Lake requires bear proofing campsites. Probably partly due to my nephew Damian's encounter here. A bear crawled i nto his vacant car and searched it for food. Needless to say Damian was somewhat concerned for his car and had to forego using it until the bear moved along.
We hung all the food, (or thought that we did - until later that night when raccoons found a box of Wheat Thin crackers that someone had left on a picnic table at one of our campsites) dishes and anything associated with food up out of the reach of the bears. A good lesson for anyone.
Long slow day in the saddle today. 8 ho urs from leaving Grand Gorge to reaching North-South Lake.
Mosquitos are terrible as I write. Tomorrow we leave the escarpment to the Hudson Valley. The ride down will be interesting. Haven't decided on Kaaterskill or Platte Cove yet. The climb up the Platte Clove was a part of the old Tour de Trump bicycle stage race several years ago. So long for now. - Mr. Mike
8:25 Bear bags? Do you catch bears in them? We heard that the place is full of bears. I was in Glacier Park i n Montana last year and we didn't see any bears. Have they all moved east? Do they like Bob's cooking. - Gerrit
8:40 Today was not too bad. The hills were smaller than I expected, good!
Right now the boys are being.... um, well never mind, I can't find an appropriate word! But you get the idea. Giff is prancing around in his pants which look like tights and his shirt that looks like a dress. Jason, Brent and Erik are all sitting on rocks at the edge of the road hoping that those two girls they were making sexual comments about will walk back by them.
Also Casey was earlier using orange road cones set up on the field as soccer goals as a Madonna bra! Wa hoooo!
Now Dave is throwing the frisbee to Giff so that monkey can hit Casey and me. Matt and Pete are joining in on that frisbee stuff. Now I'll let Casey take over. - write later - Perky Priscilla
8:50 Ditto! The Madonna part is not true!! - Cruisin' Casey
Monday's Statisti cs
32 miles ridden 64 miles overall
1510 feet climbed 2410 feet overall
9.1 mph 9.15 mph overall
Tuesday July 7th 8:00 am at the General Store on the road out from North-South Lake State Park - After packing up and making some adjustments, including tightening Erik's handlebars, (it is always good to be able to control your bike, especially on a long downhill), we coasted at great speed down to the general store.
We had breakfast on the curb by the General Store. Ron bought a bike computer and started to install it but it was taking too long so he put it away to put it on later in the day. An older gentleman by the name of John Cantwell Kiley asked if anyone was hurt and offered his services as a physician. No one being hurt he went on to treat me to a quick course of metaphysics, considering the nature of time and the peculiarities of the human condition. He was very impressed to see ten teens cycling around the Catskills with a science teacher, a professor of Russian history and a computer specialist.
He has written a number of books and was recently in a meeting with billionaire software entrepreneur Bill Gates. If you want to look him up and see his picture, which is a good likeness of the man we met, check out his site on the world wide web. The URL is http://www.jckiley.com
8:10 Well, I think that everyone slept better tonight. I know I did, not having to listen to about every guy snoring. Or t alking in their sleep, Matthew.
Last night the guys were yelling about a raccoon or something innocently trying to get food. Actually, I think that the guys were more scared of the raccoon than the raccoon was of them! Anyway, I guess today the ride will be mostly downhill, and it's supposed to rain. - write later, Perky Priscilla
P.S. Whatever the guys write in here about me or Casey, I'm sure that it's because they're upset about my other journal entry.
10:00 am in Pa lenville - after coming down through Kaaterskill Clove - a wonderful downhill with a hairpin curve with waterfalls - the reactions of the cyclists.
Gel Giff - The hill was really fast and no more to say at this moment.
Pedalin' Pete - I tried not to put on the brakes in the curves but it was too fast.
Pacin' Jason - I didn't fall in a ditch.
Excited Erik - Sweet!
Dangerous Dave - Nice hill but too many curves.
Cruisin' Casey - I could do that f or 39 miles.
Perky Priscilla - Just glad that we didn't have to go up it.
Raptor Ron - OK.
Brakin' Brent - Wow!
Mighty Matt - I liked the hill.
Gerrit - Let's move to Palenville, then we won't have to go back up.
Mister Mike - It was a great down hill. I'd like to try it wide open.
Bicycle Bob - On the curves it seems like you are still and the world is turning.
11:50 In the park in front of the library, across the street from the laundromat in Woodstock - The riding down from North Lake was comfortable and not too strenuous. We're enjoying the scenery and sitting back. - Excited Erik
12:02 The riding is easy, but you have to ride into the wind. Everything else is great. - Brakin' Brent
12:22 My response to the girls' comments yesterday. First, Erik and Brent were staring at those girls because they were attractive unlike Casey and Priscilla. Second, having to wait some minutes for a particular person was a pain in the derriere. Third, those were not tights they were biking pants, and Casey should get some better glasses because that was a sweatshirt. - Adios, Gel Giff
P.S. You look nice in the Madonna bra. He, he, he!
12:30 Hi! - Brakin' Brent
12:35 OK, someone is taking this way too far. Giff, we weren't talking about you looking at those girls. We were talking about Jason, Brent, and Erik, and they weren't too upset. Also that was rude to say about Casey. And for my part you spell my name P-R-I-S-C-I-L-L-A!
Anyway, today was an easy trip and it went fast. - write later, Perky Priscilla
P.S. Giff, that was a t-shirt we were talking about. Get a life!
12:52 Giff ran a load of nothing at the laundromat. He forgot that he hadn't put the clothes in, and closed the door. He paid Mister Mike $2.00 for a new wash and the detergent. I closed my sock in the door which began twisting and ripping, but finally pulled loos e. We're getting on our way our now. Another 7 miles to camping! - Chicken! - Pedalin' Pete
4:10 Kenneth A. Wilson State Park, Wittenberg - After lunch the ride got a little harder (we also got a bit of rain) My pedals are all screwed up! I can only ride in the low gears! - write later - Cruisin' Casey
4:49 Bear Proof Mister Mike here.
All the rest of the crew is at the showers. I am acting as deterrent
to bears and raccoons. I'll shower later. The park has been
h
aving trouble with bears.
After our family travels in the west and Alaska, I take "bear
care" very seriously, mostly as a protection for the bears.
If bears get used to people, they become targets for relocation
or dangerous to the people, especially if they come around and
don't find food.
It is our obligation to wildlife to make them live natural lives
for their safety. There is no excuse for giving wildlife a chance
to harm themselves because of our carelessness.
Last
night's episode with Wheat Thins and a raccoon could, just
as easily been a bear and Wheat Thins. We have all got to be
more careful. Enough on bears.
Biking on Palenville Hill was exhilarating. I would like to ride
it when I didn't have to watch for kids behind me sometimes.
Our campsite is real neat; large pines with lots of poison ivy
(Yuk). The bikes and tents are a nice view. I wonder what bike
tourers did before plastic bags. To protect from wetness, to
keep mess kits together,
to hold clothes. People must have struggled
in inclement weather.
Back to bear duty. I'll growl and snarl a lot to keep them away.
- Mister Mike
5:30 We are at camp. So far this trip has been easy. All the hills that people say are steep, aren't. - bye - Brakin' Brent
5:35 Riding today was pretty easy because there weren't any really long hills. It rained a little and I hope that it doesn't tomorrow. - Excited Erik
6:30 My shower was very warm for the first 2 minutes, but after that I got ice cold! Dave's red underwear is up the tree. I wonder how it got there? (Actually this was a case of mistaken identity - the red cloth object was a nylon bag that we use to carry ropes for the tarp.)
Desitin Rules Man! - Adios, Gel Giff
7:01 Ginger snaps and BOOM-BOOMS rule! - Adios, Gel Giff
7:03 There was a raccoon on the picnic table last night. It ate the crackers and made a lot of noise. The guys got out of the tent and scared it off. Then we asked Mister Mike what to do. Peter and Ron took the ripped up cracker box to the bathroom and left me standing on the table by myself. After 5 minutes Jason had to come out and escort me to my tent. Then all night the raccoon noisily circled the tent until dawn. Ugh. Oh. Peter and Ron went across the field to the bathroom and back in their boxers. They passed a lot of women and their many children. Boy, the birds and the bees were really buzzin' !!!! I'll talk to you soon, - Gel Giff
7:10 I'm back!! Ron shaves his legs. (that's what Jason said). Anyway, he's now singing this song that goes, "Boom, boom, doritos, happ, yo, yo, gee, hey." Now, he's working on his deer impression. That can be added to his duck, goose, chicken, yak, cow, dog, and sheep impressions. Good luck! Adios, Gel Giff
7:41 When we passed through Woodstock there were a lot of people who had tie dye shirts. They also had long hair and jeans with holes in the knees . For all the parents, I have one question: Does that bring back memories? I'll bet it does. Oh, well. I have a Giff thought for the day: Why does Ron think that a rock can bounce on the leaves? He, he. - Gel Giff
7:47 Perky Priscilla is really becoming Pissed Off Priscilla. Ha, ha, ha! Um, what should I say? Oh, something is wrong with Casey's bike. Bob, Mike and others are gathered around. Wait. They fixed it, or at least something. Matt is watching me. Now Dave is. They're gone! Today, Erik felt my gel bicycle seat and REALLY liked the feel of it. He says that they're made of the same stuff as synthetic boobs. Wow! (as Dave quite often says) - Gel Giff
7:56 My mom has an Aunt Fannie and an Uncle Dick. Another fact is that Erik's hamster's name is Suzie, but he was going to call it something else. He just informed me that he also calls it Suck-up. Also, his cat is bolemic. - Gel Giff
8:07 Ron's sharpening a stone for no apparent reason!
8:10 It's storie time!!! - Gel Giff
8:22 Goodnight - Gel Giff
9:21 Goodnight again!- Gel Giff
Tuessday's statistics
30 miles ridden 94 miles overall
1010 feet climbed 3430 feet overall
10.9 mph 9.7 mph overall
Wednesday July 8th - Kenneth A.. Wilson State Park - At 3 am a steady rain started. It was to keep up in varying degrees of intensity throughout all of Wednesday. Due to the forecast of heavy rains we ab andoned our plans for a trip down to Kingston and the Roundout and a ride on a boat on the Hudson. Most likely the boat would not get the 12% of capacity patronage needed to cast off from the dock.
8:50 am Good morning! We had a very interesting night because
of Giff. He was making noise and fooling around with other people's
tents all night. The scary part was an old couple (who were our
neighbors last night) cracked about 10 beers each. They couldn't
even walk straight. The woman h
ad a double barrel shotgun and
the man had a six shot revolver. They kept saying things like,
" I wonder what suicide is like." And, "Those
kids are trying to earn their sissy merit badges," and they
would crack up in laughter.
At about midnight, Ron came back into our tent after going to
the bathroom and woke up me and Giff to tell us there was a bear
just in back of our tent. A rude awakening. We then noticed
that the other tent was also awake. So we sat there complet
ely
quietly waiting to hear its next step. It was a shuffling of
the leaves about every 30 seconds until Ron said, "He's gone."
After that was back to sleep. We awoke about 7:30 this morning.
- Chicken! - Pedalin' Pete
10:42 It's raining, it's pouring,
the old man was riding his bike
and rolled in a ditch and
didn't wake up in the morning. - Pacin' Jason
10:50 The rain is getting to us. We all played cards for a while, but that didn't last very lon g. We have been informed that the ranger is coming to talk (yell) at us for the noise last night! Well, at least we have a radio!! I need my music. Well, gotta go, we are starting a card tournament. See ya! - Cruisin' Casey
12:30 Well, I decided that all guys at one point let their true fagness come out, especially when they are playing cards! Well, I'm not even going to get into that one with Erik and Dave near me trying to read what I'm writing so I'll just talk about later, right now we're going to play pictionary. - Perky Priscilla
3:48 pm Did you ever spend one entire day sitting under a
tarp at a picnic table with 10 kids who you want to keep occupied
during a rain storm? If not, try it sometime.
Our day is a literal washout as we are playing pitch, Egyptian
rat-screw, bike trip pictionary. We had a team pitch tourney.
Eventually everyone learned enough that the last matches were
easy.
We are hoping a pizza place will take pity on us here at Wilson
State Park and deliver dinner and groceries to us for tonight.
Bob, Ron and Jason rode to Boiceville for food for breakfast
and lunch this morning before the rain got heavy. That's all
for now. Pete is waiting to write in the journal. - Mister Mike
5:00 Well, the rain isn't stopping yet at all. We just all sit here and ponder whether the pizza guy will find us or not. Apparently Giff, Jason and Ron went to see if the motion sensing bathroom light would go off if they waited long enou gh. Ron fell into the toilet, which should teach him not to hang from the ceiling. Down at the picnic table Priscilla is insisting that she is being brutally raped and Casey is being tested on her musical knowledge. Well, hope the pizza guy arrives soon. Chicken! - Pedalin' Pete
P.S. This took me an hour to write so I changed the time from 4 to 5.
5:05 Priscilla, I think, likes Erik, but I'm not too sure.
Pete is playing with himself gracefully. (Solitaire)
The rain is nonstop, but it's kind of fun sitting and doing nothing
for a ‘change.'
Tomorrow we do 30 miles and the next day we do 26-30 miles, so
it's not bad. Right now the sun is coming out but its still raining.
Ron is talking about snowmobiles and ATVs, Casey is loving it
while she is looking at Erik but I think that he's loving it too.
Matt is playing cards, Dave is sleeping. See you later, - Brakin'
Brent
P.S. Next update - 10 minutes.
5:15 I think that Br ent's just bored so he's making up garbage. Also, if you'll notice, Pete was writing his autobiography for an hour. He's changed the time. It's raining like a punk out here and I'm bored out of my mind. Bob and Mike went to order pizza if possible and we're hungry. Write later - Excited Erik
5:30 OK in response to Brent's entry, No I do not like Erik! And Brent, quit the "you two should go out" crap! That gets very annoying after the first couple of times. Get something ne w to say. And stop thinking about where I'm going to sleep if something happens to mine and Casey's tent! Write later - Perky Priscilla
8:09 We actually have a fire going after seemingly 20 hours
of rain. We have been under a burnt sienna tarp for a long, LONG,
LONG time, and you can see the effects of it on many people, especially
Erik. He accidentally spit in my eye and it stung like a bee.
Priscilla is not perky and she thinks the pizza was poisoned.
Personally, I think that she is
just a little out of her tree
at the moment. Oh no, I mean Peter's tree.
Speaking of trees, that one over there is foaming like a dog.
Peter is as well. People are enjoying the fire, which is mostly
burning pizza boxes and grease.
Jed and his mother are considered gods for bringing us that pizza.
We had cheese and mustard sandwiches for lunch in our rainy,
swampy, wet, wet, wet lagoon.
We all learned a new card game called Pitch today. I like it,
it kills time fast. Well peopl
e are gonna kill me if I don't
let go of the journal now, so catch you later, dudes! - The One
and Only, Dangerous Dave
8:41 Hello Muddah,
Here we are at Kenneth A. Wilson State Park. Disregard all we've
said about today because it is not raining any more. We have
escaped the tarp for a warm and drying air. Food became a hardship
as no one would deliver pizza to us. We called my son Jed and
he ordered pizza and soda and brought it to save our lives. It
turned out to be a decent d
inner.
Tomorrow is riding to Margaretville to our house. Not a bad
ride to look forward to. - Mister Mike
9:45 OK, now I feel a little better. I think that the pizza
digested. But I also took an ibuprofen.
Boy, I really think this picnic table is really getting old.
I mean not like age, but old as in ‘boring.' We've been
sitting here playing the same card games and talking about the
same dumb things! Also this Adam Sandler voice is getting annoying.
Especially when Gi
ff makes up stories about people doing things
like disciplining the monkey, or something crude like that.
Well, I guess other people probably want to write in this so...
well, too bad, they'll just have to wait, won't they? No, I did
actually run out of things to say so I guess I will give it up,
but I'll be back tomorrow!? Write later - Perky Priscilla
9:00 pmWe had rain, lots of it. We had pizza, lots of it. Somehow, one was lots more fun than the other. Thanks to General Jed an d Mrs. Porter for making the pizza rescue from Margaretville. - Bicycle Bob
Thursday July 9th 8:00 am Kenneth Wilson State Park - Bob told us yesterday that today is mostly uphill. I think that we can handle it since yesterday we hardly moved from our lovely water logged picnic tables. Actually if you look at what shape they are in, it's pretty amazing that they held all of us and our poisoned pizza! I will never eat pizza again. I don't even like pizza a whole lot anyway. Well, I'd b etter get to the bathroom and wash all the sand from our tent off my hands. I guess I'll be going now. - Perky Priscilla
P.S. to Brent or whoever messed up my journal entry *&$#^@ Ha!
8:35 Another morning. Today we only have to go about 28 miles. Which isn't that bad at all. Last night I slept in fear because of Matt's bloody murder scream!! But I think that Dave is much more traumatized!! Well, I better go, the bugs are eating me alive!! See ya later. - Cruisin' Casey
8:59 I apologize to all for not writing yesterday. I was too busy playing pitch. Well, I say "Hi!" to you now. I must go now because I have no more to say. C'est la vie, people. Love you Nelly, - Adios - Gel Giff
Breakfast, or more properly, brunch was at Sweet Sue's Restaurant on the main street of Phoenicia. It is a neat little place with a front that opens to the street in good weather. The weather was good and the front was open. Sweet Sue's has great pancak es of various descriptions, such as ginger or strawberry. We took up four tables and ate a leisurely meal in chairs with backs. It was great and a great antidote to a day in the rain.
11:55 Well, only two people have written since I last wrote,
but that's OK. We stopped for breakfast. Unfortunately, Casey
and I got stuck sitting with Brent and Erik! Whoopee!
This week has gone really fast. I'm not sure whether I'm going
on this trip again next year or not. I think a two week tri
p
would be a lot better because one week isn't very long. Tonight
we are staying at Mike's house. Probably we will be sleeping
on the porch, but we'll find out. Write later - Perky Priscilla
11:06 At a streamside park in Phoenicia after breakfast at Sweet
Sue's in Phoenicia
Riding is easy, we just had breakfast and are going to Mike's
to camp. Write later, - Excited Erik
11:10 Well, it's not really the best day. I got in an accident. I was cut up a little, but nothing really serious! Today we are going to Mike's place and staying the night there. Well, gotta go. Write later - Cruisin' Casey
2:06 At Bellayre Lake Swimming area - before climbing Pine Hill - I feel like I'm the only person writing in the journal, maybe that's because I write a lot. But anyway, biking has been easy but it got tougher since the wind picked up, it is rough to ride against. I'll tell you right now, I'm looking forward to collapsing on Mike's porch. Write back, as always - write back - Perky Priscilla
2:08 We are at a lake right now which looks more like a pond. We are about 7 miles from Mike's house...THANK GOD! Pine Hill is coming up. I'm trying not to think about it. The ride was pretty easy. The wind is blowing like crazy now, which was making it harder to ride. Mike's house is sounding good right now. I'll write back later. - Cruisin' Casey
We had a nice ride from Phoenicia to the lake. Along the road we had the rare opportunity for t he whole group to see a doe and fawn. Usually only one or two of us see such a sight and report to the others, but at the time of the sighting we were all collecting at a turn and the doe and fawn crossed the road some distance ahead of us. In fact, they were pretty complacent in their crossing and some among us felt the urge to yell and scare them off the highway.
Along the way we also passed and were passed by a line painting truck. Those line painters have quite a convoy when they ar e going down the highway.
At one point we came up to the tunnel carrying drinking water from the Schoharie Reservoirs into the Esopus Creek. Mike took a few minutes and explained the way that the system is set up and how far the water is carried.
6:10 At Mister Mike's House in Margaretville
Here I go again, writing in the journal after only one other person
has written since I last wrote. But that's not my problem is
it? No, it's not.
Pine Hill wasn't as bad as peop
le made it sound. I had to stop
in the middle of the hill because my darn chain fell off. That
made me so mad, but I just put it back on and continued on. Brent
and Peter just told me that my journal entry is pathetic, but
I don't care what they think.
I don't know, but Dave says that it wasn't him. But, he says
he did go number, "Doce"! Well, I am sitting right
in the sun, so I'm going to move and write later. - Perky Priscilla
6:25 We made it. Right now Giff is trying to rape Jason and make him eat grass. I think that he just ate an ant. Bob went to get groceries for dinner and breakfast. Brent and Eric are in the basement playing foos-ball and Priscilla and I are just hanging out. Matt just farted and stunk up the porch. It is very quiet here, the only sound is a lawnmower in the distance. Dave and Pete also went shopping. Tomorrow is our last day. I am happy and sad. Well, I'm going to go now, I can't think of anything else to write. See ya - Cruisin ' Casey
7:40 Everybody is good. - Breakin' Brent
8:03 We're at Mike's on the last night in our trip. Today we all got to ride Bob's tandem, which is really cool and original. Riding was easy for Brent and I. 23 miles tomorrow. - Excited Erik
The tandem is a bit different. The person riding in front sits in a chair-like seat that looks much like a lawn chair. They don't steer or brake, in fact they don't even need to pedal if they don't care to. They are riding in what is called a recumbent position. The person riding second on the bike is the ‘captain.' This captain steers and controls the brakes. The captain must pedal for the bike to move and also controls the transmission of power to the rear wheel. On most tandems the person in the second position gets a great view of the back of the person in front. On this tandem because the front wheel is only 20" in diameter and the front person is recumbent the second person can have a clear view of t he road above the head of the first person. It is called an Opus IV tandem and I got it from a bike shop called Angle Lake Cyclery, near Seattle, Washington.
8:10 Tonight is the last night. Boo, hoo. Not really, but yeah! - Perky Priscilla
ps I got a lovely little note from Sweet Sue's Diner this morning. I don't mean to be crude but there taped on my chair the SWEET message said, "______ _____ _"
10:12 I'd nearly forgotten how much fun bikers and bike trips are. Nearly, but not quite. Y'all have reminded me of what I'm missing. And I do miss it. Don't forget how cool bikes are. Don't ever stop riding. Bob's picking on me. Nothing changes. - General Jed - last year Jed led two trips, the Novice and Niagara Falls to Delhi and previous to that went on a Novice trip, an Intermediate Trip, and Advanced Trips to Maine and Quebec. He's a great guy and doesn't get picked on nearly as much as he deserves! Jed read the journal to us Thursday night .
Thursday's statistics
32 miles ridden 126 miles overall
1650 feet climbed 5090 feet overall
9.7 mph 9.7 mph overall
Friday July 10th 10:45 am Shavertown Bridge on the Pepacton
Reservoir
Oh! The first journal entry of the day! Don't I feel lucky!
Well, it's the last day of the trip but I can't say I'm that
disappointed! I'm looking forward to being inside a house, sleeping
in a real bed and eating real meat and vegetables.
Also, make a mental note: if you have 50 pound weights on each
foot underwater you will be able to swim up. This water is looking
very good right now. Ironically, Giff is the only one who spits
in the water but is the only one who drinks it! Well, talk to
you soon! Chicken, - Pedalin' Pete
P.S. Priscilla likes Erik
10:50 I haven't written a lot because I didn't know what to write. I have had a fun trip. I wish we could have gone to Kingston. I think it was better this year becaus e I knew what I was getting into. Dave and I shared Gerrit's tent and had our own site. Wednesday night I in my sleep I screamed. It scared Dave to death. Bye for now. - Mighty Matt
12:45 Ballantine Park, Andes
We are here waiting lunch. Bob and the girls have pedaled to
the Andes General Store for food. The boys are working with varying
degrees of sincerity on cleaning up their trusty steeds. It is
a nice quiet place to kick back and relax. The trip has been,
on the whole, enj
oyable. If I could have only one wish it would
be to have 10 kids who didn't have to be told everything to do.
After 5 days routine should begin to rule. Maybe next trip.
The day is beautiful. Mostly sunny and about 70o. Great day
for a ride. - Mister Mike
12:51 So far this week has been awesome. I am sad that it will be over in 12 miles. Everyone is cleaning their bikes so their parents think they look like they took care of them. It will be nice to get in my bed tonight. Well, I guess I will see you next year. - Pacin' Jason
1:10 This year was a lot of fun. I am definitely going next year, probably on the Advanced Trip. Today so far was easy, the rest of the day should be too. OK..... I'm going now because Bob is singing and it is quite bad. - Perky Priscilla
P.S. Pete, no, I don't like Erik
1:25 Well, it's been fun!! I'm still thinking about doing this next year. I want to thank Bob, Mike and Gerrit for leading us. The only thing I would have changed is the amount of girls. Today's ride has been easy, hopefully the rest of the trip is too. I will everybody (well, some!) I gotta go now Dave has to write in this. Miss you all. Bye - Cruisin' Casey
1:30 If it is possible for a heart rate to be 240, mine was the other night. "The Scream" by Mighty Matt caused a little fear in a few people including me. I think I only got about 3 hours of sleep that night. That will be something I remember for a while. - The One and Only, Dangerous Dave
1:41 This is my closing statement: Bye - Adios, Gel Giff
1:42 No, just kidding. When I get home I plan to eat a nice
big, hot supper, take a hot bath, and sleep on a soft bed mattress.
Mmmmmm!
The trip has been great, but I'm tired. I don't know how many
feet we've climbed and how few hours of sleep that we've barely
had, but I do know one thing, we saw 305 specimens of road kill.
We'll probably catch about three to five more!
It's
been great riding and Bob's been a great leader. I also
want to thank the Porter family for letting us stay at their dry,
warm, relaxing house.
I bid a farewell to you all. - Adios - Gel Giff
2:00 Well, it's time for my "Final Thought." I had a great time on this trip and am looking forward to next year. My favorite part of the trip was the so-called bear in the woods. Well, see you next year. As always chicken. - Pedalin' Pete
3:10 SUNY Delhi Golf Course
Well, we are real close to camp and we haven't had any problems
(knock on wood). I have had a great trip. Have a good year and
I hope to see you next year. - Mighty Matt
Friday's statistics and Trip totals
35 miles ridden 161 miles overall
1060 feet climbed 6160 feet overall
10.2 mph 9.8 mph overall
Suggestions for next year included such things as an all off road mountain bike trip and/or a trip to Cape Cod. Check the brochure to see what is offere d. We may ask for a commitment by May 1st next year so that we have more time to develop an alternative if one is needed.
Considering the mix of experienced and novice cyclists and the mix of good and bad weather I think that the trip was a success. Some things could have gone better, but then on the other hand things might been much worse. I read just last week that there is a saying, "All sunshine make a desert." I guess that we don't have to worry about that!
I invite all cyclists and their families to come to a reunion
for this and all other past bike trips. Our reunion will be at
the Pit Run in Oneonta the first Sunday in October. In 1998,
that Sunday falls on October 4th. Bring your bikes and your
helmets, parents and siblings can bring their bikes along also!!
After the run and the chicken barbecue we will ride up to the
Audubon Sanctuary which is less than 4 miles one way from the
start/finish line of the Pit Run in Neahwa Park. If it is raini
ng
we may play PITCH instead!
Keep riding and have a great year. I tried emailing every address
on the email list made a camp. Except for Mike and Gerrit nobody
replied. If you want me to share your email address email me
a note. See you next summer!
My email is: thomasrl@oneonta.edu