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| Elegant Home in New Castle |
From the Orr’s in Cranberry, PA, we headed north along the
Adventure Cycling Underground Railroad route to Erie. The first night we stayed near the freeway in
New Castle and rode through the town the following morning, passing a number of
elegant old homes.
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| Amish Buggy |
The ride from New
Castle to Mercer, was short, only 18 miles, but very hilly and many steep
climbs, many of which we walked. From
Mercer to Meadville, we passed through more farmland and the first of several
Amish communities. The ride from
Meadville to Erie was pleasant and we enjoyed descending toward the lake. We spent the night at the Avalon Hotel in
Downtown Erie where we had stayed in 2012 for Cheryl’s MBA graduation. We also ate at the Puffer Belly, a favorite
during Cheryl’s time at Penn State Erie.
Both entering and leaving Erie we saw a number of signs protesting GE’s
plan to move 850 jobs out of the Erie area.
GE builds locomotives in Erie and also large mining trucks or components
for large mining equipment.
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| Farm North of Mercer |
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| Vineyard Along Lake Erie |
Leaving Erie we rode east through the wine country in
Pennsylvania and New York. We recalled our first ride on a road tandem, which
we rented in the town of North East Pennsylvania in 2000. The wine growing region extends five to ten
miles south of Lake Erie. The area is
well suited for growing grapes because Lake Erie moderates the spring time
temperatures, minimizing the potential of a late spring frost which would
damage the grape blossoms. Welches moved
their headquarters to Westfield, east of Erie, in the 1900s to take advantage
of the favorable climate for growing grapes.
In Westfield we turned inland along NY state bicycle Route 17, which
traverses the state east/west. We spent
the night at a B & B Westfield. The
owner of the B & B also owned the house next door, which had an interesting
history. The house had been moved in one
piece from a site a few hundred yards away.
Some towns take preservation of historical building more seriously than
others.
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| House in Westfield Moved to Make Room for a CVS |
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| Lunch Spot on Lake Chautauqua |
From Westfield we climbed up
away from Lake Erie before descending past Lake Chautauqua and spending the
night in Falconer. From Falconer we
continued east to Salamanca where we took a day off after seven days of
riding. The ride from Salamanca to
Wellsville went through rolling countryside. The one long climb was very
gradual and we arrived in Wellsville still feeling well rested. The next day we headed north on NY State
Bicycle Route 17, arriving at Carolyn’s brother’s cottage on Silver Lake in the
late afternoon. The week of July 1st
we were in Toronto at the International Barbershop Harmony Society Convention with
Carolyn’s brother and his wife. It was 5
days of quartets and choruses entertaining us.
On July 13th we started
a tour of upstate NY with friends from Pennywise.
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| Victorian Home in Upstate NY |
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| One of Several Long Climbs Along NY Bike Route 17 |
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| Alpaca Farm in Upstate NY |
