Upstate New York Rambling Tour

When we arrived back at Silver Lake from Toronto we had been off the bike for ten days and needed to train for the tour, which Don and Kathie Brumbaugh had organized for the following week.  Wyoming County, where Silver Lake is located, has the most agriculture of any county in New York State.  We found a number of scenic farm roads to use for our training, including a lot of climbing.

Ross, Donna, Don, Hank, Carolyn, Kathie

Saturday Don and Kathie picked us up at the lake cottage and drove to Mount Morris near Letchworth Park where we were joined by Ross and Donna Glascow.  Sunday we did a loop ride back through Perry, entering Letchworth Park at the Castile entrance and riding through the park to Mount Morris.  Letchworth is known as the Grand Canyon of the east and the temperature in the valley was in the mid 90s.  We enjoyed a well deserve ice cream at the end of the ride.  That evening we dined at the Glenn Iris, the estate home of the donor of much of Letchworth Park. 

Geneseo River, Letchworth Park

Barn Quilt, Leroy NY

Monday we rode north to Brockport, a town on the Erie Canal near Rochester.  Along the route we went through the town of Leroy, which is know for it’s barn quilts, quilt patterns painted on barns and other buildings.  We passed maybe a dozen of the some 75 barn quilts in the Leroy and of course took pictures of each.  We also took a number of photos in the historic town of Brockport.

Brockport, NY

Brockport, NY

Erie Canal, Spencerport, NY

Tuesday we did a lop ride through a number of canal towns west of Brockport.  Carolyn and I missed a turn and enjoyed riding along the canal by ourselves until we caught up with the group.

Pleasure Boat on Erie Canal

Erie Canal

Wednesday was another transfer day from Brockport to Pittsford.  We rode east, frequently paralleling the canal as well as riding on the paved canal path.   We stayed at the Canal Lantern B & B next to the canal.

Canal Lantern Inn

Don and Kathie at RIT

Thursday we did a loop ride, first to Rochester Institute of Technology, which Don had attended.  We also toured Mount Hope Cemetery, final resting place of noted abolitionist Frederick Douglas and women suffrage advocate Susan B Anthony. In the afternoon we toured the Eastman House, former home of George Eastman, the founder of Kodak.  The displays included a timeline of the development photography.  Hank found the history of the development on digital photography (according to Kodak) rather amusing, having worked on some of the same technologies at Hughes Aircraft Company in the 1970s.

Grave Stone for Susan B Anthony at Mount Hope Cemetery

Eastman House

View from Hills above Keuka Lake

Friday was another transfer day, this time from Pittsford to Penn Yan at the top of Keuka Lake, on of the Finger Lakes.  The scenery and the vistas riding through the farmland were beautiful but the temperature was in the mid 90s, making the climbing very difficult.

Curtiss June Bug, First Plane to Fly 1 Kilometer  

Saturday was our final loop ride around Keuka Lake.  We stopped at the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport.  Like the Wright brothers, Curtiss had a bicycle shop and became interested in motorizing bicycles.  Through his interest in light motors, he became involved in building early airplanes. On July 4, 1908 he became the first person to fly a plane one kilometer, winning the Scientific American trophy worth $2500.   The museum displays included bicycles, motorized bicycles, motorcycles and aircraft.  After touring the museum, we had lunch in Hammondsport and visited a display of old boats, including a number of Chris Craft.  After completing the ride around the lake, we had dinner at the Bully Hill Vineyards high on the hills overlooking Keuka Lake.   Sunday Don and Kathie drove us back to Silver Lake after dropping Ross and Donna at their car in Mount Morris.  It was a delightful trip and thanks to Don and Kathie for their planning.

Antique Boats at Hammondsport on Keuka Lake