Today's ride: Seneca Lake to Keuka Lake
Weather: blue skies, sunshine, 80s with low humidity
Metric century- 68 miles total
Most scenic: 14 miles along Keuka Lake
Favorite part: 8 mile climb from Watkins Glen
Our ride started with an immediate climb as we left Watkins Glen. It was actually my favorite part as I felt God speak the most to me during this climb. I enjoyed the climb itself as the first 3 miles was steep but the rest was more of a gradual uphill. Which, of course. was followed by an amazing downhill. I got up to 43 mph on the downhill. Normally I ride my brakes more as I get slightly nervous going that fast. It was a nice downhill though because you could see where it leveled out at the bottom.
The next 10 or so miles was through beautiful farmland. I was feeling tired today- the lack of sleep from a couple nights ago caught up with me- so I stopped to take some picture along the way. I felt a little silly taking pictures of barns, hay bales, and corn as I grew up with 3 farms right near my house. Seeing a country farm is nothing new. Yet I wanted to capture some of this tour. We are either riding on beautiful quiet country roads or are near the water of the Finger Lakes.
I was excited when there was a little unexpected downhill as I rode into Hammersport. A very cute little downtown. Stopped there to refuel. The next 14 miles was the most scenic part of the ride. We were riding right alongside of Keuka Lake. The sun was sparkling off the water. beautiful.
We had a lovely picnic lunch at Keuka State Park. It was nice to take a break for a while. Did I mention I was a little tired today?
After lunch I was feeling better and ready to tackle the last 25 or so miles. I rode with two others from the group and we opted to do the route with some additional hills. of course. There was a good climb and once again more farmland. We passed a few Amish folks. One horse and buggy had five kids in the back. They looked so cute in their hats and traditional clothing.
The weather was perfect. High 80s but low humidity. It would have been hot this afternoon but a few clouds rolled in. After the hot humidity in Virginia the weather here has been splendid.
At the end of our ride a few of us decided to bike down to see a waterfall. It was a very steep downhill which was awesome to whiz down- a great view of the lake ahead of you. We saw this amazing waterfall.... that is in someone's backyard. The little old man was very nice and let us come into his yard to take a picture by the waterfall. Can you imagine having a waterfall in your back yard? Just the sound alone was very peaceful. Climbing up that steep hill (category five climb) after at the end of a 65 mile ride was definitely a challenge.
We are staying at a inn right on Seneca Lake. (We rode back from Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake). It's part of a winery so in our rooms we have a free bottle of wine. We also had a complimentary wine tasting. I decided that a nap was more important to me than the wine tasting... though I was thinking of my friends who love wine. Too bad they weren't here to appreciate it. We ate dinner outside on the patio overlooking the lake as the sun started to set. Our rooms have a little private balcony that overlooks the vineyards and Seneca Lake. I'm sitting outside in an Adirondack chair enjoying the cool summer evening as I write this. I love that about NY- they have cool summer evenings.
My next blog posting will be about my favorite part of the day- the 8 mile climb at the start of the ride...
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