Fifty Plus (50+) - Monday holiday century, with pretty leaves and pie!

Working for the government has its advantages. One of which is the occasional Monday holiday. Two years ago a friend and I decided to make the most of ours with a nice all-day ride through the foliage. Last year we were joined by a third, and this year a fourth joined us.

I left my place at 7AM sharp, 23 minutes before sunrise, and rode to Scottsville, NY where I met up with John and Mike. We rode to a hamlet with an unmemorable name, where we met with Shelly. The four of us rode to Perry, NY, then through Letchworth State Park (The Grand Canyon of the East), exiting at Castile, then back through Perry and home.

The weather was quite co-operative. The sun rose into a cloudless sky and it remained so for most of the day. Temps started at 50 and didn't rise quite so quickly as the sun, but by mid afternoon the mercury was threatening 80. Winds stayed relatively light all day, mainly from the west, across our mostly north to south to north again route.

I got in 100.29 miles (5,421 feet of climbing) and SAGged home from Scottsville with John. (I toyed with the idea of a double-metric, but I'd have had to pad the ride out somewhere to the tune of 12 miles or so, and would have arrived home after dark. Plus I *needed* dinner. John and Mike got in 85 miles, and Shelly a bit more than a metric.

I discovered this morning that a dirty lens made most of my pics washed-out and a bit fuzzy. First pass thorough them, here are four where cropping and a bit of digital magic have saved the day. I'll have more energy (I hope) tonight and I'll go through the rest.


http://www.brucew.com/images/prr/2008/10/bianchi-boys.jpg
"The Bianchi Boyz"--Fellow 50+ers John on his Castro Valley, and Mike on his Eros


http://www.brucew.com/images/prr/2008/10/handyhannah.jpg
Non-50+er Shelly on her Fuji Roubaix


http://www.brucew.com/images/prr/2008/10/brucew-bikerjohn-handyhannah-hndlebar.jpg
The four of us at one of the gorge overlooks in Letchworth--Yrs trly, John, Shelly, Mike


http://www.brucew.com/images/prr/2008/10/pie.jpg
Pie! Apple, of course, (this is apple country so I'm eating local) at our lunch stop at Country Kitchen in beautiful downtown Perry, NY.


Hope to have more pics tonight or tomorrow morning.

Looks like it was a great ride, the trees here have just started to change, But then we are cutting grass until Christmas most years. Great looking Pie also. Used to work for a government but never had the good fortune to get holidays off, But did get the double time pay for them.

What a great time of year to be riding in Letchworth. I've hiked in the area during summer months, but never cycled in the region... ENVY! Sound like you had a great day.

Used to work for a government but never had the good fortune to get holidays off, But did get the double time pay for them.

I got time-and-a-half for seven extra hours on Saturday for keeping the library open on the last day of voter registration. Eighty people registered. This morning, the county reported they anticipate a record number of registrations this year. Now if only they all vote…

Even without that, the taxpayers got their money's worth out of me. While the Board of Elections was busy registering new voters, rather than just babysit them, I spent the entire day taking care of little chores that we just don't have the staff or the hours to get to ordinarily.

I've hiked in the area during summer months, but never cycled in the region.

My childhood memories of hiking Letchworth are mainly of pain--sore legs, back and assorted scrapes.

Despite the one 21% climb, I find cycling Letchworth to be fairly painless.

Very nice! Great way to take advantage of an autumn day off.

Too bad New York has a deadline for voter registration. Here in Wisconsin you can register right up to and on election day. Never registered before? Just take the proper documents with you, register, and vote in one fell swoop.

As for me, I have already cast my ballot. I took my daughter in to register and cast her absentee ballot. While waiting, I looked over the sample ballot and recognized that my choices were already clear on every candidate and issue. So I went ahead and voted absentee too. No long lines for me on Election Day.

I'm glad you got a chance to enjoy the "Picture Book" weather,
Thanks for the report and pics. I hope to get out tomorrow though
I won't be riding nearly as far as you did.

Not fair!! Some of us had to work to keep the financial system from crashing and here you go having a wonderful time pedaling around for 100 miles on a perfect day. Glad you used it well!!

What a great way to spend what is often the worst day of the week, Monday... good weather, light wind, great scenery, good friends, a century and pie! It just doesn't get much better than that. Oh yeah, nice pix, too.