Sunday Ride: 50+ miles by 50+ guys
 

A friend and I are getting ready for the Great Finger Lakes Bicycle Tour in two weeks. The Saturday ride there is a very hilly century. So we've been riding the hills in and around the Finger Lakes to get in shape. Yesterday was a circumnavigation of Canandaigua Lake--50.38 miles and 3,200 feet of climbing.

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View south of Canandaigua Lake from the clubhouse at Bristol Valley Golf Club (Hey! Cycling is the new golf, so we just rode right in.)

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The hills in the background are across the lake. We'll be climbing them after lunch.

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Sadly, we missed the turnoff for (and thus the descent and climb back out of) Vine Valley

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Pie! And a tandem! Monica, apparently, was taking the weekend off. We settled for two ice cream stops instead.

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Climbing out of Middlesex, one of the hills seen above.

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Did I mention this is wine country?

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No need to sprint to this town line sign. It's in the middle of a killer descent.

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Some of the famous boathouses off City Pier in Canandaigua

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Dang! Missed the boat!

These and more in my gallery.

Wow....what a wonderful place to ride! I remember the Finger Lakes... quite a special place! :thumb:

Wow, gorgeous pics of a dreamy ride.

In the pic with the Ontario County sign, it looks like a fun roller coaster ride with a great view ahead, but a road that requires concentration to stay safe and be sure drivers are paying attention.

I drove from Binghamton to Lake Placid last summer and I remember how beautiful it was. Those hills really make for some very challenging riding. There didn't seem to be many flat parts. Enjoy your tour. Hope the weather is as beautiful as in the pics.

I grew up at the other end of the State down on L.I. but I always enjoyed my trips Upstate.

Darn - there are so many beautiful places in the US of A (and otherwise, I suppose) that I HAVEN'T ridden. I need more time (and $$$)!

Have fun on your ride.

I LOVE RIDE PICTURES!!!! Yours are great. It sounds like you are ready for any challenge. You didn't crab about the climbing on this ride . . . much. We look forward to the story of your tour.

Looks like a great ride; very nice pics. Thanks for posting.

Thanks all!

I've lived in this part of the state all my life but until I started riding a bike, I never appreciated how pretty it can be. Sometimes it's a tough call--stop and photograph, or keep riding. I've begun working on my ride-and-photograph technique. Most of those pics didn't make the cut this time.

Mojo: No, don't get any ideas, the hills are killing me. Especially after climbing them with a 12-23 cassette. My ride partner told me, "There's just a couple of hills" so I didn't bother changing it. Yes, I made it to the top first every time, but my legs are still killing me two days later. I'll have to remember to put the 12-27 on whenever we head south from the city.

In any event, these training rides (lovely as they are) and even the Great Finger Lakes Bicycle Tour itself are only the prelude to a week out in DnvrFox's neighborhood in July and August. They tell me there's some real climbing there...

Yes, long climbs. But, generally, our roads are constructed in such a way that most grades are below 8%. But that might be 6-8% for 15 or 20 miles or so.

Beautiful pictures of beautiful country, but those hills make this flat-lander's legs hurt just looking at them.

Those pics reawaken my urge to drive up there sometime. My granny gears and I, that is.:o

Nice ride.

Is Finger Lakes tour anything like the BON TON ?
if so you also need to make sure your training includes getting your wine consumption skills up to par

I had to Google that to find out what you were talking about. This? http://www.bontonroulet.com/

Yes, and no. The GFLBT is a long weekend (the first weekend of June) of riding based out of Watkins Glen State Park, put on by the Southern Tier Bicycling Club. There are rides on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Friday and Sunday rides are the same, year-to-year. Friday is a nice 20-miler that's basically 10 miles of climbing and 10 miles descent back to camp. (That's where I learned it's impossible to say "Wheee!" for 10 miles.) Sunday is a circumnavigation of Keuka Lake (Pics here from when I rode it earlier this month.)

On Saturday there are usually two rides to choose from, but this year it's one route with several cuts.

That Bon Ton looks interesting. Of course living right here, all of those are day trips for me, and by the time I hit Colorado, I'll have ridden most of that course.

Yes, I've been warned about the lengthy climbs. There's not much I can do around here to train for that sort of length. I'll just have to do my best. This is the century we're doing that Saturday. The 30-mile climb intimidated me at first. The way things are coming along though, if the altitude doesn't get me, I'm pretty sure I can do it. I'll just break it up into three 10-mile climbs. (Or maybe 10 three-mile climbs.)

And as for altitude, that Wednesday (July 30) we're doing Mt. Evans. SAG to 10,000 feet, then ride to the summit. That's the one I'm more concerned with. But if I can do that, I'll know the century on Saturday will be no problem.

Anyway, that's why all the training and climbing for the next few weeks. Since folks seem to liking it, I'll keep at it with the pics.

"Yes, I've been warned about the lengthy climbs. There's not much I can do around here to train for that sort of length. I'll just have to do my best. This is the century we're doing that Saturday. The 30-mile climb intimidated me at first. The way things are coming along though, if the altitude doesn't get me, I'm pretty sure I can do it. I'll just break it up into three 10-mile climbs. (Or maybe 10 three-mile climbs.)

And as for altitude, that Wednesday (July 30) we're doing Mt. Evans. SAG to 10,000 feet, then ride to the summit. That's the one I'm more concerned with. But if I can do that, I'll know the century on Saturday will be no problem.

Anyway, that's why all the training and climbing for the next few weeks. Since folks seem to liking it, I'll keep at it with the pics."

The Century route you linked to should not be a major problem for you, IMHO, given how much you ride.

I hope you are going to spend a couple of days at altitude before Mt. Evans, if possible.

Mt. Evans is a whole other issue.

Expect snow, hail, lightning, freezing drizzle, fog, wind, freezing cold almost any day, unless you get real lucky. Folks have described their hands nearly freezing off coming down.

But, folks do it all the time, and I have never read of anyone dying in the process. Bring some money - there is an entrance fee - although that is being challenged in court.

Very pretty. I've been in the Finger Lakes region a few times and very much enjoyed my drives there. I once attended some meetings in Rochester and then took a couple of days to see the area, meandering down to Ithaca.

http://www.bontonroulet.com/

yes that's what I mean
i heard it its a week of wine tasting that tries to pretend its a bike tour

Delightful!

you'll have no problem on your visit to colorado
here's a shot of denver fox on one of the local trails

yes it did snow here recently , abasin ski area is still open , mt evans road is not yet open and
they had to reclose trail ridge road due to these recent snows

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Your Granny Gears rides? My Granny Edna can barely walk. :roflmao2:

Really enjoyed the pics in the gallery, too, tsl. Is that one-room school house still in use?

Thanks.

No, given that there's no parking lot, bus loop or signage, I don't think the the schoolhouse is used for schooling anyways. It has electric ans a shed under the pines, so someone uses it for something.

I spent four years in sunny Ithaca in college, which is why I now live in Florida. A beautiful part of the country - in the summer. Too bad there are three other seasons.

That should be a great century, and we will be expecting a report.