OnTheTrace: A Blustery Sunday

Sunday, October 5: Dunkirk to Corfu

When we awoke at 7:00 (didn’t set an alarm) it was raining and cold. We waited out the rain while doing all the routine things—breakfast, repacking and the like. We expected to ride in rain at least some of the day, so extra precautions were taken to make sure our belongings were properly sealed in various sizes of zip-lock bags. The rain abated, so we were almost ready to move on. But first, Diane had to protect her head from the potential of cold rain: first, one of her handkerchiefs tied on to cover head and ears; next, a plastic bag over the handkerchief; then, her helmet; and last, her rain jacket, with hood tied on over the helmet. Then we were ready to roll. It was 9:55 a.m. and we had some 70 miles to travel. Diane needed leggings, however, so at Silver Creek, about ten miles down the road, she got a pair of black pants at Dollar General. The roads were rather good and the route reasonable, and we had a favorable wind most of the day, but it was cold, cold, cold. This slowed us down. Fortunately, except for intermittent sprinkles, our day was rain-free. It was a bit of a contrast with our Kitty Corner USA trip where we took shelter from the sun under overpasses, and today, where we took shelter from the rain as we quickly lunched under an overpass.

We started our ride how we ended it the day before, biking along the scenic highway with several views of Lake Erie. It was mostly trouble-free, except that Diane’s chain jammed during an inartful shift, and she couldn’t release it. Mechanic Man unjammed it.

Early in the afternoon Rob unsuccessfully attempted to transition from the road to a poorly designed and executed bicycle lane bypass at a roundabout. The bike refused – ricocheted off the curb, and launched Rob to the ground. No broken bones, but his left wrist was badly sprained, and his right knee scraped.

We traversed a number of different roads, always moving east or north. One was memorable, first for its long climb over a ridge, somewhat like parts of the eastward climb to White Pass, followed by “roller hills” (the kind Diane really likes, where the fast downhill allows one to ascend a good portion of the next hill with little or no effort. Again we passed houses, farms and fields – last of the grape vineyards, corn and soybeans, and several pumpkin fields. A number of homes had Halloween displays and/or pumpkin displays. Some also had “on your honor” stands for pumpkins and bouquets in a variety of colors. Tomorrow we revisit the Erie Canalway Bicycle Trail as we continue east.

Diane imitates a Smurf to keep her head warm.