Westfield NY

Hey everyone,
    The best ride day of my trip so far was the day from Niagara to Westfield.  It was a long ride in the middle of the heat wave, but that's ok.  We rode through urban Buffalo, NY right through the downtown area.  It was a blast because I love city riding.  Those of you who know me know I love the NY Mets.  Buffalo is the home of the farm team  of the Mets, the Buffalo Bison.  I saw signs for the stadium and decided to take a detour and go!  It was early in the morning, but I was able to take some great pictures.  Too bad I could not see a game there.  I also went to the Sabres hockey arena in the same neighborhood.  Also, a nice gentleman named Jeff had a bbq for us on our second lunch stop.  He  had an amazing property on Lake Erie and he has been a friend of Bike and Build for a # of years now.

    The town of Westfield was nice with a nice Main Street.  There was a baseball card store there and I was able to get some cool Mets cards and talk to the owner for a bit.  Otherwise we have been going to bed really early to beat the heat.  We have been waking up at four and leaving at 6am.

A view of Rochester Institute of Technology (sorry, not a very good pic)

The magnificent falls!

On the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the falls.  One of the riders; Donnie in the poncho and our fearless leader Sean.

Me putting some muscle into a dirt moving operation on the Niagara build.  Tan lines are in full effect!

A great mohawk shot of Charlie and myself!

Lockport + Niagara Falls

Hello,
   The ride to Lockport, NY was a nice flat ride of only 58 miles.  Unfortunately, I ate way too many cookies at the lunch stop and had a really tough time finishing the last 30 miles.  Let that be a lesson to all you aspiring athletes reading this!!!  The town was nice and a lot of nice views of the Erie Canal.

   Niagara Falls has been the highlight of our trip so far (even though I still really like the Paterson Falls).  Niagara Falls is really a humbling site.  It was the shortest ride to date and even felt like a rest day.  We quickly showered and got ready to see the sights.  The Maid of the Mist boat ride was the highlight of course (pictures coming) and walking up to the falls was breathtaking.  I did not have my passport yet so I just relaxed at the host site until the fireworks later that day because it was July 4th!
    We had the chance to rest of our legs for the most part as we had our 3rd build day.  This build day was interesting.  There was not a lot to do at the site so many of us took turns and rotated.  Niagara is an interesting area because there is a lot of history there, but it is currently a depressed area.  I am glad we could pitch in there and help.

Pictures to follow.... and we start a three day journey toward Ohio!

Western New York

Hey everyone,
   I am one day and only 22 miles (short day!) away from July 4th, a build day and Niagara Falls.  There will be some great pics to follow.  I may be only seeing the American side because my passport just arrived to my NJ apartment, and  I will be getting it in the mail next week so they let me into Vancouver, BC.  We just had our longest ride day into Rochester two days ago (90 miles).  It was our first day with two lunch stops and that worked very well.  About 12 miles before the second lunch stop we encountered some of our first flat riding in a really long time.  We were cruisin!  The 90 miles were not so bad because the last 30 went very quickly and we were excited to be back in civilization.
   My friend Jenna from my last Bike and Build trip met us at the host site and showed me around the city because she lives in Rochester.  We stayed at Rochester Institute of Technology.  It is great staying on a college campus.  There are comfy beds and  I spent a solid time getting to know someone better as a roommate.
      Jenna decided to ride with us today to the first lunch stop.  She rode 30 miles of the 58 mile day.  We were able to catch up about stories and memories from the last trip.  The riding was pretty easy today into Lockport, NY.  It is a big Erie Canal town and I have some good photos to follow.
    A lot of the guys on the trip are getting mohawks as well, including me, so I will be updating that as well with pictures when I can.

More pictures

Here are some pictures that I have not been able to upload lately

Here are just some great photos from New York State.  There are some good road scenes, some great views of a very clear Hudson River, me riding the ferry, and Brandon Gap which was the second toughest climb that we did in Vermont.  I promise to get some pics with some other Bike and Build riders in the near future.  

Catching up

    So we have been in a few places with little or no cell service and no internet access so I will be catching people up on a lot here in this post.

1) Rochester Vermont to Silver Bay, NY
- We left Vermont by having to climb a big mountain pass called Brandon Gap, but it was not as bad a Bethel mountain.  I had the fun opportunity of drafting behind a tractor during the ride for about 5 miles.  There are a lot of farm vehicles on the road in rural areas.  Drafting means to ride behind a bike or vehicle so there is no wind resistance.  It was a luxurious ride.
    At the first lunch we all had to meet up as a team to take a ferry from the Vermont border over Lake Champlain to get into NY State.  It was a very quick ride and we finished the last 14 miles to get into Silver Bay, NY.  We stayed in a YMCA Conference Center there which has been around since the early 1900's.  Everyone was able to get their own bed there and a great night's sleep.

2) Silver Bay to Indian Lake, NY
     This was probably the toughest day to date on the trip.  There were a few very steep and very long climbs out of the Silver Bay.  It was a tough ride to the lunch stop, which was about mile 34.  The whole day was about 60 miles in total.  The 2nd half of the day was incredibly tough as the headwind kicked up and the hills continued.  I got in with a fellow rider Baxter at about 3:30.  All riders are supposed to get in by 4pm.  Many riders failed to make that time cutoff and had to be picked up by the Bike and Build van.  We slept in a campsite for the first time and cooked our own dinner.  Sleeping under the stars is great, but I prefer an actual host site where the conditions are more mosquito free.

3) Indian Lake- Boonville, NY
     This day of riding was our longest so far--- 75 miles.  We left at 7am to make sure all people would get in by the cutoff time.  I rode with Donnie from Wisconsin almost the whole day as we looked forward to getting into the next host site, which was a church.  The wind really kicks up a little before 12 so it is best to get as many miles as possible in before it picks up.  There were a few really nice towns on the way including Inlet, where we had our lunch stop; and Old Forge as well.  This ride was in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains which was really scenic, but tough to climb at points.

4) Boonville to Palermo, NY- 64 miles
       This riding day (Sunday the 1st) was just what the group needed.  We breezed through the morning riding as the roads contained many downhills and smooth pavement.  There was not much to look at on the way, but I did have some great conversation with one of the leaders as we rode into the lunch stop at mile 32.  It is great to try to ride with different people and get to know everyone on the trip well.  There are 33 of us in total.  We have ridden 5 straight days and have three more in a row before our build day in Niagara Falls.  This is a tough stretch!
    Lunch was in this nice little town of Camden, NY. At the host site, a church in Palermo, the Pastor told us of how she has been hosting Bike and Build since about 2004 every year we come through.  She told us that Bike and Build was really instrumental in her beginning to fight in her county in NY for more affordable and now she sits on the county committee for the cause of affordable housing.  Very interesting!!!!

Tomorrow will be our new longest day.  About 89 miles into Rochester and it will be our first day with 2 lunch stops so we will see how it goes and report back later.

Vermont

Cycled into Rochester, Vermont today.  Climbed Mt. Bethel which at its highest point that we rode was about 2100 feet.  Not all that high, but it feels like it when you start at sea level.  It was about 7 miles of cycling uphill to get to the top.  The town was great and had a lot of neat little shops like a great bakery with only organic food.  Vermont is a very hip place, somewhere I would like to spend some more time in the future!

Stay tuned for New York State!