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I have the pleasure of taking full advantage of upstate New York as I sit and write this in a window overlooking the beautiful Piseco Lake in the Adirondacks. The fall colors have been spectacular, and spending the night here on the lake is a special treat allowing us to take full advantage – or at least enjoy for the roughly 16 hours we will be here.
Everyone seems particularly tired this evening. We finished today’s ride at roughly four and had dinner at five. It’s currently only 6:32 pm, but I’m ready to go to sleep and am struggling to stay awake until at least 8:00 or 8:30 pm.
When we left Cazenovia this morning at 8:30 am, it was chilly and in the mid-forties. I was wearing several layers and thoroughly happy with my wardrobe choice every day. The temperature peaked out at just barely over 60 degrees. I found myself shedding layers across the rest stops and may – or may not – have removed my skull cap under my helmet and my neck warmer while we were riding. Doing so required removing my helmet temporarily, but I was getting hot, and we had a climb ahead. I did the safest thing I could imagine and waited until I was at the end of the pace line… and no one was looking.
The ride was beautiful taking us through increasingly scenic roads lined with trees displaying their splendor of fall color. We did have to content somewhat with mild headwinds, and they did start to feel old and frustrating at times. We continued to work together to pull and draft ensuring we were able to optimize and preserve energy.
The total ascent today was about 3100 feet and it seemed to come in the back half of the ride. We had a few climbs along the way starting around mile 48 of our 92-mile ride. The back half also had somewhat relentless inclines and a few small but punchy hills. The last five miles took us along the lakeshore with the last two being gravel. I could have done without the gravel, but the overall ride was spectacular. Riding along the shoreline made me sad about recently selling our family cottage outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario. It made me want to look for something to replace it here in the U.S. – perhaps even here.
We have four remaining days of riding. None of the days will be trivial, so I am doing my best to conserve my energy for the remaining rides. Finishing the ride is bittersweet. As I think about things that I am looking forward to when I return to ‘the real world’, I thought about the luxury of having a coffee and an English muffin in bed and falling back to sleep. This is one of my most guilty pleasures and the idea of not having to get up early for a few days seems wildly luxurious. I am looking forward to it tremendously.