-
2008
Ride Reports
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October
5 - CCCC
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Super early Fall riding
day. Bright blue skies, some clouds, single digit north wind. We decided
this was a good day
-
for another remote start
from Wolcottsville, so we drove from our 10 AM Clarence Center meeting
point and then
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rolled from the Vol. Fire
Co. parking lot in Wolcottsville a bit before 10:30 AM. Low 50's at start,
but very comfortable
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with the low wind and
bright sunshine. Had a new route to try out, and I think this is my favorite
by far. Like the ride
-
Sept. 7th ride, it is
such a nice route that I'm giving full detail below for those looking to
ride some new roads. It's
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really a nice route for
intermediate and experienced riders. There are a lot of rolling hills,
but nothing too long to
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really cause problems.
The road surfaces are all very good, very fast. The scenery along the whole
route is exceptional.
-
It's 32.6 miles, but miles
can easily be cut in a few places (or added) by looking at the route on
a map I recommend it
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as is, though, it was
selected to include some very scenic sites and some changes of direction
that are nice when winds
-
are higher. As an overview
-- it starts north from Wolcottsville toward Middleport. Never goes north
of Rt. 31 or east
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of Rt. 98. Google a map
of Medina and drop it south a bit and you've got the area. From just south
of Middleport it heads
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east through Shelby Center,
southeast to East Shelby, then west to West Shelby, then southwest through
West Alabama
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back to Wolcottsville.
Other than crossing Routes 77 and 63, this is ALL lightly traveled country
roads. Turn by turn
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directions follow below.
Today the foliage was just starting to change. Temperature was 62 by ride's
end. A very nice ride indeed.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
Rich Jurkowski -
Longbike
The detailed route:
Start: Wolcottsville Vol. Fire Co. on Wolcottsville Rd., which comes into
Rt. 93 in Niagara County at the Niagara/Erie
county line. 14 miles
from Clarence Center. ( From Clarence Center go north on Goodrich, east
on County Rd, Left at tee onto
Rt. 93, right onto
Wolcottsville Rd.)
Length:
32.6 miles
Roads: narrow rural, rolling hills, smooth fast surfaces, may encounter
a car every ten minutes or so, if that.
Note: "quick right" or "quick left" indicates next turn is less than 1/4
mile. Crossroads are noted as such, if not so noted,
the intersection does
NOT cross. A "tee" means the road you are on comes to an end and you must
turn left or right.
Start north ( that's
a right out of lot) on Wolcottsville Rd. Straight on past Hasely then straight
onto Arnold. Right at tee
(Ernest). Left at
crossroads onto Lewiston (Rt. 77), quick right onto Chestnut Ridge. Left
onto Graham. Left onto Peet. Right
at crossroads onto
Mountain. Straight on at crossroads (Griswold). Right at crossroads to
go south on Freeman. Left onto
Palmer to head east,
it becomes North County Line Rd. when it turns 90 degrees to go north.
Right at crossroads to go east
on Freeman (Note:
If you're following on a map this can be confusing -- Mountain Rd becomes
Freeman Rd east of North
County Line Rd, which
is confusing because there's a "Freeman Rd" running north/south crossing
Mountain that we were
just on.) Go straight
on at the delta intersection onto Salt Works Rd, quick right at tee onto
Fuller and quick left at tee to
go east on Blair Rd.
Continue east through Shelby Center by going straight at crossroad Rt.
63 (South Gravel Rd). Bear right
onto an unnamed road
just after you cross over the scenic creek bridge. (This unnamed road runs
along a creek on your right.
If you miss it, stay
on Martin to Bigford Rd.) Go Right at tee onto Martin, then right to go
south on Bigford Rd. Right to go
west on Harrison.
Left to go south on Edwards. Right at crossroads onto Fletcher Chapel Rd.
Straight on at crossroad Rt. 63
(South Gravel Rd.)
onto Dunlap. Right at tee onto West Shelby Rd, quick left to go north onto
Helert. Left at tee to go west
on Ryan. Left at tee
to go south on Salt Rd. (Steepest uphill of ride here. It can be avoided
by making a LEFT at tee onto
West Shelby Rd above
and cutting out Helert and Ryan Roads. But they are scenic.) Continue south
on Salt Rd at West Shelby
Rd. (Note: make a
left onto Salt if you're taking the shortcut hill/bypass). Right onto Johnson
Rd. Straight on at South County
Line (on the right).
Left at crossroads onto Griswold. Straight on at crossroad at Lewiston
Rd (Rt. 77-Caution!) Right to follow
Griswold (Ditch Rd.
begins if you were to go straight ahead), left at tee and right to
follow Griswold again back to Wolcottsville
Rd at AJ's General
Store. Volunteer Fire Co. is just south on Wolcottsville Rd.
.
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September
21 - CCCC
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Overcast, temp in low
60's at 9AM start time. Winds very slight. We headed east on the bike path
and then through
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Akron Falls Park for a
break at the falls. We returned via the Tesnow Rd. downhill, but turned
east at the bottom at
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Bloomingdale, then left
onto Martin. Crossed Scotland into familiar territory, made our way back
over Swift Mills,
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Greenbush, Rapids, Sandhill
and Utley to the bike path. We took a short route because of a light mist
bordering on
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drizzle that was with
us from shortly after Tesnow to the finish. Not too uncomfortable, but
it did diminish the enjoyment
-
of our last summer ride.
Finished with 25.4 miles. Dried off inside the CCCC for lunch.
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RIDE START MOVES
TO 10AM 9/28!
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
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Dan Mangold - Stratus
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Dan Sharpe - F5
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.
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September
14- CCCC
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Seventy-eight degrees
and climbing at 9AM start time. Substantial SSW winds (bringing the warm
air) of about 15 mph
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with gusts into the 20's.
Since the forecast all week had been for a rain out, we weren't complaining.
Steve showed off his
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new ride, a Yaris. A four
wheeled Toyota, that is. No hitch yet, so his Bachetta Corsa remained home
and he was initiated
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into the trike world.
We headed north on Goodrich, west on Wolcott, up Westphalinger, east on
Tonawanda Creek. Crossed
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into Niagara County through
Rapids, north on Wisterman, east on Kinne, looped around Riddle and Moyer
to continue east on
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Simms. South into Erie
County on Block Church. Transversed Burdick, Kelkenberg, Rapids, Berghorn,
Miland and then took
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Salt Rd. south to the
bike path for a westward run back to CCCC, with some severe headwind crossing
by the athletic field
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west of Kraus. Temp had
climbed to the mid-80's by ride's end accompanied by high humidity by WNY
standards. We lunched
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on the shaded porch, enjoying
well earned cool drinks. 29.35 miles. In all, an enjoyable ride on a day
when we had expected no
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ride at all, let alone
blue skies and 85 degree temps. (One odd note to add was that for some
unknown reason there were literally
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dozens of deceased frogs
along the route. Perhaps mating season interfering with due caution on
the roadways. It's not easy being
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green. And not pleasant
having frog guts thrown at you from a bike tire.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
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Steve Krytus - Terra Trike
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.
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September
7 - CCCC
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Low 60's, negligible NW
wind and blue skies as we rolled out at 9:08AM. We were rolling in our
CARS, however,
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as we decided it was a
good day to explore the rural roads of Hartland and Royalton with a "remote
ride start"
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from the Wolcottsville
Vol. Fire Co. We rolled on our bikes from that said parking lot a bit before
9:30AM.
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The route will be explained
in more detail than usual (below), as I believe it's a really nice route
that others may
-
wish to enjoy. The roads
are all smooth and fast, with extremely few cars for 95% of the route.
The roads are
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decidedly rural and
narrow, passing farms of all types, cobblestone houses, scenic vistas,
creeks, historic sites,
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and cross the Erie Canal
two times. On Quaker Rd at 14 miles, the route passes Becker farms which
is an apple
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farm and apple cider
producer featuring a general store offering pies, doughnuts, fudge, ice
cream and more along
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with an animal petting
corral, an operating cider press, and a patio to enjoy the bucolic setting.
And rest rooms, too.
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The route is not as flat
as our usual NE Erie County runs, but the gradually rolling hills produce
a nice mix of exercise
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(up) with a bit of adrenaline
(down), with nothing really severe or sustained to spoil the ride. As a
consequence of the
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smooth roads and the rollies,
most riders will likely run this route at a bit faster pace than normal.
It's a fun run. From
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Wolcottsville it heads
north and west, transiting through Gasport at 10 miles, then northeast
to the northernmost point
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at Rte. 104, then southeast
to cross the canal south through Middleport at 20 miles. From there it's
south and west to
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the Alabama swamps and
Tonawanda Wildlife Refuge on the way back to Wolcottsville. It's 30.4 miles
total and can
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be easily modified for
a bit more or a bit less mileage as desired. The auto transit from and
to CCCC is about 17 minutes
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each way. We were back
for a post ride lunch by 12:30PM, even with a long mid-ride stop to check
out Becker Farms'
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offerings. Our transit
through Middleport included passing through a classic car show, with over
50 really nice vehicles
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lining either side of
the main drag. Although we did encounter light rain the last 5 or so miles
of the ride, we cannot
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complain as the real deluge
did not come until AFTER our CCCC lunch. In all, a very enjoyable ride,
sure to be re-run in
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the Fall.
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The detailed route:
(from Wolcottsville Vol. Fire Co. lot) -- Head north on Wolcottsville Rd
past AJ's general store.
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Straight on past Hasley,
then straight onto Arnold. Right at tee onto Ernest. Left onto Rte 77,
right onto Chestnut Ridge,
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keep left onto Graham,
left onto Peet. Left onto Mountain Road, straight on at Royalton Ctr Rd
and Bolton Rd. (Killer vista
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to the right.) Right at
tee onto Orangeport Road for a fast downhill run across Rt. 31 into Gasport
to cross the canal. Right
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just north of Gasport
onto Slayton Sett Rd. Left onto Quaker Road, Becker Farms will be on the
left side up about 1 mile.
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Right onto Rte 104 (Ridge
Rd.). Right onto Root Rd., then left onto Pearson. Straight on at Wruck
and at Robson. ( Note:
-
for a "Convenience Stop"
Option: instead of turning right onto Root, you could continue east on
Rt. 104 through the hamlet
-
of Johnson Creek where
there's a general store, then turn right onto Robson to go south to Pearson).
East on Pearson past
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Drum and Carmen. Right
onto Chase, right at tee onto North Hartland, into Middleport. Left at
tee onto Mill Street. Right
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onto North Main St (Rt.
271) to transit south over the canal and through "downtown" Middleport.
Cross Rt. 31 onto Freeman
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Rd. Straight on at Mountain
Road and at Chestnut Ridge Road. Right at tee onto Johnson. Left onto Griswold,
cross Rt. 77.
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First right to follow
Griswold (Ditch Road proceeds straight ahead), left at tee (Mann), and
next right (Griswold again) to
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Wolcottsville Rd at AJ's
Store. Left onto Wolcottsville Rd to the fire company parking lot. 30.4
miles total.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Challenge
Serian
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.
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August
31 - CCCC
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Superb riding weather.
Mid-70's, almost no wind, low humidity, bright blue skies with zero chance
of precipitation.
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Rolled east on bike path,
duplicating the 8/3 route up to AJ's. Dan and Sue joined us for the first
portion, trying
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out their newly acquired
wedgie tandem together for the first time. They were doing well when we
split from the bike
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path to head north. Beautiful
late summer scenery all the way to Wolcottsville (and back). Corn is high,
the Soy is green,
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"loose gravel" roads are
now smooth, creeks are running, horses are trotting, cows are doing their
own thing (not pointing
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north per recent study).
We deviated from the 8/3 route on the way back to keep the ride shorter
for other Labor Day
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weekend plans. From the
west end of Kelkenburg we headed southwest over Rapids, Berghorn, Miland,
Salt, Croop, Strickler,
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Keller and Herr to the
bike path and into CCCC just before noon. Tom Barone was at the CCCC with
full details on the
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successful Niagara Rally
from last weekend. (87 photos of that 3 day rally and even 3 videos
are posted on the
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Bentrideronline Message
Boards.) Another very nice ride. Hopefully lots more nice riding weather
with three more
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summer weekends before
the Fall riding season begins. 32.9 miles.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
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Dan Mangold - tandem
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Sue Mangold - tandem
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Stuart Weinstein - R200
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.
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August
24 - CCCC
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Seventy degrees and mild
winds at AM start. Blue skies with some dark clouds,, and thunderstorms
predicted to
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be on the way. Figuring
it best to keep close to home base (CCCC), we headed east on the bike path,
then back
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south west at the junction,
crossing Main St as Salt. By the time we got to Shisler it was becoming
a beautiful
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morning. Heartened, we
headed back east through Tillman and our usual route and reached McDonalds
at 19 miles.
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Then east over Skyline
to Crittenden and down the "big hill" on Crittenden with a slight headwind
keeping us below
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40 mph on the descent.
Transited through Akron to the bike path for a direct route west to the
CCCC. Temp 81
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degrees at the finish.
The skies were still blue as we had a leisurely lunch on the porch
and still had time to reach
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home before the predicted
thunderstorms did move in. Today we took a chance and it paid off in a
nice ride. 32 miles.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
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Dan Mangold - Stratus
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Susan Mangold - mountain
bike
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Bruce Mapel - Strada
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.
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August
17 - CCCC
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Sunny, 71 º
and SW wind in single digits at 9 AM start. Went west on bike path, NW
on Stahley, Smith and
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Hopkins and Tonawanda
Creek to the Amherst museum. From there took the Canalway Trail to west
entrance of Ellicott
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Creek Park at Creekside.
Then back east through the park, and over the Amherst Ellicott Trail to
Maple Forest.
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Back roads from there
to the Clarence bike path trail head at Transit West into CCCC on the bike
path. The wind had
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picked up by the turnaround,
so we had a nice tailwind the whole trip back. Very nice ride. 33.8 miles.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
-
.
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August
10 - CCCC
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Partly sunny and 57º
as I headed east down the bike path. Felt the first rain drop as I crossed
Utley Rd. By the time
-
I reached Barnum Rd. it
was a steady rain. Put on my rain gear and headed back. Ended up with only
9.3 miles. Got the
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bike loaded in the car
and was out of the parking lot when the sky opened up. Better luck next
time.
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Paul Bigelow - Lynx
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.
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August
3 - CCCC
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Mid 70's, 10 mph NW winds.
Forecast was for beautiful day, but there were storm clouds threatening
to the north
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as we headed out at AM.
Headed east on the bike trail to Barnum where we headed north on Clarence
Ctr, transversing
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Dye, McNeeley, Draper,
Downey, Greenbush, Tonawanda Crk, Koepsel and Foote on our way northeast
to a break at AJ's
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(17.8 miles). Felt only
a few drops of rain (literally) as the storm clouds passed to the south.
Left the break northwest
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over Hasley and Grove,
with a quick wind assisted run down Rt. 93 to Ertman. Into Erie County
at Block Church, east on
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Kelkenburg. Gorgeous day
at this point, so we extended our planned route by heading west over Rapids
and Ton. Crk. Rd.
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all the way to Westphalinger.
The rare north wind made for a nice ride back to CCCC over Kenfield, Green
Acres, and Connor
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to the bike path. Finished
with 40.8 miles. Bright sun and blue skies most of the ride. Lunched on
the shaded porch at CCCC.
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"The Taste of Buffalo"
award winning mango smoothie hit the spot.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
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Stuart Weinstein - R200
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.
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July
27 - CCCC
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After two rainy Sundays,
we got a perfect mid-summer day. Low 70's, blue skies, slight SW wind.
Sara's sister visiting
-
from Miami commented on
the low humidity, which we take for granted. We started east on the bike
path taking the short
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route to McD's at 8..7
miles. From there the Schultz contingent headed back to CCCC via Rte. 5,
still having to bike home
-
from there. The rest of
us took our tried and true route west along the thruway to Tillman WMA.
From there we continued
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on Wehrle to the start
of the bike path past Gunville. The SW wind had been building, so we enjoyed
taking the bike path
-
east from there with a
tailwind and downward slope 8 miles to the junction with the Clarence path,
then returning west 5.6
-
miles to CCCC. A good
percentage of the bike paths have been resurfaced, and the smooth ride
really makes a difference!
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The zig-zag route works
well with strong SW wind. Made it back to CCCC around noon. About 20 miles
of the 31.3 total
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being bike path. A very
nice ride. To top it off, we were between crowds at the CCCC and our food
was ready in about 5
-
minutes, a record that
may never be broken.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Flash
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Lani Kaskel - upright
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Sara Schultz - Rocket
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Steve Schultz - Grasshopper
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Stuart Weinstein - R200
-
.
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July
20 - CCCC
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Didn't want to be rained
out two consecutive weeks. Radar showed a likely break between morning
thundershowers
-
and the noon hour, so
a shortened ride was attempted. Conditions at AM start actually pretty
nice -- 70 degrees,
-
negligible wind, and cloudy
bright skies. Rode east on the wet bike path to the terminus at Cedar St
in Akron and
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back, 15.5 miles round
trip. Weather cycled every 5 minutes or so from cloudy, to sunny, to very
light rain. Pushed
-
it a lot harder than usual
in order to get a workout into the short ride time. Completed the ride
sweaty, but otherwise
-
dry. Rains did come hard
within our longer normal ride time, but watching it home on radar was no
problem.
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
.
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July
6 - CCCC
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Super conditions today,
clear blue skies, 75º and virtually no wind. We greeted a new rider,
Dan Rose, and checked
-
out his new Action Bent
Mid-Racer (700 x 451, OSS, aluminum frame, hard shell seat). Headed west
on the bike path
-
and then south on the
trail extension to Curry Lane, then over Thompson, Roll and Old Goodrich
to cross Rt. 5 at signal.
-
Headed east to Tillman
WMA via the bike path from Gunville. Made a short stop to check out the
marsh, then zig-zagged
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east over Billo, Hiller,
Nice, and Stage en route to our break at McD's on Rt. 5 in Akron at 16
miles. Out from break over
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Skyline, Crittenden, and
Indian Falls to everyone's favorite downhill, Tesnow Rd. Grinning
widely at the bottom of the hill,
-
we cut back on Bloomingdale
into the Village of Akron to the bike path at Rt. 93 (Cedar). Then west
back to CCCC on the path,
-
encountering a lot of
folks enjoying the perfect cycling weather. 32 miles, 85 degrees by finish.
Lunched on the sunny patio
-
with Bruce Raines and
Tom Barone, learning of all manner of new routes to explore, near and far.
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Pics view able at www.jerrys-pix.spaces.live.com/photos
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Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
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Rich Jurkowski - Sirix
Flash
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Dan Mangold - Lemond
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Dan Rose - MidRacer
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Sara Schultz - Rocket
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Steve Schultz - Grasshopper
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Stuart Weinstein - R200
-
.
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June
29 - CCCC
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A break in the pattern
of persistent scattered showers (two weeks now) yielded promising ride
weather. Temp 70º
-
and single digit SSW winds.
We rolled shortly after 9 AM after meeting two new riders today. Simple
classic route,
-
east on the bike trail,
up Hake/Clarence Ctr/Rt 93 to McD's for a short break. East on Skyline
and Indian Falls to
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show off our favorite
downhill run on Tesnow to our new riders -- as usual, an adrenaline rush.
North on Martin, where
-
Steve had a rear flat
quickly repaired with impressive teamwork. West over Swift Mills/Greenbush/Rapids,
then south
-
on Sandhill-Utely to the
bike path. Winds picked up to near 20 mph head winds, a short shower gave
us extra impetus
-
heading back to the CCC.
The patio was wet and the porch was full, so we enjoyed our post ride repast
indoors today.
-
73º finish, the sun
came out as we finished our lunch. Despite the brief winds and shower,
another nice ride. 27.7 miles
-
Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
Rich Jurkowski - Flash
-
Bruce Mapel - EZ-1
-
Sara Schultz - Rocket
-
Steve Schultz - Grasshopper
-
Stuart Weinstien - Trek
2000
-
.
-
June
22 - CCCC
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Overcast and low 60's at ride start. We rolled
from AJ's in Wolcottsville after caravaning from the CCCC at 9 AM.
-
Headed north toward Gasport via Hasely, Dewhirst,
Bunker Hill, Royalton Ctr, Rte. 77, Richardson, Dale. Stopped at
-
Ravine Park on Gasport Rd, the skies were clearing
by this point. Headed east on very scenic Mountain Rd (along the
-
top of the escarpment) with a welcome tailwind.
South on Peet. Graham, Ernst, and Arnold to AJ's for drinks and snacks.
-
We had 18 miles at this point, but due to strong
steady SW winds all morning it seemed like longer. Temps now in mid-70's.
-
We did a second loop up Griswold to Johnson,
east to Salt Works and back through the Alabama swamps, for an additional
-
12 miles. This loop always seems to provide
some interesting wildlife. Today it was a coyote on Bartel Rd just west
of
-
Meadville Rd. From a distance we thought there
was a German shepherd backlighted ahead in the road, unusual in the middle
-
of nowhere. As we approached the stealthy figure
ran off into the thick woods. That was OK with us. Subsequent googleing
-
determined that coyotes are MUCH faster than
dogs. (As the joke goes --, you don't have to out pedal the coyote, just
out pedal
-
your slowest rider.) Overall, a nice ride. An
interesting break from our usual rides out of CCCC with more roads up that
-
way waiting to be ridden sometime soon.
-
Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
Andrea Heine - EZ-1
-
Rich Jurkowski - Rocket
-
Steve Krytus - Corsa
-
Sara Schultz - Rocket
-
Steve Schultz - Grasshopper
-
.
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June
15 - CCCC
-
This was the weather that
we think back on come mid-winter -- mid-70's, sunny with just enough clouds
to look nice
-
and break the direct sun.
The medium SW wind left all options open for our last 10AM start. We decided
on a Ride
-
for Roswell warm-up, copying
many of the 44 mile-route roads to be run on the 28th. Actually, this was
a "retro ride",
-
as we rode the route we
used to do almost every week a couple years back. East on the bike path,
cutting up Hake and
-
Clarence Center to Akron
Falls Park. Through the park uphill for a short break at shelter no. 7
near Skyline Rd. The
-
Murder Creek falls are
running, but no competition for Niagara this late in Spring. We headed
over the new Crittenden
-
Rd. bridge and up Indian
Falls to the Tesnow downhill. Conditions were great for the descent, most
of us nearing or
-
breaking 40 mph. Quite
an adrenaline rush. We headed back west over our favorite rural roads (Martin,
Swift Mills,
-
Greenbush, Crego, Miland,
etc.). South on Strickler, west on Keller, Kraus to the bike path, and
back to CCCC. The route
-
at 27.4 mi. was actually
shorter than we had planned, but the cold drinks at the CCCC beckoned.
Lots of bikes of all
-
kinds on the bike path
today, riding season is surely in full swing. We had missed the early crowd
at the CCCC this
-
Father's Day so our food
came quickly. The shaded porch was our preferred option today. Another
nice ride, a
-
good time was had by all.
-
Note: next week is 9 AM
start!
-
Attended:
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Jerry Hanley - Street
Machine
-
Steve Krytus - Corsa
-
Rich Jurkowski - Rocket
-
Dan Mangold - Stratus
-
Steve Schultz - Grasshopper
-
.
-
June
8 - CCCC
-
Threatened thundershowers
had given way to blue skies by 10AM ride time. Hot and humid, with a strong
SW wind.
-
Long time since we hit
the roads up near AJ's, but the thought of battling strong winds on the
way back was daunting.
-
Sooo, we drove the bikes
15 minutes to Wolcottsville Fire Co. parking lot (next to AJ's) and
rode FROM there.
-
Did a clockwise loop south
out of AJ's (Griswold, Ditch, Foot) back into northern Erie County. Koepsel
west 93
-
and continued west on
Tonawanda Creek to Rapids Rd via Burdick and Kelkenburg, back east to Block
Church,
-
continued north over Sims
and Miller, then a fast wind assisted run southeast on Rt. 93, Grove, and
Hasely and
-
Wolcottsville Rd into
AJ's at 22 miles. Seemed like we had the roads to ourselves all morning
-- we had encountered
-
only 6 cars at this point.
Quick ice cream break (it was 85 degrees and humid!), then set out north
for a clockwise
-
loop of the wildlife refuge.
Added some mileage by going north across Rt. 77 on Ditch to Johnson
Creek Rd (nice
-
smooth, scenic road with
rollers and a nice downhill to boot - worth the 4 extra miles!) Checked
out the birdlife
-
in the refuge, and
rolled into AJ's with 35 miles, "glistening" and ready for some cold drinks.
The remote start
-
worked well for today's
conditions. The two loop format would work well for those wanting a 22
or 35 mile option,
-
as well. I'm sure we'll
be doing this four county ride again (still gathering at our usual CCCC
start). Drove by the
-
CCCC on the way home,
good crowd on the patio enjoying the sunshine. Looks like the sun and heat
brought out a
-
lot of bikers.
-
Attended:
-
Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
Rich Jurkowski - Rocket
-
Steve Krytus - Corsa
-
.
-
June
1 - CCCC
-
Temp in upper 50's with
strong wind making it seem cooler. The forecast for increasing winds proved
accurate.
-
Most of the ride as with
a 17 mph due west wind. No guts, no glory. We rolled out on time at 10AM,
heading to new
-
(for our Sunday ride)
territory to the northwest. Started west on the bike trail, then headed
up Stahley to Transit,
-
northwest out of Swormville
on Smith to cross Millersport onto Hopkins. At Tonawanda Creek South we
picked up
-
the Canalway Trail east
to New, giving us a welcome tailwind respite. Entered Niagara County
on Tonawanda Creek
-
North, up Irish, west
on Bear Ridge, then took Meyer across Campbell to the Pendleton
bike path (our most westward
-
point). Took that
path northeast to its terminus at Mapleton. Went east past bucolic sheep
and dairy farms to the
-
barge canal where we began
our south east trek back home via Bear Ridge, Feigle, East Canal, Tonawanda
Creek North,
-
then Tonawanda Creek South
west from Transit (including portage at washout). South on Westphalia,
Green Acres,
-
Kenwood, Connor and Stahley
to the bike path where we headed back to CCCC with a nice 17 mph tailwind.
Temp hovered
-
around 60 for most of
the ride, and the blue skies held on until we were almost finished eating
lunch at the CCCC.
-
Not many folks at the
CCCC, probably due to the wind and increasing clouds. Overall, though,
a nice ride -- this is a
-
good route to deal with
a strong west wind. 29.4 miles
-
Attended:
-
Paul Bigelow - Lynx
-
Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
Steve Krytus - Corsa
-
.
-
May
25 - CCCC
-
Absolutely gorgeous morning
for our holiday weekend ride. Low 60's, beautiful blue sky with puffy clouds,
-
and mild winds had us
all in a good mood. 10AM start saw fire trucks and emergency vehicles headed
north
-
on Goodrich, the sirens
shattering an otherwise calm and quiet scene. We headed east on the bike
trail, then
-
north on Strickler. We
encountered the fire trucks again just south of Croop Rd fully engaged
and already
-
having controlled a barn
fire. We snaked by the emergency vehicles blocking the Strickler and headed
east on
-
Croop, along with the
smoke from the fire. The air cleared quickly and we enjoyed a wind assisted
ride with
-
virtually no traffic,
over Salt, Miland, Berghorn, Rapids, Kelkenburg, Burdick, and Tonawanda
Creek. Headed
-
south, now into slight
SW wind, over Fletcher, Moore, Sandhill, Meahl, Draper, McNeeley, and Hake
back to
-
bike path. Decided it
was a good day to check out the stone trail off the pike path indicated
by sign soliciting
-
riders to the "snack house".
Turns out the path just cuts north to Clarence Center Rd by the golf courses.
The
-
"snack house" is on Clarence
Center itself, and wasn't open. (Much better to just access it via Clarence
Center,
-
now we know). West
again on Clarence Center back to the bike path which we took back to the
CCCC. Temps in
-
low 70's at this point,
west wind 11 mph. Lots of other bikers enjoying the day. CCCC had a heavy
lunchtime crowd,
-
with the patio full. We
lunched on the porch along with the Dave Miller band. They were good, but
we moved away
-
from the speakers to the
sunny patio at first opportunity. A very low key, pleasant ride.
26 miles.
-
Attended:
-
Jerry Hanley - Velotecnik
Streetmachine
-
Rich Jurkowski - Rans
V2 Formula 26
-
Sara Schultz - Rans Rocket
-
Steve Schultz - Velotecnik
Grasshopper
-
.
-
May
11 - CCCC
-
Mostly sunny and breezy.
Nice ride.
-
Attended:
-
Steve Schultz - Grasshopper
-
Sara Schultz - Rocket
-
Jerry Hanley - Street
Machine
-
Steve Krytus -
Corsa
-
Dan Mangold - Rans Stratus
-
Paul Bigelow - Lynx
-
.
-
May
4 - CCCC
-
Overcast skies, 46º,
with strong steady west wind at the 10AM rolloff. Fortunately the forecast
for
-
clearing skies and mid-50's
temps came to fruition quickly as the ride progressed. To deal with the
15-20 mph
-
west wind, a north/south
route was selected -- headed up Goodrich, east on Delaware than zigged
back west
-
on Tonawanda Creek to
cross into Niagara County at Rapids. East on Tonawanda Crk North, up Riddle
and over
-
Moyer, Simms, and Miller,
crossing Rt. 93 to Singer and Bulmore, before returning southward via xxx,
Old
-
Dysinger, Riddle, Kinne,
Wisterman, through Rapids, west on Tonawanda Crk, south on Northfield,
Kenfield,
-
Green Acres, Connor and
Stahley to the bike path for a final 1.5 mile tailwind abetted run east
to CCCC.
-
Finished with 33 miles.
Sunny and 58º by ride's end. The strong steady breeze that had given
us
-
a big appetite also gave
us our choice of tables for lunch on the patio. Through the open door,
though, we
-
were able to enjoy the
blues being performed INSIDE the CCC today.
-
Jerry Hanley - Velotechnik
Streetmachine
-
Steve Krytus - Bachetta
Corsa
-
,
-
April
27 - CCCC
-
Sunny blue skies once
again, temp in low 50's at 10AM start, WSW wind 9 mph and increasing during
ride time to
-
14-15 mph. Went west to
take advantage of increased wind for a tailwind coming back. Took bike
trail west to Transit,
-
west on Smith and Hopkins
to Tonawanda Creek, followed creek to Ellicott Creek Park, then back east
through the
-
park and Amherst Ellicott
Trail, burbs east back to Clarence bike trail. Ending with 31.2 miles,
temp reached 62 by
-
the end of a very pleasant
ride. Dan, with time restrictions, rode shorter route transversing
the Clarence bike trails.-JH
-
Jerry Hanley - Streetmachine
-
Dan Mangold - Stratus
-
.
-
April 20 - CCCC
-
Sunny, an easterly breeze
and 65 º as we headed east on the bike trail. Lots of people out on
the path today. Cyclists,
-
walkers and joggers galore.
Rode down to Akron Junction and then turned west. The tailwind felt good.
Hit Shisler Rd.
-
and rode south until we
reached Tillman. Made our way out to McDonald's where we stopped for a
break. Continued
-
east past Akron Falls
Park, the airport and then down the escarpment. Headed west back to the
coffee shop with a
-
tailwind the entire way.
Ended up with just over 32 miles. Had lunch out on the patio.
-
Attended:
-
Jerry Hanley - Street
Machine
-
Rich Jurkowski - Rans
V2
-
Dan Mangold - Rans Stratus
-
Paul Bigelow - Lynx
