July 20-27, 2024

To complement the very relaxed Michael-pace trip to Scotland, this was a Marty-pace “kill-yourself-everyday” bike trip. I have been hearing about this longstanding seven-day event from many bike friends for a while and this was finally the year to do it. Ten members of Morris Area Freewheelers were participating so I would have some known friends to ride and socialize with. But as these kinds of things usually go, you could always talk to any of the 250 participants and find many common and interesting things to share. This trip was mostly camping, though a few of our friends arranged to stay in area hotels, Instead of borrowing camping gear from Emily, I opted for the “comfy campers” service which included tent set up, air mattress, chair and clean towel every day. It was a good value and mostly well done except for the hot and crowded “tent city” arrangement. Folks with their own equipment could choose a shady and secluded spot. I’m never a good sleeper in these kinds of situations, so I did the best I could with ear plugs and sleep mask, and my tent and mattress were very comfortable. The tour stayed in some lovely state parks, and on small college campuses. Some places had access to indoor bathrooms with flush toilets and running water. We always had the shower truck, and a charging station where we could recharge our phones, lights, computers and other electronics. Most days we had to have our bags on the truck by 7:30am, but there were two locations where we stayed over two nights, making for a more relaxed morning routine.

The biking was fantastic! I rode 40 something or 50 something miles each day except for the day I completed my first century!!! I mostly rode with Manny from MAFW and Mike, a friend he had made at the Bon Ton the year before. Our pace was comfortably matched and they were incredibly supportive, especially on the century day. Sometimes we rode with John and Dawn from our club, and occasionally we would cross paths with the B riders from the club who were staying at hotels. Maureen, a friend from the Sourland Cycles women’s riding group was also there with her husband Tom, and we rode together one day and swam together at various waterfront locations. There was a lot of talk about algae bloom in the lakes which was a new phenomenon for me. I was thinking of renting a house up here next summer, but if you can’t swim in the lake what is the point of having a house on the waterfront???  

We were very lucky with the weather. After days of dangerous temperatures in the high 90’s at home, it was much cooler and beautiful most days, high in the low 80’s. We would usually be on the road well before 8am and done before noon. The scenery was beautiful with lots of farmland, including robust corn, gorgeous fruit orchards and voluptuous vineyards. It was always thrilling to crest a hill and get a view of the next finger lake, sparkling, long and narrow into the distance. It did get hot in the mid-afternoons, especially in the tent city, but it usually cooled off when the sun went down. I was even cold some nights. I was constantly amazed at how much I was eating: eggs and bacon and home fries and yogurt and granola at breakfast, fantastic treats at the rest stops including fruit and pickles and cookies and bars and chips. We enjoyed good cafeteria style dinners and I inhaled protein and carbs and stayed away from sweet deserts, because I usually had ice cream and beer during the lazy afternoons. I felt stronger as the week went on, and even though sleeping was not great, I guess I was getting enough. I was usually unconscious before 9 and felt fine during the day.

I think this is one of the more demanding bike trips I have done: with the camping, packing and un-packing, lugging your gear, no quiet and air-conditioned hotel room to retreat to, and seven days of riding, almost 400 miles total with one day of 103 miles up to Lake Ontario and back. Everyone cheered and made a big deal out of my first century, which felt really gratifying. The week was a lot of riding and socializing, but wonderful. I’m so happy I got through it with no bike or body problems. I hope I’ll be able do it again some day.