white sausages

today we came within 2 miles of riding a century but we did get to get Zweibels' white sausaages. The support squad visited the museum in Palmyra which had an awesome guide ... he posed with richard and me.

tomorrow we are going to shorten our ride for the best of all reasons: to visit the baseball hall of fame.

Erie canal day 1: Biking Bliss

July 30th ... Richard Choi arrived in Buffalo after flying all night and we headed straight to the Erie Canal for a 70 mile ride. Obviously, sleep deprivation has no effect on Richard ... I could hardly keep up with him. We did get lost and ended up in Greece ......... New York of course. Tonight we ate at Dinosaur in Rochester which has been featured on the Food Channel. We tend to rely on the Food Channel rather than the Michelin Guide or Zagats. Tomorrow, we head back to the Canal for another day of riding bliss ... no cars, no noise except when they raise the bridges for a boat.

under the falls ... erie canal

July 29th ... today we viewed the falls from below by taking an elevator down the equivelant of 17 floors ... we also drove over to Lockport to check out the Erie Canal ... starting tomorrow our bike route will take us on the tow path of the canal from Lockport to Albany for more than 350 miles. We should arrive in Albany on Monday. A bit of history about the canal: It was built between 1817 and 1825 to connect the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. The 363 mile long canal was dug by hand and over a thousand men lost their lives in the process. The rise from the Hudson to the Niagara River is over 550 feet. Originally 83 locks were used to raise and lower boats.

more Niagara photos

July 28 Niagara Falls NY/Ontario

Last night we made it to Niagara Falls after a long drive from Cleveland. Had to make up the time we spent in Moab and the Rockies. Our hotel, the Giacomo, is a lovely combination of art deco and Mayan architecture. Cara and Chris have been giving us awesome attention. Today, I headed over to Canada to check out the views and the bike shops. Found a great shop run by Sadru and Amir Kassam who grew up in Uganda and have been in Niagara Falls Ontario for 35 years and their shop is still going strong. We got completely soaked on the Maid of the Mist cruise into the falls. Great fun!

biking cleveland

The support crew wants me to post more bike pictures ... so here are some from my ride along Lake Erie in Cleveland

July 26 Columbus to Cleveland

Last night we took the good advice of the Food Network and went to Schmidt's in Germantown, Columbus Ohio .... we went straight at the Bratwurst and the Cream Puffs.

Today we arrived in Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Wonderful exhibits on the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and Motown.

More photos of Indianapolis

indianapolis July25

This morning I rode out to the Major Taylor Velodrome which was built to honor the greatest cyclist of all time. Later we visited the Indiana State Museum and walked along the canals both of which are splendid examples of urban planning and revitalization.

Bloomington to Indianapolis

July 24th ... before leaving Bloomington, we visited the movie home of Dave and his cat Fellini.

The ride to Indianapolis was memorable ... not for the length (59.5 miles), not for the altitude (practically sea level), not for the wind (almost non-existent) but for the HEAT ... it was between 93 and 103F for almost the whole ride. Never have ridden in heat like this.

We are in Indianapolis to honor the greatest cyclist who ever lived: Major Taylor