July 18 – Day 46 – Canandaigua, NY
| Route:Hamburg to Canandaigua, NY | Distance:96.33 miles | Winds:5 – 15 mph, mostly a tailwind |
| Weather:Foggy in the morning, cool low 70′s | Terrain:Flat to begin, rolling the rest of the way | Total Climbing:4285 feet |
Rolling past home, seeing old friends, having a picnic
Today we were officially home. Yes, I know we entered New York State yesterday, but today we arrived! After a quick breakfast, we left the hotel to begin our ride back into our home territory by stopping at a bicycle museum in Orchard Park. The owner opened up early for us, and some of the old bikes were pretty awesome.
Leaving the museum, Jane & I headed straight for the Great Harvest (used to be Montana Mills) store in East Aurora for our free sample of bread and some other goodies. We stop at this store every time we attend a Bills game. Yup! Feeling like home.
Next it was a series of text messages with Amber to see if we could meet up with her husband David along the way. These two very special people have grown to be part of our extended family. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hook up, so it was on to Alexander. We stopped at the high school where I worked for 25 years. I am sorry to say that Grace was not there to see me do the donuts in the parking lot like I promised her. She left work about 25 minutes before I got there. It was nice to visit, but on we went! Riding out of Alexander, we got to climb a hill I have driven for years, and wondered what it would be like to ride. It really was much easier than I had imagined.
Next it was the SAG at Avon, but we really only stopped in to sign in. We quickly left to hit Tom Wahl’s for a Junker plate and some ice cream. Andy & Michelle stopped in and we told them about our next stop, seeing our son Andrew. Michelle wanted to meet him, so off to Lima we went. Andrew was excited to see us, and he wanted to show off the new office, so we hit that next.
At this point we still had 45 miles to go, so we really needed to start moving. Jane had ridden extremely well up to this point, but we both remarked that we felt sluggish after lunch (couldn’t be the Junker plate could it?).
The ride to Canandaigua went pretty smoothly, even though we had some rollers to cover. Once there, we headed over to Kershaw Park to meet one of Jane’s sisters, Mitzi. This is where the picnic comes into play. Mitzi, Martha (another sister), and Colleen (a niece) joined Andrew and his fiancée, Kelly for a great time. We ate the traditional picnic fare of hot dogs, potato salad, etc. Yup, feels like home! Not even the threat of rain could dampen our spirits.
Tomorrow we ride to Syracuse
Stay tuned!
Jane and Gene Emborsky …Been thinkin’ ’bout you “guys”…Hugs etc. …Meester Scribbles! 7-16-07
Can’t wait to see you pull your bikes up to the Atlantic!
Jane and Gene,
WOW!!! What an accomplishment!! I am sure it feels good tp be in NYS!! I have truly enjoyed your blog and the pictures. Look forward to seeing you back in our neck of the woods. Hang in there.