Day 2 – Medina to Pittsford, 55 miles

EDIT: Yes, some of the pics are still messed up (in fact, one here is upside down). We’ll tackle it on a shorter day.

The riding was easier today, sorta.  We’ll get to that in a minute.  We had a good night’s sleep at the Hart Hotel and a quick, but fantastic breakfast, at the coffee shop downstairs before we loaded up the bikes to get on the road.  Everyone has jobs to make this easier.  Daxton’s is to put the water bottles on the bikes.  We each have our own color so there’s no confusion.
We left the hotel and got back on the trail.  You’ll be happy to know that we made the first 6 miles in about half the time it took us to do it yesterday!  Not that the morning was free and clear of obstacles, however.  You know how you might see a road blocked with cows when traveling through, I don’t know, Wyoming?  Well the canal is kind of like that.  Except it’s geese.  The photo below is a bit blurry, but you get the idea. Later we stopped to watch one of the many bridges go up to let a boat pass.  Here’s the thing about the canal – you can’t go fast on the water.  We basically stayed just ahead of this boat for much of our ride today and had we not stopped for lunch we may have beat it to…well who knows where it was going. But before lunch we swung into this bike shop.  Terran finally weighs enough that his stock saddle was causing discomfort.  We picked up a more, uh, accommodating saddle for him and me?  I got new grips.  I love my hybrid, but the one downside is that I really only have one position for my hands.  On a long ride that starts to take its toll.  After our stop here, that problem is no more.  Great store and absolutely friendly service.  Even better it is right on the trail as the name suggests. Lunch was a leisurely foray into Brockport.  I post this picture because this is what it looks like when we stop somewhere.  Thankfully I think the folks in these towns are pretty used to this although we do get a lot of second looks at Daxton’s Wee Hoo Trailer.  Today’s fare ended up being burgers for most of us. Terran opted in for a garbage plate (thankfully no ill effects later) and we all split what may be one of my new favorite foods – a peanut butter and jelly milkshake. After that it was time to push on into Rochester.  We took two short breaks.  The first was a simple pit stop and bottle refill.  As we hit the the paved path in Rochester, Bruce and I found that after a series of rollers we needed a minute to refuel.  So we plopped down in a park (yay for shade) and hung out for a bit.  We’ve all agreed we’re not in any rush and a big part of this trip is to enjoy the journey.  That’s why the kids are all staring at their cell phones. Ok, just kidding.  They aren’t that bad.  Usually.  And as you can see, at least two of us are still smiling.  We made it to the hotel and chose to eat in as we’re all pretty spent.  Managed two loads of laundry and prepped water bottles (all 9 of them) already.  Now we’re settling down for bed because tomorrow is our longest day and potentially hardest day yet.  We’ve got a couple days after that with much lower mileage though and I think we’re all looking forward to that.