99 More Hills to Climb

What? That isn’t the pattern for that song? It should be counting down, not up? Yeah….I don’t think so. I suppose you also think that what goes up must come down, too. Hrrmph….I can attest that sometimes what goes up just goes up some more and some more….and then the down? Scary fast but never fast enough to get up the next hill.

Today’s route started in the Finger Lakes and ended on the Eire Canal. In between there were many, many hills. Our cue sheet called out 28 hills. Why 28? Beats me. Not that the hills had names…just numbers. And, there were hills before the hills that didn’t get a number that felt just as big…and some of the numbered hills were really just extensions of another hill. So, what was up? Well, besides the road, of course…just a way to track, I guess.

We had hoped it would be a pretty day of riding, but, alas, not so much until the very end when we were, of course, vanned. The joy of riding hills comes from the views at the top. It is, after all, our reward. But we were in rolling hills and so once up, we came back down and since the road was busy, you had no time to really enjoy a view. Sigh. And, then by the second rest stop we were way off pace. We got up the hills just fine, but….slowly…too slow. Tomorrow will be better.

Details. 49 miles, 3655 feet of climb

Reading List The Shark’s Paintbrush Jay Harman. Biomimicry for innovation. Interesting, but too much business and not enough biomimicry for our taste.