Days 24 to 26: Outskirts of Buffalo, NY to Cleveland, OH

Note: Dan is providing a brief update for Liz

From Saturday, July 8 through Monday, Elizabeth’s route took her alongside the shores of Lake Erie. On Friday she completed her first full route day – 54 miles – and her knee did ok. Saturday the route was 80 miles with some hills. Elizabeth wisely opted to get shuttled 20 miles up and reduce her distance to 60 miles. About half way through the route she crossed from NY to PA.

Just after crossing into Pennsylvania, Elizabeth came across the Mazza Winery. What a great place to stop for a rest, bathroom, snack – and of course a chance to talk to locals and learn about the winery.

A few notes about Elizabeth’s bike setup. From the picture above you can see she opted for a “trunk” bag that sits on top of the rack instead of the bigger panniers that mount on the sides. Given the mission this bag is big enough to carry lunch, any clothing, etc. She added a bike stand during the ride (you can see a rod from the seat to the ground). A few other items – the required Adventure Cycling safety triangle on the rear, that snazzy handlebar wrap, and you can see her bike computer providing directions mounted up front.

The campground Saturday night was tight and these brothers occupied the tiny cabin only 20 feet from Elizabeth’s tent. She instigated a conversation and they were very interested to learn about her ride. They shared local sausages and other items with Elizabeth that they had brought from home.

Sunday’s route continued along the lake — 58 miles and relatively flat. Elizabeth rode the whole route without issues. I had to include the photo below taken at Sunday’s campground. All the riders have a lot of electronics – bike computers, lights, cell phones, notebooks, and large usb batteries. In many of the campgrounds access to power outlets is limited. Here you can see a tangle of power strips plugged into power strips with chargers all over the ground as the riders charge up overnight for another day.

Monday the relatively short 43 mile ride took Elizabeth to the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio. The route took the riders very close to John’s home where John’s wife was waiting with food for the group. John had insisted on a group photo before rolling out of Old Forge, NY — and now everyone knew why. John pulled the top off of the cake to see it decorated with the group photo!

No opportunity is wasted — John’s washing machine got a workout! Everyone had something that needed to be washed and hung out to dry. A few riders also had Amazon shipments waiting at his house.

Elizabeth had a good set of riding days but she continues to be extremely cautious. She’s icing her knee every day and continuing to use NSAIDs as recommended by her orthopedic to keep inflammation and swelling at bay. It seems that her spirits are rising as she is riding stronger without knee issues!