Day 47: Little Falls to Troy,
New York
August 6, 2004
Miles: 86
A cold front visiting us from Canada drove the temperatures down
today. It was about 50 when we rolled out 7 or so this morning
after weighing in for Bill G's "freightliner" contest and I don't think
it ever got over the low 60's. The contest has
divisions for both the heaviest and lightest folks. I'm not sure
how the lightweight calculation goes but for us heavyweights weight
(rider
plus bike) is multiplied by miles ridden.
Robert would be the champ--he's the heaviest "package" but for the 200
miles he hasn't ridden. Rory is probably the winner as he
outweighs me and his bike is a heavy touring bike. Results will
be announced at our banquet in Manchester.
Andrew and I started out with Judith, who was going to ride with
Patricia once we caught up to her. Early on, after passing
through some glass and then seeing Josh fixing a flat, we decided to
check our own tires (I'm still officially flat free, though there is
some controversy about where "motel flats" fit in). Andrew didn't
have a flat but did find his tube popping out through a cut in his
sidewall, a blowout waiting to happen. We booted (put a plastic
film patch on the inside of the tire to prevent the tube from sticking
out) the tire and rode on. In the small town of Fonda, Andrew was
eating a Cliff Bar when we came up to a red light. He didn't
quite get to his brakes in time and rear-ended a pickup truck.
Neither the truck or Andrew's bike was damaged. Andrew did get a
few scrapes but he was able to hold on to the Cliff Bar as he
fell. My contribution was not laughing.
Most of the last 30 miles on a bike path along the Mohawk River.
The surface was generally good, but rough in a few spots.
The river uses a series of dams and
locks to allow boats to navigate upriver The dams create "steps"
in the river's level and are raised in the winter to avoid freeze
damage.
Here is a panoramic view of the river from a hill near our second SAG
stop:
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