Bike Rides!!
I'll be tinkering with this page till I find the right format for what I want to do. That is to have some kind of a list of Bike Rides I organize, a list of people who will participate, and information on the ride. ill then just get hold of me through Face book and/or Email me if you would like to get together for a bike ride..
Highly Recommended
Water Bottle;
Buy and attach as many as your bike will hold. I have three, two down low in the V between the seat post and the post that runs up to the neck, and the third is under the seat on the top bar. Most important, the metal drinking bottles look cool but aint good for anything but wetting your lips. For a real drink grab a plastic bottle, one that you can squeeze to push the water out. Also remember to get one where the nipple can be covered to keep the dirt and dust off of it, otherwise your water could end up being crunchy as you ride on a dusty trail, or worse when you ride over a pile of dog poo.Eye Protection;
Not so much to protect your eyes from industrial accidents but more for keeping dust, bugs, and small stones, from irritating or damaging your eyes. Cheap Sun glasses will work, some safty glasses look cool as well.Bandana;
To keep the sweat out of your eyes. trust me on this one, it gets frusterating having to stop just to wipe your eyes with your shirt and start up again only to notice you didn't get it all the first time.-
Wrist Watch;
or other time piece setup so that you can tell the time. Tire Patch Kit, Air Pump, and Tools;
One trip in 2011 and a good 30+ miles away from home, someone else had a flat but luckily another biker had everything to fix it. The very next weekend it was my turn for the flat but luckily I had bought everything I needed that week. I not only carry a patch kit but i also carry a tool for every nut and bolt on the bike so that the tires can be patched and if nessessary other things can be adjusted/fixed right there on the spot!
Not needed but can't "hurt"
- First aid kit; I found out the soft looking plants hanging out at the edge of the trail were pricker bushes. I was only scratched but would have been nice to have a bandage to make it look less gory.
List of Known trails in the Rochester and Finger lakes area
Erie Canalways trail;
Stone dust and pavement. The further away from Rochester the less pavement. Flat and smooth with many different characteristics along the 350 miles.Ontario Pathways;
23 miles from start to finish. Starts inside the city of Canandaigua and heads South East to Stanley, then North to Phelps. I had the opportunity to try 1/2 mile in from Phelps and a couple miles in just outside of Canandaigua. This is a great trail for hiking but biking will take someone who is very fit to ride this trail. It's plenty wide with a bumpy grass bed and a single narrow rut for the bike. The rut is complete with tree roots and other obsticles to manuvour around. So unless you are heavy into bumpy trails I'd avoid this one.Genesee Riverway Trail;
This is a nice paved trail through a park like setting for the first third. Then city streets, mostly -One Way- streets, for the middle third. Then back to park like settings for the remainder. if you know your way around the city of Rochester, NY then this is a nice trail. If not then don't try it as the city street section is not marked at all making it easy to get lost.Auburn trail;
About 7 miles long. Starts at the Mertensia Road Park in Farmington, NY and heads NW to Fishers Main Street just West of Victor NY. This has the identical trail conditions as the Erie Canal trail, Flat, Smooth, and Level. There is a general downward slope from Farmington to Fishers, this slope is just steep enough to notice through the ease of peddeling up to speed but not steep enough to notice its there at all with your eyes. The only problem is there are no water stops other than at the restaurants at in the vilage of Victor and Fishers main Street.Lehigh Valley trail;
This starts just West of the village of Victor and crosses the Auburn trail then splits between a western trail and a northern trail. I want to ride these trails sometime soon!
Next Ride...
Completed the Newark to the Genesee River Erie Canalways bike path tour -In sections- during the early Summer 2011. I incidently skipped the next section to the West side of Rochester, and then did the rest out to Brockport. I absolutely love this bike path because its flat, wide, and used quite a lot by other bikers, hikers, joggers, walkers, ect... (pedestrians) but no automobikle traffic what so ever!. Eventually I'll take a weekend and do the Newark to Buffalo section but probably not till mid. or late 2012. I have also completed the Genesee Riverway trail, This is also a very nice and "paved" trail and can be completed in just a couple hours. The Auburn trail is identical to the Erie trail with less pedestrian traffic. I still have to check out the Lehigh Valley trail(s) and hope to do so before the end of this summer and there has to be other trails out there somewhere. As always, if interested in joining me riding on any section of the Erie Canalways or any other trail just send me a note!-I'm also on Facebook but you'll have to aske me to add you as a friend anyhow.