The Home Stretch

Friday June 21, 2019.                 Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY.                         81 miles
Ascent/Descent= 1,943/1,768.                                           Cumulative= 3,078 miles

Yesterday was our last rest day and I slept longer than I have on the whole trip.  It rained most of the day, but that's OK on a rest day. Kathy drove me and some of my biking buddies around to get some things we needed at a bike shop and a pharmacy.  We enjoyed the beautiful view from our hotel. I had no idea that the lakefront in Erie is as nice as it is.

Kathy left this morning,but will see us tomorrow night in Victor, which is only about 15 miles from our house.  She had brought homemade cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and molasses, three of my favorite kinds.  I tested a couple of each kind over the rest day and as expected they were delicious.  The rest went into the fan for today's SAG stop and they were a big hit with everybody, as was the strawberry short cake that Paula made.  One of my favorite SAG stops.

Today was a near perfect day.  We had a cool, but sunny start, and it was never really hot.  We expected a crosswind, but got a nice tailwind, along a truly rolling landscape, with views of Lake Erie and vineyards for much of the day.  We made a brief stop to check out an 1829 lighthouse in Barcleona, NY. Apparently this was a busy port in the early 1800's, but canals and railroads did away with much of the need for lake transport, so Barcelona is now a tiny little hamlet rather than important lake port.

We were into Hamburg in time for lunch and our rooms were ready for use by the time we finished our lunches.No flats for a second straight day of cycling. It seems like the rim tape has addressed my problem, not to say that I won't have any more flats in the remaining miles.  

All in all, a very pleasant day on the bike tour.

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