The Dog Days of Summer?

An early morning departure by my host meant an early morning departure for me too. With Ashley having to leave for work by 8:30, that was when my riding began. Actually, my day began a bit later than that as I was still loading up my bike when Ashley headed off for work. Of course, it was about five minutes AFTER she left that I realized I forgot to fill up my water bottles. Fortunately, I still had some water with me. Besides, it’s not like I drink it.

The goal for today was to get to Syracuse. I have driven through (or at least passed) Syracuse many times on various drives to Philadelphia. Obviously, this would be my first time being there on my bike.

One reason I wasn’t too concerned about my limited water supply on the day was (no, not because I don’t drink it even when I DO have it) because today’s ride was a more than manageable 70 km. Why I didn’t do these short distances at the BEGINNING of this tour is beyond me. That said, I’ll have some long days coming up. Well, I figure I will … I still don’t know what my actual route is going to be. Details, details, details.

My first stop of the day was for breakfast. As per usual, that first stop didn’t happen until I had put some kilometres behind me. 27 km, to be exact. The stop was at a park with a pavilion in Port Byron. I hadn’t planned on going that far before stopping but it was a very easy ride so I just kept going.

Flashback: On day one of my ride, I purchased some peanut butter and jam when I made my first food stop in Hagersville. Of course, I was too tired to actually eat any of said peanut butter and jam at that time and it had been sitting unused in my front pannier since then. That changed today. Today’s breakfast was peanut butter and jam wraps. Not the most extravagant breakfast of this trip but certainly serviceable.

In addition to the pavilion and picnic tables, the park at which I had breakfast also had some swings. I decided to test them. They worked. In all honesty, it wasn’t because I wanted to try the swings but I figured it might make for a decent photo for today’s update – in the event that today was otherwise devoid of any great photo opportunities.

In general, today’s ride made for a VERY leisurely day … the winds really picked up later in the day but they were coming from a generally favourable direction (translation: tailwind). There were a couple of navigational challenges when the “trail” became very un-trail-like. Fortunately, I was able to find a convenient on-road detour that didn’t really take me off the beaten path … which, coincidentally, is exactly what the “trail” became sometimes!

I made several stops along the way today … not for any particular reason other than the fact that I was aiming to arrive at my hosts’ home shortly after 4:00. Given today’s short distance (and tailwind), a few stops worked out well. Did I mention it was a VERY leisurely day. And, I won’t lie, I’m kind of enjoying the leisurely day concept!

As planned, I arrived at my hosts’ home shortly after 4:00 where I met Charlie and Barb – as well as Reilly (the beagle) and Cody and Emmit (the pugs). They were all very friendly and very welcoming. Side note: it would seem pugs are not entirely quiet sleepers. It’s pretty amusing listening to them snore themselves silly. Although, maybe not if you’re trying to sleep or if you’re not a dog person. At the moment, it’s very amusing. (I’m currently sitting on the couch with a beagle on one side and a pug on the other).

The rest of the day was fun and spent relaxing and conversing with Charlie and Barb (with some attention given to my dog hosts as well). We enjoyed a great pizza dinner … although, apparently not the BEST pizza. However, the “best” pizza was not available as it was Sunday. With nothing to compare it to, I thought today’s pizza was excellent. As was the strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert. VERY excellent.

So, in summary … today was an easy and relaxing ride in very hot weather, and I also got to hang out with five dogs over the course of the day. If those aren’t the dog days of summer then I don’t know what are.

Today’s totals:
Distance traveled: 73.01 km
Ride time: 3:21:41
Average speed: 21.72 km/h
Maximum speed: 53.19 km/h