Northern Tier Day #13 Lake Erie StatePark, NY to North Kingsville, OH
Northern Tier Day #13
June 1, 2019
Lake Erie StatePark, NY to North Kingsville, OH 83 Miles
Ride Time 7:27
Tour Total 1032 Miles
I had a great night’s sleep under the trees at campsite #96 in Lake Erie State Park. Last night after I got my tent set, I sat on a picnic table until well after dark editing yesterday’s report. I could hear massive freight trains and the faint murmur of the Thruway. I talked to Charlotte from the tent and fell into a deep slumber shortly thereafter.
Rain was in the forecast so I had specifically set up my tent under large trees and put all of my rain gear and essentials in the two fly covered ‘porch’ spaces I have to either side of my tent. I left my rear panniers attached to the bike, my seat cover was on, and the bike was locked to the picnic table.
Come early morning I was in the middle of a dream, buying a friend a T-shirt from a trendy Brooklyn restaurant, and a crack of thunder woke me up. I knew I had to get packed quickly or I would be hauling a wet tent. In record time I dissembled my tent and got everything safely stored inside my waterproof panniers. The drizzle was light so I sat on the picnic table finishing yesterday’s post. When the rain got heavy I put on my rain jacket, rain pants, and shoe covers and peddled over to the bathroom building. By the time I got myself ready at the bathroom, the rain had stopped and it was time to roll.
I found myself on two-lane Route 5 with with a very nice wide shoulder. There wasn’t much traffic and the road was still wet. I was riding on a new asphalt surface and encountered my first rumble strips of the tour. They were just to the right of the white line and I had plenty of space on the shoulder. Because of the morning shower, the rumble strips were filled with water, which accentuated their repetitive pattern. Each cut-out was about 6” x 14” cylindrically dug into the asphalt and evenly spaced every 12”. Because water sits level, the reflective surfaces showed me how level the road surface was. It was interesting to see how the road pitched. I wonder how they make rumble strips, and I’d like to see the equipment that does it.
The new road surface, combined with very little traffic, gray but a cool outdoor temperature, perfect clothing calculus, and another fantastic Monica Lynch music mix made for fantastic cycling. At one point I saw a bunny running through the grass alongside the road.
It’s Saturday, June 1 and I was passed by a huge eastbound bike ride with perhaps 100 cyclists stretched for half a mile. It was an awesome critical mass on Highway 5. That’s what I’m talking about! We waved to one another and gave the thumbs up! The sweep shouted, “Enjoy the ride!”. Well, that’s easier to do when you’ve got a tail wind, are hauling nothing, and are on a downhill.
I‘ve seen firewood stands across all of upstate New York, with the exception of the Erie Canal and Buffalo. The price for a bundle has generally been $5, but here in the west I’ve seen $3 bundles. I continued to ride alongside vineyards. I later learned that this area has the largest concentration of concord grapes in the world, stretching from Buffalo, NY to Geneva, OH. A lot of the grapes go to the Welch’s corporation, and I heard there are two processing plants in this area. At one point I could see the Thruway off to the left.
The town of Barcelona sported a nice marina. I saw a police officer and I stopped to ask him if he knew anything about the big bike ride, and surprisingly he didn’t. There’s not much out here in western New York along Lake Erie. There’s the lake and there are vineyards. I talked with the Minnesota team last night. The extra rear light has arrived. Apparently it’s a scorching 91°F out there. The cycling weather is much better here along Lake Erie.
I stopped for a crossing ceremony at the Pennsylvania border, my fifth state of the tour. The pristine pavement ended at the state line. The ACA Northern Tier paper map panels for map section 9 are the thinnest I’ve ever seen. They’re an inch and a half tall by the usual 7 inches. Because they were so narrow I had four sections displayed at a time, instead of the usual two. It showed that I would be on Route 5 for at least 3 more panels. In Pennsylvania the bike route along Highway 5 was designated Bike Route Z. I battled a nasty headwind.
I forgot to fill up my water bottles this morning at the campground, which was stupid because I wanted to try to make it to the diner that Andy from the Trans Gang had told me about. I was hungry, though, and it would be another 20 miles. Instead I stopped at Freeport Restaurant, and had the Eggs Benedict with home fries and 2 orange juices. The bartender was extremely friendly and boasted that I wouldn’t have been able to get a better breakfast down the road. Afterwards, I applied sunscreen and fixed my right handlebar tape, which had been driving me crazy.
I passed an eastbound touring cyclist with a Swiss flag behind his rig. Either he didn’t see me or he didn’t want to stop. He was on a downhill with a tail wind, so I don’t blame him. I saw a sign telling me that I was on the Lake Erie Circle Tour. I think I’ll just stick to the southern shore this trip. As I entered the east side of Erie, PA I encountered more traffic and considerable more homes. They were putting in a new water main alongside the road.
In Lawrence Park I stopped at Citgo for Gatorade. Highway 5 turned into four lanes divided with a green strip in the middle. I decided to ride on the sidewalk. At one of the street crossings a pick-up truck was in my way and he backed up to let me cross. Incredible! I would never see that in Brooklyn.
Erie has a barrier cape that juts out into the lake called Presque Isle State Park. It creates a fantastic natural port. Much of the downtown port was under construction and the bike trail was difficult to follow. The marina was enormous and filled with pleasure craft. Once the construction ended, the Bayfront Bikeway was pretty awesome. On the west side of Erie the clouds were getting ominously dark. The air got cool and I could tell that a storm was imminent, I sought the perfect spot to duck from the storm. I saw a restaurant down the road and pulled in there. Unfortunately Valerios didn’t sell beer, but the mini pizza and two sodas was only $6.54. One of the customers came in and said that there were tornado warnings in the area. I left in the drizzling rain, but then it cleared up.
I passed a wedding ceremony at an old school house in Fairview. People were gathered in their formal attire with umbrellas. It was a beautiful old building. I passed the 1000 mile mark on the tour and realized it too late to take a photo. I’ve got more than 3600 miles to go, and I’m almost a quarter of the way through the tour.
I spent the rest of the day playing the rain gear game. I would put it on and then take it off. Firewood bundles in Pennsylvania were five dollars. The lake is still in view to the right and there are vineyards to either side of the road. I heard a freight train blasting it’s horn to the left. After Lake City the route cut south away from the lake. I passed farm pastures, grain silos, barns, cattle, and fields that had been plowed and recently planted.
I joined up with Highway 20 which had four-lanes. The road surface had pretty much dried but there were huge dark storm clouds to the west. Things got really dark at the Ohio state line. I quickly did the border crossing documentation ceremony and headed in search of cover. I now found myself on the General McPherson Highway headed towards the town of Conneaut. I needed to find shelter quickly.
I pulled into the White Turkey Drive-In, straight out of the 50’s, and full of people. It’s been in operation here for 65 years. I had a root beer float made with Rich Hardson Root Beer. Workers were quickly battening down the hatches and it was exciting to be there with so many others while it raged outside.
Once the rain settled, I took Route 20 to Route 7 to Ohio Highway 531 which I’ll be on for a while along Lake Erie towards Ashtabula. My goal was to make it to Ohio, and it was getting late. More rain was in the forecast.
I’m staying at the most ghetto campground so far on the tour. It was poorly marked and I got lost trying to find it. A camper towing a car also got lost down the same dead end narrow path. They had to unhitch their car to back up. My site is cold, soggy and full of mosquitoes. I feel like I’m surrounded by the cast of Trailer Park Boys, and I’m paying $22 for this shite. The noisy freight train line is nearby. A nice woman from Youngstown OH brought me over a plate of ribs, which were greatly appreciated.
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