Todays Distance: 77 miles
Cycling time: 5 hrs 08 mins
Average Speed: 15 mph
Today’s cumulative ascent: 2038 ft
Average Heart rate: 111 bpm
Distance so far: 3,663 miles
Ascent so far: 115,519 feet.
Centuries so far: 13
Punctures so far: 10
Centuries so far: 13
Punctures so far: 10
Today’s Profile:
Today’s Route:
Dedication: Today I cycled for my niece Deirdre and Diarmaid who got married today. I would have loved to be there but they were in my thoughts as I cycled along. Best wishes to you both as you set out on your joint life journey.
I was expecting stiff climbs today but they were quite gentle. Beautiful weather and an early finish. 
PROVIDENCE [7] The cost of running Providence for a year at present (including paying the teachers) is € 9,000 ( $13,000 ) or € 190 ($ 280) per week. Relatively small sums when you consider the 200 children and the 7 teachers.
Loading at 7.30 with mixing of Gatorade and pumping of wheels. A mist hung over the Mohawk River as we took to the road and it was so pleasantly cool. Some rain had fallen during the night but no sign of any more pending. The sun was doing its best to break through the clouds and burn off the mist as we moved east along Route 5. We would be spending 50 miles on this before turning off to the right. I almost missed it. 
The Trinidad group rode together today. Two more Cary and Winston joined Sarge in Erie for the final 8-day section to Portsmouth. So the number of internationals continues to grow.
The route followed the Mohawk down stream for the day, though we were not cycling along the very edge. It was like following the Suir from Clonmel down to Carrick, a number of fields between but you knew it was there. The Mohawk even at this stage would be the same width as the Suir when it comes to Waterford. Rail, road and canal move along this east/west valley.
Untill the first SAG the weather conditions were ideal, light sun, cool and fresh. Climbs were gentle with a low gradient. Soon afterwards we came to some familiar placenames again. Hetty and Piet (NL) obviously had to stop for a snap at the welcome sign for the City of Amsterdam. In fact the ‘city’ didn’t impress anyone. Very run-down the part of it that we saw. But hetty and Piet had more to come – Rotterdam was a little more presentable and with canals and barges they surely felt at home. A pretty town was St Johnsville (not St John’s Villas) with a fine display of flowers. It is the centre of New York state and claims to have the state’s best tasting drinking water. All was quiet as I passed through around 8.30. Didn’t expect much activity at that hour on Saturday morning.
All was quiet in Longhorn Trucking Co Inc on Saturday morning with half of their trucks lined up and resting for the weekend. Salt is one of the big commodities they move in preparation for the winter snows around here. Very many houses have small trucks with snow-ploughs fitted ready for the call to clear roads and drives.
The railroad ran beside the route along the valley. At one stage a large train overtook me on the right doing around 50 mph. I was cruising along the level terrain at 18 mph and I had travelled 1 mile for it to pass me completely. So, non-cycling mathematicians can work out the length of the train.
Much of today both before and after the 2nd SAG was on a dedicated bikepath. Shortly after Rotterdam we took a left and spent 4 miles with no traffic. Not many pedestrians or other cyclists on it so we could keep up to the 15 mph allowed. Plenty of growth on either side and at times brilliant open views of the river. It looked so peaceful and only rippled by the water-skiers out for a bit if activity.
While on the bikepath in Niskayuna I passed by the entrance of the headquarters of General Electric Global Research Centre. This complex of 525 acres overlooks the Mohawk River and has a workforce of 1900 covering all scientific disciplines working on innovations and breakthroughs. They have another such facility in Bangalore, India. Their motto “what we imagine, we can make happen.”. I like it.
Today Deirdre and Diarmaid were married and I would have been there. I missed the occasion and the celebration but made contact with Deirdre to wish them all the best. During the cycle I frequently thought of them and when I spotted a wedding party posing for photos in a park by the river I had to stop and savour some of the feeling. I’ll catch up on all the news of the day when I get home.
Students of Providence, you recognise these? The produce of Providence vocational skills is very much part of my luggage. Bags from the rexine and tailoring sections of Providence contain necessary elements of my kit. One for toiletries, one for medical, one for phone accessories and Garmin bits and one for all the camera cables and rechargers. They all remind me of the students in Providence as I go about my daily chores.
PROVIDENCE [7] The cost of running Providence for a year at present (including paying the teachers) is € 9,000 ( $13,000 ) or € 190 ($ 280) per week. Relatively small sums when you consider the 200 children and the 7 teachers.
Loading at 7.30 with mixing of Gatorade and pumping of wheels. A mist hung over the Mohawk River as we took to the road and it was so pleasantly cool. Some rain had fallen during the night but no sign of any more pending. The sun was doing its best to break through the clouds and burn off the mist as we moved east along Route 5. We would be spending 50 miles on this before turning off to the right. I almost missed it. The Trinidad group rode together today. Two more Cary and Winston joined Sarge in Erie for the final 8-day section to Portsmouth. So the number of internationals continues to grow.
The route followed the Mohawk down stream for the day, though we were not cycling along the very edge. It was like following the Suir from Clonmel down to Carrick, a number of fields between but you knew it was there. The Mohawk even at this stage would be the same width as the Suir when it comes to Waterford. Rail, road and canal move along this east/west valley.
Untill the first SAG the weather conditions were ideal, light sun, cool and fresh. Climbs were gentle with a low gradient. Soon afterwards we came to some familiar placenames again. Hetty and Piet (NL) obviously had to stop for a snap at the welcome sign for the City of Amsterdam. In fact the ‘city’ didn’t impress anyone. Very run-down the part of it that we saw. But hetty and Piet had more to come – Rotterdam was a little more presentable and with canals and barges they surely felt at home. A pretty town was St Johnsville (not St John’s Villas) with a fine display of flowers. It is the centre of New York state and claims to have the state’s best tasting drinking water. All was quiet as I passed through around 8.30. Didn’t expect much activity at that hour on Saturday morning.All was quiet in Longhorn Trucking Co Inc on Saturday morning with half of their trucks lined up and resting for the weekend. Salt is one of the big commodities they move in preparation for the winter snows around here. Very many houses have small trucks with snow-ploughs fitted ready for the call to clear roads and drives.The railroad ran beside the route along the valley. At one stage a large train overtook me on the right doing around 50 mph. I was cruising along the level terrain at 18 mph and I had travelled 1 mile for it to pass me completely. So, non-cycling mathematicians can work out the length of the train. Much of today both before and after the 2nd SAG was on a dedicated bikepath. Shortly after Rotterdam we took a left and spent 4 miles with no traffic. Not many pedestrians or other cyclists on it so we could keep up to the 15 mph allowed. Plenty of growth on either side and at times brilliant open views of the river. It looked so peaceful and only rippled by the water-skiers out for a bit if activity.While on the bikepath in Niskayuna I passed by the entrance of the headquarters of General Electric Global Research Centre. This complex of 525 acres overlooks the Mohawk River and has a workforce of 1900 covering all scientific disciplines working on innovations and breakthroughs. They have another such facility in Bangalore, India. Their motto “what we imagine, we can make happen.”. I like it.Today Deirdre and Diarmaid were married and I would have been there. I missed the occasion and the celebration but made contact with Deirdre to wish them all the best. During the cycle I frequently thought of them and when I spotted a wedding party posing for photos in a park by the river I had to stop and savour some of the feeling. I’ll catch up on all the news of the day when I get home.Students of Providence, you recognise these? The produce of Providence vocational skills is very much part of my luggage. Bags from the rexine and tailoring sections of Providence contain necessary elements of my kit. One for toiletries, one for medical, one for phone accessories and Garmin bits and one for all the camera cables and rechargers. They all remind me of the students in Providence as I go about my daily chores.This evening after dinner I had welcome visitors in the Holiday Inn, Mary and Steve Muller. Mary’s folks hail from the Clonmel area and they live here in Troy. It was so nice to meet and have the chat.
The back wheel is problematic again. Had it worked on by Gerard last Tuesday and it seemed OK. But the wobble is back and seems to indicate that something has broken down inside. He reckons that it is unsafe to continue with and has given a loan of a rear wheel from the van until Portsmouth. Solution is to have the hub rebuilt or a new wheel. Tomorrow I’ll order a new one from Portsmouth and have it ready for the last two days.
So I arrived at the Motel in Latham at 1pm and rang Deirdre at Waterford Castle just in time before the wedding dinner commenced.
A great day’s cycle – I reckon it was my strongest and most consistent so far and I felt great when arriving here. I believe we have a few demanding days ahead as regards climbing. We’ll take that when it comes. No need to be in a rush. Good night’s sleep first.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.
The back wheel is problematic again. Had it worked on by Gerard last Tuesday and it seemed OK. But the wobble is back and seems to indicate that something has broken down inside. He reckons that it is unsafe to continue with and has given a loan of a rear wheel from the van until Portsmouth. Solution is to have the hub rebuilt or a new wheel. Tomorrow I’ll order a new one from Portsmouth and have it ready for the last two days. So I arrived at the Motel in Latham at 1pm and rang Deirdre at Waterford Castle just in time before the wedding dinner commenced.A great day’s cycle – I reckon it was my strongest and most consistent so far and I felt great when arriving here. I believe we have a few demanding days ahead as regards climbing. We’ll take that when it comes. No need to be in a rush. Good night’s sleep first.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.
The big event in Syracuse over the weekend is the National Car Show in the New York State Fairgrounds and classic cars had been arriving all yesterday evening and cruising along 7th North just by the motel. Some owners stayed in Super 8 and their machines looked beautiful as we loaded this morning. Over 6,000 of them and more than 80,000 people are expected at the event.
In general today our route followed the course of the Erie Canal and downthe Mohawk River valley. Parts of the original Erie canal remain with the tow-path on the right-hand side. At one point a river passed under the course of the canal and the tow-path at right angles.
In 1918 the Barge Canal was an improved version of the Erie to accommodate larger barges with the competition from the railroads. Freight traffic on the canal reached a total of 5.2 million tons by 1951, before declining in the face of combined rail and truck competition. The vanquished Erie still runs quietly under it’s victor the Interstate.
A lot of today’s cycle was through residential areas though not heavily built-up. Quite clearly people were arriving at holiday homes for the weekend. Farms were of the small variety and producing for the local market 
So many houses fly the Stars and Stripes on the porch or on a flag-pole in the garden. (Also in cemeteries the national flag seems to be the only element of colour on every grave.) We tend to fly county flags near the house in the same manner especially during the championship season
There was very heavy traffic as we came towards Little Falls but it didn’t pose any threat once the cyclist abided by the normal traffic rules. Little Falls(pop 1500) is named after a local waterfall whereas Great Falls is further east where the Mohawk enters the Hudson River. There is a strong Irish element in surrounding area and a 3-day irish festival kicks off here next Friday. Irish entertainers (although I don’t regognise any on the list) and possibly Irish weather. Their publicity states that it will go ahead ‘rain or shine’. Tickets are $8 but if you attend the Irish Mass on Sunday you get in free.
I arrived at the Motel at 1 pm. it is a new member of the Knights Inn group but the original name is still up – Casey’s. The early arrival gives me a chance to catch up on things without burning the night oil. Plenty of sleep required now to ensure concentration over the last days.
At loading this morning our attention was attracted to some old autos parked in front of the hotel. A 1924 Model T Ford in perfect working order was being oiled and greased by its owner in preparation for his onward journey towards the Lakes. He has been driving this one for the last 20 years.
The early miles passed by in pleasant weather with no indication that it would change. Just some fluffy clouds as we kept cycling eastwards on Route 20. I gradually loosened out and warmed up to optimum performance around the 10 mile mark.
Another familiar name loomed ahead… Geneva. Geneva is at the northern end of Lake Seneca, one of the Finger Lakes. At this hour (8.30) there was little activity about except for a few ducks. At night a drum-like beating can be heard across the waters of Lake Seneca (the longest at 36 miles long). Science explains this as the escaping of natural gas deposits from beneath Seneca’s deep waters.
Since we have come into New York state I have noticed a large number of golf courses along the route. Scarcely any in the previous states of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
After the SAG stop thunder was to be heard behind us but it didn’t develop into anything that threatened. Rain did start to fall around mile 42 as we came into the town of Camillus. It wasn’t heavy but when cycling along it felt heavier than it was in actual fact. To soften the blow also, the rain was of the warm variety, not the cold harsh wintry type. Raingear was on for about 13 miles till it eased off. Passed by a gravel truck that had just gone off the road )on the other side) possibly as a result of the greasy surface. Road was blocked off to traffic but they let us through rather than heading off on the detour.
Last night a new tube went into the front wheel but a piece of radial wire shortened its life and it went down in a shot as I cornered into Devoe Road at mile 56. It didn’t take long to replace (Practice makes perfect). That brings my flat total now into double figures. The front tyre still has some thread on it, unlike the rear one I discarded this morning.
At one stage today we crossed over an original part of the Erie Canal. This original canal was commenced in 1815 and stretched 363 miles from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. This meant there was a continuous navigable waterway from New Yory up the Hudson to the Great Lakes and beyond. It was 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep and contributed in making New York a major port and to the development of Buffalo on Lake Erie and the northern part of New York state. In 1918 it was replaced by the New York State Barge Canal and parts of the original were filled in to develop roads. Many Irish workers were involved in the construction of the original and settled in Syracuse, half way along the canal.
Once in Syracuse, I followed my own directions to visit a spot of local interest … Tipperary Hill. Again the Irish populated this area particularly those from County Tipperary. Among the flags is the Blue and Gold but the area also has a unique piece of street furniture that is known far and wide…the Green on Top Traffic Signal.
When the city first started to install traffic signal lights in the 1920s they put one at a major intersection on Tipperary Hill, on the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Some Irish youths, incensed that anyone would dare to put the "British" red above the "Irish" green, broke the light mainly by throwing stones. The city replaced it but the Irish broke the replacement. After a few rounds of this the city decided that if they wanted a light at that intersection, they had better put the signal up with the green on top and remains that way to this day.
At the intersection stands a memorial park with a bronze sculpture of the Stonethrowers, a family group with the Dad pointing out the light to his children and explaining the significance. 
The various donors to the memorial have their names inscribed on the bricks of the pavement. Bertie Ahern paid a visit here two years ago with local Congressman Jim Walsh. Another piece of Tipperary along the route.
Just down the road from the lights is Coleman’s Irish pub with the owner (not there today) having roots in the Drombane area.
It was opened as a local workman’s pub in 1933 and has a special door for leprecauns so they can come and go as they like. They also keep a low table set for them in the upstairs parlor. Outside there are two phone boxes – a normal one and a tiny one for the fairy folk.
Across the road is the Cashel House that specialises in imported Irish goods –Waterford Glass, Beleek China etc. it was all an unexpected touch of home at the end of a day’s cycle.
I finally arrived at the Motel at 3 pm although I had passed the door to set out on my Tipperary quest two hours earlier.
