Day 39: Corning to Cazenovia NY

My enjoyment of 100+ mile rides in the rain came to an end today.  A combination of persistant light rain, stong northerly winds and cool temperatures made for a very unpleasant day of riding.  I did ok until about 20 miles to go and then started feeling mentally and physically fatigued - more so than any other ride on the entire trip.  To make matters worse, we had a tough climb just before reaching our destination in Cazenovia.  However, I did get it done and kept my "ride-every'mile" goal intact.

Our ride took us directly through Ithaca, home of Cornell University.  We didn't pass by the campus, but did see enough of this very hilly city to give it a big thumbs up for beauty.  It's definitely a city that I would like to come back to visit - hopefully on a warm, sunny day.

I stayed relatively dry today, but still looked like a drowned rat when I finished.  Here are several photos of me yesterday just after I got off the bike.  I looked pretty much the same today, but with somewhat different rain attire.

Here's the front view

Here's the back view:

Cazenovia is a small, affluent town of about 7,000 people located about 40 miles south of Syracuse. We are staying tonight at the Brewster Inn located on Lake Cazenovia.  It's a lovely old inn in a nice setting overlooking the lake.  Unfortunately the weather is so crappy that we can't really enjoy the setting.  They did serve us an excellent dinner in a lovely private room - one of the best meals of the trip.

Tomorrow we have our 5th consecutive 100+ mile day since our rest day in Cleveland as we pedal our way to Spectulator NY.  The very good news is that it is forecast to be dry with early AM temperatures around 40 degrees raising to the mid-50's by afternoon - perfect cycling conditions.  This will be our 19th and final century ride of the trip - and could be the last one I ever do.  Hopefully the combination of it potentially being my last century ride and the dry weather will re-engergize me from my very worn-out condition this evening.

Steve