Day 10: Syracuse, NY to Montezuma, NY

Today was a model day.  Before I started this trip, I had a general plan for what my daily routine would be.  I’d get up early and ride for about an hour, then take a 10 to 15 minute break.  I’d go another hour, and rest again.  After one more hour, a lunch break.  Then I’d simply repeat this pattern in the afternoon.  If I could manage a reasonable 10 MPH pace, this would give me the 60 miles a days I set as my target.  Today was the first day that I actually was able to stick to that schedule.  Because I spent a good part of the day on the trail (rather than on paved roads), my pace was closer to 7 MPH.  Still, I was happy I’d finally managed to get on track with my own concept of what I was supposed to be doing.

But, the problem with model days is that they’re boring to write about.  Instead, let’s jump ahead to the Hejamada Campground in Montezuma, New York.  This gem was tucked off the main roads deep in farm country.   I thought I was lost at least three different times while I worked my way over hill and dale.   (And, trust me, hills and dales are not what you want to see at the end of a long day riding.)

I arrived and checked in with Beth, one of the proprietors.  I had resigned myself to a meal of dehydrated camp food when it became obvious on my way in that there wasn’t a restaurant within miles of this place.  This made it doubly delightful when Beth informed me that not only did the snack bar open at 4:00, but that it was also an actual bar - the kind with beer and everything!

I rushed to my site - blue Slushie in one hand, bike in the other - and set up as quickly as I could due to the increasing amount of water that was starting to fall from the sky.  I then made a dash for the showers and laundry room.  The dash soon petered out, however, when I discovered that it was about a ten minute walk to get there.  This place was huge!

Among the survival items I packed for the trip were a rain jacket and a pair of rain pants.  I was thinking about mailing the pants home, but then I found a critical alternative use for them!  If I put on the rain pants and rain jacket, I could put ALL of my clothes in the laundry at once.  Sure, I’ll look like a dork when it’s not raining, but that’s a sacrifice I’m happy to make.

When I jumped into the shower, things took an unpleasant turn.  I ducked my head under the warm spray and discovered it smelled like swamp water!  Bleck.  My desperate desire to be somewhat cleaner won out over my disgust, but it was a very short shower to say the least.  On my way back to my site I eyed the nearby pond and suspected that the offensive water must’ve come straight from there.  Either that, or there was some suspicious sewage fracking going on in the area.

I then headed off to the snack bar, which was a 10 minute hike in the other direction.  Rob, the other half of the proprietorship, fixed me a yummy cheeseburger.  Beth, now the bartender rather than the office manager, served me up a Honkers ale from the tap with a perfect pour.  A couple of the residents from the RV area were there.  Good-natured banter abounded as the skies opened up outside and rat-a-tatted on the metal rood overhead.  I made my way back to my tent during a lull in the downpour after resisting Beth’s insistence that I have another round, or two, or three.   Clean and fed, I fell asleep instantly and apparently slept straight through one hell of a lightning storm.

What I Learned: Quirky, out-of-the-way places aren’t always perfect, but they’re usually more fun.

Distance Today: 40 miles
Total Distance: 416 miles