Texas Canine Ambush   
 Ride Stats
Distance: 90.53 miles Altitude Gain: 4,023 ft Avg Speed: 14.79 mph
Route: Round the Lake Avg Grade: 0 % Max Grade: 0 %
Max HR: 148 bpm Avg HR: 123 bpm Terrain: Road: Hills
Bike: Look Blade RS 795 Iconic Ltd Road Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club
Weather Conditions: SUNNY 85 F wind @ 3mph
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 Round the Lake II
Goal of the day was a long slow ride around Seneca Lake. Weather was decent with a shifting wind promising mostly tailwinds if I got the timing right. Worst case though would be all headwinds which wouldn't be bad today as there was hardly any wind to speak of. Started out powering through the swamp to Watkins with a slight tailwind and legs felt stronger than normal. Tried to carry some speed up the SR14 out of Watkins and was able to keep it over ten for most of the climb. Had decided to add a couple of bonus climbs to my normal route and explore a new section of road I'd never been on. First bonus climb was the mile and a half up SR 14A to Reading Center. Stayed in the saddle and spun and didn't worry about climbing well. Headed down the road to Rock Stream and lost a bottle crossing the railroad tracks at speed. I had added a third bottle to a seat cage, and it popped out going over the unimproved crossing. It had a hard plastic cap that shattered on impact losing my bonus fluids. Would need to make a stop to get more water if it stayed warm. Passed straight thru Rock Stream and onto Old 14. Turned out that the road was seasonal use with a steep descent and climb on loose thick sharp stone gravel over a one lane bridge in the gully. Rode gingerly on the decent and was worried about traction on the climb but got through okay. Returned to New SR 14 for a bit before heading onto secondaries at Glenora. Wind had shifted to the west a bit earlier than I hoped but it was light enough it wasn't an issue. Continued to the ridge at Himrod where I could see the shore in Geneva twenty miles up the lake. There were no signs of the bad Canadian woodsmoke that had recently plagued the area. Descended to Dresden and continued to Geneva on the rolling SR 14. Stopped at the lakeshore in Geneva to refill one of my bottles and ended up returning a call I had while riding and ended up nearly a half hour on the phone. Missed the turn out of the state park after the fountain and ended up taking a slight tour around the area. Decided to ride the Canal Trail that would add a few miles to my original goal. Trail was difficult to find but got on after a few backtracks. It was mostly hard packed but the last few miles before the loch at Waterloo was loose cinder stone. Had hoped by taking the detour that the wind would have shifted to the north giving me a tailwind for the return trip. Got on SR 96 and rode uphill at one percent average grade to Ovid. Stopped and got some McLunch in Ovid. Wasn't really too hungry but craved some caffeine to help me cover the last twenty-five miles. The ice-cold drink was greatly appreciated. Had to climb slightly on SR414 to Lodi where a few miles of fast decent got me to Valois. There is a mile of five percent climb out of Valois and then slight upgrade to Hector before more downhill. Climb out of Valois was a bit of a struggle, but I had finally picked up a slight tailwind in Lodi. Decide to do my second bonus climb up Tug Hollow. Didn't have much leg left but climbing seemed preferable to descending to Watkins and dealing with the heavy afternoon tourist traffic. The fourteen percent grade on the final part of Tug Hill was painful but got through it using the granny gear. Had one more painful short climb up CR 9 that put me on Skyline that ended with a fast decent home. Didn't meet my goal of fifteen but probably could have done it easily without the bonus climbs and the off and seasonal road sections. Felt good for sixty miles but faltered over the last thirty. Still, it was a clear summer day ride, and it doesn't get much better for riding.

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7/17 - Round the Lake II
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Lifetime: 113,935 mi
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Member since: Dec 2009
Home: Montour Falls, NY 
Look Blade RS 795 Iconic Ltd
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Schuyler County Cycling Club

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