I had a bitch of a time getting to Warsaw. The terrain, previously quite flat, became disgustingly hilly, and I hadn’t even hit Varysburg when I got my first flat. With the help of a random driver-by, I patched the hole and was in the middle of pumping the tube back up when the valve broke. So, off with the tire again, in with my spare tube – and that one went flat only a few kilometres later. The problem was clearly with the tire, but now I had no more inner tubes (in retrospect I could have changed the tire and then patched the second inner tube, but I wasn’t thinking very rationally at this point). In desperation I walked my bike onward up a steep hill, trying to flag down a ride from motorists, but no one stopped.
Finally, at the top of the hill, I encountered a restaurant called August 25, where I met some fabulously nice people. One guy – I believe his name was Danny – was renovating a campground just down the hill, and offered me one of the cabins for the night. The cabin was filled with assorted junk, including two beds, complete with mattresses; I slept on those in my sleeping bag.
In the morning, a retired microbiologist named Bob drove me to a bike shop in the nearest town where I picked up a new tire and tube, plus two extra tubes just in case. After grabbing a bite to eat, I continued on – and immediately hit a series of grueling hills. The worst by far was the one just past Warsaw that I had to climb to get to the motel. I’m not ashamed to say I walked my bike all the way up. And, at the top, I found I had another flat, this time on the front wheel. This time, at least, I was able to find and remove the tiny stone that had caused the problem, then patch the tube with no problems.
Today, thankfully, things are going better. Despite a strong headwind, the kilometres just flew by all the way to Geneseo, and I hope to reach Geneva or at least Canandaigua before nightfall. I met a fellow bike tourist who warned me the terrain will be pretty hilly as I go south through the Finger Lakes, but I have some dead weight I may be able to jettison (notably the portable stand, which is heavy, requires a socket wrench I don’t have, didn’t come with enough washers, and didn’t even
help much when I used it).
louise said,
May 9, 2008 at 3:31 pm
WOW! My heart goes out to you, although I knew you were not undertaking an easy trip. I’m just glad to hear you’re O.K. and I enjoyed the update.
Love,
your mom.
Lupa said,
May 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Thank goodness for kind people! Glad you’re alright, and here’s to a safe continued journey!
Mike said,
May 9, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Hurray for flats!
I imagine by now your legs are either feeling pretty damn strong or incredibly weak. Possibly both simultaneously. Just think, when you get back, Toronto’s poor excuses for hills will seem like a joke.
Keep on rolling…
veronica said,
May 9, 2008 at 5:44 pm
PAUL YOU ARE DOING IT.
Alexis said,
May 9, 2008 at 8:34 pm
I love retired microbiologists named Bob. I hope you got his number.
(Also, I’m very proud of you.)
Love,
Your sister
mo said,
May 10, 2008 at 8:14 am
so awesome, paul! sounds like a crazy adventure so far. my whole body hurts and i’ve only been trekking around hong kong for 3 days (which is beautiful, btw).
i hope you’re getting some amazing travel pics. i brought my hula hoop to asia and plan to get shots hooping in every country i touch down in. yesterday it was play time in the south china sea.
meowmeow!
Morgan Page said,
May 10, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Koko says “I peed on the flooooooor! Yay!”
~Morgan
Nicholas Field said,
May 10, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Wow, that sounds pretty much horrible (except of course for the bit about help from random strangers). Even if the Finger Lakes region is hilly, I hope that it will be refreshing (or beautiful). Amazingly enough, even Mississauga looks good today, in this spring weather. Some of the waterfalls in the area (http://www.citrusmilo.com/fingerlakes/iloveny1.cfm) look serene. Best wishes with the tires.
-Nick
Cesar said,
May 10, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Paul! Thanks for the update! Sucks about the flats and good luck with that terrain ahead of you.
-Czr
Stephy said,
May 11, 2008 at 1:35 am
I was all tired after a two hour bike ride with Aaron today.
My excuses are that Aaron bikes too fast for me and I probably have hypotyroidism (I get the results from that blood test in a few days. Then hopefully pills and no more annoying symptoms.)
Super proud of you!
mikeB said,
May 11, 2008 at 2:15 am
noice.
mom said,
May 12, 2008 at 11:06 am
Hi Paul,
Today is Monday, May 12th, day before your birthday. Just want to wish you HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow – I don’t know when you’ll have access to online. (Also, whoever doesn’t know when your birthday is, can feel free to send their wishes as well).
Hope terrain’s a bit easier by now, and things are going very smoothly.
So, once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
We all love you & miss you!
Love,
your Mom
mom said,
May 12, 2008 at 3:11 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Granny & Grandpa also!
And Daniel!
Cesar said,
May 13, 2008 at 7:10 am
Feliz cumpleano, Paul!
where’s the N with the unlaut in linux?
Morgan Page said,
May 13, 2008 at 11:31 am
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
~Morgan
Alexis said,
May 13, 2008 at 11:41 am
BIRTHDAY!!
If you were here I’d take you out for sushi again.
Jessica said,
May 13, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Happy Birthday!!!
Dan said,
May 13, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Happy birthday Paul! You’re really not backing down. Mom was all like “lawl there’s no way he could go through with this, he’s so naive” but I had faith. I HAD FAITH.
mikeB said,
May 14, 2008 at 1:40 am
happy mothersd ay
Kris said,
May 18, 2008 at 3:17 pm
About my interpretation of that Enochain working mack in March:
You only brought one spare tube?!?!?!? WTF?!?!? I thought you said that you were prepared for flats. I have 7 spare tubes (one in the saddle bag, and half a dozen with the emergency repair supplies), >20 patches (all in the saddlebag), and a spare TIRE. This all with my “flatproof” tires, and I’m still concerned that I’m inadequatley prepared for some serious tire damage.
P.S. (late) Happy Birthday.
P.P.S. I refuse to believe that any of your “hills” so far are truly gruelling