9.6 Mile Ride + 1.6 Mile Walk Along the Genesee Riverway Trail & the Rochester Running Track
Monday, July 16, 2012
Let me get the following off my chest right at the start -
DO NOT BUY THE SCHWINN FRAME PUMP SHOWN BELOW - IT IS A WORTHLESS PIECE OF GARBAGE THAT WILL LEAVE YOU PUSHING YOUR BIKE INSTEAD OF RIDING IT!
One of the more enjoyable parts of my day was smashing one of these suckers into a bunch of pieces with a sledgehammer... of course, now I have to look for a pump that will actually work to keep on the Dawes. Fortunately, my next two du's are both off-road events.
Ann and I decided to ride a loop starting at Ontario Beach Park, down the west side of the Genesee River gorge on the Genesee Riverway Trail, and then back up the east side, mainly along the Rochester Running Track. I had heard that a section of the latter had recently been paved and thought it might be the part parallel to Seneca Park that we had ridden a couple of times before. (It's not, by the way... had I actually done my research beforehand, I would have known that the recently opened El Camino trail runs from the entrance of Seneca Park back toward the city, not out toward the lake. Oh, well. Live and learn.)
The first part of the ride, down the Genesee Riverway Trail to the boardwalk over Turning Point Basin and up into Turning Point Park, always brings back fun memories of the two Harborfest 10k's that I ran, where I was first introduced to the then relatively new boardwalk. Sadly, both Harborfest and the 10k associated with it were discontinued this year - another casualty of the poor economy.
Ann and I took our time covering the boardwalk, watching the many turtles sunning themselves, wood ducks and ducklings swimming, and two wading herons. No swans in sight. From there we climbed the gradual hill past the dock for the cement boats, and paused briefly at the intersection with Lake Ave to decide whether to continue or head back - the heat and humidity were pretty brutal, and the next stretch, along the Lake Ave sidewalk, offers no shade at all.
In the end we decided to keep going and followed the sidewalk to the ramp down to the Pure Waters bridge across the river. As always, there were great views along the river in both directions, but there was also a pretty strong odor from the nearby wastewater plant, not to mention the tough climb back up to the rim of the gorge and Seneca Park.
Unfortunately, when we reached the entrance to the rail bed, we found it unimproved - dirt, grass, and stone. We briefly considered turning back, but that would have meant a lot of riding uphill in the heat and sun... so despite the fact that I was on my very narrow tired, unsuspended Dawes, we decided to push on.
Other than the rockiest sections, it really wasn't too bad... until after about 2 1/2 miles, when my front tube gave up and went flat. Changing the tube was no problem, until I tried using the Schwinn pump I was carrying to inflate it - the moment it gained any pressure, it pushed back out through the pump and went flat again. Eventually I gave up, threw the pump a ways away (which was dumb, because then I had to go retrieve it) and set out pushing the bike the remaining mile and a half to the road. Along the way we saw a pair of young deer (still decked out in spots) and had some nice views of the river - even saw the swans and their three youngsters.
Once we reached the road, Ann found a shady spot to wait with my bike and I rode hers back to the car - it was only a little over a mile, so it didn't take long - then drove back to pick her up. Other than the frustration caused by the junk pump, it was a fairly enjoyable ride, despite the heat and humidity.
JMH
