We had breakfast at the Minolta Tower. The view of the falls takes your breath away. The air was clear with a slight over cast in the sky. The water looked so powerful. The city looked clean, as it had rained on Sunday. The food was good and they had historic pictures on the walls.

We then rode along the Niagara River. The homes on the US side were great examples of early American mansions. They all had river views and many had servant areas. The yards were perfect. One of the places had 192 acres plus mansion. It was for sale if you are interested.

We then road along the shore of Lake Ontario. The houses were not quite as grand, but all had large lots. Our lunch stop was on the lake. The staff had said that we would not have meat for lunch, as they could not get it through customs. They got it through and lunch was as good as ever. I had my usual crunchy tortilla role up with cheese. It is made by putting peanut butter on a tortilla. Add slices of cheese. Add some type of jelly. Add loose peanuts. It is great to send you off on your ride after fruit and salad.

Going through customs was fun. He never even checked our ID's. He did jokingly ask us to open the trunk. He laughed and waved us on with a have a safe trip.

There is a lot of straw in this area in the large roles still in the fields. We crossed over the Erie Canal and then rode beside it into Albion.

The town of Albion has been very rich at one time. It has some grand old buildings in the downtown with very few shops. Some of the buildings are being restored. The school for tonight is nice. There are some nice homes in the area. The cars here are high end US cars.

From now to the end of the trip, everyone is expecting rain. It rained ahead of us and on our day off. Each night is a wild guess as to what the weather will be.

The number of riders has increased by 20. This increases the bunching of riders. The coast-to-coast riders try to get out in front or behind the bunches.

Wildlife today consisted of squirrels. As we get more into the country, I hope to see more NY wildlife. The birds today were even minimal.

History was under our tires today when we rode on a bike path which had been part of the horse path for the cannel. You could almost see the horses pulling the barges up and down the cannel. The cannel was opened in 1825. It had a major impact on the expansion of the mid west. We saw several pleasure barges going up and down the cannel - very nice 30-foot boats. A TV crew filmed us coming off the bike path into lunch.

The bike path then became asphalt. It had been cinder and very nice. The asphalt was in poor condition in many sections. It had glass and gravel on it. Tree roots made for large bumps. To keep cars off the path they had installed low gates and painted them a brown color to blend in. This also meant that on a dull day they were hard to see while riding and avoiding the surface hazards. The ride will not go on this path next year, as it was one of the most dangerous rides we have had.

After lunch we went though a series of old historic towns dating back to 1810 or older. They were doing well. The countryside is green and lush with many small rivers and lakes.

The last few days many riders have fallen. There is lots of gravel on the turns. A few cuts with stitches have been sustained. We look like the walking wounded. Flats have increased as the light rains expose the glass.

We are now getting rainstorms. I got into our camp at the high school just before it started to rain. It rained most of the night.

The road went past several harbors that look like they came out of a picture book. I took a few pictures. There are some nice homes and some with their yards full of old cars and other things that are no longer used.

It was about 80 deg. today. The humidity is about 85%. It poured down rain last night. Everything we own is wet. It is not raining now, but it might tonight.

The raccoons now have white again. They do not have as much color contrast as the ones in the west. No one has reported seeing any deer for the past couple of days. We have been chased by a number of dogs - all sizes and all speeds.

We are now on the edge of the Adirondacks. We are staying at the Fulton JR. High. It is a nice facility. There have been no wall paintings in the last 2 schools.

Tonight we are eating at a local restaurant, Golden Coral. Breakfast will be 20 miles down the road. We will have a snack and then ride 20 miles to the restaurant. That means we will have to be riding by 6 AM. It takes most of us about 1 hour to get ready as we must take down the tent and pack as well as getting ourselves ready.

I was just looking in the lost and found and you would not believe what is there - a tent, back pack, a tent fly, glasses (dark and reading), water bottles and many items of clothing.

There are now more ups and downs in the ride. As I have been over the road we will ride tomorrow, I know we are in for some climbing. And THEN we hit the Adirondacks

There are frogs and turtles in all the little ponds. Deer, rabbits and squirrels have been running across the road all day today. We passed through a bird sanctuary without seeing a single bird.

We saw lots of for sale signs along today’s route. They were even in the high rent district along the shore of the lake. There are millions of acres of land that have reverted to the wild after the farming here stopped. There are hundreds of deserted farms. The buildings are in varying states of falling down. Some of the homes and barns had been very nice and very large. Many of the inhabited homes had cars or boats for sale on the front lawn. There were also boats and trucks with trees growing out of them. There were several hundred of these strange planters.

This area was a main area for the war of 1812. The towns of Henderson, Sackets Harbor and Dexter were featured in the war. To listen to the locals, this is the area where the war was won.

A lot of lumber was taken from here. All that is here now is secondary growth. It is only good for pulp.

We had breakfast in the town of Mexico. We ate at the EIS HOUSE. It was outstanding. If you are in the general area it would be worth going out of your way to eat there. We had lunch on the lake in Sacket's Harbor. It was at the site of the battle. What a view! We then went past the 1812 barracks. They have been made into condominiums.

All in all it was a very nice ride today.

There have been deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, birds and porcupines. I know that there are turtles and frogs, but no one has seen them today.

This area is much more populated than the area we went through yesterday. There is industry here, but still land that is not being used. The vacant houses have been replaced by vacant factories. All had signs posted by the EPA on the outside. Many businesses have come and gone. The area looks like it is populated by workers. There are historical buildings mixed in with newer residences. The area is full of small lakes. They are excellent for fishing and boating. Many of the shops cater to fishing and hunting. There are many small rivers that are very picturesque.

We are truly in the Adirondacks now. The area was dedicated in the 1890's. So far the hills have not been long or steep, but there are a lot of them. None have been over a mile.

The Star Lake campus is some type of retreat. It has rules on dress and conduct on the campus. (It is my belief that Star Lake Campus is owned by the State University of New York, but I could be real wrong about that. They have a large university near by at Potsdam. Leona)

Today I ran over a piece of bailing wire about 1 foot long. It snapped up into the chain and then the rear derailer. It stopped the bike and bent the frame. This happened about 1.5 miles before the end of the ride. The mechanic thinks he can fix it, as the frame is titanium. As soon as he fixes it, I will go out and ride the piece I missed.

Leona added the following to Carl's account "I talked with Carl after he sent this. He said he and the mechanic got his bike so it is rideable. The rear derailer is still bent and he will try to get a new one in Lake Placid tomorrow. He was not injured and he did go back and ride the last mile into camp. The guy who broke his shoulder is doing well but is going to sag into Lake Placid and then take a shuttle with some other riders to Albany and fly home to Washington - state. Said he did not want to finish the ride in a van. Even though some of the news was bad, they lucked out in that things were not worse as they could have been."

I learned after leaving Star Lake that the town was started as an iron-mining center. The ore was shipped to Troy where it was processed and used in manufacturing. (Carl said on the phone that Star Lake Campus is owned by a church group, not SUNY.)

We went past some of the lakes I most love – Upper and Lower Tupper, Indian Lake and some I do not know the names of. The high point of the ride was seeing a large beaver lodge that was about 4 feet above the water. It was in a very lovely setting.

The entire area is full of vacation homes. Some are small and some would require an army to clean. There are many little "towns". In some cases they run into each other and yet it is primitive and wild. This area is quite unique.

The mechanic was able to get my frame straight. Part of the changer is cracked and bent. It prevents the unit from functioning correctly. I rested the changer twice on the ride. We had hoped that we could get a new one in Lake Placid. No luck. I will ride for 2 more days before we can get a new one.

Leona added the following to Carl's account "They were in Lake Placid for the layover. It was pretty drippy but he and George - one of his riding buddies - were hoping to get some pictures in spite of the weather. It sounds like they spent a lot of time in the laundromat too. They are both starting to think of organizing to go home; so guess they had gear all over that room!"