Monday, September 13, 2004

Hammondsport, NY - Keuka Lake Circuit

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Keuka Lake is shaped like a Y. The ride today was around the lake, with an option to ride past the major wineries and to ride into the crotch of the Y on the way around. We chose both options for a total of 60 miles. We tried to remind ourselves to enjoy the great weather, as hurricane Ivan, the force 5 hurricane that had just wiped out Grenada, was headed our way on Friday.

The first optional ride past the wineries started less than a mile from the motel, up a fairly steep road to the bluff above the western shore. It was the hardest climb of the day, but it wasn't that bad. The cars zooming by at 60 mph were the worst part of the trip. Why the winding, relatively narrow road had a 55 mph speed limit was a mystery.

Winery near
Hammondsport
Once atop the bluff there were great views of the lake below. Grapes were growing on either side of the road and several wineries were located just off the road, including the infamous Bully Hill Vineyards owned by Walter Taylor of the Taylor wine family. Taylor is prevented from using his name on the Bully Hill wines since the Taylor name is patented by the more traditional line of the family. Instead Walter Taylor uses the controversy as part of the marketing of the Bully Hill wines. The tastings used to be notorious for the amount of wine offered and the laid back nature of the staff.

Heron Hill Winery
Closed
Rich, Bruce, Cheryl,
and Jim at Branchport
Since we rode by the vineyards before 10 am, none were open and we rode on past. After a short while the clouds rolled in and it look like we would surely get some rain. Apparently this is a common occurrence and the rain never came. The last stretch of the optional ride was a good but too-short downhill into the town of Branchport where we met up with Rich, the tour leader, and Jim and Cheryl for Marathon, NY. Rich was riding his tandem solo. We stopped for a drink and a chat and continued around the lake.
Branchport—Home of the
World's Largest Pancake Griddle

After crossing the bridge out of town we took a right to descend into the Y of Keuka Lake. This required entering Keuka Lake State Park which was not clear from the directions. We discovered that only cyclists or hikers can proceed along the road and around the closed gate at the end of the park in order to get to the West Bluff Road. The road to the bottom of the Y was a winding, forested stretch with almost no traffic.

There is quite a diversity of cottages along the lake. Most are tidy, traditional lake cottages. A few are newer, mostly rental places and a few others are new, large trophy cottages. The west side of the Y is older, funkier and heavily forested, while the east side is newer, flatter, and more open. We were able to cruise along at a good clip on the east side as I tried to avoid the sewer manhole covers, spaced about every .15 miles.

Once through the Y we stopped in Penn Yan at the Adirondack Deli where we caught up with some of the other riders and I had a great cheese sub on a homemade role. After a short walk around town we rode on toward the east side of the lake, on the outside edge of the Y. Along this side we alternated between riding along the busy Route 54 and the meandering East Shore Road adjacent to the shore. There was lots of fast traffic on 54, but there was a good, wide shoulder and it was fairly flat. We preferred the shore road and stayed on it whenever possible.

Ice cream break
As we rode into Hammondsport on Route 54A, we passed the shore where the Keuka Maid, the lake tour boat, was docked. we saw a group of men working on an old float plane. We learned later that a flight was planned for the coming weekend, in honor of Glen Curtiss, an early aviation pioneer. Unfortunately we ran out of time to visit the highly recommended Curtiss Museum.
Depot Park in
Hammondsport
We thought we would take a quick ride around the square to check out the town. In front of the Crooked Lake Ice Cream Parlor was gathered another group of cyclists who talked us into stopping for a snack. Trying not to pack on too many pounds, I opted for the phosphate drink instead of the milkshake. We hung out for a while and headed back to the motel. We stopped by the Depot Park and took a self portrait next to the restored depot next to the lake shore. Back at the motel we talked briefly with Jim and Cheryl about their 17 bikes and 4 dogs and their home on 33 acres near Marathon, NY.

There's a surprisingly good bar/restaurant in town, the Village Tavern, with about 10 pages of New York wines and several good beers on tap. We joined Jim and Sue from Indiana. Kerie's salmon and my vegan dish were both good.

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