North Coast to New England Bicycle Ride
First-Ever Cleveland Clinic Innovations' North Coast to New England Ride Fundraiser Bike Ride Supports Cardiovascular Research at the Lerner Research Institute.
The ride is about 700 miles along the South Shore of Lake Erie through the beautiful Finger Lakes region and into New England. Along the route there will be a sag vehicle for bikers should they need support, supplies and/or help. The bikers plan to ride for 7 days, averaging 100 miles a day.
The Lerner Research Institute is home to all laboratory-based research at Cleveland Clinic. Its mission is to understand the causes of human diseases and to develop new treatments and cures. The Lerner Research Institute is ranked fifth in NIH funding among all U.S. research institutes. More than 1,000 scientists work in research programs focusing on cardiovascular, cancer, neurologic, musculoskeletal, allergic and immunologic, ophthalmic, metabolic, and infectious disease.
Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual America's Best Hospitals survey. Approximately 1,500 full-time salaried physicians at Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2004, patients came for treatment from every state and 100 countries. Cleveland Clinic website address is www.clevelandclinic.org.
The riders include:
Christopher Coburn - Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations and ride organizer
Dick "Hoj" Hojnacki
Chris Pierce
Brian Maher
Jim Antal and
Miles Coburn
The riders will depart from Cleveland Saturday morning May 20 and will return by car on May 28th or 29th.
We will post reports and photographs of the ride each day at this blog.
Day 1, Saturday, May 20, 2006 - Shaker Heights, Ohio to Hamburg, New York
Fun Facts
Today's Distance: 181 miles
Today's Riding Time: ~9 hours 15 minutes
Today's Average Speed: ~19 mph
Today's Climbing: ~4000 feet
Weather: Cloudy and ~50 degrees in the morning with light WNW wind becoming sunny in the afternoon with a high ~63 degrees and 10-20 mph tail/cross wind.
View a map of today's route.
After scrounging up some bike rack parts from Chris Coburn's brothers, the six riders left Chris's house about 7:50 am. This is the only time in the trip in which all will be able to ride together because Hoj and John's wives drop the SAG van and another car to meet us down the road. We had a little early fun with the wet roads as Chris Pierce slid out on a tight turn at the Gates Miles-SOM circle.
We followed 84 out of town and stayed on 84 until Geneva. At the Ashtabula County line, the road was torn up for repaving. We rode on this miserable surface for about seven miles before turning north to cut over to hwy 20. We stayed on 20 to North Kingsville where we met the SAG van. Miles Coburn and Tom returned to Cleveland from there, Miles riding his bike and fighting the growing head wind. From here on, one of the remaining four riders would be driving the SAG for the rest of the way. Chris Coburn took the first turn, as we decided to break it up into 25 mile intervals. We had lunch at "the best new restaurant in Erie," which was in fact several mile west of Erie. Hoj took over driving from there.
We cut over to route 5 as soon as possible and had a gorgeous ride across the PA and NY borders supported most of the time by a strong tailwind. East of Erie, route 5 was closed for construction of a new bridge, but this did not stop our intrepid group. (See photo below)
When we reached Dunkirk, NY, (our intended stopping point for the night) we decided to take advantage of the good riding conditions and keep going. As it turned out, there were no hotels between Dunkirk/Freedonia and Hamburg (south of Buffalo) so we had to ride a little farther than we wanted. Brian, the last driver of the SAG, found a Holiday Inn in Hamburg after an aborted attempt to get us to ride back west (against the strong wind) to a hotel in Freedonia. Dinner, though late, was well deserved. The weather report for Sunday is rainy and cool with a continued strong tailwind as we begin to make our way across New York.
Day 2, Sunday, May 21, 2006 - Hamburg to Newark, NY
Fun Facts
Today's Distance: 131 miles
Cumulative Distance: 312 miles
Today's Riding Time: ~7 hours
Cumulative Riding Time: ~16 hour 15 minutes
Average Speed: ~19 mph
Today's Climbing: ~2900 feet
Cumulative Climbing: ~6900 feet
Weather: Cool with periodic rain and a very strong wind from the WSW.
View map of today's route.
We awoke Sunday morning to a steady cold rain driven by a strong wind out of the west. By the time we had finished breakfast, the rain had stopped, but the it was still quite cold, especially in the wind. We got a late start with Chris C. taking the first shift driving the SAG. We decided to increase the distance of each interval to 35 miles so that we would end the day with about 140 miles. Hoj, Brian and Chris P. headed out from the Holiday Inn on Hwy 20 east for about 10 miles at which point 20 turns to the north, and the strong tail wind we were enjoying turned into as vicious cross wind. Fighting the wind we rode north on 20 and then continued north on hwy 78 when 20 turned east again. We followed 78 all the way to Lockport and the junction with route 31 where we met Chris C with the van. Along the way north, Brian had a flat, and we were pelted with small hail.
Hoj took the next stint driving as Chris, Chris and Brian rode east on 31 once again enjoying the strong tail wind. Brian flatted again not far into this second leg. We had some light rain, but for the most part, it was a fast, beautiful ride through nothern NY farm country. In Clarendon, a little west of Rochester, we stopped for lunch at a pizza place inside an convenience store/gas station. Chris P. got behind the wheel of the SAG as the gang road into and through Rochester. There was about an hour of steady rain on the way into town, but the rain stopped as we entered Rochester. Even without rain Rochester presented its own challenges -- aggressive drivers, no signs indicating the route of hwy 31 through town, and some less than desirable neighborhoods. We succeeded in making our way through town and converged on the outskirts of Pittsford to change SAG drivers.
Again Brian took the last leg of driving, and we agreed to meet in Lyons where we hoped to find a hotel. The ride east of Pittsford became a little more rolling as we made our way along the Erie Canal, but we had no more rain to speak of. Just outside of Newark, Chris and Chris stopped at a small park along the river/canal, and spoke to Newark police officer. He told us that there was no hotel in Lyons that he would recommend, or anything else beyond there within a reasonable distance. However, Newark has a Quality Inn we would enjoy. We decided to stop in Newark for the night, which given that it was already close to 7:00 pm, was probably a very good thing.
We had dinner at a new Mexican restaurant, which unfortunately had not yet gotten a license to sell beer. The food was reasonably good, very affordable, but their greatest asset was the waitress who brought our food (unfortunately we did not get a picture). After dinner we found a small bar/restaurant where we had a beer, and talked to the female bartender about Desperate Housewives, which she was trying to watch at the time.
Day 3, Monday, May 22, 2006 - Newark to New Hartford, NY
Fun Facts
Today's Distance: 115 miles
Cumulative Distance: 427 miles
Today's Riding Time: ~ 6 hours 30 minutes
Cumulative Riding Time: ~22 hours 45 minutes
Average Speed: 17.9 mph
Today's Climbing: ~2900 ft
Cumulative Climbing: ~9800 ft
Weather: Cloudy and cold (38 degrees) with light tail wind in the morning, which grew stronger during the day. The day stayed cold with a high in the low fifties, but NO RAIN!
View map of today's route.
We left Newark at about 9:00 am after breakfast at McDonald's. It was cold so it took a while for the legs to warm up. Once again Chris C. took the first turn driving the SAG. Our destination was New Hartford where Hoj has arranged lodging and dinner with his friends Bob and Gerry Bradley. We calculated that New Hartford was only about 120 miles from Newark so we divided the day's intervals into 30 miles for SAG driver changes.
The first 30 miles was through rolling farm country, and the beautiful Seneca River valley. As we made our way farther east, traffic became heavier and the riding less idyllic. The day proceeded without incident, until we reached New Hartford. Hoj, Chris, and Chris missed a turn off of route five to get to the Bradley's house, and instead of finding our way through the town we ended up riding onto the freeway during rush hour. The bike route just gradually turned into a freeway, and it took us negotiating several interchanges with car flying on and off the freeway before Chris C. decided that perhaps we had missed a turn, and had better get off of the freeway. We were able to find our way to the Bradley's without further incident and in the exact same distance Gerry had said it would be.
The evening at the Bradley's was wonderful, and Gerry went out of her way to cook and fantastic dinner for us. We all greatly appreciate their hospitality.
Day 4, Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - New Hartford to New Lebanon, NY
Fun Facts
Today's Distance: 128 miles
Cumulative Distance: 555 miles
Today's Riding Time: 7 hours 37 minutes
Cumulative Riding Time: 30 hours 17 minutes
Average Speed: 16.8 mph
Today's Climbing: 4813 ft
Cumulative Climbing: 15,600 ft
Weather: Cool and cloudy with strong tail winds
View map of today's route.
In search of the Erie Canal towpath bike trail. With the help of the Bradley's directions we had no problem finding our way from their house in New Hartford, through Utica and onto Hwy 5 east. Our intension was to ride along route 5 until we could get onto the tow path bike route, which we had heard from several sources was paved most of the way from just east of Utica to Albany. Hoj took the first turn driving so that he could visit a little more with the Bradleys. We were to meet in Little Falls and assess the route at that point. However, Brian had another flat on the way, and after fixing it, we stopped at a small-town bike shop for more tubes, CO2 cartidges, etc. Apparently, while we were in the bike shop, Hoj drove by and missed us. He continued on past Little Falls assuming that we had made it farther than expected. In the mean time, we had been told that the bike path was ridable from the town with the bike shop, so we tried to find it. After searching high and low we did find the path, which was paved with crushed limestone, not asphalt. Not wishing to gum up our drive trains we decided to ride on hwy 5S rather than backtrack the hwy 5. Hwy 5S runs along the south side of the Erie canal, but as we learned the hard way, not particularly close to the canal. 5S took us up on top of the bluffs south of the canal, then back down, then back up, and so forth. After make a few of these climbs and descents, we were called Hoj and asked him to drive back along 5S to meet us. He caught up to us at the top of the Bluff, and traded driving with Chris C. On his way up to meet us, Hoj noted the presence of a small road that would take us back down, across the canal, river, and railroad tracks, and back to Hwy 5. The morning was cold, so each descent left us shivering.
The ride along Hwy 5 is much flatter than 5S, so we made good progress riding east to Fonda where we met Chris C. in the SAG. We decided to stop for lunch at a small Italian place, and had some of the largest sandwiches we had ever seen. I think Brian is still eating his tuna sub. After lunch Hoj returned to driving because his heart rate was going too high and not coming back down to a normal riding level. So Chris, Chris, and Brian returned to the search for the elusive towpath trail. We did eventually find the asphalt paved trail about 5 miles east of Schenectady, and jumped on with great anticipation that we would be able to ride this gorgeous trail all the way in to Albany. However, the trail ended and dumped us back out on Hwy 5 in downtown Schenectady. We asked how to get back onto the trail, and were told that we would have to ride 10 miles north to catch the trail again. We did not want to ride that far out of our way, so we continued east on Hwy 5 through Schenectady, Colonie, and into Albany. This involved aggressive, urban riding for several miles. We all survived to tell about it, and met Hoj with the van at the pedestrian bridge along the Hudson River in Albany.
Brian joined Hoj in the van, and drove off to find lodging somewhere 20-30 miles east on Hwy 20. Chris and Chris continued on bikes across the river and up Hwy 20 hoping to meet Hoj and Brian at the hotel. Hoj and Brian were not able to find a hotel until they reached Pittsfield, Mass, about 35 miles east of Albany. Chris and Chris rode about 20 miles more with a great deal of climbing up out of the Hudson River valley, but darkness and exhaustion led us to agree to be picked up by Hoj in New Lebanon, just east of the Massachusetts border. We agreed that we would drive back there in the morning to begin the Wednesday's ride.
Hoj and Brian found rooms in a brand new Ramada Inn in Pittsfield, and rather than venture out for dinner, we ordered Chinese food delivered to our rooms. It is now almost midnight after a long day of riding, so please excuse the typos and spellos.
Day 5, Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - New Lebanon, NY to Uxbridge, MA
Fun Facts
Today's Distance: 144 miles
Cumulative Distance: 699 miles
Today's Riding Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Cumulative Riding Time: 38 hours 37 minutes
Average Speed: 17.1 mph
Today's Climbing: ~6200 ft
Cumulative Climbing: 21,800 ft
Weather: GLORIOUS!
View map of New Lebanon to Springfield section of taday's route.
View map of Springfield to Uxbridge section of today's route.
After decimating the continental breakfast counter at the hotel, Hoj drove Chris and Chris back to New Lebanon to start our day of riding. For the first time on this trip we have blue skies and warmish temperatures in the morning. Riding started with a seven mile warm up before climbing the first of two large climbs over the Berkshire Mountains. The grade was not too steep (maybe 6%), but the climb is about four miles long without relief. We did stop to take pictures as we crossed from New York into Massachusetts. The descent was fast and long into Pittsfield. Before reaching the hotel where Hoj and Brian were waiting, We made a quick stop at Shaker Village to take a picture of Chris C. wearing his Shaker Cycling jersey in front of one of the Shaker village buildings.
After returning to the hotel, Chris, Chris and Brian rode south out of Pittsfield on Route 7/20 while Hoj took the first turn driving. We passed through Lenox and Lee before hitting the next big climb called "Jacob's Ladder." This was a wonderful climb up into the mountains, across the Appalachian Trail, past scenic lakes and meadows, which included several steep sections followed by less steep intervals. Hoj met us at the summit, and Chris C. took over driving. The rest of us enjoyed an incredible descent on Route 20 through Becket, Chester and into Westfield. We rode the 25 miles in just a little over one hour. This section over the mountains was as enjoyable as any riding I have ever done.
unfortunately, the next 40 miles included another ride through a major city, Springfield, MA. We have developed a serious distaste for these parts of the trip. The roads are usually poor, and the drivers are inconsiderate, but adrenaline keeps the leg pumping.
After making it through Springfield, there was a nice ride into Sturbridge, where Brian met his friend, and left our little group to return to Cleveland This was a sad event, but the grouped pushed on east after trying to get information on the route followed by the Pan-Mass Challenge in their Sturbridge to Cape Cod ride. Chris C. drove this section while Chris P. and Hoj headed out of Sturbridge. After quite a bit of wandering around, we ended up in a hotel south of Uxbridge where we stayed the night. We had a late dinner at a restaurant called "Little Texas." Over beers, and Tex-Mex food, we discussed which route to take into the Cape on Thursday.
Day 6, Thursday, May 25, 2006 - Uxbridge to Brewster, MA
Fun Facts
Today's Distance: 108 miles
Total Distance: 807 miles
Today's Riding Time: ~6 hours 30 minutes
Total Riding Time: ~45 hours
Average Speed: ~17 mph
Today's Climbing: ~3000 ft
Total Climbing: ~24,800 ft
Weather: Sunny and warm, with light tail winds turning to head winds as we approached the coast.
View map of today's route.
This was the first day of the trip we did not need to wear warm cloths to start the ride. Chirs and Chris began riding from our hotel south of Uxbridge with the goal of meeting Hoj in Taunton. We took Hwy 122 south into Rhode Island, through Woonsocket, and then east out of Rhode Island to Attleboro and Taunton. The riding was lovely with picturesque countryside and quaint towns, but ended up being a greater distance than we estimated from the maps we had.
We did eventually meet Hoj in Taunton, where he joined Chris C. for the ride to the Bourne Bridge, which crosses the canal and on to Cape Cod. As they turned on to Hwy 28 to the Cape, they encountered the first significant head winds of the trip, but still made good time.
Chris P. drove the SAG from Taunton to the end of a bike path that follows the east side of the canal. From there, he rode his bike to meet Hoj and Chris C. at the Bourne Bridge. As Chris P. reached the top of the bridge and stopped to take in the view, he received a call from Chris C. They at the western base of the bridge, and about to begin make there way across. We met in the middle where we congratulated ourselves for making it this far, took pictures, and wished each other luck in the descent off of the bridge.
After surviving the Bourne Bridge, we had a delightful ride along the canal bike path pushed by a tail wind to the end where the van was parked. Chris C. drove the last leg on Cape Cod to his cottage, while Hoj and Chris braved the weekender traffic and near complete exhaustion by riding the last 35 miles along route 6A to Brewster. Chirs C. met us at the Brewster Store where we chatted with locals, took more pictures, and once again congratulated ourselves on the success of our epic ride.
Postscirpt
We were all ready for a rest the day after arriving on Cape Cod. We did a little cleaning and organizing around the cottage because we were the first occupants of the summer, but little else. Friday night we did venture out onto the tidal flats to try our luck at digging clams. We had some success though they were not technicaly clams, but quahogs. On Saturday, we cooked them up in some "clam" and they tasted very good.
On Sunday, we rode out to the tip of the Cape and had lunch at a restaurant in Provincetown.This was a nice 80+ mile round trip with views of the ocean ont he east side of the Cape, and the scene in P-town.
The drive back on Sunday was uneventful marking the end to a wonderful ride. I did learn a couple of days later, after a visit to the doctor and some x-rays, that Ihad broken three ribs on my left side in the fall on wet rodes 5 miles out ont he first day. The pain was not too bad while on the bike, but trying to get comfortable while sleeping was a challenge.
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