Between the lakes

Cayuga Lake from Rt 89 at Seneca/Tompkins Co. lineMonday after work I went out for a ride. It felt chilly, the wind felt cold and I felt tired. The season of warm rides in shorts and t-shirts is over. I was feeling a bit down.

I checked the weather forecast for the next day: it was supposed to be a beautiful day. So I decided I'd do one of my favorite rides, what I call Between the Lakes. On Tuesday I got up early, finished up most of my work by early afternoon, and got going.   By the time I left it was pretty warm out, sunny, a beautiful fall day.

The Between the Lakes ride takes me up to Interlaken along the west side of Cayuga Lake, over to Lodi, down along the east side of Seneca Lake, to Burdett, and than back across to just north of Ithaca.

The start of the ride is the gradual uphill along Rt 89 from Ithaca up to the Cayuga Lake Creamery ice cream place at Interlaken.  I love this stretch, there are only a few significant uphills, and there are a few nice downhills, including down into Taughannock.  The views of Cayuga Lake are spectacular as you ride along the west side of the lake out of Ithaca, and then again later from higher points.

Cayuga Lake Creamery, on Rt 89
at Interlaken

Coffee ice cream cone

Of course I stopped at the Cayuga Lake Creamery (only three more ice creams and I get a free one!!) and got a double scoop of coffee ice cream.  From there I continued a bit down Rt 89 and turned left onto Rt 141 towards the village of Interlaken.  This is a pretty gentle climb, about 240 feet over a little more than a mile.

In Interlaken I turned left onto Rt 96, and after a couple of blocks, right onto Rt 96a, which you follow for about five miles into the village of Lodi.  This stretch is a good climb, but again pretty gradual, climbing from about 910 feet to 1240 feet just before Lodi, through mostly cornfields.  The last mile and a half is a downhill of about 140 feet down into the village.

Seneca Lake from Rt 414, vineyards in foreground

In Lodi, I turned left onto Rt 414, which goes along the east side of Seneca Lake.  This is wine country, and I biked by numerous wineries, vineyards, and restaurants.  414 has a nice shoulder, and is newly paved for most of this stretch, so it's a pleasure to ride on.  Traffic wasn't heavy at all -- apparently on weekends it can get crazy with all the winery tourism -- and it's a gradual downhill, with only a few uphill rollers, going from about 1050 ft at Lodi to about 600 feet at Valois, about 7 miles down the road. South of Valois, there's a bit of a gradual climb, and then another gradual descent.  This is a beautiful stretch and not hard at all, despite the gradual rollers.  

Seneca Lake from Co.Rt.5
headed to Burdett

A few miles south of the village of Hector, I turned left, away from Seneca Lake, onto County Route 5 to head toward Burdett. I had made excellent time: my average speed at this point was 17.00 even with all the climbing.

County Rt 5, or Tug Hollow Rd, is the only real climb of the ride, going from 740 feet at Rt 414 to 1000 feet at Burdett, about 260 feet over a mile. Overall that's not bad, but one stretch is 110 feet climb over 460 feet of distance, which works out to be pretty steep.

Fall leaves in Perry City

At Burdett I sometimes stop at the Grist Mill, but I wanted to get home quickly, so I continued along Rt 79, which is somewhat rolling at this stretch. I continued onto Rt 227 (rather than following 79, which involves a very big climb and then lots of very big rollers), which takes you through Reynoldsville and then to Perry City.  From Perry City you continue straight on Perry City Rd, which is a gradual uphill, a couple of rollers up to Halseyville Rd, and then all downhill for about 4½ miles to Rt 89.  The view of Cayuga Lake on that last steep part of Perry City Rd as you approach 89 is spectacular.

The ride back into Ithaca on Rt 89 is pretty much downhill, along the lake, through Cass Park -- a bad stretch with no shoulder for a little bit, though the speed limit for cars is 30 there -- over the bridge, left onto State St and back into Ithaca.

Cayuga Lake from Perry City Rd

At about Burdett I started feeling tired.  I have to admit I hadn't eaten lunch, had only had oatmeal and a banana for breakfast. So all I had during the ride was the ice cream and my single bottle of water.  By the time I hit Burdett I was feeling hungry and very thirsty, and it really showed up in my legs.  On flats I was fine, but on inclines I felt real tired.  I was also pushing myself to make at least the same time I'd done this route in last time, in August, when I averaged 16.66mph. You'd think I'd know by now that I have to eat and drink regularly to have a comfortable ride...

By the time I got home I was totally wiped out. I haven't been that exhausted on a ride in a long time.  But I managed to improve my average, getting 16.75mph!

Overall this is a great ride. Between the Cayuga Lake Creamery and the Grist Mill in Burdett there are two great food stops on the route. The scenery is spectacular, the climbing is very reasonable and overall pretty gradual.  I'm hoping to do this route again sometime soon.

The route

Route: Between the Lakes: Ithaca - Interlaken - Lodi - Hector - Burdett - Perry City - Ithaca
Total distance: 64.65 miles
Ride time: 03:51:38
Avg speed: 16.75 mph
Total climb: 2900 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1260 ft, east of Lodi
Avg climb: 44.86 ft/mile