Ride to Lucas's birthplace

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Ithaca to Montour FallsLucas hadn't done a long ride since returning from Virginia, so he said he'd be up for something 50-60 miles. I plotted a course to bring us to Montour Falls, up to September Hill. This is where Lucas was born 15-1/3 years ago, at the birthing center next to the hospital. Then we'd come back to Ithaca via Odessa and Newfield, for a total ride of about 58 miles.

We headed out about 9:30. We rode up Rt 89, and we saw some of the Bon Ton Roulet riders headed north out of Ithaca. We turned off onto Perry City Rd towards Burdett. The first bit off of 89 is quite steep, a good climb, and it continues to climb at 2-3 percent until it hits Rt 96. Lucas was not overly happy about the climb. But then we did get some downhills too. The clouds looked somewhat ominous, but we didn't hit any rain the entire day.


The view from September HillWe went by a place with you-pick raspberries but the farm was 1/2 mile off the road so we passed it and continued to Burdett. We'd planned to stop at the Grist Mill Cafe in Burdett for breakfast. But Grist Mill is closed on Mondays!

We cut up Rt 9 over to Skyline Drive, passing corn fields and grape vines that were getting pretty big. Skyline is a great ride, very scenic views of Seneca Lake and then that huge downhill into Montour Falls. We pedalled over to Main St, where we stopped for pizza.


Lucas in front of the old birthing centerAt this point Lucas decided he didn't really want to bike back, especially since there were a few big climbs. He was feeling tired. I said, hey but you did 60-70 miles a day for 8 days in a row a few weeks ago! He said that was different, somehow you feel different when you are on tour, which is very true!

He did say he was okay continuing on to the birthing center though, even though it was up a hill. So we called Lisa to come and pick us up, and then we headed out.


Chip holding Lucas at the
birthing center, March 19, 1994I'd forgotten how big September Hill is, about 500 feet of climbing over a little more than a mile. We went past the hospital, and there was the house that Lucas was born in. It isn't a birthing center anymore, but a women's center. We kept cycling past it to the crest of the hill then came back down.

We sat in the shade in front of the house waiting for Lisa. When she came, I took a few pictures of her and Lucas. Hard to believe it's been over 15 years.

On the drive back we stopped at the Silver Queen Farm on Stillwell Rd, the place we'd seen before, where we picked a bunch of raspberries that we had for dessert tonight.

Lucas and Lisa in front of the old birthing center:

Route: Ithaca - Burdett - Montour Falls
Total distance: 31.64 miles
Ride time: 02:39:07
Avg speed: 11.9 mph
Total climb: 1,839 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1257 ft, on Rt 227 west of Reynoldsville
Avg climb: 58.1 ft/mile