I am the ride leader for this Saturday’s (7/3) ride starting from Gillette Road School in Cicero. For those of you who don’t know or remember me, I’m a relic from OCC past graciously coming out of mothballs to lead this ride, so please excuse the aroma of naphtha; our ride starts at 9:00 sharp. The printed schedule shows mileages from 25 to 59 miles. The shorter ride is about as flat a ride as we have on the schedule, the longer option goes into Oswego County and gets more in the way of gently rolling terrain. Both rides get a dose of scenery, as we visit swamps, riverside and lakefront. For those who might want to refer to or print out their own maps prior to the ride, we’ll be using Cic-1 and Cic-1L.
There are slight differences shown in the two maps at the beginning and end of the ride. To eliminate any confusion at the start, my plan is for both short and long riders to follow the start shown on map Cic-1, where we proceed north along South Bay Road to Whiting Road. This eliminates riding along Thompson Road, which tends to be busy with traffic and sucks overall, condition-wise. Also, Cic-1 is shown as a 35 mile route; shorter options are possible, if desired.
Roads are in good to excellent condition. There is a construction project on the Bartel Road bridge over I-81 in Brewerton, but it should be a non-issue. I do anticipate more traffic than usual in the Brewerton and Oneida Lake area, especially near Oneida Shores Park, and along the lakefront, due to the holiday weekend; so be aware of that.
The boob tube weather pundits call for sunny skies with temps in the low 80’s; I can promise the sunshine: it’ll be shining on something. Come on out and enjoy!