Day 28

The "Lassa Express"

Wine tasting near Erie, PA

Entering New York and showing off

Entering Pennsylvania

Lake Erie

Bill Benson, 89 yr old caretaker of covered bridge

A working covered bridge

Lighthouse in Erie, PA

                                                                              Day 28
                                                                Warren, OH to Dunkirk, NY
                                                                    140 miles, Avg speed 19.2
                                                                Time in saddle:  7 hr 16 minutes

     Today I biked the most miles I've ever done in a day.  This also is our longest mileage day of the trip.  As you can gather from the average speed, things went well.  It was another 3 state day, in this case, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
     It was a perfect day for biking.  We had a slight but noticeable tailwind, along with dry weather and temps in the mid to upper 60's.  Early on, I was passed by a speeding bullet, also known as the 'Lassa Express.'   As you may recall, Lassa is a huge guy who if you are fortunate enough to catch his wheel will pull you along with the same drafting effect as a semi-truck.  In this case Lassa had Simon already in tow.  Simon a few miles back was passed by Lassa who then had the presence of mine to jump onto his wheel.  I did the same.  The man was possessed.   The three of us were cruising at 25 MPH with Lassa shouldering all of the work.  Neither Simon nor myself made any attempt whatsoever to jinx this by taking a turn at the front.  Lassa didn't ask us to and we didn't inquire.  This was all Lassa and we were along for the ride of our lives.  At one point we approached a group of three ahead of us.  I rode up to Lassa and implored him to step on the gas as soon as we are about to overtake them.   He was to make it impossible for anyone in this group to latch onto our wheels.  Two appreciative parasites, (Simon and myself), were all the express could handle.  Lassa did manage to accomplish this but Lee, with an intense burst of speed, jumped the gap and caught up to us.  Thus we were 4.  Lassa pulled us until the first SAG stop at 47 miles.  There was a covered bridge there along with its remarkable 89 yr old caretaker.  We gave both a reasonable amount of attention.  However, both Simon and I were watching Lassa out of the corners of our eyes.  When this train was going to leave the station we wanted to be certain that we were on board.  Thus, as soon as Lassa made a move for his bike, we dropped everything, food and all, grabbed our helmets and started to follow.  However it was clear after a bit that something was wrong.  The speeds were no longer there.  Lassa had blown his engine.  When Lassa was asked what was happening, he replied, "I go slow."   And that was the end of the free ride. We might actually have to work the rest of the day. 
     We passed vineyards, and lighthouses, and Lake Erie along the way.   The final SAG of the day, at 107 miles,  was in the parking lot of a winery.   A few of us went in and before you know it, we were doing involved in some wine tasting.  Ed had thought about buying some wine and having it brought back to the hotel in the van.  However, due to commercial license rules, this was not going to be allowed.  To get around this problem, Ed bought a bottle of champagne, which 7 of us shared right there and then.  The effect of the wine tasting and the champagne made the remaining 33 miles an interesting experience.  All I can say is that I pedaled blazingly fast.  I was hitting Lassa like speeds.  My goal was to finish the ride at least at 19 MPH and I achieved that. 
     All agreed that this was a great day of cycling.  I was happy to end when I did, but honestly could have gone further if need be.  Seven of us ate at the hotel restaurant and a good time was had by all except for the unfortunate waiter who had to suffer through us on his first day on the job.

 -Grinner