(This is the Frederick B. Douglass/Susan B. Anthony bridge, over the Genesee River in Rochester, New York.)
I usually don’t cycle in groups; I’m more of a laid-back/commuting/put-the-dog-on-the-bike-and-chill kind of cyclist. But, I’m a sucker for a good cause, and raising money for college scholarships for students in need, as a part of our college’s festivities celebrating the inauguration of our fifth (and first woman) president, Anne M. Kress was a good enough cause for me.
Here is Dr. Kress thanking us and sending us off. She later noted that her spring cardigan wasn’t exactly appropriate for the 40 degree weather. (She is still adjusting to our Northeastern climate after moving here from Florida. Most people move the reverse direction, that’s for sure!)
This is the indomitable Susan, who was the chair of our committee and my compatriot in composting (we worked hard to ensure that all the waste from the day’s luncheon and reception was composted, and that’s another story altogether).
We visited all 4 of the college’s sites, first stopping at the Applied Technology Center. We had a police escort along this section, which is a heavily traveled road. I felt very important! Actually, I was the ride leader, so I really was grateful for the help.
We followed a map developed by Karen and Brian of the Rochester Bicycling Club. Most of the ride took us along many of Rochester’s finest trails.
This is the Public Safety Training Facility, which has a bike trail running right behind it. This was my first time leading a ride, and there were some much stronger cyclists than me on the ride, so right about now I was feeling a bit stressed. So I took off like a bat out of hell after this, and had to be reminded to slow down, since this was supposed to be a fun ride for cyclists of all levels!
Between the Applied Technology Center and this shot, we were on trails the whole time. That’s actually when we passed the bridge shown in the top photo. When we got downtown, they were doing some construction we hadn’t expected, but fortunately we were able to get through. Here’s the campus where I work, right in downtown Rochester.
On the way back, the wind started to get me. I never really thought about the fact that the leader takes all the wind. So, once we were back on the trail and it was just a straight shot, a couple of other people got ahead and I just relaxed for a bit.
And finally, back to the largest campus, just in time to change for the rest of the day’s events!
I tend to find riding in a group a bit stressful, so I’m not quite sure what possessed me to agree to actually lead this ride, other than enthusiasm for the event and my usual not-quite-realistic optimism about life in general. However, this was such a supportive and laid-back group that I really had a wonderful time.
The ride also made me really appreciate the network of trails that we have in this city. The streets still aren’t great, in my view, for cycling, but they’re not awful either. And the trails are just so beautiful. From my neighborhood, I could quite easily bike commute to any of the MCC campuses, to RIT, University of Rochester, St. John Fisher, and Nazareth (and their surrounding areas), much of it on trails.
Although I’m not as familiar with these areas: Irondequoit, Browncroft/Winton neighborhood, and Northeast Rochester, I suspect that it’s not quite as easy to commute, but I know people who do it (include some RocBike readers).
I’m curious to hear what you like and don’t like about bike commuting in Rochester, so let me know in the comments!
Meanwhile, I’m not sure if I’ll be leading a ride again any time soon. But the dog and I will be out on the trails; you can count on that!
