On this 4th of July weekend, we packed up the bikes and headed north to the lake for a leisurely ride that always ends at the Fly By Night Cookie Company situated on Ranchier Ave. Thus, the ride earns the title of Cookie Ride due to it's final destination spot. (Special note: The Fly By Night Cookie Company is a 'must-see' place in Fair Haven. Bonnie owns the shop and has earned much attention with her creative cookie-making skills, but beyond that, the building itself deserves mention. Her son, a noted carpenter, carved out the porch pillars and inside, customers enter in a single 'cookie room.' When I walk in, I am transformed into a wild-eyed child who wants to try one of every cookie.)
Years ago when I first moved to central New York, I came upon the Cato-Meridian rail trail which spans from Fair Haven south towards the Cato-Meridian area. According to one of our local friends, he says the rail trail is now maintained by a snow mobile/ATV group and has further expanded and thus open year round to anyone who wishes to ride, walk, run, etc.
From Fair Haven to Cato-Meridian, the trail is 14 miles in length and travels through some magnificent country side where animals abound -- there are plenty of turtles (Jeff calls this the my "summer of my turtles"), toads, deer, a random turkey, and deer. At times the trail is open and at other times, the trees form a canopy blanket. We chat and talk the whole ride and in general, just enjoy our time together. For me, this is a welcome respite from the typical grueling rides I endure with Jeff.
The Jeffina taking a short break
For me, the ride was the third day I have been on my new 29er and another test to see how it handles. The set up was comfortable on my arms, legs, neck, and back.
As our ride ended, we made our way back into Fair Haven and decided to take the back roads into the state park as to avoid any car traffic on the main park road. We followed the lake around and entered the park. We immediately headed for the water's edge and joined the other hundreds of people doing the same. We parked the bikes, took off our shoes and socks, and dipped our legs into the cool water.
Our final stop on this day would be the Fly By Night Cookie Company. We retraced our path and stopped to buy cookies, but we were greeted by a sign on the door, "Sorry -- SOLD OUT." Myself and another group of people who had just unloaded from their car stood there in disbelief. One young gal in the group, peeked inside and said, "I can see cookies...they have cookies...." We all chuckled realizing that the lure of cookies was powerful, but on this day, there were no cookies to be had.
Jeff and I made our way back into town, loaded up the car, and headed for Ontario Orchards where we not only picked up some fresh produce items, but also two half-moon cookies -- one for him and one for me. In West Virgina, we don't have half-moon cookies and I think that anyone who opens a shop in WV that sells just half-moon cookies would make a fortune. Who could not like a half-moon cookie?
Our next race will be at Windham, "Race the World."
Jeff's words of wisdom for the day, "If you've never been a skank, you'll never be a skank." These words were spoken after seeing the 'sights' at Fair Haven State Park.
Together, we are Jeffina, crankin' out the love, crankin' out the miles for Crankskins.com.
Enjoy the remaining pictures from the day.
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