The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Best of the New York Finger Lakes 2025

May 24th to June 6th

Ride Director: Chuck Feerick
Ride Co-Director: Joan Feerick
Report by: W Neal Fisher

In late May, 2025 we trickled by ones and twos into Pittsford, New York. Everyone on the trip drove their cars, whether they were from the east coast or the west coast. On Friday the early birds began the cat-andmouse game with the rain and cool temperatures that became our theme for much of the next two weeks. Our first official bike ride was on Saturday and we had a choice of a tour into Rochester or a longer loop that went through the rolling, green countryside. We watched the locks passing boats alongside the Erie Canal Heritage Trail and in Rochester we visited Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite, the Genesse Brew House adjacent to High Falls, and the George Eastman Museum.

That night we met with our tour leaders Joan and Chuck Feerick who were leading the Finger Lakes tour for the third time. The next morning, May 26, was Memorial Day and we enjoyed a rolling, 50 miles to Geneva and a great hotel on the shore of Seneca Lake. The sun shared the skies with puffy clouds and the early riders enjoyed the chicken bbq at the Clifton Springs Methodist Church. Just about everyone found the Twisted Rail Brewery in Geneva. This was an auspicious day for Greg and Jeanne Browning, tandem bike partners, who surpassed 50,000 miles on a tandem (with each other!).

Tuesday, May 27. The morning was cool again while the sun continued to bless us. We dipped south along the east shore of Seneca Lake for 20 miles, through Sampson State park, turned due east over the ridge to Cayuga lake, and then north along that shore to Seneca Falls. Even though our start and finish towns were only 10 miles apart, our long route was 44 miles. We would follow this zig-zag pattern several times during our tour. There was always a long ridge that ran north-to-south between the lakes. We had to travel west or east to get to the next lake and we became intimate with the climbs and descents, and the expansive views of farms and vineyards stretching across the hills.

Seneca Falls believes it was the inspiration for the mythical town and key scenes in the movie It’s A Wonderful Life (it was actually filmed entirely in California). Frank Capra was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter and visited Seneca Falls while working on the script. The movie is set in western New York and a museum honoring the 1946 movie is a half a block from the Gould Hotel, our lodging for the night. Just as close to our hotel was the site of the 1848 First Women's Rights Convention, the Methodist Wesleyan Chapel. It is a National Historic Park. Across the river is the National Women’s Hall of Fame and a bronze sculpture featuring organizer Elizabeth Cady Stanton meeting suffragette Susan B. Anthony.

May 28, Wednesday. We set out on another 50 mile route to Skaneateles. We dressed for another cool morning with some sun, increasing clouds, and rain predicted for the evening. Sticking to our pattern we rode south along the Cayuga Lake shore, climbed over the ridge and then zoomed down to Owasco Lake, then north and east to Skaneateles. Some of us stopped in Auburn at Harriet Tubman National Historical Park. We all beat the evening rain and later we enjoyed dinner during a cruise on Skaneateles Lake. Fortuitously, this was a two night stay. Thursday,

May 29 was optional and it was a day that favored the sleepy heads. The rain and clouds slowly cleared but the roads were wet and the later riders enjoyed drier roads. The official route circumnavigated Skaneateles Lake but we were free to do any length (or direction) ride we desired. This was our only chance to get a view of the furthest east finger, Otisco Lake. The hotel deployed a garden hose for us so that we could rinse the bikes, wipe down our chains, and lubricate them.

Friday, May 30. We don’t know how Joan and Chuck managed the rain showers but again, on Friday, the sun emerged and we rode beneath René Magritte clouds for 50 miles to Ithaca. We stopped at a replica of Millard Fillmore’s birthplace cabin. Everyone seemed to enjoy this ride and the elevation disparity of 2,900’ up and 3,500’ down probably had something to do with our smiles. Plus, it wasn’t raining. After a zooming descent into town we were treated to waterfall after waterfall.

Ithaca was another two night stay because Chuck and Joan knew it was going to rain on Saturday. (How do they do that?) But what a great town to be stuck in. Waterfalls bolstered by the precipitation seemed to be around every corner. The center of town was closed for “Ithaca Days” replete with vendors, food tents, and entertainment. Cornell was a short, uphill walk, and amongst the ivy covered walls we found chapels, ice cream, museums, a Harry Potter-like library, and a human brain display in the Department of Psychology. It must be noted that a few hardcore riders decided that this was a bike tour and they went for a (wet) bike ride.

Sunday, June 1, and it’s not raining! What a great day as a large group cycled north with Cayuga Lake on their right shoulder. Cloud cover was thick but we all enjoyed the packed gravel on the Black Diamond Bike Trail to Taughannock Falls State Park and yet another incredible waterfall. We turned west and began to climb. A headwind slowed us down even more and forced us to pedal downhill to Seneca Lake. Turning south we battled a crosswind into Watkins Glen, famous for car racing and the beautiful Watkins Glen State Park.

Monday, June 2. Today’s route to Penn Yan was only 27 miles, deliberately shortend by Chuck and Joan to allow us to hike up the gorge in Watkins Glen State Park. We were all amazed at the stunning beauty of the cliffs and waterfalls as Glen Creek tumbled down to the lake. We then cycled out of town and were equally amazed by the immediate 7 mile climb out of Watkins Glen. None-the less, it was a beautiful, sunny day. Some of us enjoyed ice cream made from duck eggs or posed in front of the 28’ world-record pancake skillet mounted on the side of Burkett Mills.

The quirky town of Penn Yan was a two night stay and the sunshine blessed us again on Tuesday. With no lack of imagination we all cycled around the cactus-shaped lake on different loops of our own desire. The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport at the southern end of Keuka Lake (less than a mile off route) was a hit as was Garrett Memorial Chapel on the climb up to Skyline Drive atop the “Bluff”.

Wednesday, June 4. It was our warmest day of the tour for our penultimate ride that took us 46 miles to Canandaigua. On the way we had some notable climbs; six-mile Belknap Hill Road to Italy Hill, two miles on Basset Hill Road, and up a mile and a half on Bristol Springs Road. Of, course we had the great descents to go along with them. The straight-asan-arrow descent down Italy Turnpike saw some cyclists top 50 mph. We were relieved we went down Bobble Hill Road but then we suffered with full sun on our backs climbing away from Canandaigua Lake. Everyone was happy that our lakefront hotel in Canandaigua had an outdoor swimming pool. And we finished off the evening dancing on the patio to a twelve-member rock n’ roll band.

Thursday, our last day, June 5. With sadness and joy we cycled 40 miles to complete our loop back to Pittsford. The day was sunny, temperatures were pleasant, and the route was mainly flat. Before leaving Canandaigua we stopped at Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park, the former 1887 home of Frederick Ferris Thompson (president of First National Bank) and Mary Clark Thompson (daughter of the governor of New York). The biking day finished with 15 miles on the Erie Canalway Trail. We took our group photo at the Aurora Brewing Company on the south bank of the Erie Canal. The beer aficionados thought this to be the best of the many that we had visited the entire tour.

Once again, Joan and Chuck had the rain hold off until we were fast asleep. We were not at all concerned when we awakened to a wet morning. Some of us drove home, some stayed an extra day or two, and many went on to further biking adventures, visiting friends or family, or checking off items from a sight seeing list. We had a great group, greater leaders, and talented bike riders. Our minds are filled with images of vineyards stretching mile after mile, Mennonite farmers with metalwheeled tractors, huge dairy farms, and proud horses keeping watch in their pastures. The Finger Lakes region is filled with rolling hills, an abundance of history, Native American influences, cobwebs of bike trails and quiet roads, ice cream, artist and craftsmen galleries, waterfalls, breweries, flowers, and birds. And, of course, lakes.