FLCC> Cayuta Lake-Odessa Ride notes

[Steven Powell]

As John points out, the diner in Odessa is one of the most 
cyclist-friendly establishments -- they had the hot coffee flowing 
and the heater plugged in before we could even sit down.  This place 
should definitely be added to the list of diners within 20-30 miles 
of Ithaca that was circulating on the listserv some weeks ago.  For 
the record, the diner is actually called the "Village Take-Out 
Pizzeria" but don't be fooled by the name -- it has a full 
diner-style menu and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

--Steve


>A surprisingly large group departed the Professional Building about 
>10:15am this morning in a light rain that had more or less stopped.Ê 
>Those riding near the front consisted of Stewart Wolsh, Gary Hodges, 
>David Sahn, ÊAlex Deyhim, Êand Jim Millar. As I recall, riding more 
>to the rear were Evan Palmer-Young, SteveÊ Bowman, Steve Powell, Eva 
>Tarcsai, Jason Stilwell, and Tom Sage from the Enwell-Binghamton 
>area.Ê As per usual, I floated about a bit. ÊÊÊHeavy ominous clouds 
>hung at about 750 feet with a bit of light off at the margins.Ê For 
>better or worse, I had left my gortex cycling suit in my car along 
>with neoprene booties.Ê Jason had firmly declined offers of 
>additional clothing and many of us were in awe of his ruggedness, 
>cycling as he was in a tee-shirt, shorts, and no gloves with temps 
>in the mid-50s.Ê At Mecklenberg, we picked up Brenda (one of my 
>cycling scribe rivals-:) ÊÊAfter the 9.8 miles to Mecklenberg, we 
>proceeded due south on CR 6 with its several large dairy farms.Ê 
>Andrejs' notes describe this portion of the ride:
>
>"This stretch on CR6 is the heart of this ride. It meanders into the 
>Cayutaville valley and finally ends in a T at CR 10 opposite the 
>cemetery -- a good place for a rest stop."Ê
>
>It was during this long section, before dropping into the 
>Cayutaville Valley, that Steve PowellÊ explained to me that we are 
>nearing the end of an 11-year period of relatively little sun spot 
>activity.ÊÊ "Sun spots can disrupt the GPS satellite communications 
>which in turn can hamper aircraft navigation based on GPS. Luckily, 
>they didn't scrap some of the older navigation technologies."Ê
>
>At the Cemetery T, Eva, Jason, Tom, and Steve Powell headed down to 
>Odessa to check out the "Carry-Out CafŽ" which specializes in 
>Belgian Waffles and eggs.ÊÊ Steve tells me he had both. This is a 
>cycling friendly diner, so much so that the wait staff set up an 
>electric heater to provide extra warmth for our four wet cyclists.Ê 
>ÊEight other cyclists, visiting from Canada, also arrived for food 
>and warmth.
>
>The rest of us pushed on and within minutes the rain had picked 
>up.ÊÊ We were soon very wet-at least I know I was-and temps were 
>falling. ÊÊSteve Bowman and Brenda dropped back and the rest of us 
>rode without stop back to the Prof. Building, Stewart peeling off 
>for Tburg and home where we turned East.Ê ÊDavid and I realized that 
>each of us had some hypothermia as we cranked up the heat in my 
>car.ÊÊÊ I later learned that the Odessa diner group returned by the 
>most direct route and did suffer some cold feet and hands on the way 
>back.Ê Surely Jason Stilwell deserves the "most rugged cyclist" 
>award.
>
>Ride safe,ÊÊ John
>
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-- 
Steven Powell
Cornell University
School of Electrical & Computer Engineering
321 Rhodes Hall
Ithaca, NY  14853
Tel # 607-255-4551
Fax # 607-255-6236
e-mail: sp35 at cornell.edu