Traveling Torches and Interstate Adventures

Today we said goodbye to Rochester and headed off to Buffalo. The Owenses were great hosts, and we had a great time during our visit there, visiting the hospital and meeting Dillon's family. We left early in an effort to beat the heat, but the day was overcast with intermittent sprinkles, so the heat never really got that bad. But we still wanted to make it to the Anchor Bar in time for lunch.

The riding wasn't bad. With no big hills, we managed to make it most of the way with relative ease. Then, about 20 miles east of Buffalo, we saw a runner carrying a torch. We had to stop and talk with him. It turned out he was a member of World Harmony Run and doing his stage of their relay. He took a picture with us and let us hold the torch, which has been held by Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, and Nelson Mandela, among others.

Having been suitably pumped up by this experience, we continued on toward Buffalo. Unfortunately, it seems that NY-33 runs into I-90. Before we knew it, we'd turned onto the interstate. Worse, the shoulder was lacking, so we had to keep riding for a couple minutes before we could pull off to the side. Finally, we found a place to stop. About a minute later, a truck from the New York state DOT pulled up behind us. AJ, one of the drivers, asked us what we were doing. We explained that we weren't from the area, and then he told us that some people evidently watch the cameras lining the interstate, so when they saw two guys on bicycles riding down the highway, they called in AJ and his partner to see what was going on. We had to put the bikes up on the car and get off the interstate. On the plus side, everyone was pretty nice about it. After we got off, we took our bikes down again, checked our maps, and kept riding to the Anchor Bar. Anyway, that's the story of the first (and last) time we got on the interstate.

Right after we pulled into the Anchor Bar, home of the Buffalo wing, a man in a pretty nice car pulled up. He told us his name was Ivano, and evidently he's the restaurant's owner. Then he told us to take a picture with the car and send it to him so he could put it up on the wall. So soon, hopefully, we'll make it up there with a host of other celebrities. After taking a picture, we went in to eat some wings. The original is pretty good.

After lunch, we left to meet up with Savanah, the girl we're riding in honor of here in Buffalo, and her family, where we're staying tonight. They took us out for some dinner, and tomorrow we'll head to the hospital.

~ Tom