Cycling Trip to a County Fair - Whitney Point, New York Posted on: 18 September 2018 :: Photo Credits: Huaiwei Mate SE ::
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Preface
“Want to join for a bicycle trip this weekend?”, my friend Pranav asked. It was the last week of July and the summer vacation was coming to an end. “I’ve got an extra bike. We will go to Broome County fair in Whitney Point. It will be fun. The route is scenic, and the weather is also good these days”, he added. I had never been to a county fair and it had been more than a year since I went on a bicycle trip. I immediately accepted his offer.
Day : 1
Location : Ithaca - Whitney Point - Ithaca
According to google maps, Ithaca to Whitney Point was a 3hr 20min bike ride (35miles). We left Ithaca around 7AM. It was a pleasant morning with mostly clear skies. The route was picturesque, with long stretches of corn fields running on both sides of the road.
We spotted some stately mansions along the way, but this part of New York State looked sparsely populated.
We maintained a steady pace, stopping at regular intervals to drink water and stretch. The first half of the route was mostly on flat terrain, but in the latter half there were some stretches with a significant gradient. One such stretch after Richford was particularly tiring. We had to get down from our bikes to climb up a hillock. The descent was thrilling though, as we clocked ~40mph speeds.
In the last one hour of the ride, time seemed to have slowed down. Every minute felt like an eternity. My legs were reminding me of their existence. I started to wonder whether this bike ride was a good idea. But then we encountered a beautiful river along the route.
The sight of Tioughnioga River was truly refreshing, and it provided us the energy to continue biking. We reached the Fairgrounds of Whitney Point around noon.
Parking our bikes near the entrance, we entered the fairgrounds. The area was bustling with people of all ages. Small, temporary shops had been set-up along the walkways. Just like Indian ‘Gaon ka Mela’, this county fair had street food outlets, gambling shops (yes, those typical ones like throwing rings/balls and shooting balloons for prizes), and rides for children. It reminded me of ‘Durga Pooja fairs’ from my childhood.
As hunger rolled in, we asked a local villager for vegetarian food recommendations. She told us to try ‘Deep-Fried Oreos’. I had never imagined a dish like this would exist. To our amazement, the preparer dipped Oreo biscuits in pancake batter, deep fried them, and served with powdered sugar. It was a delicious treat for the tongue! To counter the sugar rush, we bought some cheese-fries from a neighboring shop.
The main attraction of the fair was the ‘horse-pull competition’. With deep-fried Oreos and cheese-fries in our hands, we took seats in the pavilion. Pairs of mighty horses were struggling to pull a truck named ‘mean-machine’, with loud cheers from the audience. (We wondered whether PETA knew about this :D )
After finishing our food, we went to the livestock section. Cows with names like ‘Miss Kitty’, ‘Problem’, ‘Grace’ and ‘Comet’ were chilling-out in their sheds. Some of them had badges showing the year they were awarded prizes in the ‘Best Cattle’ competition.
As the clock struck 4PM, we decided to depart, in order to reach Ithaca before dark. The return journey was more difficult, as our legs were already sore from the morning ride. But we managed to push ourselves over the limits and reached Ithaca by 8.30PM, just before the sunset. Though the after-effects of this 70 miles bike-ride stayed for a few days, I decided to try longer bike trips next summer.
