Contributor: John & Anne Toomey
We’ve been Warmshowers hosts for 6 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We’ve hosted approximately 25 parties, although it was slow during the pandemic. Riders come through in June if heading for the west coast, and those cycling from the west coast to Maine start to appear in late August and September. Riders also stop on their way to other destinations. Our place is conveniently located, as it turns out, about 100 yards off Rt. 2 in Oswego County, NY, which is on the northern tier route in and out of the Adirondack Mountains. If you use Adventure Cycling maps, you ride right by us.
My cycling and our hosting season is normally over by the first of November. This past year, I received an inquiry to host on December 4th. A German graduate student, Raphael, was studying in Kingston, Canada. He was doing a charity ride to raise funds and awareness for the homeless in Kingston and was pedaling to Washington, DC. I think he had a friend there and also wanted to tour our nation’s capital. The 1000 Islands Bridge over the St. Lawrence River into the USA is closed to pedestrians and bikers after October 31. Raphael made arrangements for his Canadian bike club to take him across the 800-foot-long, 150-foot-high bridge via truck.
We stayed in touch by text for most of his ride down from Alexandria Bay to Richland—approximately 60 miles. It is mostly rural, with good roads, but the areas are often unlit. Lately, winters have been mild here on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, but last December 4th, we had about 4 inches of snow on the ground, although the roads were bare. The sun sets here around 4:30 pm on December 4th. He finally arrived past 6:00 pm in the dark, in a 30°F drizzle, tired, wet, and hungry.
There is plenty of area to tent on our acreage, and we offer a garden shed to our guests. Usually, folks bunk in the shed to avoid having to deal with a wet tent in the morning. Single ladies touring may be offered the futon on the enclosed porch. We let Raphael spend the night in the house in the spare bedroom. A warm shower and a hot meal put a smile on his face. We had a good visit, which is very common with our guests.
The next morning, we had a hearty breakfast, a photo session, and farewells. I had to go to Syracuse, which Raphael would eventually travel through, and I told him that if he had any issues, he should call me. The temperature and gloomy sky had not improved. It should have gotten better the further south he rode, and if I remember correctly, he was aiming for Ithaca, NY. I did get a call later; he was about 30 minutes north of me with a flat tire and couldn’t get the wheel out of the front fork. I found him on the side of the road outside of Hastings. They use so much sand and salt on the roads here in northern New York that his Trek was a mess.
Man, was it chilly out. I couldn’t remove the wheel and had no tools, like a rubber mallet. I knew of a bike shop, The Bike Loft, in North Syracuse, so we loaded his bike in the back of the Rogue and headed there. When we pulled in, Raphael noticed the sign that read, “Closed Tuesdays.” So off we went into the City of Syracuse to Syracuse Bikes, my local bike shop—technically, not local since it’s about 45 miles from home. They took him right in, and I wasn’t needed, so we said our goodbyes again.
As it turned out, he had two more flats before he left the city. He ended up spending the night in a hotel and had another shop, Mello Velo Bike Shop, fix him up. The shop has a good eclectic sandwich/coffee shop as well. Raphael was concerned that people might question the miles he didn’t ride because of the lift I gave him. I told him just to make up the miles he lacked at the other end in DC. I’m sure his supporters would understand, especially since it was the beginning of the Christmas season and all. If anything, they should give more due to his hardships and tenacity. I did observe that he was riding a Trek Madone on the narrowest tires I’ve seen among all the riders that have come through here—approximately 30 or so.
About 6-7 days later, we received a note of appreciation from our German friend saying that he had arrived in DC safe and sound. You know, it does make you feel good to help a person out if and when you can. I think the biking community is a wonderful group of people. I tell people that the reviews we get from guests say, ‘John’s okay, but Anne’s meals are well worth the stop.’ Stop in for a night and a meal if it works out for your route. It makes you feel confident about the future that there are many good people on adventures, getting educated, full of hope, sharing their lives, and blessing our home.
Update: Raphael recently contacted us to report that he is now working as an advocate in Brussels, the “bike capital of the world. ” Best of luck, Raphael!