Day 19: Port Byron to Newark

May 23, 2025

Day 19: Port Byron to Newark

Yesterday, I left Mike and Mary’s hideaway house around 9:30 AM. Outside was drizzling, but I was getting bored and decided to ride anyway.

Not too far down the road, I saw a female cyclist coming from the other direction. We didn’t stop to chat because we were separated by the road traffic.

I took Route 31 all the way to Clyde. Mike had advised me to do that rather than going on the bike trail since it’ll be faster and I won’t be missing much. Also Route 31 had a wide shoulder to ride on.

I got into Clyde around 11 AM. I was debating with myself whether to eat at Bei Teng Chinese restaurant or somewhere else. Then a local man suggested that I should eat there because the food is good. I was still a bit doubtful since this Chinese restaurant seemed like a typical takeout place, definitely not authentic Chinese food. Nonetheless, I had a General Tsao chicken lunch special there.

After resting for a bit at the restaurant, I knew I would be early to arrive at my Warmshowers host’s house in Newark since Clyde is half way from Port Byron to Newark. I should arrive around 1:30 PM. To avoid the rain in the afternoon, I decided to get moving.

I stuck to Route 31 the whole way and didn't go on the bike trail. My other thought was that the trail might be flooded or there might be more downed trees on the path due to the rain, so it was better to ride on the road. Normally, I’d pick the trail over the road, but not this time.

I made good speed on the road, averaging 12 miles per hour. I arrived at my Warmshowers host’s house in Newark around 1 PM, having ridden 30.6 miles for the day.

Paul is my host for the day. He didn’t come back to the house until 1:20 PM. I met his Labradoodle named Louie, who is very calm and gentle. Paul worked at USDA for 33 years. Now he’s retired. He and his wife have done many bike tours around the country before his wife passed away about a month ago.

After taking a shower, I browsed the internet for a bit since Paul was out again. When he came back, I was a bit hungry so I walked to downtown Newark and had a chicken pesto pasta at Parker’s Grille and Tap House. For some reason, I still wasn’t full after a huge plate of food. I ended up walking across the street to Save A Lot and bought some trail mix, beef jerky, and other snacks to munch on.

When I came back to the house I was tired so I went to bed early, around 7 PM. This morning, I woke up at 5:20 AM, before the sunrise.

I weighed myself on the scale. I'm currently at 164 pounds. I had lost about ten pounds since I started my journey.

Around 7:45 AM, Paul woke up. I plan to grab breakfast in town before riding to Rochester.