Tour de Cattaraugus : Area 3 & Olean Stars Airshow

42 MILES
1900 FT CLIMBING




My cyclophotography got a real workout today when our gang decided to ride our bikes to the Olean Airport to watch the Stars Model Airshow hosted by the Southern Tier Radio Aero Society. For more information on the airshow, click here.

I promised to make you guys all famous ... so here's Mike Higgins, his sister in the back and her husband in blue

The airport has a private landing strip, so no commercial passenger planes land here.
So to check in for breakfast and viewing the show, people were told to either fly in or drive in.

We biked in!

Olean Airport Authorities - Please make this change in your advertisements next year. Allow provision for bikes. Human power trumps all kinds of motor power, c'mon don't tell me ya'll didn't know that?!

And another thing that's peculiar is that the airport is up at a height of 2000+feet, so the roads that lead to the airport involve some serious climbing (Hors Category?), and they finally lead to the plateau where the small airport, hanger facility and landing strips are located.

A cool, strange aircraft with rear propeller

So we hung out in the hanger, had some great pancakes and eggs and talked cycling. Can you imagine, sitting in an airplane hanger and talking bikes? Some may call it a crime, but we're that crazy about this sport!!!




So we headed to the model airplane rally after that.


...And saw some spectacular model airplane action. Name these planes below, because I'm not good with recognizing aircrafts.

Funny - a lawnmower plane.. we all joked whether it would ever take off the ground or chop someone's head off..

A jet powered scaled airplane, can you believe that?

Hows my photography skills?

After getting sick of airplanes beyond a point, we left the airport and headed to Cuba lake! Cuba NY is famous for motorcycles (yawn), the first oil discovery in the United States (Seneca Oil Spring, 1627) and Cuba cheese - they have a plant here that processes and makes this stuff. Heard of Cuba cheese, anyone? Neither have I, but I'd like to taste the damn thing.



Cuba lake is really beautiful and there's property and houses all around it. The weather was awesome to go for a swim or go boating!

So Area 1, 2 and 3 are now done. More to go to get this Tour complete, in celebration of the Tour de France season.