2020-08-12 43 -77

Location

The Buttonwood Golf Course just northwest of scenic Spencerport, NY

Participants

Expedition

Rode my bike out to this one from my apartment in downtown Rochester. I took the Erie Canalway Trail for much of the ride out there, which is a trail I love to ride south and east of the city, but I had never been on it this far west. I saw a cool houseboat driven by an old couple cruising down the canal, which was a perfect complement to the beautiful late summer weather.

Upon arriving at the golf course, I locked my bike to a fencepost out front and went into the clubhouse to pay my admission fee. The conversation with the young woman at the counter went something like this:

"Hi, so, this is going to sound a bit weird, but I'm not actually here to play golf."

"....Okay?"

I showed her my phone with the map pulled up. "I'm actually here to go to this exact GPS coordinate right in the middle of your golf course."

"....Okay?"

"So, uh, I guess I can pay the $10 nine holes of golf would usually cost? Is that okay?"

"....Um, sure. You know what, I'll give you the $9 senior rate since you're not even playing."

"Perfect, thanks so much!"

She scanned my credit card and asked, "So is this some sort of geocaching thing?"

"Well, close. It's geohashing, which is like geocaching's much weirder and more arbitrary cousin."

".....Okay, well, have fun!"

They didn't have a ticket or wristband or anything, but I had her take a photo of me in the clubhouse as admission fee proof. Short of showing you my bank statements, I'm not sure if I can provide any better proof of the matter.

The spot, of course, was not on some nice putting green or manicured fairway, but in the middle of a dense thicket full of lushly flourishing underbrush. Nevertheless, I had biked 15 miles out here and paid a $9 admission fee, so I was NOT about to let some lousy plants foil my plans this close to the end. I pushed, shoved, and scraped my way into the middle of the thicket, took a picture, and got a screenshot of my position for good measure.

I departed the clubhouse continuing northbound up Trimmer Rd. My route back to Rochester took me up through some hillier roads and through the northern parts of the city. I tend to stay in downtown, and when I do travel, I usually go south or east of the city. Biking through western and northern Rochester--areas much more heavily brutalized by the city's economic downturn as a postindustrial Rust Belt city--was a sobering reminder that the Flower City remains one with enormous divides along racial and socioeconomic lines. As a white person living in a reasonably nice part of the city (albeit in a real dump of an apartment), it's easy to forget that much of the economic recovery of the last decade or so has disproportionately benefitted the city's white population.

So, I suppose taking some detours to earn the Tron achievement also reminded me of some hard truths about this city I live in. I'm not certain that was the intended effect, but I'm glad for it.

Here's a link to my Wikiloc trail for Tron proof, also linked in the achievement ribbon.

Photos

The houseboat I saw cruising up the Erie Canal.
I see a lot of people fishing on the Canal. I always ask them if they've caught anything. They never have.
Thanks to the clubhouse receptionist for this pic.
There are probably hundreds of golf balls at the bottom of this.
I like the way this little creek curves so dramatically here.
I won't let PLANTS STOP ME.
I made it!
Obligatory sweaty/covered in flora pic.
The Avenue E bridge over the Genesee River has a beautiful view of the Lower Falls with the iconic Kodak Tower in the background.
My steed, Grimhoof, The Fifth Fastest Bike In Rochester™!