Day 52: Fair Haven to Rochester

90km/56m, 5hrs 40mins, 15.9kph/9.9mph, 385m/1251ft of climbing.

The west wind has saved its best until last. Unremitting headwinds today, said by the meteorologists to be fluctuating between 10 and 20 mph. Hard going, and more of the same forecast for tomorrow. But hey, I am not to be discouraged at this late stage.

Largely uneventful ride into Rochester NY, my biggest city since Quebec. Tomorrow to Buffalo, and then back into Canada on Friday.

One of the things I have been musing about is the US reputation for good service. I've decided it is largely bunk. It's very friendly - one almost never experiences anything approaching the "Miserable Bastard Arms" syndrome that afflicts so many misanthropic publicans in the UK. But beneath that superficiality one very frequently encounters poor service. Lots of bars, restaurants etc. are staffed by people - often, but not always, young people - who are simply incompetent. Pleasant, willing, friendly, but utterly clueless and clearly untrained. I have yet to receive an answer to any question about a menu in a small-town restaurant, including those in hotels, that hasn't been prefaced with a blank look and a lengthy retreat to the kitchen. I have lost count of the bar and waiting staff who have no idea of how to operate the till, and appear to push buttons at random before eventually summoning someone senior to sort it out. I have been asked whether I wanted a dessert, and then presented with my bill, while still less than half-way through my main course - this in one of the better hotels in which I have stayed. I have three times - including today - been checked into hotel or motel rooms that haven't yet been cleaned and made up. And interestingly, these episodes do not appear to give rise to any embarrassment. The impression that is frequently given is that the staff concerned don't expect to know the answers, or to be on top of the job, and sometimes that they have no idea what being on top of the job might involve.