Red Bird Market — Close to Home

Imagine a grocery store that specializes in locally produced foods and delivers to your home! Red Bird Market in Fairport is proving that locally produced food can fill a grocery store providing a host of unique and creative choices.

Some of the local specialties: Hand-pinched pierogies from The Pierogie Guy, Flour City Pasta made from wheat ground at the pasta factory in Pittsford, amazing butternut squash based hot sauces from the Karma Sauce Company in Bushnell’s Basin, a variety of cheeses from Miranda Cheese, Cuba Cheese Shoppe, Lively Run Goat Farm, and Yancy’s Fancy, grape twists and Healthy Purple fresh grape juice, natural salad dressings, and jams provided by Arbor Hill Vineyard in Naples.

Hours of Operation:

December – April:
      Monday – Friday 9am – 7pm
      Saturday 9am – 5pm

May – November:
      Monday – Friday 9am – 7pm
      Saturday 8am – 5pm

Bike Around Canandaigua Lake

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Biking in the Finger Lakes is challenging and thrilling. The steep glacier-cut hills require iron lungs and some fat gears, but the thrills you get from the many hilltop views of a lake stretching out for 15 or 20 miles are unparalleled. Canandaigua Lake is a beautiful ride as you get many great waterside and panoramic views as you make the circuit. I think it also has some of the most challenging hills of any lake circuit.

Most lakeside routes have very narrow, gravel-filled shoulders, and the more established, well-paved routes have cars traveling at 55 MPH, so it is best to start very early in the morning, or ride during an off-peak time of year like May or October.

The Route: About 43 miles

There can be strong winds coming from the west. I chose to ride clock-wise around the lake to avoid riding into the wind on the last leg. Stating from Kershaw Park in Canandaigua, I rode on Lakeshore Drive to RT 364 (red route on map).

Heading south, continue to Middlesex where you follow a left-right jog and pick up RT 245 (a parallel quieter route runs on West Ave (364). Continue on 245 south to Parrish Rd at the south end. For a great lunch stop, continue into Naples, before turning north on the west side.

Heading north on RT 21 you can take that  route to 5 & 20 and loop back to your starting spot, or you can pick up the more scenic West Lake Rd route, mid-way up the lake (blue route). This side of the lake seemed MUCH harder and hillier than the east side, but I was more tired too.

If you want to follow an alternative ride on the West Lake Road from town to Route 21, click here.