Day end

Oh my God!!  420 miles.   Was that crazy or what.  I never thought we would arrive in time to check our bikes and buy our tickets.  But we made it.  In fact I did my first century today. I could have never done this without John.  He was a great domestique.  I have to say I don't know how 500 people do this in July. This ride was not the easiest of rides but of course we jampacked it.  It is suppose to be done in 10 days and we did it in half. I need a drink soon.  

Some interesting sights along the way today were several white bikes which is always sad to see. We saw another sail boat pass through a lock. We rode a lot of sandy trails this time which was frustrating at times. The trails went to sandy to paced at different times.  Unfortunately we saw more abandoned locks then ones in use.  It will be interesting to read up more on how these canals were built than abandoned.

Well I am glad the bikes are boxed despite not being able to remove John's one pedal. There has to be a better way of removing pedals.  So hopefully the ride back to Buffalo will be quick and we can drive back to Cleveland.

Day 5

Ok talk about some more killer hills.  Since we camped so far out of town we took a short cut.  That short cut involve a lot of hills.  Well we have done about 40 or so miles.  We happen to find a place called TJ Pizza in Fultonville.   So we should be taking off shortly.  I will say that the weather is much better.  The humidity is gone so it's more comfortable riding. 

Hey we finally ran into a father and son riding the same trail today. We are surprised that they didn't pass us yet.  The mom is their sag wagon and they aren't carrying gear but hopefully they will try this again carrying their stuff. Well we are off again.

Day 5

The final test is today.  Will we make it in time to catch Amtrak back to Buffalo today.  We have a lot of miles to do and I hope my legs are up to the challenge.  Find out later if we make it. 

Canal Trails

One thing I should note is that these trails don't seem to be used as much as the GAP or C&O.  Unless we were near a major town, we saw very few people which is a shame.  I think riding by real working locks is fascinating especially if a boat happens to need to move through the lock.  But I will say that the state has a long way to go to connecting these trails.  They have a lot of trail sections but they are not quite connected. 

Day 4

Well we finally made it to Herkimer.  I thought we would never make it to our campground.  I have learned my lesson on this trip to factor in the mileage to where you are staying.  To say I am tired is an understatement. 

We did mostly trail riding which was nice. It is something to see that there are a few abandoned canals that we rode by.  The Erie Canal is not quite a connected and working canal. 

So the trail was a little difficult because of last nights rain.  But it wasn't that bad.  I think we rode another 70 some miles.  We even managed to come after a storm hit.  So we didn't get caught in any rain storms.  

I am a little worried about tomorrow's mileage. I hope I can make it.  It is going to be a long ride again but at least it is suppose to be cooler. So I hope we sleep well tonight. 

Day 4

Well it rain the entire night. Wasn't sure if it would sto before we needed to take off but it did.  I stayed nice and dry in my tent. We are back on trails again and somehow we are only seeing abandoned canals. The trails have been muddy but they are starting to get better.  We have done at least 30 miles so far and we are in Rome.  I hope we pick up the working canal soon since the locks on it are very interesting.  It's still humid today and overcast but they are saying the temps should drop tomorrow. 

Hey my bike got cleaned by the rain last night:).  But how quickly it got dirty again this morning:(

Water

Water is something I am truly appreciating.  I can't begin to tell you how many 2 liter bottles of water each day I am drinking.  Between the humidity and the distance, I am so thirsty throughout the day.  So I have started carrying extra in case we don't run into a town in time.  So don't take water for granted. 

You know one of the things I like about traveling by bike is finding places to eat. Like yesterday we went into a place called Growler's Pub in Holley which was nice. Then today for breakfast we went to Meg's Cafe where many locals went. In fact they would just go behind the counter to serve them self coffee.

Of course we also talked to people along the way in these town. At Tops, we stopped for donuts and talked to a local about riding the canal. Hopefully he plans on buying the guidebook and is inspired to ride it one day.

But talking to locals along the way makes this trip more enjoyable plus you learn more about these places. So everyone should consider traveling by bike some day.

Well the heavens let loose but at least I am in my tent now. I hope that I will be able to sleep through this.

Well I need to find my legs. I left them some time ago along the road to Syracuse. We rode a hard 82 miles. I had no idea it would be this hard.

Well there is a storm coming this way but we have our tents up and we should be fine until it passes. Hopefully we will start our ride dry in the morning.

Syracus here we are!

Wow!  I can't believe we made it.  That was some of the toughest riding I have done in a long time.  Plus it doesn't help that I am carrying 45 pounds on my bike.  Talk about riding up some serious hills.  We should be at our state park soon.

3rd Day

Well we are off and the winds are still strong.  We also got off track following these tour markers. We are going to ignore them in order to cut down our cycling. We are hoping to get to Green Lakes State Park before it might rain.  Now we are passing through the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge.  Everything is so green out here.  

Well we are off to Auburn. Write to you soon. 

Good Night Everyone

Well it has been a long day and I am ready for bed.  Sorry about the foggy pictures.  I may have a scratch on my camera.  I can't seem to clear it away.  

Any way, we are staying at an RV campground which ended up being quite nice.  They don't normally take in tents, but they made an exception for us.  It was really quiet so we should get a great night's sleep.

Well I am hoping the rain is only a chance and that we miss it.  Have a good night:)

Not sure what i hate more, the wind or the sun beating on me. These last two days have been windy and hot.

We have only run into a few cyclists riding the canal like we are. We haven't really seen many cyclists except near some of the towns.

I like how the towns hug close to the canal. Since so many boats go up and down the canal, the cities benefit from these visitors.

Well we are in Newark and are going to ride the next 5 miles to Lyons where we are camping. We should be ending are day at 70 miles. Another long day.

Interesting tree we saw today. 

So far the trail has changed a lot. We started at 7 am and made good progress into Rochester. We never saw this city since we rode around the city and the roads were all paved. There are some beautiful houses and docks along the canal. Even saw a horse farm. We are now in Palmyra where the Mormon faith was born. We have just one more main city to get to which is Newark than we go to Lyons for are campground. I will have to say today is a hot one. I didn't think it would be this warm.

Pictures along near Pittsford

Pictures near and around Rochester

Holley to Pencerport

Photos from Day 1

Well I certainly underestimated the mileage today. We ended the day at 76 miles. Talk about a long day in the saddle.

We arrived in Buffalo and left the car at the Amtrak Depew station and took off to find some part of the canal path. Buffalo was interesting. We rode through some not so great neighborhoods and nice ones as well until we found what we thought was the path. You would think they would label it better. What saved us were the painted markers left by an earlier bike tour.

We loved the path near Buffalo where we watched all the boats. The Erie canal is still a working canal. In fact while we were in Locksport we watched them work the locks to pass a boat through the locks. So cool. Toward the end I was definitely tired. It's been a long day.

I will say that I really enjoy passing through the towns. In some way it was like the C&O and GAP that I did with Pam but it is missing the history along the way. Hopefully we will still see something.

Anyway we made it to Red Rock Pond RV Resort which is really nice. I hope to get a great rest so we can tackle tomorrow where we are off to Lyons NY.

Well good night and sweet dreams to everyone!

Cycling the Erie Canal

Call me crazy but tomorrow will be the start of my travel along the Erie Canal in the state of New York.  My brother John and I will be driving to Buffalo New York where we will leave our car and begin our adventure.  We will be traveling almost 400 miles to Albany New York on a trail that has been groomed for cycling.  This trip will be a first time where not only will I be camping it but I will be carrying my camping equipment as well.  My first attempt at camping was with my friends Pam and Dave when we traveled from Albany New York to New York City.  On that trip we camped but we had our gear carried for us.  This time I will be the sherpa of my gear and staying at campgrounds along the way.  Luckily I have my brother John with me who is an experienced camper and cyclist.

So wish us luck as we travel our way along the Erie Canal.  Hopefully I can get good reception and keep you interested in following our trip.  Bon Voyage!