Start: 7:36 AM

Finish: 4:42 PM  

Saddle Time: 6:01

Ascent: 214 feet

Descent:  117 feet

Miles: 73

Total Miles: 3,521

Highlight: Rode straight through Syracuse almost entirely on bike path.

Lowlight: Poor cellular signal and terrible hotel wifi is making this difficult.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

I can’t tell you how many people have asked me “how old are you?”.  Often the question is asked by someone really interested in my trip, like they want to do this someday.  I guess they see me, some guy with gray hair riding across country and want to place me in the spectrum of age relative to them.  Helping to answer the question, how long does this dream have before I’m too old. I don’t know what they expect to hear.  I think of myself as 25 but I certainly don’t look it. Do I look like I’m in my 60’s or older? When I say “53” does it match up with their expectation?

I had this conversation with a guy I met today while taking pictures of a drained portion of the old canal in Jordan.  He passed and circled back to talk with me. He’s ridden the Erie Canal and some other similar distance tours but wants to do a cross country tour on highway 20, the longest road in America, from Boston to Newport, Oregon, but feels intimidated. I told him my usual line about how this requires nothing special, anyone can do it, better fitness just means you will finish sooner.

I often get good road information from talking with locals.  This guy told me the Empire State Trail through Syracuse was recently completed earlier this year. When I rode the canal five years ago the route through Syracuse was on a bunch of roads with few bike lanes or bike paths to speak of.  That’s totally changed, the route now is almost all bike path.

Most of my ride today is along the old canal.  Recall the canal was built in phases with some sections replaced by larger, newer canal.  In many places the old canal was drained to make way for development while more remote areas were overtaken by nature. The town of Jordan was built around the old canal, now drained with houses and condominiums built up to the edge in some places but some areas have been turned into park so you can walk around in the old canal. It gives you a much better understanding of the construction that went in to building the canal.

The canal covers a lot of ground so at some point it will have to cross other streams which was accomplished by building aqueducts over the obstruction. This seems obvious to me now, the Romans built huge aqueducts a couple thousand years ago but I never made the connection.  The canal aqueducts fascinated me when I first saw them five years ago, the concept of a canal bridging over another body of water. I passed over several aqueducts which have been rebuilt with concrete and others that have been damned off and allowed to fall apart. The Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct is one exception, it was rebuilt ten years ago using original building materials including huge wood planks and glue. Fascinating.

I reached the outskirts of Syracuse after about 10 miles.  Google wanted me to take city streets most of the way but I decided to follow the Empire State Trail signs based on the conversation I had earlier. I’m glad I did because the ride was very nice. It was certainly longer, winding its way through the city but almost entirely on paths with a few stretches of bike lane.  They even routed out the east side of Syracuse on a busy four lane highway by building the path in the median, a great way to create bike paths in congested areas.

The route east of Syracuse to Rome was equally interesting, riding through the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, a 35 mile section of restored old canal and towpath. The surface was a mix of pavement and stone dust, really good riding. The area was more remote than previous sections of the current canal, more like a ride through the woods with a canal by your side.

I’m staying in a Days Inn in Rome tonight. I’ve stayed in a few Days Inn on this trip, all are clearly straight out of the 1960’s with how they are designed.  While I don’t normally need handicap access I have noticed the complete lack of ramps leading anywhere only because I need to lift my bike up over curbs. Day’s Inn seems to be the worst offender. I think every other chain has at least entered the late 20th century.

Rome is a good size town but there’s nothing walking distance from my motel but a Denny’s and a Chinese restaurant.  I decided to repeat my meal of a couple days ago and order Indian food through GrubHub. Chicken Saag, naan, and a couple samosas.  Finally I can buy good beer as singles and not a six pack so I grabbed a couple tall boy New Belgium Imperial IPA’s from a convenience store next door. My plan was to have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow but I ended up eating everything but one samosa and of course the beer is for tonight.

Only three days left.  Tomorrow I’m staying in Amsterdam but still debating the next day.  My current plan is to do a century ride Thursday followed by an easy ride on my last day. I’m somewhat waiting on the weather, I don’t want bad weather on a 100 mile ride.

Start: 7:29 AM

Finish: 6:33 PM  

Saddle Time: 7:41

Ascent: 150 feet

Descent:  116 feet

Miles: 92

Total Miles: 3,447

Highlight: Rode for about 10 miles with a couple guys I met along the way.

Lowlight: Getting a flat tire 3 miles from the end of a 92 mile day, in a mosquito infested swamp.

*Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

• I had about a 10 mile gap in my cyclemeter data, I forgot to restart after stopping. I corrected the miles and saddle time above, best I could.

A long distance bike tour definitely changes your perspective on may things riding.  For example, I’m staying in the same hotel as five years ago. I recall a somewhat long climb from the canal to the hotel. This year it was nothing, barely noticeable. Another example is heat, today was hot and humid but honestly I barely noticed, at least I had trees for cover unlike the 1,500 miles of plains riding. Lastly are bike problems. I had a flat tire three miles from the end of a 92 mile day. No big deal, I’ll just change the tube and move on.

While planning this day I underestimated the distance.  I was using Google to map town to town but didn’t notice Google choose a lot of road riding rather than sticking to the canal. I want to ride the canal which added another 6-8 miles, no big deal but it made a long day longer.

I started a little later than I wanted, I slept too late and had to get last nights blog post finished. I felt the humidity when I walked outside this morning, it’s going to be hot. I almost don’t care at this point, I rode through worse. I’m just hoping to keep my rain free record intact but with this weather it could shower at any time.

On my way out of Brockport I noticed patches of wet trail. I don’t think it rained last night but perhaps the dark clouds I saw ahead of me yesterday dumped rain on this area. I wasn’t a problem, just had to pay more attention on the trail.

Most of todays canal riding was like yesterday on stone dust trail. The first half was in good condition, wide and well maintained but the quality decreased later in the day, in some areas more like single track path, not terrible but slowed me down especially with patches of mud. 

Part of the reason I like riding the canal is the history, the trail has a load of historical markers and information.  I rode past most markers and sights since I did the ride five years ago but I should mention some historical context for the Erie Canal. The idea dates back to 1780 when building a canal to link Lake Erie with the Hudson River was first proposed but it wasn’t until 1807 that work began.  The canal would require a lot of engineering for the time since the Hudson River is about 600 feet lower in elevation than Lake Erie but the payoff would enable much quicker and cheaper shipment of grains and goods from the midwest to the east coast. The project had a lot of resistance, many called at “Clinton’s Folly” or “Clinton’s Big Ditch” after the governor of New York at the time. Funny how a Clinton was controversial even back then. Times haven’t changed, most people are not big picture, visionary thinkers and half the country still hates the Clintons. Once complete in 1825 transportation costs were reduced by 95% from pack animal transportation. Over the years the canal underwent a number of expansions, including digging new sections in areas to handle much larger boats. Now the vast majority of boats are pleasure craft but some commercial traffic still makes its way down the canal. 

I stopped and talked to a number of people along the way which added to the days length.  I rode for about 10 miles with a couple cyclists I met along the way who are riding the canal. I do prefer riding solo but at times it’s nice to ride and talk to other cyclists.  We had good a conversation over an hour until they stopped for lunch.  I really needed to keep riding as I still had fifty miles to go, and it’s getting hot.

I officially left the Northern Tier today, it went north in Palmyra into the Adirondacks before heading east to Maine while I will continued on the canal towards Albany. It’s been a long ride. The route moved onto road later in the day for about 20 miles. The roads either had good shoulder or little traffic, it was fine.  

About three miles from my destination I was back on canal path when I heard “click, click, click” with each revolution. I must have picked up something on my tire.  I stopped and found a big piece of metal sticking out which I removed and heard “hisss”. No problem, I have a brand new inner tube I bought at the last bike shop I visited plus I patched and saved my last two inner tubes. Unfortunately it was my back tire which is more of a pain to remove. I reinstalled the new tube, started to pump it up and the stem fell apart in my hands.  I’m guessing crappy spare parts that made their way onto the market in a global shortage of bike supplies. Thankfully I had a patched tube, hopefully it will hold.

I didn’t get to my motel until abut 6:30, just too late for me. It may sound plenty early but my evening routine of unpacking, taking a shower, getting food, writing and publishing this blog and instagram takes several hours. The next couple days will be shorter, I only have one more long day left.

Weedsport is basically an exit off the highway with little around for food.  I hate eating fast food for dinner but I have little option, tonight it’s Arby’s across the street and a couple tall boy beers from the gas station, should fuel me up for tomorrow. Thankfully my ride will be much shorter than today.  Still hoping the weather holds out, preserving my no rain record.

Start: 7:15 AM

Finish: 4:54 PM  

Saddle Time: 6:52

Ascent: 150 feet

Descent:  116 feet

Miles: 86

Total Miles: 3,356

Highlight: Riding into downtown Buffalo early on a Sunday morning, no traffic.

Lowlight: Nothing for lunch but ice cream, could be worse but I was lacking energy towards the end.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

I complained about last night dumpy motel but it turns out to have been a good place to stay. I had to travel ten miles into downtown Buffalo to pick up the canal trail but early Sunday morning traffic was almost non existent. Most of the roads had bike lanes but no traffic always makes the ride better. Once on the trail I rode alongside the canal all day. The first forty miles were paved up to the town of Lockport then the trail turned to stone dust which is a perfectly fine trail surface.  When dry it’s almost like pavement, although everything gets really dusty.

New York is working on a lot of the trail in the Buffalo area. In the city they are adding separate bike paths on the roads and along the canal they are updating the trail with wider pavement for both cyclists and pedestrians. I’m glad they are investing in their Empire State Trail network, 700 miles of cycling trail from New York City north to Canada and Buffalo to Albany along the canal trail. I had to make a number of detours in the Buffalo area to get around trail construction.

I rode the canal five years ago so most was familiar but there is a lot of new trail in the Buffalo area.  Back then the trail was closed under the Freedom Bridge to Canada. Now I see they added an observation deck next to the bridge.  With the border closed the bridge was almost empty.

I saw a lot of cyclists in the Buffalo area, not just day riders but people geared up to ride the whole canal trail.  I rode with a group of three for a while, we talked about my trip and their future plans for a cross country ride.

I reached the halfway point in the town of Lockport which has the first locks heading east, a set of two that drop he canal about 50 feet down the Niagara escarpment. The original canal had 5 locks, two have been restored as tourist attractions next to the modern locks. While I was there a couple kayaks entered the locks, seemed a little scary in a such a small boat. The majority of canal traffic now are recreational boats rather than commercial barges.

I remembered Lockport having a good ice cream shop so I stopped for a late second breakfast. I had a “lotus blossom” sundae with coconut and black sesame ice cream drizzled with vanilla honey.  Really good. Turns out it was second breakfast and lunch. I had hoped to grab a sandwich somewhere down the canal but I forgot there really isn’t much along the canal, the towns are pretty sparse. I didn’t want to venture off too far so I ate a cliff bar and just kept riding. I was also running low on water, I forgot to fill my bottles in Lockport. I started rationing my last drops of water but I found a gas station with 15 miles to go so I downed a Gatorade to get me to the finish line.

A couple other interesting features along the canal are the lift bridges and the guard gates. The lift bridges are low bridge that lift vertically straight up to allow boats to pass. You may recall the Low Bridge folk song. They seem to lift whenever boats arrive rather than on a schedule. The guard gates can be lowered to isolate portions of the canal if they are breached or need to be lowered for work.

The Erie Canal is a great first trip for anyone interested in bike touring. It’s a very easy ride, almost totally flat and there are accommodations reasonably spaced. The New York Parks and Trails Department does an annual fully supported trip in July. It’s a camping trip but they stay in places that provide access to bathrooms and showers like local schools or they provide shower and bathroom trucks. You can have all your gear shipped ahead. Breakfast and dinner is provided along with snack stops along the way. They ride over the course of a week so the days are not too long making it very family friendly. Sounds like a great way to ride the trail.

I’m staying in Brockport tonight, one of the larger towns along the western end of the canal with plenty options for places to stay and eat. Tomorrow is another 80+ mile day to Weedsport.

Start: 8:25 AM

Finish: 2:50 PM  

Saddle Time: 4:25

Ascent: 585 feet

Descent:  600 feet

Miles: 58

Total Miles: 3,270

Highlight: Realizing this is my last day of all road riding.

Lowlight: My dumpy motel didn’t have a room for me on the ground floor so I had to carry my bike and bags up a flight of stairs.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

Like yesterday, today was another short day, about 60 miles to the south side of Buffalo.  I wanted to stay downtown but everything was too expensive since it’s Saturday night. I left late and made it a slow ride so I didn’t get there too early.

I cooked up oatmeal on my camp this morning in my motel room. I do this once in a while when hotels don’t offer breakfast and there’s nothing close by. I don’t want to go further than next door and would rather eat before leaving for the day. This motel like most places I’ve stayed has a microwave but I don’t have anything microwaveable.  A collapsable silicone bowl would have been a good addition to my gear.

Most of today was a continuation of yesterday on route 5 all the way into Buffalo. I was not looking forward to this ride.  I expected poor roads with heavy traffic which turned out not to be the case.  Traffic picked up in the afternoon as I was closer to Buffalo but the shoulder was good for most of the ride. Like yesterday the map showed me close to the lake but I would never know it’s there most of the time.  I caught glimpses here and there but trees and houses along the shoreline blocked most of the view.  I passed a couple state parks but for the most part the entire shoreline is privately owned.  I had some good views closer to Buffalo.

About 20 miles out of Buffalo I passed a sign saying I was entering Seneca Nation of Indians Territory.  I wondered if I would be asked to show my recreation pass like back in Blackfeet Nation.

I made a couple stops for food along the way, one at a Tim Horton’s which I see everywhere around here so figured I would give it a try, had a fine breakfast sandwich.  Later I had ice cream at a local place which fueled me for the rest of the ride. I pulled into a couple of the state parks and turnoffs but didn’t find anything of interest to photograph. The town of Dunkirk had a nice waterfront area. It was a steel town well into 1950’s then manufacturing thereafter until recent decades. The waterfront was improved to attract more tourists and fishing boats. They did a nice job.

I had another guy talk to me while riding.  He pulled along side and asked where I was heading.  He had done a cross country ride years ago from Maryland to Oregon.  We talked for a little while until cars started to pile up and being New York someone started honking so he moved on. While driving away he yelled “you look good!”. I guess I look better than I feel.

I’m staying in an EconoLodge about 10 miles south of downtown right off Interstate 90.  The receptionist is behind bullet proof glass so that’s what kind of a place this is.  They didn’t have any single rooms on the ground floor so I had to take my bags off my bike and carry them and my bike up the motel stairs, not a big deal but annoying. Its dumpy but half the price of hotels downtown.

There’s a large mall across the highway but not much else in the immediate area except for a place called The Original Warehouse right next door.  Before heading to my room I headed over for a late lunch, it’s like a Chuck E Cheese for adults with a restaurant, bar and games.  It was fine but I don’t want to eat here tonight. I realized I’m back in populated areas where things like UberEats and GrubHub exist so I ordered Indian food for dinner. The room will probably still smell like Indian food for whoever stays here tomorrow.

Today was the last of all day road riding.  Tomorrow I start the Erie Canal where most of the next 5 days will be on canal tow path. Albany to home also has a good amount of rail trail. The rest of the tour should be pretty easy, there will be some long days but trails make riding much more enjoyable.

Start: 8:04 AM

Finish: 2:45 PM  

Saddle Time: 5:06

Ascent: 585 feet

Descent:  600 feet

Miles: 64

Total Miles: 3,212

Highlight: Passed two state lines, Pennsylvania and New York.

Lowlight:  Riding for nearly 60 miles along the lake but barely catching a glimpse.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

Today and tomorrow are short rides, only about 60 miles each.  It just worked out that way with where I could find accommodations.  I could use some shorter days, I’m starting to feel run down again.  I feel fine riding but it takes a while for my legs to start working in the morning and I feel like I could use more sleep.

I started today a little later than normal and made a leisurely ride. I passed two state lines along the way, first Pennsylvania then about 50 miles later New York, states  10 and 11. One more state and I’ll be home.

I started today a little later than normal and made a leisurely ride. The morning was cool as it has been recently.  I soon passed the first of two state lines, Pennsylvania (state 10), around mile 7 then New York (state 11) about 50 miles later New York.  One more state and I’ll be home.

Looking over the route in the morning I expected to have some nice lake views but that didn’t pan out, the lake was hidden behind trees almost the entire way except for Erie, Pennsylvania.  I stopped for lunch in Erie, with a short day I figured a restaurant wouldn’t hurt.  I had a perch sandwich at a bar/cafe on the water, the fish was good so was the view.

The town has nice bike path along the water but most of todays ride was on roads with a fair amount of traffic and good shoulders. It never felt dangerous but riding in traffic is not peaceful like the country farm roads I’ve been riding the past couple weeks. Those days are over but I have the Erie Canal coming up.

I passed through the Lake Erie Wine Country with a number of vineyards and wineries along the way.  I hear it’s the largest wine region east of the rockies, I read it on the internet so it must be true. I’m drinking one of the local wines now, too sweet for my tastes but otherwise good.

I came across an interesting crop.  I kept passing fields with what looked like small shrubs, couldn’t figure out what they were growing.  I finally asked a local who said they are in fact shrubs.  The farmer alternates planting shrubs for nurseries and corn.  Interesting way to diversify.

I made it to my dumpy but expensive motel really early so I set out looking for ice cream or something sweet before checking in.  Entering a pie shop I was  required to wear a mask for the first time in about 6 weeks.  I’ve been riding through the midwest fantasy land like it’s 2019, eating in restaurants and going places where absolutely no one wears masks. My mask wearing was in vain, they don’t serve single slices only whole pies, not much I can do with a whole pie other than make myself sick. So I settled for Gatorade and an ice cream sandwich from 7-11.

Buffalo tomorrow then the Erie Canal. East of Buffalo over half my riding will be on canal or rail trail.  Really looking forward to getting away from traffic.