307 Miles on the Erie Canal - Getting Started

The Journey Begins

A Little Background

My name is Libé and this trip is a BFD for me.  It’s my first bike tour.  I am a 65 year old woman, and just started riding bike about four months ago.  My friend Choche suggested I give it a try. He’s been biking since he was a young man and he loves it.  Since I used to be a runner, he thought I might like it too.  So I decided to give it a try – and I love it!  I’ve done some training – one overnight trip with my bike loaded with panniers.  And the trail is supposed to be flat, so I think I’ll be okay.  It better be flat – because Choche just had knee surgery 6 weeks ago.  The doctor said he could do this trip, but we are counting on it being a fairly easy ride – each of us for our own reasons.

Buying Boxes in Cleveland

The day has finally arrived for us to begin our bike tour of the Erie Canal Trail.  We have reserved a seat on the train from Cleveland to Albany, and our plan is to ride the Canal Trail to Buffalo, and then put together a route to get from Buffalo to Cleveland using a couple of our Adventure Cycling maps.  We have the “Cycling the Erie Canal” book to guide us from Albany to Buffalo, so we’re pretty confident about this part of the trip.  We’ve even studied a little history of the canal by reading “Wedding of the Waters” by Peter L. Bernstein.  I recommend this book.  It really helped us understand just how important the canal was in the history of the U.S.

In spite of all our good intentions, we get a late start up to Cleveland, and it is approaching midnight when we pull into the Amtrak station.  The people there are very helpful.  For only $20 each, we get a box to put our bike in, and they help us get them taped up.  (We did have to bring our own tools to take off the pedals and loosen the handlebars.) 

Even though everything goes well at the train station, it is almost 2 AM by the time we get checked into the hotel in downtown Cleveland.  The train leaves at 5:50 AM, so we have to get up by about 4 AM.  That makes it a very expensive sleep – about $30 an hour for each of us!

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie canal,
She's a good ol' worker and a good ol' pal,
Fifteen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lum-ber coal and hay,
And ev'ry inch of the way we know
From Al-ba-ny to Buff-a-lo OH

Pulling into Albany

The train ride is great!  It is very relaxing and we are able to sleep some, read some, talk about our plans some.  The food is even tolerable.  We arrive a little late because the engine quits just a few miles out of Albany, and they have to send out another engine to pull us in.  The train is HUGE – lots of passenger cars, and there is only one engine pulling the whole thing.  No wonder she can’t quite make it!

We get off the train and find our way to the baggage area downstairs.  Again, everyone is very helpful.  We get our bikes out of the boxes – and they are fine.  While Choche puts the bikes back together, I go in search of a map of Albany.  We made reservations at the Red Carpet Inn, but have no idea how to get there.  Fortunately, I find a map of the city in the gift store – and it turns out to be $6.00 well spent. 

When we first leave the train station, we have to cross a long bridge with lots of traffic.  There is a barrier between us and the traffic – but it is still quite frightening for me.  I haven’t ridden much in traffic, and it is very distracting to have cars whizzing by me.  Once we are over the bridge, we manage to find the Erie Canal Trail, using the map of Albany and the map in our Erie Canal book.   We ride along the trail a little ways before we get off onto city streets to look for the hotel. 

All the people we encounter in Albany are very helpful, with one exception.  There is a policeman who passes us on a bicycle and we ask him if the road we are on is Manning Road.  A simple yes/no question, right?  His answer – I can’t talk right now…  Fortunately the people in the street are much more helpful and we manage to make it to the hotel without any problems.  Martin checks us into the hotel and recommends Shining Rainbow for carry out.  The room is reasonably priced, clean and comfortable.  And the food from Shining Rainbow is exquisite!  Check it out - http://www.shiningrainbow.com/ !  We order steamed pot stickers and chicken with Chinese broccoli.  Yum!  Little slices of fresh ginger make it perfect – the real thing. 

With a comfortable bed, our bikes by our sides, four miles of riding done, and satisfied bellies, we fall asleep feeling at peace.

Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down,
Low bridge for we're com-in to a town,
And you al-ways know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ev-er navigated on the Er-ie can-al

Day 1 – Albany to Fultonville

Learning to Stop Without Falling

We are up early and on the road in good time.  Thursday – Day 1 of the bike tour.  Our target is Fultonville – a little over 60 miles away.  Riding out the hotel parking lot, we notice a guy pulling a bike out of his room.  Choche stays to chat while I check out and then go back to join in.  Dave and Anne are doing the Northern Tier route – and they have their own blog site.  Check it out - https://sites.google.com/site/pedalstory/.   It’s great to find kindred spirits out on the trail already!

We get back to the trail fairly easily.  Again, people are very helpful in giving us directions.  We are delighted to be riding alongside the canal on a paved trail with lovely views and great weather.  The trail only lasts a little while, though, and we are out on the road into Watervliet, where we stop for a McBreakfast – Senior coffee and egg mcmuffin.  The trail through town is a little confusing, and we find that the route to follow isn’t always well marked.  But without too much trouble, we are back on the paved bike trail within a few miles.  We pass a sign for Cohoes Falls and almost decide to turn back to take a look at it – but it looks like a pretty steep hill down, which means a pretty steep ride back up.  So we opt to keep riding.  About five miles later, we admit to each other that we wish we would have taken the trek down the hill.  But there will always be more to see – and that’s okay.

Somewhere before we get to Schenectady, I take my first fall.  Choche stops to look at a sign along the trail, and I try to stop quickly.  I have been having real problems stopping with the panniers, so this was bound to happen.  The problem is that I am stopping by putting one foot down and leaning the bike to that side.  That works okay (but not great) without panniers.  With the panniers – the weight pulls me over onto the path.   Fortunately I have thick skin and manage to survive the fall with only a couple of bruises.  Choche takes the time to teach me how to stop.  I put my right foot all the way down on the pedal, brake and stay on the bike as it slows down.  When it is almost stopped I stand up on the right foot.  And then when it is totally stopped, I step forward with the left foot.  This keeps the bike upright and the weight doesn’t shift and pull me over.  I am delighted to learn how to stop without falling – if I can just remember to follow the process!  I take one more fall later in the day, but fortunately this time I fall to the right, onto the grass, for a very soft landing. 

The Best Little Italian Deli

We are really hungry when we get to Schenectady, so the Italian eateries that we encounter on Jay Street (as soon as the trail ends and throws us onto city streets) are like an answer to a prayer.  We ask a person in the street which is the best place to eat, and they point to Civitello’s - http://civitellos.com/.  There is a nice little outdoor eating area – a perfect place to park our bikes while we eat at the outdoor tables.  We order a sandwich, a bag of chips and sodas and then wait outside.  In no time at all, they deliver a huge sandwich made with fresh homemade Italian bread and lots of turkey and Fontana cheese.  Delicious and big enough to fill us up even though we are splitting it.  More people arrive, some of them bikers. We can see now what a popular place it is.  And very reasonably priced!  While Choche chats with the bikers, I work on getting us a place to stay for the night.  We’ve decided we can make it as far as Fultonville – a little over 60 miles for the day.  I call a Travel Lodge listed in our guidebook, and it rings so many times I almost hang up.  The man who answers is hard to understand and I have some misgivings until he explains that he recently had a stroke and requests my patience.  No problem, I say, and reserve a room.

Before we leave, I go back in and buy some Italian cookies for the road.  They’ll make a welcome treat later in the day.  People are very friendly, and interested in knowing where we are coming from and how far we are riding.  Civitello’s is a great place.  Check it out if you are ever in Schenectady!

Dead Ends and Lack of Signs

We are only on roads for a little while in Schenectady before we are back on a nice paved trail.  We ride along enjoying the scenery for a few miles when suddenly we come to a dead end.  There are railroad tracks without a path over them, although it looks as though people have scrambled up the embankment and drug their bikes across.  I’m a little reluctant to do that, and so we follow a foot path through the woods to see if that will bring us out somewhere more reasonable.  No luck there.  So we go to our guidebook to try to figure it out, and find that there is an “other off-road trail” that dead ends, and decide we must have somehow ended up on it.  So we retrace our path for a couple of miles.  We meet a young woman who is also trying to find the trail, going towards the dead end.  She is local and just trying to get back to where she parked her car, and can’t find any markers on the road.  She decides to keep heading towards the dead end, and we keep going back to see if we can pick up the trail.  Thanks goodness Choche has good intuition (his Scottish sixth sense, his mother says) and leads us up a road that has no sign but seems to go in the right direction.  Eventually, we find markers for the Canal Trail on one of the roads.  Just as we decide we have found our way, we meet up with the young woman we left on the other trail.  She had dragged her bike across the tracks and ended up the same place we’d gotten to.

This problem of lack of trail signs is one we continue to encounter as we make our way along the Erie Canal Trail.  We aren’t sure whether the signs have been removed, or were never there to begin with.  A lot of the trail is on roads, and most of the rest of the way to Fultonville we are on highways.  But the traffic isn’t too bad and we make good time.  Just before we get to Fultonville, we pick up the bicycle trail again.  This time it is stone dust, not paved.  This is what we will ride on most of the rest of the way.  It isn’t nearly as nice as the paved trail, and slows us down a bit.

The Worst Night on the Road

The sun is on its way down when we pull into Fultonville.  We aren’t sure which road to take into Fultonville – another problem we encounter frequently.  The maps in the guidebook aren’t very clear about which street to take to get off the trail into a town.  We would have loved to see signs along the trail letting us know which street to take to get into a town, and better yet what services were available on that street.  (Especially anyplace that sells ice cream cones.)  Anyway, we guess at a street and find a nice young man walking his dog, who directs us to the road with the hotels and restaurants. 

Fultonville looks like kind of a depressed area.  We pass a huge truck stop and several run down motels, and keep looking for the Travel Lodge, but there is none in sight.  When we get to the address where it should be, we find an Econo Lodge instead.  No problem, we think – it just changed affiliation.  “Be nice” Choche advices, as I go in to check in while he watches the bikes.  It must be his intuition at work again.

The man who took my reservation isn’t there.  Instead there is a woman – very grouchy, very unkempt, very unprofessional.  It takes a while to get checked in, because the computer isn’t working right she says.  She informs me that the machine that programs the key cards isn’t working, so she will have to let us in and out of our room.  I ask for ice for Choche’s knee, and she tells me she’ll have to get it for us.  I remember Choche’s advice, and am as pleasant as I can be.

We are relieved to get into our room.  It smells kind of musty and the shower doesn’t drain, but there is a view of the river out the back window so we try to tell ourselves we are paying for a lakeside room.  (This room isn’t cheap – it’s more than the Red Carpet Inn in Albany was.)  After my shower, I go back to the desk to ask for ice.  No one is there, so I ring the bell.  The woman comes out with a scowl on her face, but does get me ice when I request it.  We decide to order out, and try our luck with Chinese again.  It is edible, but just barely.  We are thankful we are so tired after 64 miles on the bikes, because in spite of the room we are able to sleep well.  We don’t even realize until the next morning that the back door is unlocked.

We'd better look round for a job old gal,
Fif-teen miles - on the Er-ie can-al,
You bet your life I wouldn't part with Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
Giddap 'there gal we've passed that lock,
We'll make Rome fore six o'clock,
So, it's one more trip and then we'll go,
Right back home to Buff-a-lo OH

307 Miles on the Erie Canal - Days 2 and 3

Day 2 – Fultonville to Utica

Escape from Purgatory

We woke up early, eager to be on our way.  We walked down the road a bit for our McBreakfast, then came back to check out of the room.  There was supposed to be a breakfast available at the hotel, so we thought we’d take a look at it.  We had to go to the front desk anyway to get into our room, since the key card machine wasn’t working.  The same woman, dressed in the same clothes only this time in bare feet, came to the desk.  She put out the breakfast – a pot of coffee and a large box of donuts with about 5 donuts left.  They were frozen, and one of them had a bite out of it.  Needless to say, we passed on the breakfast.  We got on our bikes as quickly as we could and got out of town!  I’d suggest you find someplace other than Fultonville to stay if you take this tour.

We continue on the stone dust trail.  The scenery is beautiful.  We pass by The Noses – two steep escarpments facing each other across the Mohawk River.  They are formed by a spur of the Adirondacks which forces the Mohawk to bend and narrow.  This stretch of the trail is filled with lots of beautiful scenery.

We are beginning to get thirsty by the time we get to Canajoharie.  We didn’t fill our Camelbacks at the hotel because the water didn’t look like anything we wanted to drink.  Canajoharie is home to the Beech-Nut company, and unlike a lot of other businesses along the canal, this one is still in operation.  We find a little food mart just off the trail where we buy a couple gallons of water.  There is a picnic table outside, so we decide to eat some of the supplies we’ve brought along – peanut butter and jam burritos.  A pleasant break, and then we are back on the road. 

 A Blurry Afternoon

We have a paved path for a little way out of Canajoharie, and then we are back on a combination of roads and stone dust paths for the rest of the day.  We have set Utica as our target but hold off for a while before we call for a hotel.  We stop later on the path and call a couple of hotels in Utica before we find one that seems right for a couple of wet bikers.  It’s the Scottish Inn, and a very kind, polite Indian woman takes our reservation.

This part of the trip gets kind of confusing for us.  For some reason, we get confused about where we are.  We pass by Little Falls and decide not to take the detour into town.  The weather looks threatening, and it begins to rain a little.  We can’t find any signs indicating where the path is, and eventually we just go on blind faith.  We think we’ve passed Ilion, but then discover it is still ahead of us.  Somewhere in the midst of this confusion, I take my third fall.  This time the problem is that I get confused about which foot to step off with, and I try to step off with the same foot I am standing on the bike pedal with.  Sounds stupid, I know.  But being tired can make one stupid.  Fortunately, I again come through with only a few bruises.

It isn’t long before it is pouring down rain – and we are on the highways.  It’s pretty stressful riding on roads with big trucks when it’s raining so hard, even with a decent berm along the side of the road.  There are frogs hopping all over the place, and I’m careful not to run over them.  (I accidentally ran over two little snakes the day before, and I don’t want to accumulate any more bad karma.) 

We eventually pull over into a little roadside park.  We have no idea where we are.  We are tired, exhausted, lost and wet.  There is a porta-pot and a shelter – both welcome finds.  We sit and eat some snacks – the last of our turkey jerky from Trader Joe’s, a cheese stick, and some dried figs – with dark chocolate peanut M&M’s to top it off.   Who wouldn’t be happier after a snack like that!  Choche does some exploring and finds the trail!  We are back on track, and very happy that we just happened to pull off the road here for a break.

Limping into Utica with Screaming Red Soft Parts

Most of the rest of the afternoon is spent in heavy rain on highways.  It is beginning to feel like we will never get to Utica; even the map isn’t cooperating.  As we near Utica, we find Ferguson, the road we are supposed to take to cut over to Bleecker Street, but it is a dead end.  So we stay on the road we are on – Old Route 5S, until it dead ends at a Post Office.  Then Choche leads us into town, staying on back roads through the industrial section most of the way.  We finally get into the heart of downtown with lots of traffic and stoplights, and start searching for Genesee Street. 

By this time, I am pretty well fried.  I can handle being wet and tired and hungry – but Utica feels like a large, busy city right now, and the traffic is more than I can handle.  Besides, I am SORE!  My soft parts (as Choche calls them) are screaming and threatening to knock me flat on my butt if I get off and back on my bike just one more time.  Choche goes off in search of Genesee road while I stay put.  He comes back to report that he has found Genesee just up from where we are, but not our hotel.  So I call them again to ask them how to get there.  The woman is very kind, says we aren’t far away and tells us which way to go -- across the bridge and then down the street a ways.  I walk my bike across the bridge and on for a while.  Still we don’t see the hotel and it starts to rain even harder, so we take shelter outside the lobby of a different hotel.  My phone rings – and it is the woman from the Scottish Inn wanting to make sure we aren’t lost – what a dear person!  I tell her where we are, and she says it’s just a bit further.  Turns out we have to cross the river, but we finally make it there.  We are a sight and so are our bikes – wet and dirty.  The people at the desk are very kind, giving us rags to clean up our bikes and letting us bring them into the room once they are clean.   We rinse out and hang up our wet clothes, hoping they will dry.

Lying in bed after a warm shower we feel somewhat better.  We rode 61 miles today, and our bodies are feeling it.  Choche ices down his knee, which is bothering him.  I put antibiotic cream on my screaming red soft parts.  I swear they are so red they’d glow in the dark, and I’m wondering how I’ll ever get on the bike the next morning.  There is only one thing to make us feel better – order a large pizza and eat it all.    The veggie pizza delivered by Pizza Classic was excellent – and so big we had two pieces left over in spite of our best efforts.  We are so tired we fall asleep early, after deciding that we’ll make tomorrow a short ride.

Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down,
Low bridge for we're com-in to a town,
And you al-ways know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ev-er navigated on the Er-ie can-al

Day Three – Utica to Rome

Lowering the Seat

We aren’t in a big hurry to get started in the morning.  We decide to take a short ride today – just 18 miles down the road to Rome.  So we call ahead to the Angels Nest Bed and Breakfast to see if she has any rooms.  Mary says yes, but wants to make sure we know that this is an old convent and the bathrooms are shared.  Fine with us, and we book a room, saying we’ll get there about 2 P.M.  Mary says this is a big day in Rome – the Honor America Days.  There is a parade in the morning, barbecues and socials throughout the day, and a concert in the evening.  We hope to be able to enjoy some of those events.

We enjoy breakfast at the hotel – coffee and an English muffin.  Then Choche lubes the bicycles and checks them over to make sure we are ready to go.  Our laundry is still wet, so we tie it down on top of our dry sacks and let the sun and wind dry them.  The weather is wonderful – blue skies and reasonable temperatures.  The start of the trail is just down the road – we find it easily and are on our way.

We haven’t gone far when I stop and ask Choche to lower my seat.  I’m hoping it will help my soft parts make it through the day better.  My seat was too low when I first got the bike, and Annie from Twin Sisters helped me get it adjusted right when I went to visit her.  Then I shipped the bike and had to have the seat removed.  This problem started after that, so I’m thinking that maybe I guessed wrong at the height of the seat when I put it back on and got it too high.  At this point, anything is worth a try.

Canals and Locks

It isn’t long before we come to a little park with an operating lock.  There is a boat about to enter the lock, so we stop to watch it.  It’s amazing to us that they keep the locks operating.  We’ve seen only pleasure boats on the canal, so it can’t be profitable to keep the locks in operation.  We decide it must be mostly for tourism and to preserve the history of the Canal.  Later we find out that the canal system is supported partially by lock fees and partially by tolls collected on the New York State Thruway.

The canal in operation today is the Barge Canal, which was completed in 1918.  It takes advantage of rivers such as the Mohawk, Oswego, Seneca and Genesee, which the Erie Canal had bypassed.  In some areas, the Barge Canal follows the same channel as the original Erie Canal, but enlarged.  In many places the old Erie Canal is nothing more than a ditch filled with algae covered water, and in other places it has been entirely filled in or covered over with a road. 

We watch the lock operator as he lets the boats in and out.  Choche looks longingly at him, thinking this must be the best job in the world.  We cross the lock to get to the restroom on the other side of the canal, and on the way back we stop to chat with the lock operator.  He is eager to share information with us, and tells us that he has the best job in the world!  (Just as Choche suspected.) 

Everywhere there is a dedicated path, there are little informational postings with a map of the current location, several historical pictures and historical information.  We stop for almost all of these, because they always have interesting information.  A very nice addition to the path.

We stay at the park a bit longer and eat our cold pizza.  Then we get back on the path, which is paved here for a ways.  In fact, we are on a path, either paved or stone dust, until we get almost into Rome.   As usual, our guidebook maps aren’t really enough when we get into a town, so we stop to ask directions.  While we are stopped, Choche spots an old guy (which means even older than us) dressed in shorts and an old sport coat.  He appears to be living out of his bicycle.  It’s a nice bike, and he tells Choche he found it somewhere.  We encourage him to keep on riding.

The Angels Nest and Mary

It isn’t too far to the Angels Nest.  It is off the beaten path, back in a residential area, but kind of a loud one.  Mary is a very gracious hostess and a fascinating woman.  She taught with the U.S. Department of Defense, teaching expats’ kids around the world.  She is intelligent, easy to talk with, devoted to doing good, well-traveled and gracious.  And her B&B is very comfortable and interesting.  There is even a chapel room!

We get cleaned up and head out to DiCastro’s for dinner, at Mary’s suggestion.  The food is good, but not great.  Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and we order more than we can eat.  We have learned that we are best off ordering one entrée and splitting it – and maybe an appetizer.  Even with all the energy we use on the bike, portions in restaurants are more than we need.  In fact, we both end up gaining a couple pounds on this trip!

Back in our room, our bed beckons to us and we take a nice long nap.  We only traveled 18 miles today, but we are both tired.  Choche’s knee is still bothering him, but we don’t think to get ice for it, so he just rests it.  My soft parts are feeling a little better.  Maybe it’s just because we didn’t spend so many hours on the bike, but I’m hopeful that it’s also because we lowered my seat.

We wake up from our naps still feeling pretty lazy.  We think about going to the evening concert but decide against it.  It just feels way too good to just relax and read a little.  Later that night, we hear the fireworks and even manage to watch a few of them from our bedroom window.  In spite of our long naps, we fall asleep early and sleep well.

Oh, where would I be if I lost my pal?
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al.
Oh, I'd like to see a mule as good as Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
A friend of mine once got her sore,
Now he's got a busted jaw,
'Cause she let fly with her iron toe,
And kicked him in to Buff-a-lo OH

307 Miles on the Erie Canal - Days 4 and 5

Day Four – Rome to Syracuse

Breakfast Fit for Royalty

We start our day in Rome with a fantastic breakfast that Mary fixes for us.  Great coffee, a beautiful, tasty yogurt and fresh fruit parfait, eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice, and a peach/berry upside down breakfast pastry to finish it off.  Good food and lots of it!  We also enjoy chatting with Mary, and between chatting and eating, we get a later start than we’d hoped to get.  Our target for today is Syracuse – a longer day than yesterday.  We are rested and ready to go.

The weather is lovely as we leave Rome and ride down city streets until we find the path.  Again, it’s a little confusing – but this is Sunday morning and there isn’t much traffic.  We ride past Erie Canal Village and are sorry to see that it’s closed.  This is a re-creation of a mid-19^th century canal community, including boat rides in a mule-drawn packet boat on a section of the old Erie Canal.  Sounds like it would have been fun – we may have to come back one day and check it out.

Another Lock Adventure

Later in the morning, we come to Lock 21 where we actually walk our bikes across the downstream gate.  Just before we cross, we meet up with a couple from Canada who is touring the Canal.  We’ve been amazed at how few people we’ve seen on the trail.  We’ve hardly seen any people who are touring, and very few local cyclists.  It is very puzzling to us.  We chat for a bit, then start to cross the gate – and just as we do, they start to let the water out of the downstream gate.  What a view to stand right above the water rushing out of the lock!  We stay there and watch it – feeling a little vertigo.  When it is done and we’ve waved at the young man sitting in the boat leaving the lock, we stop and chat with the lock operator.  He is eager to talk with us, and seems to really love his job.  He shows us how things work, and obviously takes a great deal of pride in what he does.  The lock looks spic and span – fresh paint on everything.  Truly picturesque.

Most of the morning we are on stone dust trail, with an occasional trek on local roads.  The views continue to be interesting, and we see our first aqueduct with water still in it.  The aqueducts were water-filled bridges that carried canal boats over rivers, streams, or valleys.  There were 18 aqueducts on the original Erie Canal.  It is amazing to think that the canal actually crossed the rivers by going up and over them.  I wonder what people thought to see the barges crossing over rivers like that. 

Falling for Ice Cream

By mid-day we are hungry, and I am ready for some ice cream.  Actually, I’ve been ready for some ice cream since Day 1, but we haven’t found any yet.  I decide that today is the day, so I am on the lookout.  We leave the trail briefly in Canastota and meet a young woman who is trying to get all the way to Utica yet that day.  She is young and athletic, and says she has food and lodging waiting for her – so she will probably make it. 

As we are walking our bikes up a little hill into town, I see it.  A picture of an ice cream cone on the side of a building!  I get so excited that I fall over on my bike….  Okay – I admit it.  This probably earns me the cyclist klutz of the year award.  It’s one thing to fall OFF your bike, but to fall ONTO your bike when you are just walking it takes a special talent, don’t you think?  Fortunately, both the bike and I escape with minor bruises for me and a slightly bent right pedal for the bike.  I almost knock Choche and his bike over too, a la Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.  But fortunately Choche manages to keep himself and his bike upright even though I fall against them.

We find a park bench to sit down on, and I go in search of the ice cream.  Choche’s knee is bothering him, so he stays put and rests a bit.  We are regretting not having gotten ice for his knee yesterday.  I walk towards the sound of two kids yelling “Bake Sale”.  They are sitting on the steps of the ice cream store, and I think this must be perfect – an ice cream cone AND homemade cookies.  Unfortunately, the ice cream store is closed Sundays and is letting the store be used for the bake sale, which is raising funds for children whose mom was killed in an accident.  I go in and buy some cookies, and then ask the kids where the closest place to get ice cream is.  They’re kids – they’ll know, right?  They don’t disappoint, and send us down the road on a short detour to Zem’s -  www.zemsicecream.com.  We both order a double dip cone and sit down at one of the picnic tables to enjoy it.  Just what we need!

Dark Skies

Back up the road to the stone dust path, and we are on our way again.  We have quite a ways to go yet, and the going is a little tough.  The stone dust is harder to ride on, especially in some places where it is fairly thick.   Choche’s tires are a little wider, but I have to be careful, and it slows me down.  The skies are starting to look threatening.  In fact, there are dark skies and thunder and lightening all around us, but not much right where we are.  Finally it does start to rain and we put on our rain gear.  It rains pretty steady for a while, but then stops and we are grateful.  A little further on the path, and we find that it has rained pretty hard here.  There are puddles and the stone dust has turned to mud.  So now we are even slower and are getting very muddy!  What a mess.  The trail is pretty much like this all the way to the outskirts of Syracuse.  As much as I dislike riding on city roads with traffic, it is almost a relief.

We are coming into Syracuse on a Sunday evening, and we decide it will be really good if we can get all the way across the city before we stop for the night.  That way we won’t have to deal with downtown rush hour traffic in the morning.  Again, the city map in our guidebook isn’t great, but we manage to find the streets to get into the city.  But there are HILLS here!  We didn’t know Syracuse was hilly – and it’s the last thing we need with our tired bodies and Choche’s sore knee.  We keep going and make it through downtown before we get kind of lost.  Two kind women walk by so we ask them where Genesee Street is – and find that it is just a couple of blocks away, so we are back on track again.   As always the people we encounter are friendly and helpful – with the exception of that guy who yelled obscenities at us from the other side of the bridge in Utica.  But I think he was crazy.

Searching for Shelter

We haven’t made reservations ahead because we didn’t know whether we’d make it across Syracuse or not, and we figured since Syracuse is a big city there would be hotels everywhere.  Now it’s late and we are riding down a very busy street that seems to be dedicated entirely to car dealerships.  Not a hotel in sight.  We look at our guide book and find that most of the places to stay are far away – on the other side of Onondaga Lake.  And we don’t want to go there.  Choche is beginning to talk about looking for a church to sleep behind – but we don’t even have a tarp.  There are a couple of B&B’s that appear to be not to far away.  I call the first one – and find that it’s a wrong number!  But our luck improves with the second call.

Ophelia’s Garden Inn (http://www.opheliasgardeninn.com/) has a room available and a place to put our bikes, and Ophelia assures me we aren’t too far away.  Just keep coming down Genesee, she says, until you come to the Rite Aid.  Then turn on Avery.  It sounds close, so we are disappointed and worried when we’ve gone a couple miles with no Rite Aid.  I call back, and she assures me we are really close now, and gives us detailed instructions on how to get there.  Never did a Rite Aid look so beautiful!  Left on Avery, and we are there in no time.  A really beautiful place surrounded by green space – an arboretum across the street in one direction, and Burnet Park (http://www.syracuse.ny.us/parks/burnetPark.html) on the other corner, home of the Syracuse Zoo. 

Ophelia’s Paradise

We drive into the driveway, looking like something the cat drug in, I’m sure.  We are filthy from riding through the mud, exhausted, and hungry.  Ophelia meets us at the garage door with two mugs of ice water.  What an angel!  We wipe off the gear that we need to take into the house, and leave the rest in the garage.  I think we would both just as soon never see our bikes again at this point.   We ask about food, and Ophelia and David tell us there is a restaurant not too far away.  Choche jumps in the shower first, and while I’m showering Ophelia calls up to tell us that the restaurant closes at 9 – and it is now 8:30.  A short shower, and we’re ready. 

When we get downstairs David grabs his keys and gives us a ride to the restaurant.  These people are BOTH angels!  On the way to the restaurant, David points out the only traffic light in the country with the green light on top! ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_Hill)  This is the Tipperary Hill district, which is mostly Irish.  Back in 1925 when the light was first installed, local Irish youths were angry that the “British” red was above the “Irish” green so they threw stones and broke the red light.  The city kept replacing it, but finally gave up and put the green light on top! 

The food at Coleman’s Irish Pub (http://www.colemansirishpub.com/) is good – especially the broiled haddock and the Colcannon mashed potatoes – potatoes with cabbage and onions, traditional Irish fare.   We ask the waitress for ice when we are finished, just in case our hosts are in bed when we get back.  It is a pleasant walk back to the inn.  We relax for a while and Choche ices his knee, which is feeling the 55 miles with hills that we rode today.  Fortunately I’m feeling okay – lowering the seat has made the ride much easier on my soft parts.  We fall asleep – very grateful that we are not only sleeping in a bed, but a beautiful place with very gracious hosts!

Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down,
Low bridge for we're com-in to a town,
And you al-ways know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ev-er navigated on the Er-ie can-al

Day Five –Syracuse

We Need a Rest Day

After a good night’s sleep at Ophelia’s, Choche’s knee is still really sore.  We decide that a rest day would be good for us, and this seems like a perfect place to do that.  We go down for the early breakfast we requested, thinking we’d be getting back on our bikes.  Ophelia is pleased to welcome us for another night.

Breakfast is wonderful.  Lots of fresh fruit, cheddar and apple quiche, orange juice, Tuscan toast, and sweet breads.  Breakfast is served at a table in the backyard, which is a beautiful, peaceful place.  The weather is perfect, and it feels like a real luxury to just relax and enjoy it.  Ophelia’s father, Hugh, joins us.  He is full of interesting stories and he and Choche spend a couple hours lingering over breakfast.

Hugh was a World War II flier; he dropped out of Cornell to join the army.  At twenty he became the captain of a bomber (B24?) flying missions in the south pacific.   He had quite a bit to share.  He had a crash landing when a tire blew out and lost his tail gunner in the accident.  He couldn't get him out and the aviation fuel did ignite.  Hugh has kept in touch with his crew, a true "band of  brothers." A life long aviation enthusiast, he only recently let his private pilot's license expire.   Hugh had an interesting career in private sector engineering topped off with service work in Africa.  One thought that sticks with Choche is that even though Hugh saw the atrocities of war in the south pacific air battles, he has never met a Japanese he didn't like.  War, common as it is, seems so artificial to humanity.

Hugh grew up in Syracuse and knew the region in its industrial heyday.  Lots of factories, lots of employment, and all shifted to war production.  Ceramics factories making land mines, casket companies , cutlery factories all joining the effort.  Prosperity never seemed to return after the war and the long decline is represented by the abandoned and rusting industrial complexes along the Erie Canal.  For example, Kodak (in Rochester, NY) is at less than $2 a share.

I decide to take a walk in Burnet Park while the guys are talking.  I circle the park and then climb up to the kiosk above the golf course.  The view is breathtaking!  I soak it in for a while until the heat of the sun gets to be too much, and then I head back to Ophelia’s.

By the time I get back, Choche is upstairs resting.  I get him some ice for his knee and relax and read while he naps.  When we get hungry for lunch, I go down and ask Ophelia where the closest fast food is.  She is on her way to do some errands, and offers to give me a ride.  David suggests Wegman’s (www.wegmans.com) which is a really good local grocery store that has a section with deli foods.  I buy a sub, a couple sodas, and some roasted veggies.  Ophelia lends us a wicker bag, some silverware, and a blanket so we can have a picnic in the park.  We walk over to Burnet Park and eat our lunch.  After lunch we walk up to the kiosk to enjoy the view.   And finally we find a nice bunch of shade trees, put the blanket down, and lie down.  We spend some time just watching the highest branches of the trees dancing in the breeze.  What a wonderful way to spend a restful afternoon.  It couldn’t be better.

A Perfect End to a Perfect Day

We do a little cleaning up when we get back.  We’ve washed some of our biking clothes, and ask if we can hang them out in the backyard on the clothesline in hopes they will dry by morning.  We use the hose in the backyard to wash off the bikes, and Choche lubes the chains again.  We should be ready to roll in the morning.

We had a big lunch, so all we really want for dinner is – of course – ice cream!  We ask if there is ice cream within walking distance, and after thinking for a while, our hosts offer to drive us over to their favorite ice cream place – Abbott’s. (http://www.abbottscustard.com/)  We each order a cone with chocolate almond ice cream and enjoy every bite.  No wonder it’s their favorite!

Back at the B&B, we gather our things together so we’ll be able to get an early start.  We fall asleep feeling thankful that we decided to take a rest day and delighted that we were able to do it in such a beautiful place with such gracious hosts. Ophelia’s Garden Inn B&B – don’t miss it if you are in Syracuse.

Don't have to call when I want my Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
She trots from her stall like a good old gal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
I eat my meals with Sal each day,
I eat beef and she eats hay,
And she ain't so slow if you want to know,
She put the "Buff" in Buff-a-lo OH

307 Miles on the Erie Canal - Days 6 and 7

Day 6 – Syracuse to Weedsport

Food, Glorious Food

We begin our day with what is probably the best breakfast yet.  Fresh fruit, including a mango that David has cut like a pro; a spinach and sharp cheddar omelette, orange juice, and toast made with cranberry nut bread.  Fantastic.

A word about food.  You might have noticed by now that I write a lot about food.  Choche and I share a love of food as well as a love of bicycle riding.  In fact, I sometimes think that one of the main reasons I like riding bike is that it allows me to eat more without gaining weight.  For example, while I’ve been writing this, I just ate a piece of warm homemade nutty raisin bread slathered with sweet Amish butter.  I rode 28 miles this morning so I could do that!  But I digress….

We gather up our things, bid adios to our wonderful hosts, and head out of town, following directions that David gave us.  We pass a bakery on the way out, and buy a loaf of day old bread to use for PBJ sandwiches for lunch.  The roads out of Syracuse are pretty free of traffic and we find the stone dust trail on the outskirts of town.

Where Are We Headed?

We have a limited amount of time for this journey because Choche has to be back at work.  We revised our destination from Cleveland to Buffalo quite early in the trip.  With Amtrak stations in all the major cities along the way, we have the option of just putting our bikes on the train at a number of points along the route and letting them take us back to Cleveland.  We just have to make sure they open the baggage car, which is not something they do at every stop.  They do at Syracuse, and for a while we think about ending our tour here.  Choche’s knee is really hurting.  But after a day’s rest, we decide to make Rochester our destination.  It seems like a good compromise.

We are thinking we might be able to make it in two days, which gives us an extra day for any unforeseen situation.  Our destination for today is Lyons, which is over 60 miles away.  But we are well rested, the weather is good and we ready to go. 

We pass by Camillus, which was the halfway point on the original Erie Canal, and today is home to a park that includes the Sims Store Museum.  A little further up the path, we pass by the Nine-Mile Creek Aqueduct, which was one of 32 aqueducts constructed as part of the first enlargement of the Canal.  The original masonry of this aqueduct is still in place, and it is quite a sight to see.  A little before we get to Weedsport we stop at a small park with ruins from a double lock and eat our PBJ and bread after we explore the ruins.

We get to Weedsport early in the afternoon.  Choche pulls into the Best Western parking lot and suggests that we call ahead to see if there is a room available in the one lodging, a B&B, in Lyons, which is our destination for today.  His intuition is working well again, because all the rooms are taken.  We ask if there is anyplace else to stay in town, and are told the closest place is in Newark, another 10 miles or so on up the road.  Since even Lyons was a stretch, we decide not to push it.  There is another place just west of Port Byron, about 5 miles further from where we are.  But when I try to call, I’m told it’s not a working number.  So we decide to spend the afternoon and evening at the Best Western in Weedsport.  We’ve only ridden 25 miles today, but we are ready for a rest.

A Surprisingly Nice Time in Weedsport

We are a little early for check-in, but they have a room ready and let us check in.  We shower, ice down Choche's knee and take a nap – always our first priorities.  Next priority is dinner, of course.  The people at the front desk recommend the Old Erie Restaurant (http://www.olderieweedsport.com/), a short walk down the street.  This is where we have our best dinner of the trip.  The Chef is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University School of Culinary Arts and his wife prepares all the desserts.  Choche orders the special, sirloin tips with lobster stuffed rigatoni, and I order potato crusted salmon.  There is good bread with nice creative condiments to take the edge off our hunger as we wait for our meals.  The chef brings them to the table himself!  They are beautiful to look at, delivered with pride and delicious! 

We are stuffed when we leave the restaurant – too full to get ice cream at the ice cream shop we’ll pass on the way back to the hotel.  But just before we get there, we pass by The Old Brutus Historical Society (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycayuga/obhs/). It was closed when we were on our way to dinner, and now it’s open.  We decide to walk in and take a peek – and what a treasure we find there!  The volunteers are there because there is going to be a meeting – these aren’t regular hours for the museum to be open.  But they are SO gracious and show us around.  Upstairs the theme is war – and there are manikins dressed in period clothing and uniforms for each of the wars in the history of the US.  There are other displays relating to the war as well, including sheet music from the World War II, and even a working victrola and some old victrola records from that timeframe.

The downstairs is full of antique treasures that bring back lots of memories for Choche and me.  We both grew up on farms, so seeing the antique tractors, farm implements, butter churns, and cream separators brings back memories.  There is such a variety of things here – from cobbler’s tools used by the local shoemaker to a refrigerator hooked up to a clock that turns it off and then back on every 24 hours – the first auto-defrost fridge!  A number of the things displayed were manufactured right there in that region.  We both think the Smithsonian would be jealous at some of the things they have displayed here.

On our way out, we find that the meeting has begun.  There is a full house of people interested in learning how to properly store antique clothing – something these folks are doing very effectively.

When we walk out the door, we hear live music.  There are a couple of guys playing country music in the kiosk next to DB’s drive in – the ice cream shop.   I’m ready for ice cream now, and I talk Choche into joining me.  I order a small Rocky Mountain Raspberry cone, and he orders Golden Vanilla.   My cone is so good that we now both have a new favorite flavor of ice cream – white chocolate ice cream with chocolate raspberry flavored flakes and red raspberry swirls.  Yum!  We stand and listen to the music while we eat our ice cream.  These guys are good, especially on the instrumental medley which includes Ghost Riders in the Sky.  There are a lot of people in lawn chairs, and they show their support and appreciation with generous applause.  The sun is setting as we walk back to the hotel, feeling like we are just where we ought to be tonight.

Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down,
Low bridge for we're com-in to a town,
And you al-ways know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ev-er navigated on the Er-ie can-al

Day 7 – Weedsport to Newark

Our First and Only Flat

We are up early, have a quick breakfast at the hotel – oatmeal and toast – and get ready to get on the road.  Choche checks the tire pressure and discovers that his rear tire is very low.  He pumps it up, but it isn’t holding air.  Sure enough – he picked up some glass that punctures the tire and left a big hole in the tube.  He has a spare tube, so it just means getting a little later start than we’d hoped for.

Most of the route from here to Newark is on the road, and it looks like it passes through some pretty desolate areas.  We have a short stretch of stone dust path before we are routed onto roads with very little traffic.  The skies are getting gray and we have a long way to go, so we are a little concerned.  Still, we are enjoying the sights and each other’s company.  We are trekking along, beginning to think about lunch and figuring we’ll have to settle for our several days old bread and PBJ when all of a sudden we come to a town!  There isn’t supposed to be a town on this road.   We study the map and discover that we’ve missed a turn, and have gotten to Clyde much earlier than we expected.  Turns out that what we took was a significant short cut.  We have mixed feelings about that, because we have missed riding by the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, which we would have enjoyed seeing.  Bicycling isn’t allowed in the Refuge itself, but we should have ridden right along its perimeter.  We would surely have seen some bald eagles and maybe some waterfowl.  Another stop for next time.

Speaking of Next Time – A Digression

There have been a number of things we’ve missed along the way, either because we weren’t feeling up to the detour or our timing was off – or we missed a turn.  There is such a rich history to see here.  The Erie Canal was not only an important way to move goods and people; it was also a channel for ideas, social innovation and reform.  Three movements that flourished along the canal were abolition of slavery, women’s rights, and religious and utopian societies.  Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman both lived in Rochester for some time, and the towpath served as one of the routes of the Underground Railroad.  The Women’s Rights movement had its start in Rochester and Seneca Falls, known as the birthplace of the suffragist movement.  Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists both trace their roots to canal communities, and utopian societies such as the Oneida Community were established near the canal.   So a tour of the canal could extend over a much longer period of time than we had allowed, and would certainly include side trips to places such as the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls and the Joseph Smith Home in Palmyra.  But I digress…..

So we miss the Wildlife Refuge.  On the other hand, we’ve just cut about 10 miles off today’s ride, which is not such a bad thing.   And there is a restaurant here – so we can throw our old bread away.  We park our bikes outside and head into The Brick Oven (http://www.brickovenofclyde.com/) just as it is beginning to rain.  Choche gets the special – a meatball sandwich.  I order a chicken and veggie quesadilla with sweet potato fries.  The portions are generous, the quesadilla and fries are good, the meatball sandwich is edible, and the service is very good.  While we are there we call ahead and book a room at the Vintage Gardens B&B (http://www.vintagegardensbandb.com/) in Newark.  We are all set now, feeling confident that we have a good place to stay tonight.

Vintage Gardens

Back on the bikes, getting wet again – but by now we are getting used to it.  We stop at the Lyons McDonalds for a senior coffee and watch the rain for a while.  Back on our bikes, the rain begins to let up a bit just before we get to Newark.  Kim gave us good directions when we called for our reservation, so we find our B&B without any trouble.  We arrive in good time to be able to enjoy this beautiful place.  What we thought would be a long day was made much shorter when we took a wrong turn – only 36 miles today.  Barb gives us a warm greeting and opens the carriage house doors so we can leave our bikes there.  Once again, we try to clean off the gear we need before we take it into the house, and leave the rest on the bikes.  Our room, The English Tea Rose Room, is full of windows and very light, in spite of the rain.  This is the most comfortable bed we’ve had yet.  As usual we shower first – mmm, this shampoo smells delicious!  Then we climb in bed for a nap.  When we wake up, the rain has pretty much stopped. 
 We saw a movie theater on the way in, and have decided we’ll go see “Cowboys and Aliens”.  Should be fun.  We are a little early for the movie, and decide to grab a quick bite to eat from the Corner Tavern right across the street.  We order a bowl of beef-lentil soup and bread to go, and share it as we stand on the bridge looking down at the Canal.  I eat the lentils, Choche eats the beef, and we both eat the bread.  We enjoy the movie.  As seniors, we only have to pay $4 each – a real deal compared to what I pay back home.  We both agree the movie has no redeeming social value, but is entertaining.  Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig make it worth watching.

We climb (really – this bed is so high we have to climb) into bed and fall asleep feeling grateful that once again we’ve managed to land in a really nice place.  We’re also grateful that we’ve been able to get along so well.  Choche and I have only known each other for a few months, and spending 24 hours a day with someone under sometimes less than ideal conditions can reveal parts of their personalities you’d just as soon not have seen.  We are both happy to find that we can roll with the punches.   After seven days on the trail together, we still like each other.

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal,
Fif-teen miles on the Er-ie canal,
She's a good ol' worker and a good ol' pal,
Fifteen miles on the Er-ie can-al,
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lum-ber coal and hay,
And ev'ry inch of the way we know
From Al-ba-ny to Buff-a-lo OH

307 Miles on the Erie Canal - Day 8 and Epilogue

Day 8 – Newark to Rochester

Breakfast Served – One More Time

It is a real delight to have someone serve you breakfast, especially when it is something special.  Greg and Barb do an excellent job.  Greg even dresses in his Chef’s coat!  We have fresh fruit, frittata, homemade sausage, toast and jelly, and coffee.  Very tasty and filling.  I actually have to leave a little on my plate.  We gather our gear, check the bikes, and start out for our final destination – the Rochester Amtrak station.

The weather has cleared up and we have a beautiful day for our last day on the trail.  There are places on the trail today where they’ve used gravel instead of stone dust, and it is more difficult to ride.  The first town we come to is Palmyra, Joseph Smith’s birthplace.  We would like to see his home and/or the museum, so we leave the trail and head into town.  As usual, our guidebook map isn’t any help once we get off the route.  The main road through Palmyra has a lot of traffic, and we stick to sidewalks and back streets.  Choche explores Main Street for a while, but doesn’t find the places we want to see.  We finally decide to just head back to the trail. 

On the Outskirts of Rochester

We are getting hungry by the time we get to Fairport, a small town just a few miles before we get to Rochester.  Choche’s knee is also really bothering him.  We stop at a trailside picnic table close to a commercial area, and I go in search of bathrooms and food while Choche rests.  We take a bit of a break there – time to ice down the sore knee and share a delicious Lockmaster Panini made with chicken, artichoke hearts, provolone cheese, spinach, and pesto mayo from the Towpath Café (http://www.towpathcafe.com/).  We save room for an ice cream cone from the Lickety Splits shop right next door.

Back on the bikes for the final leg of our journey.  It is very pleasant coming into Rochester.  The trail is scenic and rural all the way into the city.  The guidebook has warned us that we will have some steps to navigate along the trail at Locks 32 and 33, but we are pleasantly surprised that we don’t encounter any steps.   In fact, it is smooth sailing all the way to the Genesee Riverway Trail, where we turn north towards the Amtrak station.  As always, our guidebook city map gives us just a vague idea of where we need to go.  Fortunately, we find a city map posted along the trail, and manage to figure out what streets we think we need.

Detour!

All is going well until a security guard blocks us from entering one of the streets on our route.  This is the end of the Riverway Trail, and this is the only egress.  The streets are closed for some sort of street fair or celebration, and the guard is polite but firm – we can’t get through.  We finally turn around and retrace our path for a mile or so before we find another way to get across the river. 

By now we are in city traffic, not sure of where we are going, and feeling some time pressure.  The train doesn’t leave until 11:00, but we don’t have lights on our bikes and we don’t want to be riding in city streets when it starts to get dark.  The sun is setting and we hope that we can find the station without too many more detours.  Choche leads the way, trying to stay away from the busiest streets – but they are all pretty busy.  Luck is with us, and he finds the street we need and we turn on it.  Traffic is heavy enough that we stick to sidewalks, trying to avoid the broken glass along the way.  Finally we see the station, and just as we pull in Choche is approached by someone asking for money.  We both manage to get off our bikes and into the station, and the guy follows us.  He seems harmless enough, even though he has a half-pint sticking out of his pocket.  Choche gives him a couple dollars, and we are amazed to see him actually put it in the vending machines to get food!

I start to sort through our stuff while Choche checks us in and gets the bike boxes.  I call for pizza delivery, and ask them to please send a bag of ice as well – to ice down Choche’s knee.  We get everything packed, sorted, and ready to go.  As in Cleveland, the Amtrak workers are very friendly and helpful.

The pizza arrives and is so good we eat it all.  They bring us some ice too (an extra tip for the young man!) and Choche ices down his knee.  We sit and wait for the train, leaning against each other half asleep, watching the station fill up with fellow travelers.  We are tired.  We’ve ridden 44 miles today, for a total of 307 miles on the whole trip.  The train is a little late getting into Rochester.  But the seats feel wonderfully comfortable once we get into them, and we both sleep most of the way to Cleveland.

We did it!!!!!!

Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down,
Low bridge for we're com-in to a town,
And you al-ways know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ev-er navigated on the Er-ie can-al

Epilogue

A Near Disaster for Choche’s Bike

We get into Cleveland about 4:30 AM.  We get our bikes out of the boxes and reassembled so we can put them on the bike rack.  I just recently bought a new bike rack (http://www.sportrack.com/a30901) and I really like it.  However, I don’t have a lot of experience with it.  We load our bikes and are on our way.  After about 30 miles, we stop for gas.  When I get out of the car, I see that the outside bike – Choche’s bike – is laying down in the platform, being held on only by the Velcro strips!  We set it up, and find that a couple of spokes are bent – one on each tire.  Somehow, the hook that holds the bike upright has come lose and the bike has fallen over.  I have the locking cable they sell with it, but had been too eager to get on the road to put it on.  I still love my bike rack, but I will be much more careful now, using either the cable or a bungee cord to make sure the hook can’t come lose.  In the meantime, we need to get Choche’s bike in to the bike shop to make sure there was no damage to the rims or hubs.

Looking Back

Would we do it again?  Yes we would!  We both enjoyed the experience - the riding, the surroundings, the time together, the learning, the B&B’s, the people, the train, the food.  Would we do some things differently?  Yes!  I’d take more rest days and more detours off the path.  I’d spend more time really exploring the area, learning about all the rich history and culture that is there.  I really enjoyed reading “Wedding of the Waters”, which gave a nice overview of the political and economic history and importance of the canal.  But I’d like to learn more about the cultural and social influence of the canal.  I’d like to know more about the current usage of the canal.  In fact, Choche and I have talked about maybe renting a boat and riding part of the current canal by boat.  It has also made me curious about the canals in my area.  I think there are a lot of ruins not far from me, and I want to learn more about them.

I’m not sure we’ll do any of this – there are so many bike tours we’d like to take, so little time.  One thing is sure – we will do more bike touring. 

I’ll close with a couple quotes I just found about riding a bike.

Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere clients and consumers – those people ride a bike.

                                                                                - Wolfgang Sachs

Let me tell you what I think of bicycling.  I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.  It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.  I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel… the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.

                                                                                - Susan B. Anthony

I hope you’ll give it a try – and share your adventures with us here!