biking-the-erie-canal

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Hearts a-beating

Google Maps said it was an 17 minute bike ride from the apartment to the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station. Yesterday, half-joking, half-serious, I asked Rob whether we should checkout the ride to the station. We didn’t, but this morning I was wishing we had.

Our train departure was scheduled for 6:55am from Albany. Our plan was to leave the AirBnb between 5:30 and 5:45. We were up and out by 5:30, so all good from that perspective. It was dark, cool, and the streets were pretty empty. We were retracing part our walking tour on bikes….down State Street - the Capitol on the left, The Egg and other government buildings on the right. With the night glow of the buildings, it was quite pretty, and it felt like a nice ending.

We followed the navigation on down to the bike trail on the Hudson River, but soon realized something was wrong. We were below the bridge we needed to be on to across the Hudson. We went south on the bike trail a bit more thinking there might be another entrance to the bridge system from the south. Nope. We went back around to try again. It’s still dark, but this time we saw where the on-ramp was blocked and the signs for the Rensselaer bike detour. We went left this time until we got to the on-ramp which took us up this narrow, makeshift bike lane going against traffic. We have not been biking too many hills this past week, and my legs are burning. Rob is in front of me yelling once in a while to just see if I am still behind him. It was nerve racking!

We started on the blue line and finished on the red.

Our first segment from Albany to NYC was on time, and we did make it with time to spare. Even time to buy coffee, the essential ingredient of Rob’s morning.

Leaving Penn at Moynihan Hall was a bit delayed. I still love that we could see this beautiful glass roof from our apartment rooftop back in the day. That building is now behind the left tower that you can barely see through the glass. We are at least pretty relaxed now!

We had a chance to reflect on some of the most memorial parts of the trip. If they are not written down now, they are lost forever.

Favorite meal: Cindy - Chicken Parmesan at Tres Pines Restaurant in Canastota. Rob - Hamburger at B L’s Tavern in Schenectady.

Favorite local beer: Cindy - Utica Club at Saranac Biergarten and B L’s Tavern. Rob - Old Klaverack October Fest bought at Lark Tavern in Albany. (The brewery is south of Albany.)

Favorite riding segment: Loved them all, but Lockport to Holley (wind at our back and smooth riding) and Utica to Canajoharie (smooth trails in the Mohawk Valley) were standouts.

Favorite diversions: Could not narrow this down, so here goes - Watching boats go through the locks. Cahoes Falls was pretty spectacular too. Friendly Bake Shop in Frankfort. Skaneateles Lake (Oh man, that reminds me of the Tuna Napoleon salad at Blue Water Grill. That was fantastic too.)

What we did right: We did well on packing light with the right amount of cloths for 2 weeks. Going to the laundry mat every three days worked out well. Laundry detergent sheets are the bomb for light packing. I think I only had one pair of leggings that I didn’t wear which was packed for cooler weather.

What we would do different: Would prefer to book lodging as we go after better understanding our pace. Originally I was just going to book the first few days but got nervous when so many of the B&B had closed during COVID. I could have relied more on AirBnb if needed. Also, staying in a room in a house worked well and that helps keep the cost lower when you don’t need a whole multi-bedroom house. Also - and a big one - we should have checked the distance and elevation between the trail and the lodging more closely.

Most grateful for: Meeting some great people along the way - on the trails and in the towns (read bars). You know who you are! Also, we are also happy about the great weather and zero flat tires! On the last day heading to Albany, we had a few drops of rain but that was all while on the trail.

What’s next?: Not sure, but a new idea got planted this trip - NYC to Montreal. It is about the same amount of miles. It goes straight up the Hudson Valley, and we heard a few rave reviews. We will see.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Albany

Our Albany AirBnb was a basement apartment on State Street near Lark Street. It was convenient to restaurants, bars, downtown, Washington Park, and the train station.

We had a full day to check out Albany, but unfortunately with that day being a Monday, not too much was open. (I should have realized given I live in a capital city too!)

The New York State Capitol.

The Egg which is a performing arts/concert venue. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a nickname, but no, it says “The Egg” right on the side of the building. We wanted to visit the New York State Museum, but it’s Monday. (Not my best bit of planning for the trip.)

Lots of impressive buildings around. City Hall and the Schuyler Mansion (of Alexander Hamilton fame).

We also enjoyed a walk through Washington Park — in case we haven’t been outdoors enough the last 10 days.

By the end of the day, we were both just ready to get on the train for home.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Schenectady to Albany

The guys at BL’s Tavern last night recommended that we hit Mike’s for breakfast, and it didn’t disappoint! The counter went all the way down the room and was filled with regulars. It was right down the street from the AirBnB.

We had the upstairs of this house on a row of cute little old houses. The Stockade district is the oldest neighborhood in Schenectady - over 300 years old. Loved the vibe.

As we were getting ready this morning - air in tires and oil on the chains - another cyclist rode up and stopped to chat. Wes is from California and flew out to ride the Erie Canal. We crossed paths again an hour later and rode together for a while. He joined us on a side trip off the trail to Cahoes Falls which is beautiful.

While at Cahoes Falls we met another couple from Connecticut who were walking up to the overlook park at the same time we arrived. They asked about our cycle adventure. Turns out they have ridden cross country on a tandem bike eight times and across four continents! He showed me a picture of the bike with all the gear. He said they have had that bike over 40 years. I don’t even remember how many thousands of miles they have ridden. Their stories were inspirational! Wish I had caught a picture of everyone we met, but here are the falls!

The first 20 miles today were along the In the Mohawk River. The last seven miles were down the Hudson River. We made it to the marker showing the end of our Erie Canal ride. Just like that — we are done! Here is Rob’s video rolling to the end.

We had a quick 32 miles today to finish up. We got cleaned up and finished watching the US Open men’s finals.

Cyclemeter shows a total of 418.47 miles - on trail and off. Here is roughly the trail path.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Canajoharie to Schenectady

After we left Canajoharie, the first 19 miles were along the Mohawk River. We were never really quite sure if we were on the Old Erie Canal or the Expanded Erie Canal or just the river. We were not sure until we got to the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site where both converged.

The first photo is the Old Erie Canal. The second pic is of the remains of aqueduct from the expanded Erie Canal. Both are within view of each other at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.

At the visitor center we got guidance on how to ride down the towpath through the historic site which ran parallel to the Canalway Trail. It was quite beautiful through here. Here is Rob’s video of the ride through the park by the expanded canal.

By the time we got to Lock 8, we took a our last break for the day before finishing our ride to Schenectady. As we were about to leave, Ibukun (from Nigeria) and her brother Omotayo came up to share the table. We talked a bit and she wanted to take a picture — she was so surprised that we had biked from Buffalo. Safe travels to Uganda - that’s much farther than Buffalo!

First stop in Schenectady was laundry! Had to pull up the women’s US Open final on the iPad. It was exciting to see Coco Gauff win! We made it to the AirBnb by the second set.

For dinner, Rob chose BL’s Tavern & Grill which was also in the Stockade historic district where the AirBnB is. We saw the first half of the Texas Tech/Oregon game at the bar and met some super nice folks there: Conor, Billy, and Buster. We had great burgers and more of that Utica Club beer from Saranac brewery. We were so surprised the Texas Tech game was on, we grabbed a picture of that, but not with the guys at the bar. It was great talking with you all - and thanks for the great advice to go to Stewart’s for ice cream.

It really is about the people along the way.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Canajoharie

Sometimes travel is more about the people you meet than the places you go. I was having trouble finding places to stay in the last few stops, so I switched to AirBnb to fill in the gaps. In Canajoharie we had a room in a home which we hadn’t done before. I rationalized it wasn’t that different from a B&B — just the first B without the second B.

We had a short, steep climb to get up to Cliff Street and on to the AirBnB. Seems to be a theme that I didn’t check for hills when leaving the trail.

Our host Pete bought this gem during Covid and had been renovating ever since. We got a chance to talk with him about the history of the house and the history of the village. Turns out he was also Deputy Mayor.

The short walk into town gave us a good view of the town. There was an assortment of choices for restaurants - as long as you eat by 8:00pm!

The West Hill School (below) was built in 1892. Before it was built, the Canajoharie Academy stood on the same spot. The academy was a private school where Susan B. Anthony was a teacher in 1824. Pete explained that the West Hill School is being restored, but the renovation has had some challenges. He also said that the bell for the original academy was saved.

Beech-nut (as in the gum and other products) had a long history in Canajoharie - 118 years. In 2010, it moved to a new facility in Florida, NY. Canajoharie is working on a revitalization plan for the area that included demolishing the existing factory.

Like many of the towns we passed through today, Canajoharie was showing its community pride at their street fair today.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Utica to Canajoharie

We had a very comfortable stay at the Rosemont Inn Bed and Breakfast. We enjoyed our first king sized bed in a while! We were in a downstairs room, so it was convenient to get coffee early while we were packing up and getting ready for the day. Breakfast was fantastic. It started with warm apple sauce and muffins which was followed by an egg custard. So good. I don’t normally do food pictures, but these muffins were so cute - for the Rosemont.

When we left Utica it was a nice 71 degrees. After a big rain last night, we weren’t quite sure what we were in for today. It turned out beautiful and the rain looks to be further off to the east.

We had some road riding and lots of paved trail today. We had some nice rolling hills on the roads. The rain last night brought down quite a bit of debris. We had to do a bit of trail clearing in two different spots today. Like yesterday we bounced between the Barge Canal, the Mohawk River and some sightings of the old Erie Canal.

You would think after that breakfast, we would not need anything to eat for a while, but when we rolled into Frankfort there was a little bakery with a line out the door. It was time for a break and second coffee, so hey. Inside, a customer was talking about the owner being on TV. I had also noticed a sign inside talking about the bakery being owned by 4 generations. Anyway, I found this news story, and it turns out that today was their grand re-opening for the 3rd and 4th generations. We had an apple finger and a chocolate filled pastry that were yummy.

We came around the bend of the trail in Herkimer and caught first sight of the Fort Herkimer Historic Church with the copper roof gleaming.

We have not gotten tired of watching the boats go through the locks. Rob got some more videos today that are on his SmugMug site.

This is what they call a guillotine lock. They are used to just control water flow. We have seen quite a few this week, but I didn’t know what they were called until yesterday. The name fits.

The ride through the Mohawk River valley was quite beautiful. We started seeing some of the rock walls around Little Falls. Rob caught this video of the rocks and tunnel.

We rolled on to Fort Plain and then Canajoharie. Around 44 miles on the trail today.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Utica

We are in a bed and breakfast in Utica — The Rosemont Inn Bed and Breakfast. We have a great room downstairs. Some inns have a garage where we can park our bikes for the night. They don’t have a garage here, but we have a large room and were allowed to bring our bikes in our room. (We always take our bikes into our rooms in hotels or motels.)

We had heard of the FX Matt Brewery in Utica from someone along the way, and it was a short 20 minute walk from the B&B. They have a Biergarten at the brewery where we enjoyed Saranac beer and a pretzel.

We thought the rain might catch us on the trail today, but it didn’t hit until after 6:00 while we were at dinner. It might be a different story tomorrow.

And we have a large TV at the B&B where we can root for Coco Gauff rather than streaming it on the iPad!. We have been rooting for Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, and Novak Djokovic since seeing all three play in the second round.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Canastota to Utica

Whether we stop 5 minutes or overnight, every time we start up, my legs scream!

As we were leaving Canastota, I caught a picture of one of the low bridges often seen on the Old Erie Canal. These low bridges are where the song lyrics “Low Bridge! – Everybody Down” come from. Don’t want to bang my head on that!

It wasn’t too far down the trail before we got to the first aqueduct of the day. At this point we were still in the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. I think I read there were 32 aqueducts built on the old Erie Canal.

Here are some of my general observations this morning (without pictures): The clouds were reflecting beautifully in the canal water. With mainly clear skies previous days, I think these clouds were a first. There have been lots of pretty wildflowers along the trail - mainly pink and yellow. There are some leaves on the trail, but not a lot of color other than green in the trees. There are all shades of green on top of the old canal water. We are seeing some browns, dark green, moss green, all the way to neon green.

After leaving the Old Erie Canal Park we had a short bit on the road then all of the sudden we were back on the Barge Canal with a boat coming in. Good timing for us. We got a chance to talk to the lock tender and learn more about the process. It is pretty amazing how quickly the water drops down.

At first he only opens the gates a third of the way open. They do that so they don’t deluge the next lock down too quickly. He eventually opened it all the way to drain it more quickly. When the boat first pulled up, they threw something from the boat to the lock tender. I asked him about that and he said they threw them some food and sometimes a drink. He said she threw him something warm - just cooked wrapped in foil. He said a lot of the boats give them something, but not all.

We were not on the Barge Canal too long. In fact, all of the sudden we were back on the old Erie Canal and didn’t realize when it happened. We are also in the Mohawk River valley now. The water flow for this section of the canal is from the Mohawk River.

We hit the point where the Erie Canal construction began - in the middle. I read they started there because it was an area where locks were not required and they could get two crews working in both directions.

As we pulled into Rome NY, this sign invited us to stop for lunch at JoJo’s Market, so we did! It was great! We also rode around Fort Stanwix in Rome.

We continued to bounce between the old canal, the Mohawk River, and the Barge Canal.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Camillus to Canastota

Camillus is synonymous with hills to me! We had the big hill up to the Nightshade Inn & Gardens yesterday (which was fun going down this morning) and more hills on the other side of Camillus as we headed east toward Syracuse. Camillus has a cute Old Erie Canal Park that we passed soon after we got back to the trail. We also saw the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct early in our day.

We passed the state fairgrounds near Syracuse. It ended Sept 4th, but it had been going in full force as we passed it on the train last Thursday. There was actually a train stop there.

As we came into Syracuse, we had a nice view of Onondaga Lake and the Inner Harbor (no picture).

The bridge got us over the train tracks. I got a photo op and Rob got a train - win-win.

The ride through Syracuse was pretty easy. We went through the lake front area and what felt like the middle of town with some cute restaurants (right along I-690). We didn’t stop other to run into a bike shop on the east side of town. Too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. The ride on the east side of Syracuse was interesting with the trail in the median of a fairly large roadway. It had lots of stops to navigate the traffic, but at least it had bike signals to get us through safely.

We did take a detour today to the Green Lakes State Park. There are 2 glacier formed lakes that are an amazing blue green color. I read it is that color because of the high amounts of calcium carbonate in the water. We ran into a couple on the trail today, and they explained that it is very unusual lake because it is a meromictic lake, meaning it has no seasonal lake mixing. We rode our bikes around the lake, and it was just gorgeous. At one end they had a “beach” and swimming. The swimming looked refreshing, but the beach was …. dirt.

Over 43 miles with the detours. Forgot to mention that the last 20 miles or so today was in the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. The trails were great and well maintained.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Rob’s videos from the trip

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Newark to Camillus

French toast with peaches and bacon was a delicious way to start the day. There should be no delusions that this is a trip that includes weight loss.

We got out of Newark at a decent time and jumped on the trail. We saw the Barge Canal at the beginning of the day but it went off to the north. The rest of the ride was a mix of riding on the original Erie Canal towpath and roads.

We hit some locks in Lyons and some interesting old boats in dry dock.

When we rode on the Erie Canal tow path, we learned that it had 83 locks - which makes a lot more sense as compared to the C&O since they were of similar ages. The Barge Canal didn’t need near as many.

Rob took my key this morning to unlock the bikes, and I didn’t get them back right away. Just before the video below, I got notified that my keys were left behind (by the AirTag). Turns out my keys left me behind!

We stopped in Weedsport for lunch and went on to Jordan. There have been lots of murals along the way. Here is the one from Jordan about Canal Law.

We rode just over 50 miles today. Instead of going on to Syracuse we stopped at Camillus. What I didn’t realize when I booked the inn was that we had a huge hill to climb to get there. There was no way I was going back to town for dinner and climb that hill again. The inn owner said that Uber is in the area and suggested going down to Skaneateles Lake - one of the NY finger lakes.

We got an Uber to take us down no problem. Getting one back was the sketchy part, but we did make it back without walking! It was a fun little unexpected adventure. Great dinner too!

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Pittsford to Newark

We began our day at the Village Bakery & Cafe with a gift card from the B&B. It was delicious and a great start to the day. We headed out for a relatively short 30 mile day. Yesterday we met a couple guys who are doing the whole trail in 6 days with 60 mile days. For me, that might feel more like an accomplishment than a vacation. I want both! The trail was fairly uneventful today. We rode through Fairport, but didn’t stop. Cute town.

We stopped at Lock 30 in Macedon for a stretch and water break. No boats coming through, but I guess the last one went west to east because the water was down.

At lock 29, just before Palmyra, we went through Pal-Mac Aqueduct Park and saw some of the ruins there. I was talking with a man who said they have been cleaning it up and working on it. He said it has been years since he could see the aqueduct because of all the overgrowth. My picture didn’t capture it well but the arches are back there in the picture on the right.

There were 3 major construction time periods for the canal. The original construction between 1817 and 1825. Widening was done between 1835 and 1862 and we think this was mainly in the same path as the original canal. They just made it deeper and wider. The third major renovation between 1905 and 1918. This was a widening and deepening project where they also rerouted the canal around some of the larger towns. Remember back to Lockport? The electric gates were built over 100 years ago with this last expansion. I need to find a map that shows how much shift there has been in the routing of the canal with the last expansion.

Most of the time we have been riding by the currently working canal, but today we got some glimpses of the original 1825 canal after we passed the aqueduct. Maybe it was also widened after 1835, I am not sure. Back near Buffalo we saw where the original 1825 canal was built but there was no water - just grass at that historical marker. There is not much boat traffic in these waters!

We made it to Newark around 1:00 and was killing time to check in, take showers, and do laundry. We ran into Andi and Brad again by the canal. They had discovered that the Newark Chamber of Commerce sponsors a canal facility for boaters (and bikers) with restrooms, showers, laundry, and water hookups. Thank you Newark! A lot of businesses and restaurants were closed for Labor Day. It was great that this resource is available. The clothes are clean now!

Tonight we are staying at the Vintage Gardens Bed and Breakfast. It is a beautiful home on High Street in Newark.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Holley to Pittsford

We started with a great breakfast at the Rosewood Bed and Breakfast in Holley - thank you Karen and Roy! Your inn is beautiful and the meal lasted all 35 miles today. We took a quick ride to see the Holley Canal Falls before leaving getting back on the trail.

Today’s observations were that the canal and trail are well used for recreational boating, fishing, kayaking, kayak fishing, roller blading, walking, and of course biking. With the holiday weekend, there was a lot of activity near the towns.

We made some new friends yesterday and today. In Holley, we met Pam and Alan (on the left) from New York who were starting their biking adventure by doing a quarter section of the canal. I think they got the bug to keep going! We also met Andi and Brad from none other than my home town growing up in NC! We first met them at Lockport, then along the trail yesterday and today, and in Pittsford this evening. We all cleaned up pretty good for a beer at the end of the day!

I did a couple time lapse videos today to show the bridges being raised and the canal gates opening. Here is the bridge raising at sonic speed! (I can only post one video per post.

I read there are 63 miles between Lockport and and the next lock. We hit that next lock today and happened to catch a boat about to go through.

Pittsford is a really cool town. They have a great canal front area with restaurants, bars, ice cream and more. Multiple people told us to go to Pittsford Farms Dairy, and it did not disappoint. We went there as soon as we arrived to town!

We are staying at the Canal Lamp Inn tonight and it is lovely. Here are some views from the canal front this evening.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Lockport to Holley

We are biking the Erie Canalway Trail which is part of the Empire State Trail system. It was mainly paved yesterday, but as expected, we hit the gravel pack trail today. It is still pretty smooth since it hasn’t been raining this week. I wanted to keep pulling out my phone to take pictures. Some of the images not captured included beautiful willow trees hanging over the canal, apple orchards with red and green apples, ducks, and lots of corn fields. It’s a little hard to see, but this cool farm house had lots of corn behind it.

There were also many more bridges than we experienced on the C&O Canal, but Ryan, the first bridge to Albion was getting reconstructed and we didn’t made it over to see the town.

All-in-all it was a good day on the trail. We went just over 44 miles.

This is the lovely porch at the Rosewood Bed & Breakfast in Holley NY.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Flight of Five

Part of the trip planning revolved around seeing the lock demonstration at the Flight of Five in Lockport NY on Saturdays. They have a big group of volunteers doing the demonstrations which involved moving a boat between three of the five locks. They opened and closed two gates to move the water up and down as needed for the boat to pass through. Back in the day it took 20 lock tenders working 12-hour shifts around the clock to run the five locks in Lockport.

We also got to see the “modern” locks 34 and 35 in action. The new electric locks which displaced the use of the five locks are over 100 years old! It was pretty amazing how quickly the water dropped for the two boats to get through.

This sculpture is a tribute to the lock tenders of the 1890’s and was sculpted from a picture taking on the steps. Five of the figures were just installed just yesterday. The newest figures are a bit brighter than the older ones.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Who doesn’t love a carousel?

As we went through Tonawanda, we took a detour to North Tonawanda to see the Allan Herschell Carousel Factory Museum. They also have Wurlitzer organs on display with the ability to produce the Wurlitzer organ rolls. The Wurlitzer factory was also in North Tonawanda.

We learned that the carousel in John Chavis Memorial Park in Raleigh is an Allen Herschell #2 Special. We will have to go check it out.

[biking-the-erie-canal]

First day on the trail

We saw a few things in Buffalo before hitting the trail.

We were told that the observation deck on the City Hall building would open this morning, but it wasn’t quite ready when we stopped by. (It has been closed for repairs since May.) We did get to see some of the art deco detail and stained glass in the council chamber.

We found the starting point of the canal in Buffalo, took a few shots, and got on our way. There was a section of the lake front that was closed, so we had to double back through town to get to the trail. The bridge was to Canada — just across the Niagara River.

We bounced a bit between trail and road, but it was mainly trail today (shown below). We saw quite a few bikers on the trail today, but only one had packs who looked like he is riding the full trail. We got to Lakeport mid-afternoon. It was a 35 mile day, and the weather was gorgeous!

Plus we got laundry done!