 | August 8 - 15, New York |
After crossing over to the U.S., we encountered rural roads again on our way to Lockport on the Erie Canal. This was our path for the next week or so. The rain had stopped now and the sun came out and dried the bike path along the canal. That evening we stayed in a motel in Medina.
Friday, August 8th started with rain, so we had to put on our raingear. A few
stretches of the bike path were a bit too soft, but we made it across with only
minor problems (Those of you, who have seen Maren in such conditions, know, what
I mean!) Second breakfast in Albion after 15 miles. Then the rain stopped
and in the afternoon it became very warm. We made it via Holley and
Brockport into Rochester, where we took a very comfy motel near the
airport. Joe and Cindy had a friend from Seattle on her way to Montreal, Canada,
who wanted to join them for a day on the bikes. Julie showed up in the evening
with her son Nick. So tomorrow we will be riding with a group."
| No Detour! |
| Along the Erie Canal |
Saturday morning saw us with five riders in warm sunshine. To stay close to the Canal in the Rochester area was not always easy. But we saw many local bikers and joggers, so it was easy to get advice. The bike path was mostly paved. We passed through the picturesque town of Pittsford, where bicyclists are asked to walk their bikes along the beautiful promenade. After 15 miles into Fairport, it was time for our (last) traditional second breakfast. Julie, Joe's and Cindy's friend, joined us and paid the whole bill!! Thank you very much, Julie!
At the next stop in Macedon, Joe asked a lock-official to provide me with detailed maps for the trip to Albany, NY. In Palmyra we had to say "good bye" to our dear friends and bicycle companions because Joe and Cindy followed the original Northern Tier Route towards Maine, while Maren and I deviated to Albany and finally to New York City. A few tears rolled, then we were away. On our way to Newark, NY, we met a young boy on his bike who was from out of town and knew the trail surprisingly well. He guided us to the next motel in the middle of the town. The motel was full with motorcyclists who had gathered for a convention for "Honda Gold Wing" (not the noisy Ha..D....). We got a room too.
| Traffic jam on the Erie Canal |
| "No words" |
| Julie, son Nick, Cindy, and Maren |
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Canal side music |
Sunday, August 10th, was the first time in many days that we had to ride on a real highway, Hwy 31. We rode via Lyons, Clyde, Savannah to Port Byron, where we had our second breakfast. The last few miles into P.B. were pretty hilly. After breakfast we were back on the Canal Trail until Weedsport, where we got lost. It took us several miles until we could connect to the trail again near Jordan. Between Memphis and Warners was the trail's end. With the help of friendly people in a Museum we got information (and even a reservation) for a reasonable prized motel in downtown Syracuse. It was another 10 miles through town to reach the basic motel on State Fair Blvd. In the night we had a thunderstorm and long lasting rain.
| The usual lay out of a motel room |
| Along Highway 32 west of Syracuse, NY |
August 11 was our 60th day on the road since Whitefish, Montana. With help of 3 pages from the telephone book, we made it in drizzling rain across the busy city to find the trailhead east of town. It was 10 o'clock when we stared riding on the trail. This segment, to Rome, NY, is called the "Old Canal Trail". This means: smaller trail, less maintained, more weeds, numerous puddles. You can either ride right through the puddles or try to circumnavigate them on the grass. After a while, our drive trains, the front panniers and the shoes looked like "Sau" (the Germans know the word!). In Chittenango we had our second breakfast. It stopped raining but was still cloudy. On this stretch of trail we met again a threesome from Vermont (Tim/Veronica/Ray), riding without panniers (they had a support wagon), whom we had met already yesterday. Ray had helped me with his water bottle. We stopped and shared some stories and photos. Later the trail became pretty rough in places, with deep puddles and a few broken trees across. I ran over a well hidden tree stump?/ rock?/ stone?, which nearly knocked me off the bike. Puh...! In the vicinity of Rome, NY the trail seemed to disappear so we made it into town on a paved highway. This was the last time that we saw the threesome.
Peter und Maren along the Erie Canal
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The next day was a rest day. We cleaned the dirt from the trail from
ourselves, our clothing and the bicycles. In the motel we met another
couple on bikes, who also had been riding along the Erie Canal (on race
bikes) and who had just decided to quit the trip. The man gave me a guide
book for the Erie Canal, which was much better than the maps we had. He
had no more need for it.
On Wednesday we were back on the road. Thanks to the new road book, we
were able to find the Erie Canal Trail pretty easily. The distribution of
the trail signs is somewhat sparse. When you are "on the trail",
you find them often. We learned from Joe to navigate on and off the trail
by watching for the "Dean Henry-Signs" on the pavement. This
morning it was sunny and pleasantly cool. The rain from yesterday did not
make too many puddles, so our effort was very good.
After about 16 miles we made it to Utica, NY. Unfortunately we missed
taking a photo when we came to the Utica Fire station on the bike path
into town. (Seven years ago we stayed in the Utica Fire station with
M&M, but that was in Kentucky!) In town we had our second breakfast.
The Bleeker Street out of town must be 4-5 miles long. We stayed away from
the canal for a while.
We rode through Frankfort, which will always be remembered for a great
iced coffee in a gas station.
After
the stop we discovered some dark clouds in the sky. We relied on our luck
and cycled on. The road had some nice climbs and descents. The dark clouds
became much bigger! To reach Little Falls, NY we had a fast downhill, crossed
over a bridge and checked into the only motel in town. The thunderstorm
began! The post office was close by and we decided to send home our tent
equipment. We paid $97.50 to send the box home but we were 23 lb (10 Kg)
lighter.
Storm over Little Falls
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On Thursday, Aug
14th, we had been 9 weeks on the road (since Whitefish, MT). The morning
was
cool and foggy, without wind. The trail wound up and down and around
some rocks. There were nearly no puddles, despite the thunderstorm last evening.
Second breakfast in Fort Plains. Via Canajoharie, Fultonville and
Schoharrie Crossing. Now we rode on the road. After Rotterdam we changed to
the left side of the canal and Mohawk River. The road was busy, but the
shoulder was good. Through Scotia into Schenectady. We pushed our bikes
through downtown. The motel was also downtown, but the supermarkets were
not.
On Friday it was cloudy in the morning again. When we left the motel, it
started drizzling a bit. Despite our road book, we were not able to find the
trailhead for the Canal Trail. We had to ask until we got it. That
morning we rode for many miles away from the Mohawk River. We had to make
some steep climbs and down hills. Schenectady is the core of the worldwide
known company "General Electric". So in the vicinity of
the town are several big buildings from that company. I tested two security
people from a nuclear research plant, to show me on the map, where we
were:
The result did not help me!! Later we joined the river again. It started drizzling again. First we ignored it, but after a few miles we
took
out our rain jackets. Our problem was to find a place for a second
breakfast. In the meantime we joined the Hudson River. The Mohawk River is
a tributary to the Hudson River.
State Park along the Mohawk River/Erie Canal north of Schenectady
| No Detour! |
| Along the Erie Canal |
Finally, about 6 miles short of Albany, we got our second breakfast at a Burger King. Albany is the capital of New York State, and as such a busy town. We rolled right into the government district. This is not the place to look for reasonable prized accommodations. So after we picked up a parcel from M&M with our duffel bags, we had to ride some 7 miles with heavy traffic and 2 miles of road construction to the northwestern part of town, where 90% of the accommodations of the town are located. We bought a road map, which covered the area of the remaining trip. (Photos of Albany, next page)
