Miles today: 14.66, Total miles: 216.62
We got off to a late start today, and it seemed that everyone was not quite in the right frame of mind. This was the day I feared: the day fatigue set in.
AM’s hands were sore, my knee was still sore, I didn’t sleep well, and everyone was on edge. We grabbed some breakfast at the hotel and headed out. After the fiasco with the maps from the day before, I elected to have Stephanie drive us the two miles to the trail head. I’m glad she did, as it wasn’t marked very well, so we had to drive around a bit until we found it.
Once on the trail, we made good speed towards Utica. We stopped at one of the locks to watch a boat lock-through and enjoyed some quiet time together.
Just a few short miles later, the trail ended at the north-west side of Utica at a very busy road. We dialed up our courage and made our way down the right lane into Utica. I didn’t realize how big the city was and how much traffic would be there. If I had, I would have tried to plan a different route, for sure.
We had arranged to meet Stephanie at a particular hotel in downtown, so we had to find our way there. I was glad to get off of the city streets.
Given our state of mind, the traffic, and fatigue, we talked it out and decided to skip through Utica and take the rest of the day off.
We took the kids to the Herkimer Diamond Mines, which was really a good change of pace.
Our evening brought us to the town of Little Falls to eat and spend the night. The Erie Canal path starts up again here after being gone from west Utica. We should now be able to follow it all the rest of the way into Albany.
So, we took a mostly restful day today. We needed it. We are going to try to get back on-pace tomorrow to be able to finish on Thursday.
My knee is a bit better today, and didn’t hinder the cycling, but as we sat for dinner, it became sore again. More ice tonight and we will see if it is good enough to ride tomorrow.
Here’s a link to today’s ride: http://j.mp/8Zd0XV
Peace!
-Dc. Matt
Deacon Matt's Blog 