#ErieCanal – Deacon Matt's Blog

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 7 – Amsterdam to Albany, Amtrak, and Done!

May 31, 2024May 31, 2024 M. CorialeLeave a comment

We finished our bike tour yesterday, but by the time we were on the train, I decided to just hang out with the guys and not tempt the WordPress gods to lose my work with an intermittent internet connection.

The weather yesterday was fantastic. It was actually a bit on the chilly side, starting at just over 50 degrees when we rolled out of the castle. It never got too warm but the sunshine and blue skies made up for the coolness.

At some point during the trip, we were discussing the difference between habits and traditions. I did all of the planning for our trip and intentionally changed up some of our itinerary based on learning from our last trip in 2020. However, there were some things we wanted to do again. Are those things habits or traditions?

JB is a creature of habit, especially with food. If he’s eaten at a specific place, he wants to go back. Back in 2020, we stopped in at a Dunkin Donuts on our way through Schenectady. So Wednesday night, JB said he wanted to do that again.

We made quick work of the first 18 miles from Amsterdam to Schenectady, stopping a little here and there for pictures. This part of New York state is beautiful, for sure. Sadly when people think of New York, they typically think of the city. In reality, that’s just a small part of what the state has to offer.

Per JB’s request, we went over to Dunkin to get our breakfast. A bagel sandwich, a large sweet tea and some donuts for dessert were enough for the rest of the ride.

The route today was a mix of old canal path, path along the Mohawk River, some surface streets, and finally a path along the Hudson River to take us into Albany.

At one of the locks we saw a huge crane being set up. We stopped to watch them for a little while. Apparently they were setting up this crane to load a generator on a barge later next week.

After reaching town of Cohoes, we went south on surface streets and trails until reaching the Corning Preserve park – the end of the route! We arrived around 12:30, with plenty of time to spare before heading to the Amtrak station for the 4:10PM train. We caught a few pictures then went into Albany for a little celebration and some lunch. I had a salad and cider, and we all toasted to the completion of our trek. We all made it this time!

The Amtrak station is in Rensselaer, across the Hudson River. There’s a new detour to get over the bridge. That set us back until we found the detour, but we made it with plenty of time to spare. A quick change into comfortable clothes, with a baby-wipe bath prepped me for the Amtrak ride back.

Traveling by bike with Amtrak can be a little bit of an adventure. Some trains have a baggage car for bikes, others you self carry the bike. Sometimes the bike protocol changes. Sometimes they ask you to put on a luggage tag, other times they don’t care.

Here’s my advice, first, you must book a bike with your ticket. They only have 4 spots on this particular train. Then, each coach car has one, and only one, place to hang your bike on the wall. They want you to remove your front wheel, hang the bike by the back tire, and then hopefully have enough time when you leave the train to get your bike back together quickly. I think these rules were made prior to more modern bikes that are a bit harder to remove your wheel. As I’ve done before, I just hung my bike by the front tire and left it all together. No issues.

As we wound our way back, we did cross a few of the places we’d cycled. We enjoyed a quiet evening and I listened to some music. It was nice to just sit still for a while.

When the train reached Rochester, I wished my cycling buddies goodbye. I arranged for my wife to meet me here so that we can spend some time with my parents.

Looking back at this trip, I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. Good company, nice scenery, and cycling. A good combination. Looking forward, I don’t know what my, or our, next adventure will be. I’ll probably do another ride to work this summer or fall. Until then, I’ll mostly be focused on my road cycling.

Here are my thoughts on the Erie Canal / Empire State Trail. First, it is a very well developed path across New York. Much of it is well developed and the road segments are relatively tame with wide shoulders. Trail conditions are good and well maintained. There are a small number of segments where I think they could have done a better job of posting detours or the intended path. I had my Garmin bike GPS with me, so it was easy for us to avoid getting too far off track. I feel like the #PTNY team needs to revisit the trail marking in Rome since the detour looks rather permanent to me and could use some better signage for those of us who traveled from West to East. There was also a trail construction area in Western NY that had no detour posted on the western side.

Other challenges: if you are wanting to do 50-65 miles/day, there are some towns with limited lodging choices. If it is just two people, you probably won’t have to go too far to find lodging. If you are trying to arrange for a group, you will want to spend some time with google maps looking for towns with hotels ahead of time as your plan develops. One example is Amsterdam – very few choices there.

I’m a bit partial to the canal since I grew up near by. It’s a comfortable way to see much of what NY has to offer. Of the long distance trails I’ve done end-to-end, I’d put it in the top five. If you’ve not done it before, I recommend it for a week long adventure.

Statistics for this trip:
Miles: 386.78 over 7 days
Hours on Bike: 30 Hours, 44 Minutes (not including breaks)
Mechanical problems: 0
Tires and Tubes: No flats, Zubby lost a tire to glass
Meals with fries: 1
Trips to the Dinosaur BBQ: 2
Donuts: 3

With that, I thank you for traveling along with me. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and provide you with rest and enjoyment this summer.

Peace,
– Dcn. Matt

Garmin missed about 4 miles of my track 😦

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 6 – Utica to Amsterdam

May 29, 2024May 29, 2024 M. CorialeLeave a comment

Today’s weather was quite a contrast to yesterday. We were blessed with blue skies, cool temperatures, good trail conditions, and an overall great day.

We were ‘wheels-down’ and rolling about 8AM today with a bit of 65 miles ahead of us. We decided to hit a Dunkin Donuts on our way out of town for breakfast. It was a bit nicer than eating at McDonalds, plus there’s donuts for a sort of breakfast-dessert after the bagel sandwich.

We took several breaks throughout the day to watch boats lock through and enjoy the day. We saw the same couple of boats several times and struck up a short conversation with one that was locking through going the other way. This couple was probably in their late 60s and spends their winters in Key West. Then it is a 21 boating day adventure up the Atlantic coast to get back to their home in Cleveland.

When we got to the town of Little Falls, we decided to skip the town but go out to Lock 17. This is my third complete trip on the Canal. In both of the previous trips (2010 and 2022), I did not venture out to Lock 17 – but should have. Lock 17 is a bit of a hike away from the trail which is why I didn’t do it before. But you are rewarded with an engineering feat: one of the tallest locks in the world. It drops the water just over 40’ along the Mohawk River. Before the canal, the only way to get cargo or boats across this area was to land carry the boats and cargo due to the steep drop and waterfalls.

We saw a boat approaching and Billy pulled out the drone for some amazing shots. He captured about 15 minutes of video of the boat locking through. The pictures and video may not look that impressive until you see us standing on the lock and how tiny we are in comparison to the surroundings. See if you can find us in the first picture standing on top of the cement upper part of the lock. You’ll have to zoom in to find us. The water being let out of the lock made a tremendous noise, much like standing near a major waterfall.

After our generous break at Lock 17, we continued our way uneventfully along the canal making good time towards our destination. We stopped briefly by the homestead of General Herkimer and then continued on to the town of Canajoharie for lunch.

Our final destination was the Amsterdam Castle. It really isn’t a castle, but a former armory that has been converted into a hotel and themed with castle decorations like suits of armor. It’s a neat place – and there really isn’t much else within biking distance of Amsterdam.

Dinner was a stone’s throw away at an Italian place, Lorenzo’s. It did not disappoint. It was the best meal of the trip for me.

Tomorrow we finish our trip with about a 50 mile trip from here to Albany, then crossing the Hudson and picking up the 4:10PM Amtrak back towards Buffalo.

Time for bed. I’m a little disappointed that my bed at the Castle is not a King sized bed. That would feel more appropriate.

Hopefully I’ll be able to blog on my way home tomorrow. If not, the next installment will likely be on Friday to wrap up the trip.

Peace!
– Dcn. Matt

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 5 – Raincoat On, Raincoat Off. Repeat.

May 28, 2024May 28, 2024 M. CorialeLeave a comment

Today’s blog post is brought to you by the letter R… “R is for Rain”

Lest you think this is going to be a cranky old blog post, let me say that we did have a good day. But it was definitely wet.

We got a leisurely start today and left Syracuse around 8:30 on our way to Utica. The weather forecast said we might see a little rain, but it wouldn’t be too bad. Well, chalk up another failed weather forecast.

Rolling out of Syracuse was an easy endeavor. Back when my daughter and I rode the Erie Canal in 2010, we had to use surface streets to get in and out of the city. That’s no longer the case. There is a very good bike “highway” that runs between the lanes of the main roads leading east of Syracuse. Aside from being very careful when crossing intersections, the bike path is 100% separated from the road and safe. Quite an improvement.

It wasn’t long after leaving the city that the first raindrops fell. Eventually we put on raincoats. Then it got quite a bit more wet. Then it stopped. We’d get too hot in our coats so we’d stop and take them off. A little while later it would rain some more. That’s what happened all day long. I’d guess we spent about 40% of today in the rain.

The canal path generally drains well. It does get a bit slower to push, but the rain is mostly a comfort issue more than a cycling issue.

Plotting our way east, we made a couple of stops. During one of the rains, we stopped in Chittenago at a canal boat museum and checked out their reproduction boat until the rain stopped. I’ve passed this boat before but it wasn’t open. It was interesting and worth the stop, but you could see it all in 5 minutes if you really wanted.

Our only real drama of the day happened in Rome. I’m beginning to think Rome is cursed for my cycling. See earlier trip blogs for details that I won’t repeat here. The trail has an official detour posted. I think it’s been here for many years, so why #PTNY is it a detour instead of just the route? As we followed the detour signs, there is one critical sign missing. We even went back to see if we’d missed it. The turn which should have taken us onto W Dominic Street was unmarked. We went forward and saw what looked to be the trail across a busy road. We froggered across the road and rolled up to where it has a road closed sign. There’s a map there showing the right detour (why no map at the other end?!). As we turned around, Zubby rolled over a broken bottle that someone had thrown on the trail. It trashed his tire. Fortunately, he brought a spare tire with him. About 40 minutes later, we were back on the road again.

When we reached Canastota we stopped for lunch at a pizza place. I got a sub and the other guys got really good looking pizza. (Curse you, dairy allergy! Cheese looked delicious). When we came out of the restaurant, the skies looked dark. Coats on, raindrops fell.

As we pedaled east, we were on the historic and non-functional Erie Canal for most of the day, but we also joined up with the modern Barge Canal which replaced the Erie in the early 1900s. The Barge Canal is still active and we stopped at some of the locks. Billy deployed his drone to get some footage of a couple of boats locking through while we all watched from the ground.

Eventually we made our way to Utica and found our hotel, the Double Tree – which used to be the Hotel Utica, which opened in 1912. The lobby is still very majestic and interesting. We’re staying on the 9th floor, which gives us a nice view of the city.

Dinner was a very good hamburger at Swifty’s and now I’m ready for sleep. I feel very good after 5 days of cycling, but I am very sleepy. The body needs to recover.

Tomorrow is our longest day, probably about 65 miles. So far, the weather looks to be cool and dry. Let’s hope they get that forecast right.

May the Lord help you see joy when it feels like the storms of life keep coming.

Peace,
– Dcn. Matt

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 4 – It Was a Dark and Stormy Day

May 27, 2024May 27, 2024 M. CorialeLeave a comment

I slept like a rock last night. Best night of sleep I’ve had in weeks, in fact. We stayed at the Vintage Gardens B&B in Medina. If you’re looking for a place along the canal, I highly recommend them. The accommodations were good, the hosts were great, and they took good care of us.

Before heading to bed, Billy and I looked over the forecast. It looked like we were going to be in rain all day, some storms, high winds with gusts up to 60 MPH, and possibility of hail. We talked it over and decided that we would weigh things in the morning and figure out what to do then. There’s a fine line between adventure and stupidity sometimes and I wanted to make sure we stayed on the safe side.

This morning, right after doing my morning prayer, I turned to the various weather apps. It looked like the storms were moving out to later in the day with one or two major lines coming through. We discussed it and decided we would get going immediately after breakfast, keep our breaks to a minimum, and keep our eyes on the weather.

We rolled out of the B&B at about 8:30 with 65-ish miles ahead. Storms were on the radar, but we had a decent chance of getting far along before they caught up to us. The wind forecast was accurate, however. We faced stiff headwinds and sidewinds for most of the day. On top of that, the panniers on our bikes sort of act like sails to catch the winds.

Very shortly after leaving Newark, the Erie Canal route moves to NY Route 31 for about 20 miles. The good news is that pavement is faster than the towpath crushed gravel, and Route 31 has very generous shoulders along this area for riding. The bad news is that much of the route was out in the open farmland with little wind break. There were some parts where we were in lower gears, heads down, pushing hard, to go 6-8 MPH. Nevertheless, we persevered and made our way past Seneca Falls, Port Byron, and a few other little towns I’ve since forgotten.

During a short rest stop and snack break, we pulled up the weather. My initial reaction was “Oh !@!@#” as we saw a giant line of red and yellow coming our way. We decided to do our best to outrun the storm and see if we could get to Syracuse before it caught us. Our snack break was short.

We made good time as we pushed east. Around the town of Jordan we felt our first drops of rain. It didn’t seem too bad. We put on our rain gear and started rolling again. The rains picked up a bit, but weren’t too strong a few miles later. We only had about 10-15 miles left to go, so we were thinking we would just ride on.

When we hit the town of Camilllus, there was a picnic pavilion that seemed like a good place to take a break. We pulled up the weather and I asked my wife, Stephanie, to take a look at the weather for us. Shortly after we pulled under the picnic area roof, the rain turned into a solid storm and the alerts said there could be hail. Stephanie told us the storm would go past over about an hour, so we decided to take a long break. JB took a nap on a table, I ate some food out of my bags, and we all just listened to the rain. It was actually a pretty nice break.

About an hour later, the rains stopped completely and we got back underway. The trail was a bit wet but not bad. We mostly just dodged puddles with the occasional unavoidable splash of mud puddle.

To get into Syracuse, you exit the trail at the state fairgrounds, then climb up a hill that overlooks Onondaga lake. You get rewarded with some nice views at the top.

From there, it is a little tricky to follow the signage through Syracuse into downtown. I had GPS tracks loaded into my cycling computer, so it wasn’t too hard to follow. If you’re not using a GPS, you may want to make sure you have a good map of the route with you and keep an eagle-eyed view out for the signs.

We arrived at our hotel a little after 3PM in good spirits, not too wet, but definitely in need of showers and food. After getting cleaned up, we met JB’s friends Jessie and Joe for dinner at the Syracuse Dinosaur BBQ. That’s twice in a week. Mmmm….

Tonight’s laundry night, so I’m sitting here blogging away while waiting for 100 miles of gunk to get washed off our clothes. Tomorrow we head to Utica, about 62 miles east of here.

It was a good day on two wheels and we’re looking forward to hopefully better weather tomorrow.

I didn’t take many pictures today because we were minimizing our stops. So here are some of the best ones of the day. Enjoy.

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe among all the trials that come your way.
— Dcn. Matt

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 3 – Rochester to Newark

May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 M. CorialeLeave a comment

Today was a more leisurely day. I wanted to get to mass in Pittsford mid morning so we left the hotel around 9 and started our way back to the trail from downtown Rochester. The air was cool but comfortable and we stayed dry all day.

Making our way towards Pittsford, we came across a crew meet taking place on the canal. These were high school teams that gathered for a two-day event. Sadly, I couldn’t hang around to watch. I’ve always enjoyed watching the rowing of these sleek boats. One of my minor regrets from college days is that some members of the U of R’s crew team invited me to join them my freshman year and I never took them up on at least checking it out.

When we reached Pittsford, I went off to St. Louis Catholic Church while JB, Billy, and Zubby decided they would watch the crew for a while then head to Fairport a few miles away while I was at mass.

The church is about 100 yards from a small house that my wife and I rented when we were first married many years ago. I swung by that old house and recalled memories of good times living there. We didn’t have any money back then, so a big night on the town was getting an ice cream cone and walking the canal park. We still reflect on that as being some of our happiest times.

Mass at St. Louis was nice. I always feel awkward in my cycling clothes going to mass, so I sat in the very back. There were some families with small children in the last few rows and I enjoyed the distraction of some laughing toddlers.

After mass I made quick time toward Fairport and met up with the rest of the gang. They were at a diner in town and were finishing up their food when I arrived. I ordered a club sandwich and it was fantastic – fresh turkey, not lunch meat, and well prepared.

The weather was very nice all day. We had headwind much of the time, but no complaints about the conditions. We made a few stops at some locks to take advantage of a very leisurely day.

At one of the locks, Billy pulled out his drone to do some pics and videos. I couldn’t justify the money for one of these drones, but it is a neat toy.

We finished up our trip into Newark and are staying at the Vintage Gardens B&B. It is comfortable and the hosts have put together a nice place with beautiful gardens on the property.

After a nice warm shower, we walked around Newark and got some dinner before turning back for the evening. Tomorrow’s destination is Syracuse, about 65 miles away. The weather forecast is calling for rain most of the day, so it might feel a little longer. We’ll see. I’ll keep the raincoat at the ready!

Stats for today: 40 miles. No problems. No fries with meals.

Peace,
— Dcn. Matt

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 1 – Buffalo to Medina

May 24, 2024May 24, 2024 M. CorialeLeave a comment

Today was a great ride. No two ways about it. Good company, fun route, and epic weather. We all had a memorable day, in the good sense of the word.

After leaving the hotel in downtown Buffalo, we wandered across the street to a Tim Horton’s to get some tea and a couple of donuts. I really shouldn’t eat donuts, but I sometimes make exceptions for donuts. The other guys had never heard of Horton’s so I guess that’s one new experience.

Mmmm Donuts… The stuff dreams are made of

Leaving Buffalo should have been a very short jog over to the Shoreline Trail. This is the trail that runs parallel to the Niagara River until we get to Tonawanda, NY. When we got over to the trail, there was a detour posted. We meandered a bit and eventually had to take surface streets for a few miles before going over to the Shoreline Trail. The views along the way are nice.

A few miles later, we passed under a major highway bridge that runs over to Grand Island. JB said he really wanted to go over the bridge. We rode across, went a little ways into the island and then returned. The bridge has a separated sidewalk but the traffic on the other side of the barrier was moving at highway speeds and the big trucks still made some serious wind. The sidewalk area was a little narrow and I can’t say I enjoyed that part of the trip as much as the other guys. But nonetheless, it was fun enough. Next time (?) I would like to plot a course that goes across to Canada and up the Canadian side to Niagara Falls, then back down to pick up the Canal trail. Not all of us had passports so I didn’t go that route this tine.

Once back on the trail, we finally left the urban area behind and turned eastward at Tonawanda to the Erie Canal Trail, also labeled the Empire State Trail. From this point forward, most of our riding will be a bit quieter alongside the original path of the Erie Canal.

Our next milepost was to reach Lockport. After a nice lunch at Tom’s diner, we wandered around at the locks there, read some of the history, and then pointed our way down the trail eastward.

Originally there were two parallel sets of 5 locks in Lockport that would get boats up / down the Niagara escarpment. Back in the 1920s, these were replaced with two very large locks when the Erie Canal was superseded by the Barge Canal to be able to handle larger loads and more traffic. Billy had never seen a lock in action before so we watched a boat lock through and wandered into the museum to learn a bit more about the history of the canal. Outside the museum is a set of bronze statues that recreate a famous portrait of the lock tenders in Lockport. We took our seats among them and got a picture.

Most of the rest of the day was uneventful as we enjoyed the crushed gravel path next to the canal. There was a mile or two of the trail that was in very bad condition due to construction. No detour posted on the west end of it and it was very good that it wasn’t a rainy day or we’d have been ankle deep in mud. When we got to the end of the construction there were detour directions posted for riders going the other way. #PTNY: not good, how about posting some detour signage?

We eventually made it to Medina, NY and found our hotel, checked in and did a deep scrubbing. I’m going to sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow we head to downtown Rochester, about 50 miles. We are going to try to get there early enough to spend some time at the Strong Museum of Play in the evening.

Today’s stats: 55 miles, 2 donuts, no mechanical problems.

Peace!
– Dcn. Matt

2024 Spring Erie Canal Tour: Day 0 – Here we go again!

May 22, 2024May 23, 2024 M. Coriale1 Comment

If you’ve been following me for more than a year or so, this will seem familiar. My former co-workers and I have decided to make another ride across NY state along the Erie Canal trail / Empire State Trail. I’ve done this trip a couple of times prior, most recently in 2022.

Back in 2022, the same group of guys planned this trip together, however due to Covid, one of them had to back out and then later another didn’t finish the whole ride. So it was decided that this year, we’d all do it, and all finish together!

This time we’re changing things up a little by stopping in different places and seeing some different sights. The route will be largely the same, but we’ll venture into Rochester and skip the side trip to Webster this time. We’re also going to skip the sketchy AirB&B in Syracuse.

Our adventure began with a leisurely trip from central Kentucky in the Zubby Family Truckster (a Sienna Minivan) up to Buffalo where we’ll begin our journey. The plan is to leave the car in a safe place here, ride to Albany, and take Amtrak back.

After getting checked in, we wandered about and found some dinner at a local brew pub. My goal is to come home a little lighter than I left, but the beer was oh so good, so I had to at least splurge on one pint.

I am most definitely looking forward to the time off. Work has been very busy lately. I won’t be able to completely unplug this trip as I usually do, but at least I’ll be with friends on the bike with hopefully good weather along the way. The forecast here looks great for the next few days.

As usual, I’ll be blogging along the way each day so my family can keep up with the adventure.

Onward Ho!

Peace,
– Dcn. Matt

2022 Erie Canal Tour: Wrap-Up

September 13, 2022March 17, 2023 M. CorialeLeave a comment

The 2022 Cycling Adventure on the Erie Canal is complete. Zubby, JB, and I had a great trip along the canal route. Even with some equipment issues (darned broken spokes!) and a little downtime helping Zubby de-bonk, it was fun. This was the worst weather I’ve done a bike tour in: 5 of 7 days in some amount of rain. Again, none of those issues detracted too much from a great week of unplugging on two wheels.

Touring with other people is good because you can watch over each other. It also brings along some tradeoffs. You have to compromise and decide when to do side trips, where to eat, and so on. I think this tour worked out very well and we did a good job of helping each other along. I enjoyed JB’s wanderlust that took us into the little towns along the way and the excursion through Syracuse to see the university and some of the local sights. Zubby is an eternal optimist who found a way to enjoy the trip even in the rain. My only regret is that we couldn’t somehow change our itinerary to accommodate Billy’s family covid situation. We’ll just have to get another option planned for 2023!

As I collect my wrap-up thoughts, first I’ll give my impression of touring the Erie Canal. It is one of the better developed touring routes in the United States. At about 400 miles from Buffalo to Albany, it provides a long ride with reasonably spaced towns for accommodations. Most of the route is on dedicated path, with some through-city parts on bike lanes or dedicated paths. There are a few stretches of on-road riding. The road sections were usually on either very quiet roads or on roads with generous shoulders. As an experienced road-rider, I didn’t feel too stressed by the road sections. If I were riding with young kids though, I would try to time the road sections for non busy times.

The surface for the path is a combination of paved and crushed limestone “stone dust” on top of packed dirt. I definitely prefer the paved parts, but the stone dust surface rides well when dry and drained well when it was raining. I recommend having tires with a little bit of width and tread in case it rains. The mud is slippery when wet.

The route of the Erie Canal Trail is good. Starting in Buffalo, then Lockport and all of the port towns west of Fairport provide some good variety of things to see. Some of the towns are too small to support restaurants, but others are great places to get food and water. Once you get east of Fairport, the towns are more sparse, with the exceptions of the bigger cities like Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Amsterdam, Schenectady, and Albany.

If I had to rank the Erie Canal Trail among other routes I’ve done, I’d put it in the middle. Definitely worth doing, but I prefer the scenery of the Great Allegheny Passage and the nearly all-paved Ohio To Erie trail is hard to beat. The Parks and Trails NY team does good job of marking the trail. There were only a couple of places where it wasn’t exactly clear where to turn. I had put together .GPX files for my Garmin to help and only used them in a couple of places. I have mixed feelings about the guidebook from the PTNY. It is useful but I think there should be a bit more detail with road names, especially in the Syracuse area. I do recommend buying it to carry with you, but don’t expect it to answer all of your routing questions.

We chose to do 7 days to minimize work vacation days. This pushed us to 65+ days 4 of the 7 days. I typically plan for ~60 miles when touring on my own and find that comfortable. I think this trip would have been better with shorter days. 50-60 mile days would have allowed for more sight seeing and accommodating mechanical and health issues.

If you’re new to bike touring, the Erie Canal Trail, or even just part of it, would be a good option to get started. It is gentle enough for medium-skilled riders and has enough scenery to keep it interesting.

Here’s a little bit about my equipment. Over time my cycling rig has evolved a bit. Here’s what I use today:

Bicycle: 2018 Specialized Sequoia Expert. I bought this bike at the end of 2018 and have been using it for touring since then. It is a good combination of robust build, comfort, and gearing. If I were to go cross country with lots of mountains, I might look for something with a wider gearing. I like that the frame has many braze-on lugs to easily accommodate a rack, fenders, and still have room for three water bottles. I don’t use the front lugs but could mount front racks if I wanted to carry more gear. I’m also a huge fan of disc brakes. This model has hydraulic brakes that are strong and sure no matter how wet they get.
Bike Add-Ons: I insist on fenders for touring. The rain and mud create quite a mess. I did two tours without fenders in 2010 and 2012 and will never do that again. I use a Blackburn rack, but I don’t know what model it is. I recommend one where the sides are long/wide to provide more support to your panniers and keep them out of your wheel area.
Tires: This is an area of passionate debate for cycle touring. I am a fan of Schwalbe touring tires, like the marathon plus. However this bike came with Specialized Adventure Gear Sawthooth 700x42mm tires. I’m still running the original Specialized tires and I’ve been very happy with them. They are a great tradeoff of tread for mud vs. rolling on smooth roads. I’ve got several thousand miles on them and only one flat. The tread is still in great shape, too. I will probably try to get similar tires again when it is time to replace these.
GPS: I have been using a dedicated bike GPS for many years. I currently use a Garmin Edge 820. I have a love/hate relationship with this device. For general ride tracking it does a sufficient job. For route guidance, I’d give it a “C” grade: I’ve needed to plot unknown courses like getting to the Rome bike shop and it does an OK job. However it is very slow when loading a premade .GPX files and the battery life is not great. I had to carry a spare battery pack with me and used it every day to charge up along the route. Garmin wants a ton of $ to replace the battery. Not gonna happen. I think when it is time to replace, I will look at a competitor’s unit such as Wahoo.
Bike Radar: Ok, this has become an essential piece of gear for me. I use a Garmin Varia RTL515 radar. This little device mounts on the back of the bike and has two purposes: 1) it is a brightly flashing tail light to get motorists’ attention, and 2) it tracks cars coming from behind and tells me where they are, how many are approaching, and how fast. This is displayed on my bike GPS screen. I really like knowing when a car is approaching. So I have both a rear mirror on my handlebar and this radar. I won’t ride without them at this point.
Panniers: Panniers are the bags that hook into the racks of the bike, kind of like bike luggage. I use Ortlieb “Bike Packer Plus” panniers. They are waterproof and have served me very well. They’re not cheap, but if you do a bunch of bike travel, you will find that you never have to worry about the contents getting wet with Ortlieb panniers. They also have a good rack-mounting system that locks the bags securely to the rack. There are many good and cheaper options out there, so if you’re just getting started, I suggest starting with a cheaper option and just pack your clothes in dry bags inside the panniers.
Camera: I purchased a GoPro Hero 7 on sale a couple of years ago so that I can take pictures while riding and not have to stop. I also have a love/hate relationship with this device. Somehow it manages to take pictures sometimes and videos others. I need to sit with some YouTube instructions to see the best way to operate it so that I can get pictures with my GoPro consistently. In the past, I have struggled to find a great way to mount the GoPro to my bike and think I cracked the code this time. I bought a well-reviewed off-brand Garmin style GPS mount, took the quarter turn off of it, flipped it upside down and used a genuine GoPro foam-tape mount to mount on the backside. It worked like a champ and allows me to remove the GoPro when I go into a restaurant. I’m really surprised nobody sells something like this pre-made. See my picture below for the mount. For my off-the-bike pictures, I use my iPhone. It takes great pictures.
Headlight: I have a rule to always carry a headlight. They tend to be heavy, but if you get stuck after sundown, it is really necessary. You can’t plan emergencies, but you can be prepared for them. I got stuck after sundown on the KATY trail a few years ago and will always keep a light with me now. I carry a Blackburn Central 300. It is bright enough to navigate with, but I’d recommend going even higher than 300 lumens if you can afford it.
Blogging Setup: I use a small Microsoft bluetooth keyboard that folds up. It works with my iPhone and allows me to touch-type at full speed. It doesn’t weigh much and takes nearly no space in my bag. I use the WordPress dedicated iOS app on the phone. You probably found some typos in the blog. I’m not trying to write a novel, so I am not quite as careful when blogging.

Thanks for following along. I always enjoy hearing from people who read the blog or ask questions that I can help with.

Here’s a link to each of the day’s blog:

This is my last big 2022 bike adventure. I’m already looking forward to 2023 and another grand time on two wheels. Not sure where I’ll ride next, but I’m already daydreaming of options.

Until then, Peace.
— Dcn. Matt

2022 Erie Canal Tour: Days 6&7 – Utica to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Albany. Done!

September 10, 2022March 17, 2023 M. Coriale1 Comment

I was much too tired yesterday to blog. And honestly, I am again today, but if I don’t get my notes down now, it probably won’t happen.

Friday, day 6, was an eventful day for our band of three. We left Utica early under a bit of a fog. The weather was cool but nice. No rain, and that was most welcome.

It didn’t take long for the sun to dry up the fog and make for a beautiful and sunny day. We made a steady pace as we pedaled east. We stopped at several of the locks for a rest or pictures. Right about lock 18, we decided to watch a boat lock through.

The boat is named “Spontaneous”. We struck up a couple of minutes of conversation as they locked through. This couple was on their way to New Hampshire to deliver this boat to new owners. They have had some great adventures but just didn’t have the time to enjoy it any longer. We all decided that a great way to do this trip would be to cycle to one end and have a very relaxing boat ride back. It takes several days to travel the length of the canal by boat. They are restricted to low speed, so it is a relaxed pace.

As we began the day, Zubby just didn’t quite seem to be feeling 100%. By the time we reached the town of Canajoharie, he really didn’t feel well. Looking back, we think he “bonked” – a term that means you’re too low on calories and/or electrolytes and/or fluids. The brain just shuts you down. We got him into a local restaurant and he sipped a bunch of drink and cooled down. We hung out for about two hours. We had about 25 miles left to go, but Zubby decided he was done for the day. After a few unsuccessful attempts at Ubering and Lyfting, we got ahold of someone who was able to drive him forward to our hotel in Amsterdam.

So then there were two…

JB and I pressed on to Amsterdam without much further excitement. We stopped for a few minutes at the entrance to the shrine for the North American Martyrs. This is the site of the 17th Century Mohawk Village of Ossernenon, birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and the site of martyrdom for three Jesuit missionaries. This particular shrine has importance for me because of some time spent here back in 2010 with my daughter and wife. We were running quite late after helping Zubby so we couldn’t stay long.

We finished our ride and arrived at the Castle in Amsterdam NY. This is an old armory that has been converted into a castle-themed hotel. It was a very fun place to stay and we enjoyed it very much.

So that was the end of day 6. We all regrouped at the hotel. JB and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a local Italian place, Lorenzo’s.

That brings us to today. Last night, Zubby decided he was done for the trip. We had about another 45-50 miles to the end and he didn’t think it was good to continue. So we rearranged his Amtrak ticket so that he would stay in Amsterdam while JB and I finished the trek to Albany.

It was another fantastic, dare I say epic, weather day. Blue skies, temps in the low 80s and no headwinds. Can’t ask for better.

We decided that we wanted to try to find some donuts today. That was high on JB’s list. So we had a light breakfast at the hotel and then decided we would try to find some pastries or donuts in Schenectady. We eventually found a Dunkin’ Donuts and we split a half-dozen donuts between us. They went down really fast.

As we were making our way east, I saw a boat in the distance that looked familiar. We reached to the next lock, and sure enough, it was “Spontaneous” again. We had seen them yesterday and now again today. We said Hi to the owners and then went on our way.

The trail in Schenectady has some ups and downs to it. It diverges from the Mohawk river up and overlooks it, then goes back down to meet the river again. Felt good to do a little gentle climbing after so much flat riding.

The last few miles were uneventful, except that my Garmin had not been tracking my distance from when we left breakfast in Schenectady until we reached the northern part of Cohoes. Annoying. The track made it look like I was able to magically fly across the county.

We arrived in Albany with plenty of time to spare. We had to be at the Amtrak station on the other side of the Hudson by 3:00PM. So we went in search of food and drink. We found great little pub. I had a beer and a fish fry. It was extra delicious today.

After lunch, we made a quick trip over the Hudson to the town of Rensselaer. It was very easy to cross the bridge because it has a dedicated bike / pedestrian area away from traffic.

The Amtrak station in Albany is clean and nice. I took the opportunity to change out of my stinky riding clothes and into some street clothes for the ride home. JB did the same. We boarded the train without too much difficulty. Zubby had a ticket for the same train, departing from Amsterdam.

I had been warned that the Amtrak Empire Service could not handle very many bikes. We had pre-arranged and paid for shipping our 3 (4 originally) bikes. The process for loading was to let the conductor tell us which car had a rack open. We then wheeled the bikes in and hung them in the rack. Not too bad, but not nearly as convenient as the entire bike-friendly train car that I rode from Pittsburgh to DC a few years ago.

I got off the train in Rochester and my dad picked me up. I’m back at their place. Dirty clothes are all in the washer and I’m preparing to head back tomorrow to home. The three of us have decided that it was a very good tour, even with all the challenges that came our way. I will add one more blog post later with some thoughts and tips about riding the Erie Canal. Watch for that in the next day or two.

Until then…
Peace,
— Deacon Matt

2022 Erie Canal Tour: Day 4 – Savannah to Syracuse, with spokes!

September 7, 2022September 7, 2022 M. Coriale1 Comment

Our stay at the BnB in Savannah was comfortable and clean. I slept OK and woke up early to get packed and ready to roll. Since we needed to get to the bike shop in Syracuse, we wanted to get started early. Our host, Chip, did a nice job and made us feel welcome.

When we went to bed last night, we expected it to be a mostly dry day today. Well, that didn’t last very long. Mist, then drizzle, then light rain stuck with us most of the morning. It wasn’t too bad, but it sure would be nice to see some of the elusive Upstate NY blue skies during our tour.

We had several miles of roads before getting back to the trail today. The canal doesn’t have a bike path with it in this area, so the route takes you along NY Route 31. In this area, the shoulder is mostly a very wide area, and the traffic was generally well behaved. So although it wasn’t too bad, it felt good to get back on the path.

We were mostly on path again once we reached the town of Jordan. I remember this little town from my tour here in 2010 with my daughter. I recall taking a picture with her at the flagpoles, and I also remember the beautiful gardens just east of the town.

Eventually we made it to Syracuse. The new route into Syracuse is much nicer than the one I remembered from before. Back in 2010, we had to route through the west side of downtown through some so-so neighborhoods. Since then, they have now completed a trail along the lakefront that is very nice. Good pavement and some wonderful views of Onondaga Lake.

There is a new biking/walking trail into downtown that runs along Onondaga Creek. We picked that up and used it to get to the central part of town. We then used the Garmin bike GPS to take us to the AirBnB. We dropped our bags and quickly made our way down to the Mello Velo bike shop to get our bikes fixed.

We briefly stopped at Clinton Square and continued along our way. Clinton Square is where the canal used to run through downtown. It was an area for commerce and banking, supporting trade along the canal.

Mello Velo is an awesome little shop. It is a cafe and bike shop. We walked in about 12:20 and they immediately prioritized our repairs since we were on our way through. We had lunch while we waited. The food was a little pricey but my Turkey Club was really delicious. Hand-carved turkey, not deli lunch meat, fresh bacon and lettuce with aioli on it. YUM!

It turned out that my bike had not one, but two, broken spokes. I will be getting this wheel completely re-laced with new spokes when I get home. Something is suspicious about breaking spokes on it, for sure. They had the right parts to fix JB’s broken spoke. And Zubby had them check out his bike. It needed some repairs as well. I usually do all of my own bike mechanics work. Talking to the guy who fixed our rides, I was happy and felt very confident in the repairs. Huge kudos to Mello Velo and I highly recommend their shop.

While wandering around, I was clearly tempted. Some people say the devil is a “woman in a red dress”. For me, today, it was the signature blue-green Bianchi in the corner. Exactly what I would buy if I won the lotto. At $6K today, no chance of taking it home, but man, it sure was beeeautiful.

After the bike shop, we decided to do some touring around Syracuse. We wandered and made a route up to Syracuse University. I’ve been on campus a few times and sort of remembered some of the highlights of the tour we did 7 or so years ago when my youngest daughter was looking at schools. After that, we just meandered around the city at a slow pace to enjoy the sights.

Back at the BnB, we scrubbed up and threw a big pile of wet slimy clothes into the washing machine. Extra time on the scrub cycle. Time to go look four some dinner! I think it will either be the Dinosaur BBQ or a Mexican restaurant nearby. Hmmmm.

Until tomorrow, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.
— Dcn. Matt

2022 Erie Canal Tour: Day 3, Spokes? Nah, who needs ‘em

September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 M. Coriale1 Comment

We spent yesterday evening at my parents’ house. It was about an extra 13 miles each way, but I think we all agree that it was very well worth it. Mom and Dad took great care of us. Food is one of Mom’s “Love languages” and she loved us a lot. Mom fed us a huge portion of pasta with her marinara sauce, home made meatballs, zucchini, salad, fresh corn on the cob, and then home made cherry tarts for dessert.

After dinner, I took JB and Zubby to Wegman’s – the local grocery store that is famous in this area. The one in Webster isn’t even one of the nicer stores, but I think they got a good dose of what a nice grocery store could be like. I went to get some snacks for the ride, but especially because I had given some Benadryl to a cyclist in Buffalo who had been stung by a bee. I wanted to replenish my supply.

Today’s weather was really good for cycling. Cool and comfortable. We started by riding south from Webster back to Fairport and had a nice tailwind to push us along.

The ride east from Fairport was uneventful. We met a few cyclists, saw some canal locks, and enjoyed the scenery. The surface was largely dried out from the rain and it was much easier pedaling.

We passed through Macedon and when we arrived in Palmyra, we wandered into town to look around. When we stopped to get a drink, I went to get my wallet and noticed that my top-tube bag, where I usually keep my wallet, was missing. After a minute of panic, I found the top tube bag in my pannier. Whew.

A few more miles of trail and we reached Lyons and then Clyde. Along the way, we saw this dry-dock. Several barges and a couple of tug boats were in the dry dock.

We stopped in Clyde for a late lunch / early dinner because there isn’t much of anything else nearby. Just before the west side of Clyde, my tire felt spongy. As I was noticing that, Zubby said “your back tire looks flat”. Sure enough, flat tire. First one I’ve had on this bike. It was starting to mist a little, so we found an awning and pulled under it. I removed the rear wheel and prepared to replace the tube. As I was removing the tire, I heard a “twang” sound. Upon further inspection, I discovered a broken spoke. Ugh. I’ve only broken two spokes in 12 years (and tens of thousands of miles of cycling), both are on this bike. This spoke must have been fatigued enough that it was just about to go. We got the wheel put back together and decided that I’ll just get it fixed tomorrow in Syracuse. There’s a wobble in the wheel, but not big enough to cause a major issue. I called a bike shop in Syracuse and they said they’d be happy to get it fixed up right away and get us back underway tomorrow.

After dinner, we finished our last few miles to an AirBnB in Savannah. Along the way, JB said “Hey, my wheel is wobbling now, too!” Sure enough, JB also has a broken spoke. The odds of two of us having broken spokes seems awfully low. Nonetheless, that’s the situation.

So we’re here at our AirBNB. The house is very comfortable and has a wonderful yard overlooking a small lake. After a good scrubbing, we convened in the back yard to enjoy the cool air. Fall is coming, for sure.

Tomorrow is a short day as we make our way into Syracuse. We expect about 40 miles or so to the bike shop. We’re going to try to get out early so that we can get the bikes in early and get them fixed asap. The weather report for tomorrow looks full of … drizzle! Hopefully we can get done before it gets too wet.

Peace!
– Dcn. Matt

2022 Erie Canal Tour: Day 2 – Drizzle

September 5, 2022September 5, 2022 M. Coriale1 Comment

The word for today was: “Drizzle”. Say that word a few times – it’s kind of a funny word, really. We had a lot of time and inspiration to consider the word drizzle today.

As we began our ride, it was wet from the very start. We looked over the weather and decided it really didn’t make sense to wait. We had a long way to go, and no matter how long we waited, it wasn’t going to get better.

Our B&B was a couple of miles north of Albion, so we rode back to the trail and headed east. The surface of the trail in this section is finely crushed stone on top of dirt. When it is dry, it rolls well. When it is wet, it is like riding on peanut butter. Today was like chunky-peanut butter. The worst part is that it takes a bunch more energy to push the pedals through the mud.

One random thought: is drizzle an onomatopoeia? It doesn’t really make a sound, so probably not?

Although it rained the entire day, it was a generally fun day. The wet conditions did not put a damper on our day. We stopped under bridges a couple of times to get a snack and take a little break.

This section of the trail, from Lockport to Fairport, is probably my favorite section. Lots of little towns to go into and check out. Most of them are on the south side of the canal, so you go over a lift bridge to get to the town. We checked out most of the towns today, but with it being Labor day, most places were closed. We went into Brockport, hoping to find a brunch. The only restaurant we found was a diner. The line was out the door, so we decided to go to the next major town and see what we could find.

So, what is the difference between drizzle, light rain, sprinkles, and spitting. We debated these options and thought that perhaps drizzle doesn’t leave ripples when it hits the canal water.

When we reached Spencerport, we went into town to find some lunch. Again, most everything was closed except for Subway. So that was lunch.

I didn’t take many pictures today because of the rain. Stopping to take out the phone was a bit inconvenient. That’s a bit sad because the scenery in this area is really nice.

Drizzle… Good or bad? Drizzles of BBQ sauce – good. Drizzles of chocolate on ice cream – good. Drizzles of rain – questionable. Better than hard rain, but kind of annoying after 5 hours.

After making our way through the west side of the city, we got to Genesee Valley Park. We had toyed with taking a side trip up into downtown Rochester, but with the rain and slow riding, we decided to skip the side trip. I did take the guys up to my alma mater: the University of Rochester.

Eastman Quadrangle at the University of Rochester

You don’t see locks between Lockport and Rochester. Working east from here they count down to zero. We rode past a few today. Here’s lock 33.

We rode through Pittsford and arrived in Fairport. This is where we exited the canal path for today. We’re staying in Webster, about 12 miles north. After a little snack break, we meandered our way up to Webster using county roads.

Fairport, NY – Mules like this used to pull the canal boats in the old days.

We arrived at my parents’ house and decided to hose down before getting into the house. We had quite a bit of the Erie Canal towpath stuck to us, our bikes, and the rest of our gear. A hose did the trick. A thorough rinse down, a shower, and laundry made us good-as-new.

We could have let the drizzle affect our spirits. But it didn’t. It did slow us down, but we had a great day. 66 miles, probably 55-60 of them in the rain, er, drizzle.

We had lots of time to contemplate light rain today. We decided that drizzle is a kind of rain, but not the same as sprinkles. And besides, sprinkles belong on ice cream, not bicycles.

Peace,
Dcn. Matt