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
Deacon Matt's Blog 