Again, the weather was beautiful, sunny, with a slight tailwind and temperature in the 70's. The terrain had many rolling hills with some having grades of 7+%. So, these made it a challenging ride. Good thing Anne was stoking.
We started out on a paved bike path that ran along the Erie Canalway. First time either of had seen this canalway.
The Erie Canalway was completed in 1825, the canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the Eighth Wonder of the World. It included 18 aqueducts to carry the canal over ravines and rivers, and 83 locks, with a rise of 568 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. It was 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, and floated boats carrying 30 tons of freight. A ten foot wide towpath was built along the bank of the canal for the horses and/or mules which pulled the boats and their driver. Today, there are 57 locks and many small towns, like Pittsford aligning the canalway. These towns provide many shopping and dining opportunities via boat, bike or auto.
The bike path was really nice until the it became gravel for 8 miles; afterwhich, we didn't make the course right turn. This error forced to us to find a 5-mile alternate route to get back on course. Good thing we had the Garmin to help confirm when we were back on course. I would never do a ride like we are doing without a Garmin with map capabilities.
At one of the SAG stops, we met a young man from England riding self-contained to Niagara Falls. Along the way, our America By Bicycle touring company will provide refreshments and help to riders who want such. This young man feasted on cake left over from Phillipe, one of our riders who bought three large cakes yesterday to celebrate the birth of his 11th grandchild, a daughter.
The following are pictures taken during today's ride.
Here we are on the Erie Canalway Trail. In the distance, are some of our riders.
Some 4 scullers out for an early morning run on the canalway.
One of the 57 locks along the canalway.
A boat from Burlington, VT being tugged along the canalway.
From another bike path, but this onr running alongside Lake Onondaga (5 sq miles) near Liverpool.
Anne on the bike path in a park along Lake Onondaga waiting for me to pick her up. I went back to take the picture above.
A panoramic view from the bike path along Lake Onondaga. There are lots of roller bladers on this bike path, too.
And, we ran into this bike that took a family of 4 to pedal it.
Tomorrow, we ride 79 miles to Little Falls, NY. There are only 5 days and 310 miles left of 50-day, 3,600-mile tour across the USA. Only seems like yesterday that we left!
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