Seneca Falls, NY to Pittsfield, MA

Monday 18 June 2018 through Saturday 23 June 2018

the routes for each day are as follows

Monday 18 June  Seneca Falls, NY to Syracuse, NY

Tuesday 19 June  Syracuse, NY to Rome, NY

Wednesday 20 June Rome, NY to Canajoharie, NY

Thursday 21 June Canajoharie, NY to Latham, NY

Friday 22 June Latham, NY to New Lebanon, NY

Saturday 23 June  New Lebanon, NY to Pittsfield, MA

The route along the Erie Canal trail was very dusty for 4 days.  I spent a little time each evening cleaning the bike.  This is a picture after just a couple of hours on the trail.  It rained Monday night and that sure helped with the dust on the trail. 

The Four Freedoms mural on Route 31 in Weedsport, NY

Christmas tree farm

Dogwood tree

In Camillus, NY the 1/2 sign on the Erie Canal

Sims Store Museum in Camillus 

The volunteers at Sims Store Museum

riding west to east on the Erie Canal Trail

nine-mile Aqueduct

There are many information signs along the canal trail.

sign from 2017

interesting information sign about the engineers of the original Erie Canal

Farm beside the canal

Met this gentleman.  He is heading to San Francisco. 

Mennonite family

Information about the three different canals

Heidi and Scott from San Diego riding west on the Erie Canal trail 

aqueduct over a river, top view 

from the river view

Historical Marker just outside Rome, NY

Ninja turtle guarding the trash cans 

enough firewood for a couple of years all neatly stacked

I rode many miles of new pavement coming into Fort Plain. The reason why.

Amsterdam Castle in Amsterdam, NY

The Erie Canal trail continues south east from Latham.  I headed almost due east so I could ride my bicycle over the Hudson river.  There is no bicycle crossings near Albany.

The last few miles of the Erie Canal trail I rode near Latham

lift bridge across the Hudson River in Troy, NY

I ended up riding state route 66 in NY.  

Entering Massachusetts

The rolling hills of the Berkshires 

going up

and going up

The ride along the Erie Canal trail was very enjoyable, from riding the first day on the trail with Ed and Sophie and to all of the people I met.  When I stopped in Camillus, NY at the Sims Store Museum the volunteers were having me lunch.  They invited me to join them to share a bean chili that one of the volunteers made.  It sure hit the spot.  Now in Pittsfield Mass.  I should be in Boston Thursday

Albion, NY to Seneca Falls, NY

Saturday 16 June 2018

The ride was from Albion, NY to Fairport, NY

Sunday 17 June was from Fairport, NY to Seneca Falls

Saturday morning Ed, Sophie, and I had breakfast is a good diner in Albion called the Village Restaurant.  Good food and friendly service.

 After breakfast Ed and Sophie headed west along the canal path to go home  and I headed east.

lots of Cottonwood pollen laying on the canal

Lift Bridge

Lift bridges rise to allow boats to pass.

Carp feeding on alge

movable dam that can shut off water flow in case canal repairs are necessary.  The dams are positioned a few miles apart so sections of the canal can be drained if necessary.

Lift Bridge

Little bits of information about the Erie Canal.  more information can easily be found doing an internet search.

The Erie Canal is 339 miles long from Waterford (Albany) to Tonawanda (Buffalo). Including its laterals, the Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca Canals, the entire system mileage equals 524.

Erie Canal max height

It has a vertical clearance of 21 feet between Waterford and Three Rivers (Oswego Canal junction), and 15.5 feet between the Tonawanda and the Niagara river. The largest vessels that can make the entire journey must be under 300 feet long, 43.5 feet wide, 9' draft, and a maximum 15' 6" height above the water.

The below is from Reddit AskHistorians

What happened to the Erie Canal during the winter?

 There are actually 3 canals, which is confusing because the Thruway Authority insists on calling the 3 phases the Erie Canal. Canal 1: Clinton's Ditch, Canal 2: The Enlargement, Canal 3: The Barge Canal. In some places all 3 phases of the canal ran the same course. To answer your question, at first the designers and political champions of the canal thought it would be feasible to use the constant traffic and a sort of ice breaker to keep the canal open even in winter. It took less than one winter to realize that ice would heavily damage canal walls and the canal would need to drain and close during the winter months. Because there is a series of locks from Buffalo to Troy, NY the canal would (and still does) gradually begin locking off, or closing locks and draining water, at a pre-determined date/time. The winter draining also provided a time to dredge the canal as many pieces of debris and garbage found their way into the artificial waterway during the operating season. The Erie Canal currently operates from May 1 to November 11. 

Information boards are placed along the path.

soybean 

cornfield

more soybean

The way the farmer parked his equipment would make a good John Deere commercial

Sunday evening, friends from Tucson, Scott and Peggy Jacobsen stopped by the hotel I was staying at and we went out to dinner.  Scott and Peggy have a home in New York and winter in Tucson. It was great seeing them.

Grans Island, NY to Albion, NY

Friday 15 June 2018

Today's ride was from Grand Island, NY to Albion, NY

Today I have the great pleasure of having Ed and Sophie Knab ride with me to Albion.  I met Ed and Sophie several years ago in Tucson.  They came to Tucson to for a few weeks and found that the bicycling community in Tucson was to their liking and have purchased a winter home there.  We have since become good friends.

older barn and grain silo.

The ride for today and most of the next 7 days is along the Erie Canal.  The Erie Canal trail goes from Buffalo, NY to Albany, NY.  The New York Parks and Trail put on an annual supported bike ride that is 8 days long, covering 411 miles.  If you are interested, this is the link  Ride The Erie Canal  I did the ride with this group in 2014. It is a very well organized and run  bicycling trip, and lots of fun!
The first  miles of the trail from Buffalo to Lockport are paved then the trail is a crushed limestone the rest of the way.

The Erie Canal

One of two locks in Lockport

a duckling escort

The Erie Canal

a mural in Middleport

A waterfall beside the Erie Canal.

The river actually goes under the Erie Canal

Cottonwood pollen floating on the Canal.  Note the crushed limestone path.

It has been a fun day of riding with Ed and Sophie.  I will be a little sad in the morning as we say our good byes and they return home to Grand Island and I will continue my trip east to Boston. 

Grand Island, NY

Sunday 14 June 2018

I've had a great visit with Ed and Sophie Knab at their house on Grand Island New York.  I got some good rest and was able to get the blog updated, plan the next few days of the journey towards Boston, and do some needed maintenance on the bicycle.

Ed and Sophie's house

A few of the flowers at their house

A bee enjoying a rose

 Today's ride was with a few members of the Niagara Falls Bicycle Club.  I went out with my friends Ed and Sophie and several others in the bicycle club

The ride went past the Hull family home built circa 1810

Breakfast after the ride.  Sophie and Ed are on the left.

They are a fun group to ride with. I had an enjoyable time.

I will be heading out in the morning to continue my trip to Boston.  Ed and Sophie are going to join me to the first leg of the trip to Albion, NY.  We will spend the night there, then Ed and Sophie will return to Grand Island and I will head east.