Erie Canalway Trail, Buffalo to Newark, NY

For her first bike tour, my wife Cindy chose for us the western segment of the Erie Canal trail, which runs (mostly) continuously from Buffalo to Newark along the historic Erie Canal. I was nervous. I told her all the things that could go wrong: it could rain; it could be cold; it could be windy; her butt could hurt. She was determined to do it anyway. I told her that this was not necessary to save our marriage. I was perfectly happy taking vacations that she likes; there was no need for her to make sacrifices on my behalf. She insisted.

So we did it. And it did rain, and it was cold, and it was windy, and her butt did hurt. But our marriage survived. In fact, we spent our 25th anniversary bucking a cold 15 mph headwind as we rode 49 miles, the longest day of the trip and nary a discouraging word passed between us.  Several discouraged ones, it's true. But she didn't blame me. In fact, she says she had a good time.

So here's the report. First, the summary of the trip. Total miles: 35 + 49 + 41 + 40 = 165. Trip dates: May 10-May 13, 2010. High temperature: mid-50s. Low temperature: mid-30s. Sunshine? Not much. Rain? You betcha. Trail surface: mostly rock dust, which was fine. Overnight accommodations: inns and motels. Bikes: I rode my trusty 1984 Trek 620 (of which only the frame is original) with trekking bars and 38mm tires; Cindy rode a cheapie Trek girls bike, which worked fine. I carried most of the luggage in a rear bag, small front panniers, and a handlebar bag. Cindy had a small handlebar bag and a small rack trunk. Clothes: Because it was so cold, I wore MUSA (Rivendell) long pants the whole time. (They were perfect: lightweight, windproof, just warm enough.) On top, a Melanzana long-sleeved ultra-lightweight polartec base layer shirt and a windbreaker; sometimes a fleece vest under the windbreaker. I almost never wore biking gloves, opting instead for generic brown cotton work gloves to keep my hands warm. On my feet I had retro New Balance running shoes, size 11 EEEE, with a lightly ridged sole to grip my "rat trap" pedals. (No clips or cleats or any of that silliness.) Under my helmet I wore a bandana, which I usually wear to sop up sweat, but on this trip it was to keep warm. On top of everything was a Dickies hi-viz vest. I was glad to have it on the busy roads.

We drove our van to Buffalo on Sunday and dropped off our bikes at the downtown Holiday Inn (quite nice). We then went to the Buffalo airport and rented a Mazda 6 and drove both vehicles to Seneca Falls (which is actually south of the canalway), where we left the van in the carriage house of Barrister's Inn, where we would spend our last night. We then drove back to Buffalo and checked in to the Holiday Inn. Dinner at Bocci Club Pizza. The next morning, I returned the rental car to the downtown Hertz office (two blocks from the Holiday Inn), and away we went.

Day 1. Monday, May 10. Buffalo to Lockport.

I was glad we started in Buffalo, even though it probably would have been more pleasant to start at the beginning of the actual canal in Tonawanda, just north of Buffalo. But it was interesting to ride Buffalo's urban bike paths along the Niagara River (and the freeway). We didn't pick up any glass in our tires, despite many opportunities. The route was scenic but industrial, mostly right along the river, and mostly on a paved path (with occasional forays onto city sidewalks). We saw a few people fishing, but that was the extent of the wildlife.

In Tonawanda the canal proper begins, and the path (and its surrounding environment) becomes much more gentrified. The paved stretch through Tonawanda and North Tonawanda are quite nice. There were a few on road segments, but mostly it was paved multi-use trail. We saw quite a few walkers and bikers on this stretch.

The nice paved trail ends between Tonawanda and Lockport, and we were routed onto roads for the last 10 miles. The shoulders were wide, but the traffic was quite heavy. This was the least pleasant road riding of the trip. We got lost at one point because the route guide suggested we were looking for a road called East Canal, when in fact we needed to turn left on New Rd first. And the route markers that someone had painted on the trail, which seemed to be for the canalway trail, pointed the wrong way, right instead of left. This was the only time the route blazes were wrong, but it was a bad time. So we had a little side trip up the wrong road, until we realized we were off our maps. Bummer. Time to retrace a few miles.

Although this was our shortest day, we were pretty tired by the time we found our adorable retro-motel in Lockport, the Lockport Inn and Suites (formerly the Lockport Motel, which is how I'll always think of it). This motel is straight out of the 60s: a true two-story motor court that wraps around a nice little swimming pool and office building. The decor seemed largely unchanged from the 60s as well. But rather than feeling run-down and pathetic, the motel was spotlessly clean and lovely. Carpet in the bathroom? No problem. They even offer free movies, which you select from a notebook that lists hundreds of titles. Highly recommended.

Day 2. Tuesday, May 11. Lockport to Adam's Basin.
This was our long, windy, cold day. Every inch of it was on the canal trail (except at the beginning, getting from our motel to downtown Lockport. This segment of the canal is just a big ditch with a tow path next to it. There's little vegetation or scenery, other than nice farms rolling off on either side. We wished from some vegetation to block the wind, but mostly we didn't get it. The wind blew 15 mph straight out of the east, picking up speed over the water. Sometimes gusts slowed Cindy down to 5 mph. We averaged about 8.2 mph for the day. Cindy is not an experienced enough biker to feel comfortable drafting. So although I tried to block as much wind as possible, it probably didn't do much good. There were times I nearly suggested walking our bikes. It wouldn't have been much slower. Still, Cindy soldiered on, never complaining.

We had a nice diner breakfast in Gasport (which was not much of a town), and a lovely bowl of soup in a coffee shop in Albion. The towns got cuter and cuter as we went west, perhaps reflecting the influence of Rochester. Albion was quite adorable.

Somehow we labored on, always looking over our shoulders to see if we would be adding rain to the otherwise perfect mix of cold and wind. We knew the rain was coming, but it wasn't predicted before 5:00. We reached Brockport, a SUNY college town, ahead of the rain. Indeed, when we arrived at the Adam's Basin Inn at 4:30, the rain was not there yet, except for a few preliminary drops.

The Adam's Basin Inn (in Adam's Basin, a town in name only) was lovely. It was built at the time of the original canal in the 1820s, and for 100 years it served as a canal-side inn and tavern. Indeed, the original bar from the tavern is still in the inn's lounge, as is the original registration desk for the inn. The inn is elegantly and comfortably furnished and immaculately maintained, with a gorgeous yard and gardens. The inn-keepers happily offered to shuttle us to Spencerport, an actual town two miles away with actual restaurants, where we had tasty Texas-style BBQ. By then, the rain had started. It continued all night.

Day 3. Wed, May 12. Adam's Basin to Palmyra.
The canalway trail gets prettier east of Brockport. The canal itself feels more like a river and less like an artificial ditch, and there's thicker vegetation. The trail feels more pastoral and less rural-industrial. Even in the rain. And rain it did this day. The temperature was in the low-40s when we left, and the rain was a fine mist. At first, we couldn't decide whether it was misting enough to warrant actual rain gear, so we started out with non-waterproof windbreakers on the outside. We were soon soaked. And cold. So Cindy put on her rain coat and pants (non-breathable waterproof), which kept her warm, at least. Of course, it also completely soaked her from the trapped perspiration vapor, but that's a different problem that we addressed later.

Despite the mist, the ride was pleasant. The stone dust path was a little sticky, but it didn't slow us down too much. We were on stone dust for 12 miles  until we hit the outskirts of Rochester. At that point, the trail got really interesting. It wound and weaved up and down through the southern outskirts of Rochester, under and over freeways and train tracks, next to oil tanks, through parks, beside the University of Rochester campus. Very interesting. The trail becomes a normal multi-use trail rather than a converted towpath, and it is clearly multi-used.

By the time we reached Pittsford, we were ready for a break. A warm break. Cindy was chilly all over, and my hands and feet were freezing. Pittsford has an adorable little frou-frou business section down by the waterfront, but we chose to venture into town (also frou-frou), where we found a Starbucks. Perfect. We took over a corner table and tried to get warm. We sat there quite a while nursing our drinks, figuring out who would wear which piece of warm clothing. By then the rain had stopped (it was still cold), but all of Cindy's clothes were soaked. In the end, Cindy wore my black sweatshirt, my windbreaker, my wool undershirt, her cotton long-sleeved shirt; I wore my Melanzana long-sleeved base layer shirt, a polartec vest, and Cindy's slightly wet windbreaker. I wished I had mittens and shoe covers.

On the way out of Pittsford, our day was made complete by a flat tire. My front tire picked up a thorn and slowly got saggier and saggier. Not a big deal, since I had two spare tubes and a patch kit, and, in fact, it seemed only fitting that we should get at least one flat tire. It was important for Cindy to experience as many tribulations of bike touring as possible, so that she could form a fair picture of what it was like. Twenty minutes later we were on our way again.

The trail continued to be lovely, nice enough to seek out and bike or walk on as a day hike. Very nice for through-riding. There was one section that took us through a seedy mobile home park, but even that was interesting, as long as we didn't need to stay there.

The day ended in Palmyra, birthplace of Mormonism. We didn't visit Hill Cumorah or any of the historic sites. Instead, we pulled in to the Liberty Inn, locked our bikes in the carriage house, took showers, and walked into town for Chinese at Happiness Garden. Not great, but perfect. Just what I needed. The inn was fine, the innkeepers were nice. By the end of the day, the sun had come out. A miracle, indeed.

 Day 4. Thursday, May 13. Palmyra to Seneca Falls.
On this final day we completed this, the longest stretch of continuous canalway trail, in Newark, then left the canal and headed south. The final stretch of trail was lovely, a pleasant path through the woods  along a river. And the sun was finally out! It was still chilly, but we weren't complaining.

I had been worried about this final day, because we would be riding nearly 30 miles on roads, something Cindy had little experience with nor desire to do. But it had to be. The trail ends in Newark, and we still needed to get to Lyons and beyond. The official route guide would have had us ride on state route 31, which is an official NY bicycle route. But it's a very busy road. Instead, the nice man in the Newark Chamber of Commerce building pointed us toward the old Newark-Lyons road, which was great. Little traffic, over a few rolling hills.

In Lyons, we faced the real choice for the day: continue along the canalway route (on SR 31), or strike off on our own? Odd though this seems, I voted for staying on the official route. We didn't have official county maps (even though the route guide showed local roads, I didn't completely trust it), and I hated the idea of venturing down a road (over not insignificant hills) only to discover a bridge out, or a road that didn't exist. Cindy, however, insisted that we should strike off into the unknown. She said she'd take the blame if we got lost.

So we picked a south-heading road and left the safety of the official route. There were, indeed, hills, significant ones. But Cindy, inexperienced as she was, a hater of all hills, she claimed, did fine. Enjoyed it. Found it easier than expected. I don't think she believed me when I told her that she was going up and down real hills. I think it seemed too easy. And that was on a cheap Trek that doesn't have a super easy granny gear (as my touring bike does).

This last part of the last day, over beautiful upstate New York farm roads, turned out to be some of Cindy's favorite riding. She discovered that it's peaceful riding on empty rural roads, and there's lots to see--more than on a trail. Even the hills are worth dealing with when the ride is so nice. She may become a real biker, yet.

We rolled in to Seneca falls at 2:00 pm, our earliest arrival, even though we went 40 miles over rolling hills. Just goes to show. We found our car in the carriage house of Barrister's Inn (a gorgeous B and B) and went for a drive to kill time. We had never seen the Finger Lakes region, so it was a nice chance for some high-speed (relatively) sight-seeing. Fancy dinner in a Seneca Falls restaurant ("Divine" I think was the name--very good), and the trip was over. Just like that. The next day we drove down to Philadelphia to pick up our son at college.

So what did we learn on this trip? We learned that my wife's an incredibly good sport, that she does not hate biking as much as I thought, that perhaps there's more biking in our future. In fact, I spent the trip convincing her that it would be even more fun on a tandem, specifically a recumbent tandem. By the end she was convinced; we could have gone out and bought one then and there. But when I looked at the prices of recumbent tandems, my enthusiasm waned a bit. To spend $5,000 for a one-trip-a-year bike seems like a lot. I'd like to think we'd take many short trips a year on a tandem, but I know that we're too busy for that.

I learned that baskets and bags work as well as panniers, perhaps better. (When I got home I ordered a small basket and small Riv shopsack for the front rack.) I learned that breathable rainwear may be worth it. (Although my cheapie Nashbar plastic rain coat has enough vents that I didn't get soaked in it, so maybe it can be done with non-breathable. The pants are the problem: there's no way to vent the tops of your legs, where the real heat is generated. Perhaps a pair of breathable rain pants would be in order.)

I learned that, for a trip involving an inexperienced biker, planning on 40 miles per day is smart; inevitably, 40 turns into 42 or 45. I learned that starting with a short day is smart. (Cindy was whipped after the first day, but never so tired after that.) I learned that there aren't a lot of grocery stores along the western Erie Canal.

 Will there be future trips? I think so. Next year, when we go to pick up our son, we are planning on riding a chunk of the Great Allegheny Passage trail. Looks nice.

Carrying Loads

My wife and I just finished riding the western half of the Erie Canalway Trail. The trip was fun despite Mother Nature's best efforts. (More later.)

For now, I'll just muse a bit about carrying loads on bike trips. I have done it all: huge back panniers, huge low-rider front panniers, combinations of medium panniers, front and back. But I am concluding that it's not so much the height of the load (low-rider vs. high-rider) as the rigidity. On this trip, I carried almost all our clothes in a Rivendell Sackville ShopSack, which was in a large Wald basket. (See photo above.) This was a very nice arrangement. The basket holds the load completely rigid, no swaying, and the load stays right up behind me, close to my own center of gravity. As a result, the bike was very stable, with very little shimmy compared with the shimmy I experienced when the bike was loaded with large front or back panniers.

This arrangement was perfect for staying at inns. We'd park our bikes in the garage, pop the bag out of the basket, and go to our room. No panniers to detach and wrastle (or empty). The Shopsack is a beautifully made (in the USA) bag,  a bargain at $45. It's quite huge. At more than 2000 cu. in., it's the size of many large pannier sets.

I'm thinking of getting a medium shopsack and basket to put on the front, so that I can get rid of the stupid front panniers shown in the photo. Quite frankly, I don't care if baskets and duffels look outlandish. To me, they are beauty exemplified.