Day 9 - City >> Canal >> Country >> Canal >> City

Thursday, August 4

This was our planned 'long day'.  To get from the home of Michael's aunt and uncle southeast of Syracuse to the home of his friends Jim and Jane Marks in Irondequoit north of Rochester, we knew we would have to cover about 100 miles.

We first had to get through Syracuse which we did smoothly.  The route went right through the heart of the city.  Once again I found that riding in the center of a city is not all that hard.  I feel much more at risk at the high speed interchanges at the fringes of the city.  Interestingly, the route that I had planned just happened to include a piece of a bicycle commuting route that Michael had used when he lived for a while with his aunt and uncle.  A piece of our Hicksville to Westbury route was also used by Michael for bicycle commuting in the past.

Eighteen miles into the ride we reached the Erie Canalway trail at the town of Camillus.  I took a detour to the Camillus public library to get printouts of some updated routes for the Rochester end of the ride (public libraries are a great resource when you are on the road).  I caught up with Diane and Michael further down the Canalway trail.  We found this section of trail somewhat difficult to ride.  There was a layer of loose crushed stone that made it hard to keep up a good pace.  Along the way we encountered a pair of cyclists, one riding a recumbent, on their way to Albany.

The Canalway trail has a break that starts at Port Byron.  38 miles into our ride, we stopped in a gas station convenience store to pick up lunch, refill water bottles, and stock up on snacks for the road. We were all in ravenous cyclist mode.  Michael and I decided early in the trip that we should just listen to our bodies and eat what seemed right (Diane's body generally told her to eat ice cream).

The next 22 miles took us through some very beautiful and interesting countryside.  At the end of the previous day we noticed a change in the character of the landscape beginning at Deruyter.  There were flatter, wider valleys and more gentle hills.  Riding into the countryside from Port Byron, we crossed the Seneca River and entered a broad flat valley with fields of corn and soybeans.  We then entered some woods, crossed back over the Seneca River, and came upon more farm country.  There were numerous small hills but nothing like we had seen in days 4 through 8 of the ride. 

Seneca River bridge in my mirror

We noticed first a horse and buggy sign by the roadside, then some women in Amish dress, and then a horse and buggy traveling down the road.  We were in Wayne County where there is apparently a sizable Amish community.  

A sign that we were entering Amish country

Roadside cemetery in Marengo

We continued riding through the rolling farmland through the tiny town of Marengo and eventually made our way back to the canal at Lyons.  It was about 6pm when we reached Lyons to have a cold drink (root beer, of course) and consider our options.

Ice cold root beer at Stony's Pizza in Lyons

We had about 40 miles to go to the Marks house with about 2 and a half hours of daylight left.  Michael had fortunately done some checking ahead of time and had a rescue offer from Jim Marks as an emergency backup.  We knew that riding 100 miles in a day was a lot to ask of Diane who before this trip had never ridden any significant distances.  Michael and Diane arranged for Jim to meet them with a trailer.  I set out to cover the remaining distance to Irondequoit as quickly as possible.

For the first 8 miles from Lyons I followed roads a little bit north of the canal.  I picked up the Canalway path at Newark.  The section of the Canalway path from Newark to Fairport was in excellent shape.  It was easy to ride on and very scenic.  I reached Fairport as the sun was beginning to set.  I left the canal trail at Fairport to take a more direct path to Irondequoit.  I was using the directions that I had printed out earlier in the day in the library in Camillus.  As I reached the city of Rochester, it was getting dark (Shhhh, don't tell Lee I was riding at night) but the city streets and my bicycle were both well lit.  I enjoyed riding through Rochester in the summer night air.  It was a Thursday night but there was quite a bit of activity in the city, particularly along Winton Street which was lined with restaurants and sidewalk cafes.

I rolled down Oakview Street in Irondequoit looking for the Marks house.  Neighbor Heidi spotted me going by and directed me to the right house.  Jane invited me in and Jim, Michael, and Diane arrived not long after that.  We got ourselves cleaned up and then sat down for a very late dinner of homemade chili and salad with Jim and Jane and Heidi.  I'll mention again how nice it is to have friendly faces waiting for you at the end of a day's ride.  Jim and Jane were wonderful hosts.  We owe special thanks to Jim for coming to the rescue along the trail and also for researching routes in and out of Rochester.  Thank you also to Heidi who provided a place for Diane to stay in her house next door. 

8 days and 575 miles complete