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Wow! I’m impressed that you didn’t give up! We’ve had some similar adventures. Also, I just read about your offering help to Greg Garceau with his father and was very glad to hear about it. What a kind and wonderful thing to do!
2 weeks agoIt's almost exclusively on canal towpaths, so the East/West route is very flat, and there are a lot of towns along the way to get food and camp. I think you would enjoy the trip. I hope you enjoy reading about it.
3 weeks agoI'm hoping to do this trail sometime in the future
3 weeks agoIf I recall correctly, the trail was nice almost all the way to Syracuse (and not bad even in it, other than the fact that it was city riding). As far as the condition of the path east of there, I seriously doubt you’ll have any difficulties. Even though it had been raining I never had a problem, and your tires are wider than mine. You do well on gravel; I don’t.
The bottom line is that I think you’ll do fine. It’s a nice towpath. Let me know what you think.
Coincidentally, I will be in this area for business the next few days. I'm taking my bike in case I have some time at the end of each day to ride.
I'm staying at a motel in Camillus, which looks to be pretty close to the trail. Is the condition of the trail in that area (either riding east or west from Camillus) decent? I'd probably rather ride east, instead of west towards the big city of Syracuse, unless the trail to the east is very rough.
I saw a picture you took where the trail looks like a muddy single track, but I wasn't sure exactly where that was.
Thanks!
Considering the thousands of miles of bike paths, it's interesting that you were at the same place. Buffalo wasn't my favorite part either, although it was way better than entering Albany. I was wondering if, for you, the worst part of Buffalo was after it left the Empire State Trail. The trailhead is at Buffalo Harbor State Park, and there's plenty of Buffalo south of that.
I hope you enjoy the journal!
I did almost exactly this same day in 2021, but was going the other direction. I'm not a big fan of big city bike paths, but it was ok - we rode on and off the path, got lost once or twice, but we got there. Looking forward to reading the rest of this adventure.
1 year agoBicycles passing in the night. Albany to Montreal is on my short list. I found that part of Canada very bike friendly and with Amtrak reinstated soon, I will be able to get home. I enjoy your writing and find the specifics of, gear, hotels and restaurants very helpful.
1 year agoThanks for reading, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I found it interesting that, coincidentally, we were reading each other's journals at the same time. I'm also enjoying reading about your travels through Florida and Vermont.
1 year agoThanks, your journal is a good read. The Champlain Valley leg of the Empire State Trail is on my to do list. It just amazes me how NY State can promote a route with no shoulder and blind curves.
1 year agoThere are many things from your last two days that I'd like to comment on, but that would require about ten paragraphs and an hour of writing. I'll just leave it at this: Your posts have some unique observations and inspired humor. That's the kind of bike touring journal I like. (I hope the Pulitzer Prize committee doesn't find it.)
1 year agoYes! And I'm still using them.
You can actually see the expiration date on the battery in the picture. I felt pretty dumb after looking for it everywhere but on the battery. :-)
Good thought, but it would have to be a really large horse with incredible leaping abilities. Although you can't tell from the picture, the hedge is about 12 feet tall.
1 year agoI don't think it would be an issue for you. I suspect all of the people in the service industries (motels, cafes, AirBnBs) will speak English, even in small towns (for example, the lady at Mickey's Creamery spoke perfect English, as did the RV Park manager). Without that ability, I don't think they could survive because of the number of English-speaking tourists. The place I camped at wasn't really designed for travelers - everyone there was a resident, and they just happened to have a campsite.
1 year ago
In spite of the bumps along the road it was a fun trip, and I'm anxious to take another one this summer.
2 weeks agoGreg and I had a really nice visit. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease, slowly taking away the person you love, and I wanted to help however I could.