Day 92: Sprakers to Schenectady - Racpat Northern Tier 2021 - CycleBlaze

August 31, 2021

Day 92: Sprakers to Schenectady

3 months on the road

“Did you stay at the castle? There were 15 cyclists here this morning.” We stopped in Amsterdam for a second breakfast. We’ve been on the road 3 months.

We sleep well on the living room floor. Rachel has gone to the welcoming church yesterday evening to fill up our water bottles from their bottled water. The well water in this house has a terrible sulfur smell, so bad actually that we can’t even use it to brush our teeth. The sulfur fumes have rusted most metal objects in the house. We clean up the house, lock up and place the key back in the lock box. A little before seven, we are back on the trail.

About 20 miles down the trail we pass through Amsterdam, there is a coffee / breakfast place where we have a breakfast sandwich. A little further we stop at a post office to mail home another box of items, and Patrick’s treasures, that we no longer need.

The town of Little Falls looks a bit rough, but the trail that takes us around it through a notch in the hill side is very nice.

Our original plan was to stay with a Warmshowers host just east of Schenectady. The plan was for the host to pick us up at lock 8. But yesterday when we had Wi-Fi at our lunch break we learned there had been a Covid case in their family and they did not feel comfortable hosting us. We understand and appreciate their concern for our health. So we went ahead and booked a motel room.

We get to Schenectady by noon and navigate across downtown to the motel. There is a problem with early check-in but after a bit of discussion and call to the manager, the desk staff agrees to let us have the room at 1pm. We ride just down the hill to Jay Street and have lunch at an upscale lunch place in a pedestrian mall area. The city hall building is impressive.

After check in we clean up and then work on catching up with the journal, watching the news until dinnertime. We then walk back to Jay Street and have Thai food! The waitress was disappointed that Rachel ordered Pad Thai, "You come here for only that?" she says. 

This marks the completion of Part 4: Erie Canal

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Rachel and Patrick HugensTo Mike AylingHi Mike,
A dam at the locks.
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2 years ago
Rachel and Patrick HugensTo Mike AylingHi Mike,
A dam at the locks.
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2 years ago
Mike AylingTo Rachel and Patrick HugensThank you!!
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2 years ago
Rachel and Patrick HugensTo Mike AylingMike, thanks for following along and asking...we'll try to do better with captions.
Racpat
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2 years ago
Mike AylingTo Rachel and Patrick HugensRachel and Patrick

I have the greatest admiration for those who spend a long time on the road and still manage to update their journal on a daily basis.
The odd missing caption is neither here nor there!

Mike
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2 years ago
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Second Breakfast at Evole Eatery with "the Castle"
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The castle is a hotel
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Post office to mail treasures home
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Outside Schenectady...posters line the fence
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Dutch Reform Church
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Jay street pedestrian mall
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City hall
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Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 3,763 miles (6,056 km)

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John PescatoreWe were in Schenectady on Sunday, returning from a trip to Burlington VT. I got a ride in on the Canal Trail from Schenectady to Rotterdam and back - enjoyed your pictures. The routing thru Schenectady was a bit confusing but on Sunday afternoon, the streets south of that Jay Street pedestrian area were closed for a big farmers' market - very cool.

Any other staying in Schenectady, I highly recommend The Appian Way for great Italian food.
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