Logistics

I'll disassemble the bike, pack it up along with panniers and "kit" I'll need for the ride, and ship it to the first night's hotel. This allows me to fly unencumbered to the destination with nothing more than what I need with me on the plane flight. I can also ship items in the bike box that I cannot take with me on the plane, such as Halt! or Bear Spray.I arrive at the airport, take a cab or Uber to the hotel, and then assemble my bike the night before the ride - easy, peasy!

Why I'm riding this trip

So you're really interested in this? Cool. I like long bike treks, and the quieter the better. I'll ride along busy highways and 4-lanes if it's necessary, but the incessant noise from traffic just becomes a droning annoyance. And that's even with well-behaved drivers - even the best intentioned and polite drivers still have vehicles that make noise as they pass. So I chose to ride the GAP/C&O two years ago and really liked the quiet ride - I had time to amble along and think to myself, see the sights, and listen to all around me. I figure the Erie Canal is going to be similar - much of the ride is along some sort of towpath, and while it may be close to cars, it won't be the constant noise along the route. I figured since I had the time, I would extend the bike trip into Burlington so I could ride the Island Line bike trail that extends into Lake Champlain.

Equipment List

I'm not going to include a full equipment list except to say I'm traveling minimalist (with bike packing bags) and an iPhone. I find that small piece of technology so useful. It's my navigation device, weather-checker, restaurant-finder, and my sole camera. I used to carry SLRs back in the day with multiple lenses, then a 28-105mm zoom on a Canon A1, then switched to a waterproof 12Mp Lumix digital camera, and now I'm down to the iPhone. Yes, it limits me with regards to aspects such as lens length, depth of field, etc, but it's the camera I always have with me. And all photos in this journal are shot with the iPhone 6. So there!

Adventures I'm looking forward to

I'm one to plan a bike trip so I can figure out what is near the route and I can make a point to stop there. It doesn't prevent me from experience serendipity while on the ride, it just gives me options. I like to see cultural and historic sights, and really like the "off-the-beaten-path" markers and strange sights. So here's a off-the-top-of-my-head list of sights I'm looking forward to:

• Waterfront in Buffalo, with WWII battleships
• Riding through the locks and onto the Erie Canal in Tonawanda
• Medina Railroad Museum
• Art installations around University of Rochester (oh, and Rochester Falls)
• Clock Museum
• Riding around Onandaga Lake
• Amusement park on Lake Oneida
• Sleeping in my hammock along the route
• Fort Stanwix
• Crossing over the Hudson River and riding through Vermont
• Island Line around BurlingtonPlanned Route

Heart

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