Three days with sun

September 11, 2017

(Normally I have a day of rain by now)

Slept well throughout the night at the lock. Got up as the sun startered lighting up the sky and still had yet to get over the horizon. Exited the hammock and EVERYTHING was covered with dew, so that means everything is wet. Ugh. Oh, well, just another day on the road (or the trail). I took a little longer to move out this morning, hoping the sunlight would warm the gear enough to dry it out a bit. It worked somewhat but as you can see on my tires below, they are wet.

Crossing over lock 30 as the sun comes over the horizon

Four miles into the day, and I roll through Palmyra. I stopped at the Grandin Print Shop, which was the location of the first printing of the Book of Mormon (not a follower, but appreciate from the historical aspect). There are also a few more historical buildings I found out about through signage as I rode further east along the trail. If you were riding west, you'd see the notifications before you arrived in town, but riding east there was nothing. So, before you plan your trip, and if you want to see the historical sights, visit http://www.historicpalmyrany.com and plan before you go.

The Grandin print shop is where the first Book or Mormon was published

Next town along the trek was Newark, and I found the Hoffman clock museum, which was surprisingly a good find. They have a great collection of clocks from around the world, and all sorts and sizes. The clock museum was founded in 1954 by Mr. Hoffman and his wife, who were prominent town jewelers. The clock museum is in the back of the public library, so navigate to 121 High St, Newark, NY, lock the bike against the bike rack, and step into the museum.

An old, abandoned bridge has been converted into a plaza, and park

Howdy from the clock museum! I arrived at 6 minutes 'til 10:00, so there were multiple clocks all going off within a window of 10 minutes

Lyons is the next town, and this is where you say goodbye to the Canal trail and say hello to the roadway. No worries, there are good shoulders, and the route takes you past the dry dock for the New York State Canal system.

Canal boats pulls out of a lock after being raised on a western course along the canal

11:30, and I'm rolling into Clyde, NY. I read about the Erie mansion (or should it be called "Eerie Mansion" and it's supposedly haunted. When I rolled past, it didn't look like it was open, or maybe the landscaping is that way on purpose to make it look more haunted. Peeking in through the front windows it no longer looks like a functioning inn, and there were two motorcycles in the front parlor (or maybe that's a platinum-level guest parking spot?)

I should have grabbed something to eat in Clyde because there wasn't anything for the next few hours. This also goes for water - make sure you have plenty of water because there's no resupply for about 16 miles. The trail deviates onto some really scenic country roads and rolls through the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. Reaching Port Byron, I grabbed some lunch at a grocery and ate in the parking lot, and from there I picked up the old Erie Canal path. The (new) Erie Canal is the barge canal built in the middle of the 20th century. The original canal was finished in 1824 and by 1840 is was already too small because there was too much traffic on it. And then again at the end of the 19th, it was a victim of it's popularity. Passing through the town of Jordan, the canal had been rerouted away from the city so they made their original canal into a park. You can still see the stone supports for the canal's viaduct.

The town of Jordan reinvented its old canal into a linear park through the city

Much of the afternoon was views on and off of the canal (but always the trail)

Rolling through Camillus, there's a museum (free, asks for donation). Of course it wasn't open on the day I rolled through, but that's part of the adventure. It was a shame because I really like these small-town museums and the views into the life that once was. They had a good collection of Canal life, including a buoy boat, canal gates, and a lifeboat to one of the biggest powered canal boats that plied the waters.

A canal bouy boat. The operator would typically replace 30 buoys a day, and the lanterns would burn for several weeks

I decided to detour around Onandaga Lake so I could explore the path around the lake. It was a nice ride around the lake and I was able to enjoy the views of the city. One thing I learned was to keep my mouth closed because there was a TON of mayflies all along the water and they got all over the place. Yes, I kept my mouth shut, but that was a learned response (and that's all the detail I'll provide 🤪)

Today's ride: 79 miles (127 km)
Total: 212 miles (341 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0