Slept in a bit but had an easy breakfast at Denny's right here at the hotel. With 10% off, wahoo! They were also kind enough to let us store our bikes in one of their meeting rooms. After getting saddled up, we decided to pay a visit to the Fort Stanwix National Monument. There, the park rangers gave us a personal history lesson on the events surrounding the fort and its importance in the Revolutionary War. Very interesting and informative.
But it was getting late. Not that we had far to go, but we had to go nonetheless, so time to hit the trail. It was already after 11:00! But then, we were only doing 40 miles today . . . so south we rolled to the canal and through Rome's waterfront improvements.
The entry into Rome's waterfront park. The Barge Canal can be seen to the right.
After crossing the canal and riding along a short section of roadway, we recovered the old towpath . . . I think! One thing for sure, it was nice and shady on what was becoming a very hot day.
The first 17 miles were really nice . . . then we reached Utica. Ugh. Utica has done nothing to enhance the trail, it seems. Nothing except for a short section of paved trail, possibly three miles long, that was in poor repair with many heaved sections making the ride very uncomfortable. At the end of that trail, we crossed the canal to the north side, navigated an interchange for I-790/I-90, and turned right on NY-5, where we would stay for 11 miles.
Well, at least it had a nice shoulder! Though it took all of four miles or so just to clear Utica's sprawl.
By then, I was ready for a Gatorade, so after the turn back across the canal into Ilion, I stopped at a Fast-Trac and refreshed myself. Then this guy pulls up on . . . this contraption.
Can you picture yourself riding this? It's battery-powered, has a 40-mile range, and is collapsible.
Somewhere through here, Remington Firearms has a factory, and Jerry, who I had lost in the Utica Interchange (he says he stopped for ice cream), and I reconnected in front of it. He had to have a picture . . . so, with that done, we made our way further down the road through Mohawk and German Flatts to another section of trail before the last four miles of road riding into Little Falls.
The last road section into Little Falls, all downhill!
