Day 90: Cazenovia to Whitesboro

August 29, 2021

Three canals: old, enlarged, and new

“Why would you ever want to pull something out of here,” Patrick says as we pass a fisherman next to the abandoned canal with stagnant looking water and green film on top. “And why would you eat it?” Rachel adds.

We closed up Mimi’s house and set off around 7am. Nothing is all downhill, but today’s 9 mile ride back to Chittenango is pretty close. After following the Chittenango River downstream, we stop at the Chittenango Falls State Park to take a look at the 167 feet tall waterfall. This 194 acre park was built up by President Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corp

It is a quiet Sunday morning as we roll through Chittenango, past the Subway Mimi picked us up at and back onto the Erie Canal Trail. We are on a mission to find a second breakfast, but when we reach the next town we find the café we were targeting closed. Bummer. Nearby is a gas station convenience store where we find chocolate milk and a bag of donuts. We go to a shaded bench along the canal and eat a slightly less sumptuous breakfast than we had imagined.

As we sit there two touring couples pass us by. None stops to talk to us. When you are out in the middle of North Dakota you would not even consider not stopping for a chat. But here on a much busier trail people mostly keep to themselves. What a shame.

The trail continues to Rome, then we are left to our own devices. We decide to stick to the main road hoping for a lunch spot. We find another Subway restaurant and text our host that we are about an hour out from reaching his destination. That is a little optimistic. First it takes a while to get through Rome and find the trailhead on the other side. It is getting sunny again and the humidity is oppressive. Also, our host lives on top of a hill, not a huge steep hill, but still hard enough to make us work for it. We are done when we get there.

Tom is a retired air force veteran, his wife Heather still works. They have a guest area in the basement and feed us a nice home cooked dinner of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. We enjoy our evening with them.

We've seen this bush all along the trail. Mimi says it's invasive but didn't know the name. Bill?

A nice home cooked meal by Heather and Tom

Tom gives Patrick route advice for tomorrow, as the trail has many interruptions

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Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 3,672 miles (5,910 km)

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