We face our Waterloo

June 24, 2022

New York bike day

Don was up for a longer cruise on Garfield today and we were out on the road by 8:30. It was a beautiful sunny morning with a light breeze coming off of the lake but cool enough that I wore my jacket for a bit.

We went north from the state park on the same route we did the other day and when that road ended we got onto 96A. It was a busy divided 4-lane highway but had a wide shoulder so wasn't too bad to ride. But fortunately we didn't have to stay on it for long as the next turn we needed was River Rd which would take us east.

This road was NOT pleasant as it had lots of traffic and NO shoulder. Had we known that ahead of time, we would have picked a different route to do today. But we soldiered on, at least enjoying the farms and homes we passed.

Other than a few minor ripples, this road was pretty flat as it paralleled the Cayuga River, although we couldn't see it through the trees from our location.

When we reached the town of Waterloo, we turned off of this road toward their downtown area, hoping to find a bathroom to use. As we reached the bridge over the river, we surprisingly discovered a lock on a canal! It looked like there was a park nearby so we headed there to see if there were at least porta potties. No luck on those, but there were at least some trees to shield us.

Once that business was taken care of, we could now explore a bit more of this interesting find. As we were walking around the lock buildings and a nearby Civil War Memorial, Don told me that it looked like a boat was getting ready to enter the lock. He was agreeable to hanging out for a bit to watch the process.

As the lock filled with water (very quickly, I might add), we got to talk with the lock master. He told us this was the Cayuga-Seneca Canal which is 20 miles long between Lake Cayuga and Lake Seneca. It opened in 1818 and connects to the Erie Canal. From there, boaters can reach Lake Erie (where you can access Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior), Lake Ontario via the Welland or Oswego Canals and ultimately go all the way to Florida and the Gulf.

Boy, yesterday an insane asylum and today a canal/lock! The fun things you find on a bike ride.

Once the boat was finished going through the lock, we continued east a couple of more miles and stopped at a grocery store to pick up some salad dressing for tonight's group dinner. Then we turned around and returned back to the state park following the same route.

After lunch, we hung out for awhile talking to the other rally folks. At 5, we all gathered at one trailer for a group grilling/potluck meal.

It was fun, especially when the organizer came out dressed in his Elvis costume! The entire theme of the rally was Elvis and he made a great one!

After everyone had finished eating, it was Elvis bingo which was a hoot! Neither of us won a round (there were prizes) but that didn't matter, we just enjoyed the entertainment. Especially when "Elvis" hopped into the bed of his truck and someone drove him around the entire campground as Elvis songs played on the loud speakers!

We finally called it a night once it got dark as we were both tired after our ride. This is our third rally and all have had different activities, but they've all been fun. We hope to attend more in the future.

The historic Rose Hill Mansion was quite an impressive Greek Revival home. Built in 1837, it's now a Historic Landmark and is operated as a museum.

We rode into Waterloo today. It was named after Waterloo, Belgium where Napoleon was defeated. The village was first settled in 1792 and in 1866 celebrated the country's first Memorial Day. In 1966 President L.B. Johnson designated it as the birthplace of Memorial Day.

We happened upon the Cayuga-Seneca Canal today and were able to watch a boat going through the locks. The canal was built in 1813 so goods could be transported to the Erie Canal.

The filling of the lock didn't take long at all and within about 15 minutes, was ready for this boat to enter.

Once through the first gate, the boat parked along the side of the lock and waited for the water to go down so they could pass through the last gate.

The American Civil War Memorial in Waterloo. This structure was intriguing.

Inside was a marble monument that is called the Star Stone. It has 620 gold guilt "stars" that represent 1000 soldiers that lost their lives in the Civil War. The "stars" looked like bullet holes to me. Very sad.

So many young men were killed during the Civil War. There memorial remembers the 58 men from Waterloo that died in this war from 1861-1865.

Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 370 miles (595 km)

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