If You've Ever Navigated on the Erie Canal

Family photo at Lake Ontario

Wednesday morning we headed out for Lake Ontario. It was another pretty big day for us: we did 73 miles total. The lake was pretty, at least when we got to see it. Even though we were on "Lake Road" there were so many trees that the only time we really got a good look was on a stop at a public park.

As it was getting later in to the day we finally rode into Palmyra to get some food to take to camp. For a fun fact of the day, Palmyra is home to the only place in the nation where there is a different church on all four corners of an intersection.

Megan all-smiles on The Erie Canal Trail

Camp for the night was supposed to be available at the Mid-Lakes Marina, right on the Erie Canal. Upon arrival, we were greeted by several boating couples, who were very happy to see us, but weren't sure if camping was even allowed. The owner was called and we were told to set up our tent anywhere on the grass nearby the docked boats.

That covered, the boaters wanted to know all about our trip and were very enthusiastic about it, to say the least.  Mom and Dad scored some free adult-berages and a boat tour. As it turns out, Wednesday night was potluck night for everybody who called Mid-Lakes Marina their boat parking spot, and there was more than enough food available, so they invited us in to share with them. We had tons of food and plenty of good company. Everybody wanted to know the details and give recommendations and tell stories. The laughter in the place was like nothing we've seen yet. The night was one big party and we all left full and happy. Showers there were really nice, too.

Trying to sleep at the Marina campground was interesting. There were train tracks immediately across the canal from the marina, and trains came by fairly frequently. These trains were exceptionally loud and really liked to blow their whistles. So on the hour through the night the trains would come by and wake us up then let us sleep for a bit and do it all again. It was a bit of a problem for exhausted bikers.
When it was actually light out, a goose came by our campsite and honked at us until we woke up. Apparently we had taken its favorite grazing spot and it wasn't too happy.

The marina was definitely the best place we've stayed so far. In the morning though, we had to get up and keep going. We were able to cross the bridge (which apparently wasn't closed to cyclists?) and get on the Erie Canal trail, which was about 90 miles of sometimes paved, mostly ridable dirt biker/hiker paths.
Our map instructions told us at one point to "ride through trailer park on driveway", so that was a fun addition.

Stacey & Megan on The Erie Canal Trail

The path was nice and allowed us to talk while riding. We sang the "Low Bridge" song all the way along the path (Here's the song!).  Thursday was not the day for us to move quickly, however. Only 7 miles in, we found another bike shop and decided to see if Megan's bike could be fixed - it was still clicking. A coffee shop visit later, we found out that the bike shop didn't have the right tools, but that the bearings in the bottom bracket had come loose after all the torque from the steep mountains we had been climbing the first week and a half.
7 more miles down the trail, we stopped at another bike shop. They were able to perform a quick tune and adjustment that eliminated the clicking (for now anyway).

The lock doors were opened!

We were also having some communication problems Thursday.  Dad stopped short in front of Megan which caused a rear-ending of the tandem. Later in the morning, Mom saw a bathroom sign and turned into a driveway without warning right in front of Megan, which caused a collision with the bob trailer, and sent Megan into the pavement.  No cuts or bruises, just a little embarrassment.

We got to see a boat go through the lock system on the Erie at one point as well. The water system was incredibly entertaining.  Another fun fact:  The Erie Canal is primarily used only for recreational traffic these days.  Very little if any cargo flows on the Erie Canal anymore.

University of Rochester

We then stopped at University of Rochester which was close to the canal trail.  Megan got another bike around campus self-guided tour.

Dad is eating EVERYTHING

Later we stopped at this place called Jimmy Z's whose special was always "the garbage plate".  Dad got one which was a mix of fries, tots, mac salad, hamburgers, and "meat sauce". Weird.

That day we rode 74 miles on the canal trail and stayed in Middleport behind the police station on the grass next to the canal. There were free showers and bathrooms there, as well as free camping in a safe place, so it was a good deal for us. Our many stops that day sadly had us riding until 7:30 at night.  We had showers and pizza, and Dad met four very nice (retired) New York school teachers at Pony's Bar & Grill.  They listened to Dad's bike-tour stories and even provided him with a yummy plate of buffalo wings and a beverage.

Our night went smoothly until 2:30, when we all were rudely awakened by the town alarm, which of course originated right next to the police station. We still don't know what set it off, but it was sure loud for ten minutes of the night.

We had breakfast in the town restaurant, then finished out the last few miles of the canal trail before stopping in Lockport for "elevensies". Then we were off to Canada! At the border we were told that pepper spray for personal defense were not allowed there. Only bear spray is allowed, so we were forced to abandon our Mace.

Our short trip to Canada was entirely meant to show the best side of Niagara Falls. We took the park trail for a while until we had to walk near the falls because of all the other tourists. The falls were amazing to see and definitely worth the detour. Our favorite view was from the very edge of the falls where you could see the water just going over the edge.

30 miles in Canada over we crossed back into the States under this weird kinda sketchy pedestrian and bike tunnel, then across the Peace Bridge into Buffalo, NY. From customs, it was 9 miles more to a hotel. There was really no where to camp in the city here, so we're staying on the South side of Buffalo for tonight.

We did 69 miles today. Turns out we are already ahead of schedule, even including the 20 miles on our first day, so this is very good news.