Day 4: Rochester to Syracuse

After a few days of R 'n R with old college friends in Rochester, it was time to hit the road again. It wasn't far from my friend's house to the path in Pittsford, once on the path it was the same as the first day, the same gravel towpath and the canal had the same width. Even though things looked the same, I was enjoying being on the path, mostly because it was so quiet, no traffic to speak of.

Pittsfield, NY. Said to walk my bike, but with no peds, why bother? I'm a rebel, I know.

The same old path.

After Palmyra, when I was figuring for a snack, I saw two ladies walking along the path, fumbling with my Cliff Bar I was able to shove it in my jacket pocket and call out my pass. I passed no problem, but then I went to continue with my Cliff Bar and this was where things got hectic. Reaching into my pocket I pulled out a glove, my MP3 player, my headphones, and my food. Grabbing too many things, I struggled to keep them in my hands. Diverting my attention from the road to the objects in my hand I began veering right. I tried to regain control, but it was too late, I was off the path and squeezing my brakes. In slow motion I watched my tire slowly roll into a log on the side of the path and I went over my handlebars.

Glad I didn't fall into any mud or water, that would have been a one way ticket to cold.

Shortly after the crash, the steed survived of course.

I was fine, but being childish I swore a bit at the bike and threw my helmet. I was okay, the only thing to get hurt was my headphones, one of them ripping off in my ear, which I suppose things could have been worse. Still, second day of riding on this tour and the second day I ended up on the ground. After this crash, I began to get down on myself a little bit. I was frustrated at falling and feeling a little worn out from spending all day in the saddle, with no time to enjoy off then bike. But as I tried to convince myself to continue the tour, the path changed from the same old to something novel. Before I reached Lyons outside of Palmyra, the leaf covered path began to bob up and down, breaking the monotony of the flat path. This gentle change in riding  began me thinking of the possibly cross racing next season and I embraced the small rolls on the path and pushed a hard pace forward. This was enough to keep me happy all the way to Lyons.

Rolling foliage.

Swamps along the canal.

Locks outside of Lyons.

Then Lyons improved my demeanor even more. Pulling into town the town center seemed small and hardly existent, but I was here and about halfway done for the day, so I decided it was lunch time. I putted around for a bit looking for someone to ask and the only person, instead someone found me. Baldy Bob was his name and he greeted boats coming along the canal in the summer time. He informed me of how the Erie Canal Bikeway is actually a fairly popular touring route in the summer, because of this Bob had met some cyclists over the years and took their pictures to post on the Lyon's community blog. He snapped my photo and gave a short history of the town, of how the canal used to run right through town, akin to how US highways run through small Midwestern towns now, the canal climbed behind the main street (now a parking lot). He also told of how Lyons gained it's notoriety, once being the world's largest peppermint exporter in the mid 19th c. People like Bob make the road worth being on. He suggested a little diner, which was very little, and due to my new vegan diet, I only had a roll and some homefries, a sad lunch indeed.

Downtown Lyons.

Baldy Bob, displaying the steed.

The bridge at Lyons.

Beyond Lyons the towpath ended. I was now traveling along Bike Route 5, a cross-state bikeway (one of three, I don't know why the numbers are so far apart, but 17 goes across the southern tier and 11 goes up into the Adirondacks). I never thought I'd say it, but bless the interstates, because NY 31 between Rochester and Syracuse seemed very untraveled, I rarely met a car on the wide shouldered road going east. I popped over a few hills and ended up marveling at the swamps surrounding the Seneca River. There was a park along the West bank of the River with a mud laden road I wish I had time to explore, but unfortunately the little amount of sunlight and an over ambitious daily mileage meant I had to keep going.

Repair boats outside Lyons, nice Empire State Blue and Gold.

There was a lot of wilderness surrounding the trail, so quiet, I love it.

An old aqueduct outside Syracuse.

After a quick stop at Port Byron, where I took some light ribbing from some comical truckers, I began the last twenty mile bit into the city center of Syracuse. I abandoned the canalway prematurely, turning off around Weedsport to get on State Highway 5 for a straight shot into the city center. This was a bad idea. Not only did 5 turn into a freeway at one point (no bikes allowed) meaning I had to reroute, but the road also had some hills I was forced to battle. I was greeted with some encouraging honks (first ones of tour), but it wasn't enough to make me forget the struggles of pressing upward. Then once I began the descents the sun started doing the same, making those rapid descents chilly. By the time I reached Camillus on the outskirts of Syracuse, I was ready to quit. The last section into Syracuse was not exactly worth seeing either. A four lane highway shouldered by large parking lotted strip malls and big box stores, basically what I now refer to, and always will refer to, as the buttholes of America (I never understood these places, but a lot of people find them very enjoyable, to each their own I suppose).

The path going towards Syracuse, it was very rural here.

Bare leaved trees and swamps, not exactly the white path I was hoping, but still the change in  seasons makes NY so different in winter.

Distant hills, being on mountain tops, these hills look pretty weak from this height, but still Central NY is rollin'.

I avoided traffic and ended up in downtown Syracuse in Clinton Square, where the canal used to cut right through the heart of downtown Syracuse (the commercial route now diverts far north of the city). Downtown Syracuse was actually pretty quaint too, with similar well lit antiquated buildings as Buffalo and Rochester with a nice downtown public skating rink (like it's fellow canal cities to the west). It wasn't much further til I reached my Warmshowers hosts' house, where we swapped stories over dinner and some beers. It was another high mileage day completed in a hearty headwind with some hills thrown in, I wasn't really sure of how many more of those days I could put in.