We survived. :) Actually, we did much better than that. We had a ball and can't wait to get back on our bikes for another trip. We're already planning our next mini-tour. :D
First day's ride was around 48 miles, which took us to Holley, New York, where there is a beautiful canal-side "hike/bike/boat" campground that was, amazingly, FREE. Holley is a tiny rural village and it was very dark where we camped (no municipal lighting). The night sky was positively, stunningly, beautiful. You just don't see the stars in all their glory living in more populated areas.
Me and "The Big Apple" in Medina, NY, "to commemorate the contribution fruit growers have made to the economy of W.N.Y." Yeah. It's really big. ;)
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The Erie Canal in Holley, N.Y.
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Day Two was only about 35 miles, which took us through the city of Rochester to the home of our friend (ex b-i-l) who offered to put us up for the night. Our sons (one of which is a student in Rochester) drove out from home and met us all for a fun get-together Sunday afternoon.
Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse, north of Rochester, NY
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Day Three was our longest day (54 miles, I think). We rode north from where we had spent Sunday to Lake Ontario and then west along the lake shore. The Monroe County towns of Greece and Hilton up on the lake were lovely. We stayed overnight at Lakeside Beach State Park, which was a beautiful park right on the Lake Ontario shore. There was a bald eagle soaring over the lake! Wasn't able to get a picture of it, unfortunately. :( We were there Labor Day night which meant that the park was almost deserted. Very quiet. We definitely want to go back there some time.
Sunset over Lake Ontario at Lakeside Beach State Park
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Tuesday's ride to home ended up being around 48 miles and was it ever hot! We rode due-west along the lake shore to the Village of Wilson, where we had a lovely lunch at a restaurant right on Wilson Harbor. That was our only "store-bought" meal the whole trip and it felt really good to sit in the shade on their patio, guzzle cold tea and be waited on hand and foot. ;) From there it was about a 13-mile ride, due south, to home.
The Erie Canalway Trail was OK. It was nice enough. Straight. Flat. Ultimately a little boring. It would be a nice route to take with kids. It was also very dusty and dirty (surface was compacted gravel and rock dust) and by the time we reached our destinations both days we were on the trail we (and our bikes and gear) were coated with dust. That was not so much fun. The two days riding home along the Seaway Trail were much more interesting: some rolling hills, beautiful scenery and Lake Ontario right next to us.
We had a couple of encounters with fellow bike tourists: a young man from The Netherlands who had started in Boston, MA, and was heading to San Francisco and a young woman who had almost completed the first half of her year-long tour around the country. She had started in Seattle and was heading to the east coast via the northern TA route and then planned to travel back west via the southern route. She figured she'd be on the road for around a year. Both of these people were traveling solo. We were impressed (being a devout coward, myself, I cannot even IMAGINE taking a trip like that by myself).
The only really negative experiences we had involved idiot people and their un-leashed dogs. Well, we weren't too crazy about riding through the city of Rochester, either (usual issues of being, apparently, invisible to drivers). First day out we encountered a woman walking along the canal with her dog (no leash in sight). She was chattering away on her cell phone...the dog was all over the path and first started after me. I hollered at her to control her dog...she ignored me. The dog then went after my DH. He nearly fell when the dog moved right in front of his bike. He yelled. The woman interrupted her phone conversation long enough to very thoughtfully suggest that we perform unnatural acts upon ourselves. Well! Good morning to you, too! Other parts of the canal trail were obviously heavily used as pooch-potties by the local gentry. We had to navigate a few mine fields along the way as we passed through a few little towns. Oh well. As we've so often said: people are funny, but not ha-ha funny. ;-)
We were very pleased with our new LHTs. In fact, we were thrilled. :) They rode like dreams. We were actually surprised at how well they handled hills. We expected we'd be walking up some hills but that was not the case until we were almost home and walked up a 10%+ grade coming back up the Niagara Escarpment. It was hot. We were tired. We were almost home. No shame in walking for a half-mile. ;) The new Speedplay Frogs worked out wonderfully, too. Very comfortable.
I have read that the real test for bike touring is whether you still want to get back on your bike the next day. That would be a big YES for us. We love our Surly's. :)
Guess for a "little report" this was pretty wordy. Thanks for reading. ;)
