Cumulative to date: 3394 miles, 106489 feet of climb
Remaining: Approx. 310 miles, 15650 feet of climb
Waiting for the downpour to let up
Rain. We had a lot of it today. It started raining about ten miles into the ride and continued until there was about ten miles left to Little Falls. For a while, we had a downpour and stopped at a school bus maintenance facility. If you like blurry pictures, you are in for a treat today.
A nice blurry picture during the middle part of today's ride
After a great day on the Canalway Trail on Day 45, it was overcast this morning. I started riding with the usual culprits, The Geldings. But after the rain started we stopped pace lining and rode as a loose group for safety reasons. At the 18 mile mark, that’s where the fun started. The rain really started to come down. So several of us took cover at the bus facility.
An abandoned section of the Erie Canal at Canastota
After the rain let up, I rode near John (LBJ), Rick, Tom, Todd, Michael and Matt on their tandem, and Rod. We stayed together until the second SAG stop at 52 miles. There were many turns and directions today (45 over the first 57 miles) and our turn sheets became almost useless in the rain. For once, having them in a zip lock bag was the way to go; except when you needed to turn the page. And in that case, they got soaking wet anyway.
Our second SAG stop. Mile 52.
At the second SAG stop I caught up to Toronto Mark and Baltimore Mark and rode with them for a while until I stopped for another rider with a flat tire. At that point I rode in to the hotel at my own pace. Normally, I would not have ridden on a day like this. But once you got going and were wet, it was actually quite pleasant.
Not too much going on during the ride today
Our route today was on many small side roads, crossing the NY Thruway about seven times. We again passed through several towns. Canastota, Durhamville, Whitesboro, Utica, and Herkimer. From Canastota to Durhamville we rode next to a section of the original Erie Canal that was abandoned in the early 1900’s when the canal was widened and improved.
Little Falls, New York
Little Falls looks to be an interesting town. The Mohawk River and Erie Canal run separately through town. Here, the Mohawk descends 40 feet in three miles via falls or rapids. (In other words, little falls here, as opposed to larger falls 75 miles to the east where the Mohawk enters the Hudson River.) To handle this, the Erie Canal is separate from the river and originally had three (or four?) locks. Now, there is only one, Lock E17, which was once one of the highest lift locks in the world.
The Erie Canal at Little Falls, NY
Today’s route:
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