Old Erie

Total for this ride: 61.8 miles
Total for this year: 2095.1 miles

With good weather forecast for this weekend (probably one of the few I have left before the snow hits...) I decided to go for a long ride in an area I'd never explored before.  The plan was to go the entire length of the Old Erie Canal State Park from DeWitt (just east of Syracuse) to Rome and back, a distance of about 72 miles.  It promised to be a fun ride with lots of old canal artifacts and structures along the way.  And with the fall colors near peak, I expected some spectacular scenery.

I figured it would take about an hour and a half to drive to DeWitt from Victor, so I planned to get an early start - maybe even as early as 6:30.  But I got up at 6, it was still pitch black, and everything was covered with frost, so I took my time getting my act together.  I eventually ended up pulling out of the driveway at 8:00.  A little later than I hoped, but at least the sun was up by then.

As expected, it took just under an hour and a half to make the drive to the parking area at the western terminus of the state park.  There were several other cars in the small lot, so apparently the park was being put to good use.  I loaded up the bike, locked the truck, and hit the trail.

Right out of the parking lot the trail goes along an old aqueduct - one of several I'd see throughout the day.  This was a good sign.  If structures were maintained along the entire length of the ride, there would be plenty to explore.

More good news within the first mile - a perfectly preserved change bridge.  Back in the years when the old canal was in operation, a change bridge was used to allow the mules which pulled the barges to cross from one side of the canal to the other without the need to be unhitched.  This particular change bridge crossed over to a small park on the south side of the canal - a park with a bathroom.  It was one of precious few bathrooms I saw the entire rest of the day.

The path was the crushed limestone I'm familiar with from all my riding on the canal towpath in the western part of the state.  Good - I thought I'd be able to maintain a decent pace.  This was important since I needed to be back home in time for dinner with Joe and Molly.  And with the sun brightly shining in a blue sky, the colors of the leaves in the trees were indeed spectacular.  My pictures don't do them justice.

I rode a good 10-11 miles before getting to the first town, Chittenango.  I took a little time to explore the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum on the south side of the canal.  Unfortunately, this being a Sunday morning, the museum was closed so there was only so much I could see.  But I did check out the ruins of an old cannery from the 1880's which were pretty cool.

The next town along the trail was Canestota.  Canestota was considerably larger than Chittenango - there was actually a small village center, and the whole town was at least several blocks across.  A quaint little place.  Only problem was that as I was heading out of town I was confronted with a large "TRAIL CLOSED" sign.  Hmmm...  That's not good.  I was able to look past the sign, and it didn't appear that anything would preclude me from using it.  Maybe there was some construction just beyond the farthest point I could see?  Normally I would have decided that it would be more of an adventure to just ride past the sign and see what was going on.  But for some reason I chose to heed the warning and take to the street (appropriately, Canal St....) which ran parallel to the trail.  So off I went.

I stayed on the street for at least half a mile, every now and then glancing up at the towpath which was above street level, on the far side of a drainage ditch.  Still no indication that there was anything going on that keep me from using it.  But I stuck to the street untl the speed limit changed from 30 to 55.  With a very narrow shoulder, I figured it was time to get back on the trail.  There was no way I was going to be able to cross the ditch and climb back on the towpath.  Fortunately, not far up the road there was a small driveway which connected the pavement to the trail.  I made the turn and got off the road.  It was then that I discovered why the trail was closed -- it really was under construction.  It appeared that somebody - presumably New York State - was making improvements to the trail.  The path had been cleared and leveled, as evidenced by the small ridges of freshly turned dirt running along each side.  And some sort of base layer of material had been laid down.  But this material was clearly NOT the final layer.  It was a fine, sandy gravel, which had not been packed down.  It was uneven, and it was soft, and it was not an easy surface to ride on.  But it was better than taking my chances with the traffic, so I dropped into a lower gear and pressed on.

After riding on this surface for a while I started wondering whether I'd be able to make Rome in time to get back for dinner.  I did some calculations in my head and decided that I'd turn around no later than 1:00 pm.  That would mean I'd been riding for 3.5 hours.  Assuming an equal amount of time to return to the truck (a reasonable estimate, I thought, since the route was flat and there didn't appear to be much wind), and an hour and a half to get home, I'd be back by 6:00.  That should be OK, I thought.

Eventually the trail ended where the park crossed over the New York State Thruway.  I wondered how many times I'd crossed under that overpass without ever realizing that it was part of the park.  I picked up the trail again, in all of its sandy glory, on the other side of the thruway.  It didn't go very far though before it abruptly ended in Durhamville, with a sign indicating that there would be no trail for the next 22 miles.  Great.  Back on the street.  Luckily, all of the remaining roads would have large, ample shoulders.

A couple of miles outside of Durhamville I noticed a large public parking area - like one of those rest stops without any amenities.  But there was a historic marker, so I rolled in to check it out.  After taking a picture, I noticed that there was an access point to the trail, again running right along the canal.  There was a red rope dangling between the two sides of the gate across the entrance of the trail.  Obviously a sign that the trail was closed here too.  Back on the road.

In the next few miles I crossed through a few towns that looked like they were nothing more than names on a map: State Bridge, Higginsville, Stacy Basin.  Aside from a few farms, there wasn't much to any of them.  Surely no place to eat - and no bathrooms...  I could deal with the lack of bathrooms, but it was now after noon, I'd been riding for a few hours, and had nothing to eat since a bowl of cereal at breakfast.  I needed food.  I dug into my handlebar bag and pulled out a power bar.

My map told me that I needed to keep an eye out for Lock Rd. just past Stacy Basin.  Lock Rd. would take me to Lock 21 on the current Erie Canal - the one which is still in use.  From there I'd hop back on the towpath and make a straight shot into Rome, where hopefully I'd grab a quick lunch, check out the Canal Museum, and head back.  It would be close, but I thought I could make it.

So I get to Lock Rd. and don't you know, there's a sign indicating that the bridge is out .8 miles ahead, and only local traffic is allowed.  What did that mean for my ride?  I didn't know.  But I knew I was getting tired of all the prohibited areas on this ride, so I ignored the sign and pressed on.  In a few minutes I arrived at Lock 21 - a really cool facility.  Very clean, very well maintained.  Apparently popular with the locals too - there were several fishermen with their lines cast in the canal on the east side of the lock, including a grandfather with his grandson, who looked to be maybe four years old.  The kid waved at me.  He was having a great time.  I took a few pics, then crossed over the lock gates at the west end in search of the trail.  No sooner did I find it than I saw the dreaded "TRAIL CLOSED" sign blocking my way.  That was it.  I'd had it.  I threw in the towel and decided to head back.  This meant that I'd have to go without lunch, since I didn't see any place to eat on the outbound leg.  But if my situation grew dire I was sure I'd be able to find something in Canestota when I got back there.  So I ate my last power bar and hit the road.

The ride back was fairly uneventful.  I did notice however that with about 20 miles to go, I was starting to get a little sore.  I thought that was unusual, since this was not a hard ride, and I've certainly had days when I spent more time in the saddle.  But the tightness in my upper hamstrings just didn't go away.  I actually took a couple of quick breaks on the way back just to stretch them out a little.  Maybe I just need a break from riding for a while.  NAH!

Made it back to the parking lot OK, packed everything back in the truck, and went home.  Had take out from the India House with Joe and Molly for dinner.  A nice way to end the day.