Cycling
the Erie
Canal
2016
Cycling |
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| The Erie Canal was started in 1817 to transport cargo from the Great Lakes, at Buffalo, all the way to Albany, where the Hudson River was used to continue down to New York City. |
SUMMARY, MILEAGE STATS, TENT CITIES, and FOOD are located below on this page.
LOOKING BACK AND FORWARD, WEATHER REPORT, and MY SHOES are located on a separate web page.
At the Finish Line in Albany |
Back to: Uncle George Home Page SUMMARYOn Saturday, July 9, we drove up to Buffalo. My car was parked all week at the Nichols School, Lot #3. Liz and I were among the 700 people who biked the entire length from Buffalo to Albany from July 10 through July 17, 2016. We biked 391 miles. They said about 300 miles were on the mule path along the canal, and 100 miles were along paved roads, which included some hills. It was about that ratio. (I didn't keep track.) I did keep track of our daily mileage stats below. This year, 742 people were registered for the ride. This included people from 38 different states. The top states represented were: New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Virginia. We had 12 Canadians, and 3 from Australia. Ages ranged from 3 to 92, with 54 as the average age. That makes me 15 points above average. |
| Our overnight stays were in tents provided by Comfy Campers. The tent Cities were set up at each stop when we arrived. I was tent 3, Liz was 2. More photos of Tent Cities below. |
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| Our bags were transported each day by truck. Each morning, we had to carry our bags onto the truck, and help stack them. When we arrived at each destination, we had to locate our bags in the rows of unloaded luggage. I had bright colored straps around mine, to make it easier to find. |  |
Most meals were provided by the sponsor of the trip, Parks & Trails New York. There was a lot of food. They served up a big breakfast each day, there were morning and afternoon rest stops, and they prepared most evening meals. In addition, small towns along the way provided a large variety of treats and meals to fuel up the bikers. (Note the many occurences of Chicken and Ice Cream in the Food section.)
There were many activities and sites each day. There were also some nightly lectures in auditoriums, about the Building, History, Engineering, and Economic Impact of the Erie Canal.
After biking to Albany, we rode the shuttle bus back to Buffalo (Bus B). Our bikes rode back in a separate truck. |
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Bike License Plate to the right. I wore a Wrist Band all week, as my ID. Each duffle bag had one also. |
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| Weekday | Date | Daily Miles | Time (hr:min) | Average Speed | Maximum Speed | |
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| Day 1 | Sun. | July 10 | 48.7 | 4:57 | 9.8 | 19.1 |
| Day 2 | Mon. | July 11 | 56.6 | 5:26 | 10.3 | 20.6 |
| Day 3 | Tues. | July 12 | 57.9 | 5:18 | 10.8 | 23.2 |
| Day 4 | Wed. | July 13 | 40.8 | 3:43 | 10.9 | 26.2 |
| Day 5 | Thurs. | July 14 | 48.5 | 4:42 | 10.2 | 21.0 |
| Day 6 | Fri. | July 15 | 63.7 | 5:54 | 10.7 | 26.8 |
| Day 7 | Sat. | July 16 | 45.9 | 4:22 | 10.4 | 21.9 |
| Day 8 | Sun. | July 17 | 28.9 | 2:44 | 10.5 | 22.4 |
| Totals |
391 |
37:06 |
10.5 |
Tents and accomodations provided by Comfy Campers. Click on each image to enlarge.
| Saturday July 11 | Sunday July 12 | Monday July 13 | Tuesday July 14 | |
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| Nichols School, Buffalo NY |
Clifford H. Wise Middle School, Medina NY |
Jefferson Road Elementary School, Pittsford NY |
Mynderse Academy, Seneca Falls NY |
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| My Tent |  |
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| Our Row |  |
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| Other Tents |
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| Wednesday July 15 | Thursday July 16 | Friday July 17 | Saturday July 18 | |
| Zoo in Burnet Park, Syracuse NY |
Fort Stanwix National Monument, Rome NY |
Canajoharie High School, Canajoharie NY |
Schenectady Jewish Community Center, Niskayuna NY |
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| My Tent |  |
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| Our Row |  |
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| Other Tents |
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(Lots of Food!) Click on links to see photos
| Saturday July 9 | Sunday July 10 | Monday July 11 | Tuesday July 12 | Wednesday July 13 | |
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| Breakfast | Nichols School Cafeteria - Buffalo NY Scrambled Eggs, French Toast, Fruit Salad, Fried Potatoes, Orange Juice |
Clifford H. Wise Middle School Cafeteria - Medina NY Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Home Fries, Orange Juice |
Jefferson Road Elementary School - Pittsford NY Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Pancakes, Potatoes, Orange Juice |
Mynderse Academy Cafeteria - Seneca Falls NY Scrambled Eggs, French Toast, Sausage, Orange Juice |
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| Morning Rest Stop |
Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village - Amherst NY Cantalope, Gatorade Uncle G's Ice Cream - Black Cherry Cone |
Albion NY Apple Holley Canal Park - Holley NY Banana, Orange, Pretzels, Gatorade |
Palmyra Canal Park - Palmyra NY Watermellon, Oranges, Oreos, Gatorade Van Buren St - Newark NY Cold Fruit Cocktail |
Port Byron Middle School Park - Port Byron NY Watermellon, Choc. Chip Cookies, Gatorade |
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| Lunch | Lockport NY - Passed on big box lunch Bottle of Pepsi on boat |
Subway - Spencerport NY 6-inch Meatball Sub, Cherry Coke |
McDonald's - Lyons NY Vanilla MilkShake |
Big M Supermarket - Jordan NY Grilled Hot Dog, Bottle of Coke |
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| Afternoon Rest Stop |
Nichols School Lawn - Buffalo NY Pop, Cheese, Fruits |
Middleport NY Watermellon, Fig Newtons, Gatorade |
Genesee Valley Park - Rochester NY Snakes, Gatorade Pittsford Dairy - Pittsford NY Large Strawberry Sundae |
Village Park - Clyde NY Watermellon, Gatorade |
Sims Erie Canal Store - Camillus NY Push-up Popsicle Peter's Polar Treats Big Vanilla Ice Cream Cone |
| Dinner | Nichols School Tent - Buffalo NY Salad, Chicken Breast with Herbs, Rice, vegs, Green Beans, Baked Fish, Brownie, Cookie |
Clifford H. Wise Middle School Cafeteria - Medina NY Meatloaf, Gravy, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans, Veg Salad, Brownie |
Jefferson Road Elementary School - Pittsford NY Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Boiled Potatoes, Lemonade |
Parker's Grille - Seneca Falls NY Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with Fries Bandstand Concert - Ice Cream Cone |
Rosamond Gifford Zoo - Syracuse NY Pop and Cheese Hamburger, Corn on Cob, Baked Beans, Boiled Potatoes, Free Cokes |
| Thursday July 14 | Friday July 15 | Saturday July 16 | Sunday July 17 | Monday July 18 | |
| Breakfast | Rosamond Gifford Zoo - Syracuse NY Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Pancakes, Potatoes, Orange Juice |
YMCA - Rome NY Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes, Sausage, Orange Juice |
Canajoharie High School Cafeteria - Canajoharie NY Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, French Toast, Fruitcup, Orange Juice |
Jewish Community Center - Schenectady NY Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, French Toast, Fruit, Orange Juice |
Collegetown Bagels - Ithaca NY 2 Donuts, Pepsi |
| Morning Rest Stop |
Chittenango Landing Boat Museum - Chittenango NY Watermellon, Gatorade |
Schuyler Town Hall - Utica NY Watermellon, Gold Fish Crackers, Gatorade |
Town of Glen - Fultonville NY Orange, Gold Fish, Gatorade Karen's Ice Cream - Amsterdam NY Apple Pie and Hard Vanilla Ice Cream (10:00 am) |
Peebles Island State Park - Waterford NY Banana, Gatorade |
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| Lunch | The Toast - Canastota NY Onion Rings, Bottle of Pepsi |
Little Caesars - Ilion NY 4-Pc Pepperoni Lunch, Pepsi |
Fire Department - Pattersonville NY Hamburger, Pepsi, Ice Cream |
Food Truck, Quackenbush Square - Albany NY Hot Dog, Pepsi |
Sheetz - Altoona PA Chicken Strips, Onion Rings, Pepsi |
| Afternoon Rest Stop |
Lock 21 - Rome NY Watermellon, Gatorade |
Canal Park - Little Falls NY Orange, Ice Cream Sandwich, Gatorade St. Johnsville Marina Watermellon, Lemonade Chamber of Commerce - Canajoharie NY 2 Scoops Ice Cream with Choc. |
Mabee Farm - Rotterdam Jct NY Snacks, Gatorade |
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| Dinner | Franklin Hotel - Rome NY Salad, Stuffed Shells with Meatballs, Diet Coke |
Arkel Museum - Canajoharie NY Half a Chicken, Baked Potato, Cole Slaw, Lemonade |
Jewish Community Center - Schenectady NY Wine and Cheese Salad, Lasagne, Zucchiny, vegs, Meatballs with Sauce, Pepsi 2-Liters |
Rest Stop - New York Thruway Soft Pretzel Nuggets, Cherry Coke (ate on bus) |
Fireside Dr Roast Beef Sub |
And after all that food, I came home 1 pound lighter!
Photos taken by George, Liz, Jim, and Fred
