Erie Canal-Day 5 Canastota to Little Falls

The question posed at the end of yesterday's entry was, “Would we get wet?”
And the answer is…”a resounding YES!”

But, we did not get the thunder and lightning and we were able to complete the 65 miles without having to shuttle riders and bikes to safety. The first 24 miles were relatively dry, so that was a plus. We climbed 781 feet today and thankfully much of the rainy part of the ride today was on paved roads. We did have some parts of the trail that were one tracked and you had to pay attention to keep your wheel in the track. That always makes me a bit nervous as I lollygag around when I am pedaling, looking at everything around me. But I made it safely through. Today I biked 36 miles and drove for the remaining 29 miles. Wynn rode the entire 65 miles (of course). We had one flat tire (Cliff) which is never fun, but especially in the rain. The SAG to the rescue. I did get to wear my shiny pink raincoat and found out it was indeed waterproof. I also was glad to have a neoprene sleeve to wrap around my bike battery. Now the challenge is to get stuff rinsed out and dry enough to travel. I don't want to do the laundromat if I can help it. So stuff is hanging all over the room. We are staying at another Rodeway Inn tonight in Little Falls. We no sooner got all the cyclists in and vans unloaded and then the rains came down. Whew! Just in time. God is good and we are all safe.

So there were still a few points of interest along the way, even if we had to keep our noses to the grind and make time today. We actually started with a little sunshine as we went over the first Lock. I am always amazed at how the water swirls and rushes into and out of the lock.

Here is a pic of my favorite cyclist and one of us together. This is down canal where we crossed.

Our first stop was at Verona Town Park. They had some nice bathrooms by the ball fields which is always a great find! We traded out drivers and re-grouped for the next section of the trail.

Along the next section of trail, we passed the marker that pointed out where they began the construction of the Erie Canal. They started in the middle and worked their way in both directions. This was news to me.

Then we went off trail for a bit and into the city of Rome to see an old time gas station with pumps. We also saw some damage from the recent tornado. We met our SAG at the Fort Stanwix National Monument. This was a bathroom stop and then it was time to don our rain gear. It was a good call, because the rain started as we pulled away. I actually had to take my glasses off so I could see.

We all made it sopping wet to Cliff's local market where we ordered subs for lunch. The SAG drivers transported it all to a pavilion about 5 miles away. We rode as fast as we dared to get there out of the rain. What we didn't expect was the swarm of mosquitos that hovered in that pavilion. We ate and ran!

After lunch I drove for the final 29 miles. I stopped at the first available gas station and changed into dry clothes. Oh my, what a difference. We got to the SAG stop at the Heelpath Brewery, located in Frankfort Harbor. It was during this stretch that Cliff had a flat tire and the group got a bit split up. Thankfully everyone got through. We did not do any of the other points of interest along the way so we could get to the hotel before the rain.

I wanted to include Rob's pic of us in our rain gear. Do you like my neon pink jacket? Hahaha

A nice dry hotel room never looked so good. Shower taken- ✔️, wet clothes hung to dry- ✔️, rain jackets washed out- ✔️, nap- ✔️
Dinner tonight at Ruggiero's Trattoria. Looking forward to some pasta! Well, change of plans…the Trattoria is closed for Labor Day weekend, so we walked to another Italian restaurant in Little Falls called Gigi's. I ordered lasagna and Wynn had the Chicken parmigiana. We split them and had half of each and it was most delicious! Our SAG members took good care of us with their thank yous and a card and tonight's dinner. What a great group of people.

Tomorrow will be interesting because we need to get 4 of our team to the train station on time. 3 of them are heading to Buffalo at 4:30pm and 1 of them all the way to Cleveland at 6:00pm. We have a long day of riding tomorrow so we will have to stay on task
Until tomorrow,
Wynn and Brenda