Off to a late start, almost noon by the time I hit the road. Neither Rachael nor I were very eager to get going, and we were both pretty emotional in the parking lot. I am really grateful to have a wife who’s so supportive of me, and who has as much faith in me as she does, because the extent to which my family worries about me is truly discouraging. I got moving, though, and onto the first set of maps I had prepared!
The Erie Canalway trail is very well marked, which was a nice break from previous days. A lot of the trail is on mixed used paths separated entirely from traffic, and very scenic. In a few areas it crosses towns in Albany and nearby, and somewhere in this area I picked up a small piece of wire in my back tire which caused my first flat of the journey. As I was getting setup to fix it, another cyclist stopped to socialize, and we ended up riding together for quite a while, just chatting about fitness, diet, and the road ahead. He seemed really knowledgeable about the area, and gave me good and thorough directions to get through Schenectady, since he turned around before then. Thanks, Mark! You were a great riding buddy. He recommended an Italian bakery in Schenectady that I should stop by for pizza on the way through, but ultimately I decided not to, because it was in a densely built-up area and I didn’t see a great place to put my bike, nor did I want to go in smelling like a gym bag.
Schenectady was a little confusing, and I think I messed up Mark’s directions a little, but I still think they helped me quite a bit in getting through town and back onto the trail. Just as I found the trail again I found a little park and gazebo where I sat and watched the water for a bit while messaging friends on my phone, and having a snack of apple (courtesy of Holiday Inn) and a hard-boiled egg. I saw jet-skis going down the river, which occurred to me as an unusual sight - no one does much in the rivers around home, they’re mostly not navigable.
Back on the trail, I rode for several miles, taking a stop by a lock on the canal to take a couple photos and use a porto-potty. I was beginning to get a bit anxious about the weather, because the wind was picking up and there were storm clouds evident on the horizon to the west. Also, Mark had warned me that the forecasts were for a nasty storm to hit around 4-6pm. He’d also warned me about a section of the bike trail that ends where trains tend to block it, and suggested I pre-emptively divert instead of having to backtrack a little. I only realized I found the place when I saw a message painted on the pavement “permanent detour” followed shortly by an intersection with a two-way road, and another message saying “dead end” right after. It seemed sketchy as heck, but I double checked with Google Maps and saw that it really was trying to get me to take a right turn onto something else Google Maps had marked as a bike path, going around a train station. Huh.
Moving along again, I went by a lot of heavy machinery - looks like a lot of gravel being processed and moved. At one point I was riding on the road next to the bike trail because I apparently missed the turn-off to join it, but I found it again later and rode it under the bridge across the river to Amsterdam. I decided based on the clouds above to stop at the next intersection and figure out exactly how far I planned on travelling before sleeping. As I got out my printed map and looked around on my phone it started raining, so I backtracked to the bridge so I could at least figure out my options under cover. Based on the ongoing weather reports, I ultimately decided to just get a room at the Super 8 a mile away.
As I pulled into the motel, a woman walking out asked me if I was biking the canalway. I said I was, and we both found out we’re going the same direction, stopping at the super 8 for the same reasons. I sort of hope we find each other again - it’d be nice to have riding buddies again. I guess she (they?) are planning on biking to Buffalo and then seeing Niagara Falls. Once I had my stuff squared away in my room, I went out for a walk in the rain to find a place to get a burger and a beer. Unfortunately most such businesses were closed, being a Monday, but I found an Italian restaurant with a bar that was open. They still served burgers, and had a dozen or so craft beer taps, so it worked for me.
As I sat having a beer and a burger, I realized that they had an ATM in the bar, which suggests to me they were a cash-only business, and I’d left most of my cash in the hotel room as a precautionary measure for strange towns. I still had enough for my burger + beer, but I decided it was an excuse to head out after one round. It was probably for the best, because based on my diet and exercise for the day, even the one was enough for me to feel. It’s a shame though, because there were a bunch of beers available that I didn’t recognize. I hope to get another chance to try them.
On the way back to the motel, I stopped by the gas station next door to get a couple snacks - gatorade, pretzels, and two cans of Yuengling to have in the hotel room. (one black and tan, one lager). It’s made for a nice, relaxing night. I skyped with Rachael and Cleo - despite some problems with wifi / phone charging. Nice to still get to see my ladies!