A Day on Erie Canalway Trail

Today was what has become a pretty typical day in this bike/RV across America trip.  It was raining this morning, so Joe didn’t head out until 7:45 am.  About an hour later than he’d hoped.  But what can you do?  It was quite humid this morning.  One of those- “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” type of morning. The temp was mid-70s, but the humidity was 95% and the dew point was 98%.  He had the wind at his back, which was awesome. But he did lack a cooling off breeze.  Lots of water today.  He had a 72-mile ride beginning with a 40-mile ride on NY 104 East. That was a good ride with a wide shoulder, and it traveled through quiet towns.  There were pockets of traffic, but it was not too bad.  He followed the Erie Canalway Trail through Rochester, NY for 30+ miles. Only got turned around 3 times.  All in all, a good trail and a good ride.  The Erie Canalway Trail runs between Buffalo and Albany.  And it is part of the much larger Empire State Trail with both off and on road segments.

Neptune and I did our usual RV take down today.  His morning routine after Joe leaves is to sleep on the bed until Joe calls.  Seriously, nothing else will get him down.  It doesn’t matter what time Joe calls.  He knows that after I hang up with Joe the outdoor stuff begins, and he’s got to be there to monitor things. 

The RV traveled down 104 East as well.  It was a nice route full of fruit and veggie stands that we’ve seen all over this section of New York.  We took the interstate through Rochester, and I thought how I could be traveling down 35W in Minneapolis.  It looked very similar and familiar.

Neptune and I arrived right at the1:00 check in time. Any earlier and we’d have had to pay the $10 early arrival fee (!!) We are staying at Reds Twilight on Erie RV Resort in Macedon, NY.   It is another big RV park with tent sites as well.  They have a pool, and the Erie Canalway Trail goes right by. I walked around the store while I was there and happened upon their fridge section.  I didn’t see any milk or bread, but they did have quite the selection of Fireball.  Red’s fridge is filled with Fireball for those of you who enjoy a toot/shot or two at the end of the day. 

The owner was very nice to move us to a pull-in spot that was near the showers.  When people find out what we’re up to and see Joe in all his bike regalia, they have been so kind and accommodating.  And that is one of the best things about this trip is meeting so many wonderful people. 

Neptune and I were figuring out the leveling when I looked up and saw Joe biking towards me!  He made excellent time today.  Garmin told him it would be about a 6 hour ride and he made it in 5 hours and 23 minutes.  Very impressive. He needed to wash his bike off after his ride today because 40% of the Erie Canalway Trail is stone dust. That’s a grey compactible material which he said rides great, but leaves a residue.

We set up the RV and then took Neptune for a walk.  It is sunny and mid-80s, so he didn’t get a long walk.  But it was nice to see the park.  We were laughing at a couple kids racing down a hill in their makeshift go-cart.  They wore helmets, but they went over some of those speed bumps pretty quickly.  They did not observe the “strict” 3 MPH speed limit.  There was a boat in the playground for kids, too.  I can imagine playing ship on it.  Hopefully the ship would not go down and everything would not need to be tossed overboard!

We are seeing signs of fall and coming to the realization that this trip is moving along.  A ride into a rest day tomorrow.  Thank you for keeping track of us! 😊