After surviving the shoulderless roads of Michigan, we found ourselves on a little ferry that shuttles us across the St Clair river into Ontario. Poor weather slowed our progress up in and around London, but we made up for it by trekking all the way from Woodstock to St Catharines in one long, rainy, humid, bug filled day.
Then it was break time! 58 days in to the trip, with just 2 days off, we were more than happy to visit friends and family for a week or three. The bikes mostly stayed untouched, save for a couple of short day trips... Including one in Niagara Falls, NY to catch up with Sara, Jamie, and Jeremy who were passing through the area Ken their way to Maine. We hadn't seen them since Newhalem, WA, just a few days into our trip.
September 15 saw us back on the road. Things felt different. Getting back on a fully loaded touring bike again took getting used to. The air was much colder. Worst of all, the daylight hours were getting shorter.
Our first day in NY state provided some other annoyances. An hour and a half at the border to renew Emi's US visa, followed immediately by my front tire going flat was the beginning. Ten minutes down the road in Niagara Falls saw Emi's rear tire pop. An hour later I was pulling a staple out of my own rear tire, while sitting on church steps in Sanborn, NY. All of this accounted for about 3 hours of setbacks, meaning that in order to get to our destination, we would have to ride in the dark for the first time. It was all worthwhile once we showed up at Chris' house in the hamlet of Hulberton, NY. He owns a little bike shop out of the front of his place and is situated right on the Erie Canal. He fed us well, and we chatted for a couple of hours before a good nights' sleep.
The next morning began with more of the same; a puncture before we set off... "Here we go again!" I thought.
But we rolled through the rest of the day problem free and made it to the canal lock at Macedon which offered a free place to set up camp. We even ran into Phil along the canal trail. We had met him all the way back in Saco, MT, a place we all confess to having nightmares about. It is quite amazing the number of times we have met people only to see them again. We rode together a while then decided to part ways as he opted for the quieter yet mostly unpaved Erie Canal path, while we stuck with the pleasant (and well signed) state bike route 5.
A night of frigid camping was followed by a nice day of riding. We found ourselves passing on our planned campground in Weedsville, upon finding it would cost $35 to pitch a tent. We found a cheap motel a few miles in the right direction for just $10 more, and spent the night in Baldwinsville, just northwest of Syracuse. A great pub and a warm nights' sleep followed.
The next morning meant more bad tire luck; 3 more random punctures. My front, my rear, and Emi's rear. Our tubes were beginning to resemble the patched up things we rode on in North Dakota. We decided to cut the day short after 50km, and stayed on Verona Beach. It turned out to be one of the prettiest places we put a tent on the whole trip. 50 feet from Oneida Lake, facing directly into the sunset.
The weather improved, and two days of warm but hilly riding followed. A few steep 500 foot climbs brought back memories of Washington, and that's not a bad thing! We got great views over the Mohawk River Valley, and some fun descents.
Getting into Albany was somewhat of a task. The state bike route lowers significantly in ridability between Schenectady and the state capital. Shoulderless four lane roads with heavy traffic, freeway on/off ramps, 6 inch drops around manhole covers, and aggressive bus drivers. We made it, as always, and wound up at Alan's house, in a nice part of Albany. Alan, a bike enthusiast himself, was great to chat with. We went out for a couple of did is and some dinner, and he helped us with our routing onwards to New York City.
Ah yes, onwards to New York City. As it stands, we are a mere 250km fro our goal. 5500km of road is behind us. A day off in Albany today to wait out the impending thunderstorm will be followed by two solid days of riding down the Hudson River. Almost there....
