I went on a bike tour for the last week of August in Upstate New York. The trip, the trails, and the weather were all great. A few of the days I woke to temperatures in the 50’s – perfect biking weather.
Starting at my daughter’s apartment in Brooklyn, she and I rode over the Brooklyn Bridge and up the west side bike trail, eventually making our way to Penn Station in Manhattan From there I took a train to Rochester.
Like life in general, all trips have complications. On this trip mine started just after a call with Faith where she mentioned how well everything was going. An absolute jinx if ever I heard one.
When I arrived in Rochester at about midnight, I found the hotel I’d booked and prepaid had no rooms. They directed me to go to another hotel a few miles south. I biked there and was informed they didn’t have a room either. Then they directed me a few miles north. Riding late at night around an unfamiliar city when I was dead tired was difficult. At one point I biked a couple of miles in the wrong direction. Exhausted, I finally got a room around 2 am.
The complications continued the next day when, 23 miles outside of Rochester, the bike had a weird mechanical failure that I couldn’t fix. I tried to get an UberX ride but couldn’t in the remote area. So, I began walking back to Rochester. Luckily, after about five miles of walking a trail angel named Fred gave me a ride to a bike shop in Rochester.
Next, I got a flat as I was nearing my hotel for the second night. It was easily handled and, once completed, everything else went well.
My ride went from Rochester to a little town called Mumford, then down and along the northern edges of the Finger Lakes from Canandaigua to Geneva and Seneca Falls (of It’s a Wonderful Life fame) then Auburn. Though I got quite a workout from the hills in the area, the scenery was beautiful and the riding enjoyable.
After Auburn I made my way back to Syracuse and rode east on the Erie Canalway. In contrast to the Finger Lakes, the Canalway is flat. A couple of days later, I took the train from Albany back to Manhattan.
I love Upstate New York and seeing it from the seat of my bike at 13 miles per hour was even better. The people are biker friendly, the roads have ample space, and the trails are well designed and maintained. Plus, there are plenty of interesting little towns with food, restaurants, and hotels. Overall, I highly recommend the Erie Canalway if you’re looking for a bike tour adventure.
