From Trails to Roads

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[Lock 33 on the Erie Canal]

[Tug boat]

[A cool spillway and old mill where the canal met a river]

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Bathroom lines suck. We had to wait in line this morning to use the john because all of the boaters that docked overnight in Brockport decided to take showers at the same time. Once we got on the trail, however, things improved. There was a headwind all day, but it wasn't very strong until the afternoon. The pea gravel trail that we were riding suddenly became a paved trail as we neared Rochester, NY. It was very nice and well signed, which was a good thing because our trail criss-crossed about 10 other trails and two rivers once we reached Rochester. We made it through the big city without incident and eventually the paved trail gave way to pea gravel and the dust and turmoil that accompany it. We rode the Canalway Trail to its termination in Palmyra. There we rejoined New York Bike Route 5 (also hwy 31) and continued eastward. Our goal was Port Byron and it was not far off. Highway 31 has nice pavement and a wide shoulder. The only problems we encountered were a suddenly stiff headwind and some rolling hills that were quite steep. Once we reached Port Byron we inquired about camping in the area only to find there wasn't anything in town. However, the sheriff happened to pull in to the gas station where we had stopped and informed us that the next town down the road had a nice big campground with a restaurant. While at the gas station we also ran into a couple from Syracuse, NY that were on a quick 4 day trip to get away from the kids. They were very knowledgable about biking in the area and gave us a great map of Bike 5. We stayed and shared stories with them for quite a while before heading off to find the campground. River Forest Campground was very easy to find and was indeed very large. They had a site available right on the Erie Canal (although it wasn't cheap). The showers were nice and the restaurant at the "lodge" was excellent. We had the good fortune of arriving on the night of their spaghetti special. Once the meal was over and the New York cheesecake polished off, we relaxed in the lodge a while before heading to bed. Our Adventure Cycling portion of the trip is now complete and we are on the final leg of the Bike 5/Bike 9 journey. With any luck we will be in New York City in 5 more days.