I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me down
It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright, bright sun shiny day
It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright, bright sun shiny day
(Johnny Nash)
Woo hoo! No rain today. We even had sun and blue skies! We left Syracuse at the normal time; riding for almost ten miles just getting out of town. But once we were past the city, we were treated to a very nice, deserted country road - Al said this road was what he imagined most of the ride across America was going to be like…well, sort of, if you ignore the Interstate highways, the desert, the wheat fields of Kansas, and a few other things.
Chris didn't ride today - he has injured the tendons in his shin and is taking some time off the bike. So, it was just Big Al, Peter, Willie, and me, riding through the countryside. Once in a while Al would break out into song. "Good morning, America, how are ya?" seemed to be a favorite. Each day, shortly into the ride, Al says, "Hey, Jim. Guess what!" "What Al?" "We're riding across America!" Al is easily amused.
In Canastota, we turned down Canal Street and rode along a portion of the Erie Canal for several miles. This part of the old canal is a park, with a trail along the old tow path, how neat is that?
We made great time (the road was flat) into the SAG stop, under partly cloudy skies and warm conditions. After the SAG, we continued on country roads for a while before paralleling the highway and eventually turning into the quaint town of Little Falls. Al and I joined Willie at the fire station to talk to some of the first responders. In the old fire house is a four story fireman's pole; it's in sections; the firemen would drop down one section of the pole and then swing over to the next, to get from the top floor down to the truck bay.
Factoid of the day: Little Falls is on the Mohawk River; there's a bigger falls up the river, hence the name. On the barge canal at Little Falls, is a 40.5 foot lock, one of the highest in the world.
Gosh golly, 3000 miles! You are almost there. Hope the sun keeps shinny all the way to Boston!
ReplyDeleteThe canine and human members of the Beach Bike Trek Team are sad to report that they still have no internet access, along with no phone or television. This, apparently, is what happens when you switch providers, affirming our collective belief that change is bad.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we have many friends with access to those wondrous things, and are thus able to continue to follow your trip progress.
We wish you a safe and temperate passage on these final stages of your trip!
P.S. We watched the Tour D'Suise (Hincapie doing well on the stage we saw) before our tv viewing was cut...
Easily amused.....? Sounds like Al would fit right in with a few other senior citizens I know. :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to some of my old stomping grounds from my later childhood. When I lived outside of Syracuse ('69-'76), we used to ride those old Erie canal bike paths on family outings - they're fantastic! Sounds like you may be chasing some sunshine in our direction - please do! We haven't seen it in weeks!
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