Day 5 - Rochester to Newark - 39 miles

We normally dread going through urban environments, but the City of Rochester made it easy. We glided through the city with help from the signs shown here. Then it was just corn fields and country on both paved and stone dust trails, all the way to Newark.

Day 4 - Albion to Rochester West - 29 miles

As we passed eastward through Brockport and on to Spencerport, it was lunchtime. And there just happened to be a little Irish pub, just off the trail. Expecting rain, we asked the insurance company next door for permission to park our bikes under their overhang. Turns out the owner of  McColley's Pub was right there at the time. All went well. We dodged the storm, had a great sandwich and Irish brew. Then we headed onto western Rochester for the night.
Our bikes at the pub: 

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Day 3 - Lockport to Albion - 30 miles

On this day we traveled along the stone dust towpath trails along the old Erie Canal. We passed through the quaint little canal towns of Gasport, Middleport and Medina. Just east of Medina is the only road that actually passes UNDER the Erie Canal. (Photo below) It's old; and it leaks. :-) But fascinating. Then on to Knowlesville (Barrel-making town) and through Eagle Harbor and a night in Albion. Dinner with an Englishman we met on the trail who was on a 60 day bike tour across the United States and headed for Boston. It's all fun!!

Day 2 - Lockport

After the Tonawandas we "hit the Roadways" for a few miles into Lockport. Lockport is a destination unto itself. There are the original, restored, "Flight of Five" locks that raised canal boats up to the level of the Niagara River. There is also the Erie Canal Discovery Center at 24 Church Street, an underground boat ride and this is a photo of a tour boat, "locking through" the modern day locks which raise boats about 50 feet between the two locks. It is well worth spending a day here before moving east on your next trek. At this point you have covered about 30 miles by bike.

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Day 1.5 - The Tonawandas

On your way from Buffalo to Lockport you will pass through the Tonawandas Gateway. You will have passed scenic river views and well-maintained parks along the way.

Enjoy the views of the canal!

Day 1 - Buffalo

We started the day with a tour of Buffalo by water, just as they did in 1825. We boarded the Miss Buffalo II down at the harbor. In addition to a GREAT day with GREAT weather we toured the Buffalo harbor area with extensive history on how the Erie Canal turned Buffalo, NY from a sleepy little town into one of the biggest ports in the world, and opened up the Western part of the United States to immigration, settlement and the natural resources to be shared around the world. At 3 pm we mounted our bikes and headed for Tonawanda and Lockport - about a 30 mile bike ride.

Thanks for joining us on this 400 mile adventure.    www.RogerFulton.com

On Our Way! Biking the Erie Canalway

This August my niece and I will be bicycling the Erie Canalway Trail across New York. It’s about 400 miles. We would like you and any friends to join us on the various segments of our journey. Ride a few miles with us, meet us at any given point or just be there with a phone number in case we need support.

I have attached the schedule of our “western segment” itinerary which starts August 1^st in Buffalo. The various segments include:

Saturday, August 1^st – Buffalo to Lockport

Sunday, August 2^nd – Lockport to Albion

Monday, August 3^rd – Albion to Western Rochester

Tuesday, August 4^th – Rochester to Newark

Wednesday, August5th – Newark to Weedsport

Thursday, August 6^th – Weedsport to Camillus

If you can join us in any way please drop me a note at: Roger@RogerFulton.com so we don’t miss you along the way. More info about our trip on our Blog at: http://eriecanaltrek2015.blogspot.com/

Best wishes and hope you can join us at some point,

Roger

Contact information:

Roger Fulton, Author of Safe in the Woods and many other outdoor titles.

Webpage: http://www.RogerFulton.com.

Upcoming events: http://rogerfultonoutdoors.blogspot.com