First 100-miler
Lyons >> Rome | 163km | 453m | 6h49m
August 26, 2024 | 28ºC, partly cloudy
A long day ahead
Today was going to be the longest stage yet – more than 160km were planned. Both of us had ridden more than that distance within one day before, but never with all the luggage, never on mainly gravel paths, and never on the fourth consecutive day of riding all of the above. And never after a rather rough and uncomfortable night in the tent. Getting up early was easy, but it took us extra long to pack all of our belongings. Not only did we have to let sleeping bags and tent dry out (it apparently was a pretty humid night), but also put all the gear back in all the bags. At 8:30am we were finally on the trails again.
Outside of Lyons the nature of the trails changed quite a bit from the day before. Still following the historic Erie Canal, we were riging on single trail paths that winded through green, lucious forests, providing quite the welcome change of scenery. Outside of the small towns it felt more and more remote and I was just amazed by how such a small but well maintained trail provides such a great opportunity for slow travellers like us to cross an entire state by bicycle. And speaking of which – today we met Eric, who had been cycling for two months already and, weather allowing, was heading all the way east to Newfoundland. His bike packed more luggage than the two of ours combined.
Not used to downtown cycling anymore
The city to cross today was Syracuse. After Buffalo and Rochester we were unsure what to expect from the third big town crossing and that one was for sure the most stressful so far. The route was taking us right through town, on busy streets, detours, and then out of town on a paved path between two very trafficked streets with traffic lights every couple hundred meters.
Soon enough, though, we were back on the trails which at this point felt like a great relief. Traffic, heat, and constant stop-and-go gave finally way to undistracted trail riding again. We passed (and crossed) another one of those pretty large locks on the canal, reminding us that we were technically going downhill all along the waterway towards the east.
When we arrived in Rome, today’s final destination, both of us felt quite depleted. More than 160km on one day is challenging, even in the flat terrain we were cycling through. After so many hours on the bike, especially the contact points between your body and your velo flame up; feet, hands and wrists, bum. I was starting to feel saddle sores, which got me a bit worried this early into our trip – but I hoped that I’d be able to just get used to them. One day at a time. For today, we arrived in the home for the night, another AirBnB that we had booked before we left Ottawa. Much less cozy and in somewhat of a sketchy neighborhood in one of those towns that clearly had seen better days.
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South-bound: Day 01 | Day 02 | Day 03 | Day 04 | Day 05 | Day 06 | Day 07 | Day 08
North-bound: Day 09 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15