Last day east-bound
Rome >> Rotterdam Jctn | 153km | 348m | 6h08m
August 27, 2024 | 28ºC, clear skies (foggy morning)
Cool and foggy
We’ve had very sunny, very hot days for the past week on our trip. Today was the first one with some cooler temps and no sun during the morning hours, which we did not mind at all. We left Rome at 8:30 in the morning on slightly muddy trails, that were winding through pretty dense forests but generally staying close to the canal. We had another long stretch of riding ahead: More than 150km today! And because that wasn’t enough of a challenge, we had also planned to spend the night at another free camp site.
On those longer days we always tried to complete a good portion before a first breakfast stop. Today that first stop was the city of Utica, where we found a promising coffeeshop on our digital maps that seemed to be worth an awfully busy detour off the trail, three kilometers along a main road without any noticable bike path. And it was worth it! Utica Coffee Roasting Co. had some good coffee and fresh muffins to offer, and a huge mural as a great backdrop for bike pictures.
Back on asphalt
Around Utica the Empire State Trail turned from gravel into pavement again, but still looked all quite remote. Hardly anyone out there. After a couple days on mostly gravel, riding on smooth asphalt again felt fast. We were passing small towns along the canal, many of which didn’t seem to be the most prosperous places anymore – businesses closed, old homes run down, hardly anyone on the streets. The more surprised we were when we found today’s lunch place: A locally run food truck in Little Falls, right at a small marina, where we had the best Mexican-American food.
The last part is always a slog
The final 30 kilometers of today’s ride felt really exhausting. Not only physically, after yesterday’s 100-miler and increasing saddle-sore-pain, but especially mentally. The bikepaths on this part of the trail were easy to ride, but almost too easy. Well paved, straight lines, monotonously green bushes on both sides, generally following a somewhat noicy interstate highway, and nothing really to concentrate at other than all the numbers on your Garmin device or the little pains and annoyant discomforts that seem to be getting disproportionally uncomfortable towards the final 20% of each day’s distance.
We made it eventually to our destination: Erie Canal Lock #9, where we setup camp for free again. Weirdly enough, the campsite was in short walking distance to a Steward’s shop, New Yorks truck stop chain that we started to appreciate more and more during our trip. We treated ourselves with a large pizza tonight and it felt comforting to have breakfast and washroom options in the morning.
With day 5 we mostly completed the east-bound portion of our route. Tomorrow, we would leave the Erie Canal and turn south, following the Hudson River and finally get some more elevation into our daily routines; being used to riding in our local Gatineau Park just north of Ottawa I was missing cycling up hills already!
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North-bound: Day 09 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15