In hopes of getting an earlier start than has been our custom, we push our alarms to 6:30AM. IT HAS NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER. Over breakfast we learn the hard way how many hours it takes to beam GoPro footage from one device to another. More squabbles about tire pressure delay our departure until 10:30. We have no particular need to leave early but could have benefitted from optimizing our time shaded from direct overhead sunlight. Today’s section of trail offers little to no tree cover, and it’s a scorcher out here.
We have the option 5 miles down the road to either continue north along the Champlain Valley Rail Trail or to turn west towards Buffalo. As planned, we opt for the latter. The Champlain section of the Empire State Trail would be on our “bike-it list” except for the fact that 99% of the time one is riding on-road next to cars. We are relieved when we leave the streets of Green Island, NY (fun facts: not an island and not especially green) behind and get back to off-road rail trail cycling on the Erie Canal Greenway.
The morning passes monotonously but pleasantly, with long stretches of uninterrupted trail riding and not much in the way of rest stops or street crossings. We stop for a snack and a meditation break in a parking lot in We-have-no-idea-where, NY. Becca looks enviously at a man unloading a kayak from his car. It would be an excellent day to cool off on the water, but we press on.
In Schenectady, NY, we take a proper lunch break at yet another local brewery, as has become our fashion. Druthers Brewing Company is just off the trail that leads through a mall/condo complex reminiscent of places we’ve been before, like The Waterfront in Pittsburgh or Blue Back Square in West Hartford. The beers are great, and the food portions are a great value, aka they are ENORMOUS. We engineer a way for Marty to carry the leftovers in the lids of his saddle bags. Becca gets us a hotel in Amsterdam, NY for the night, and we feel hopeful knowing we will only have to endure 2-ish more hours of grueling sunlight riding today.
We pass canal locks that remind us of the C&O Towpath from two years ago. These are where many cyclists choose to camp for the night. The thought of roughing it nightly is even less appealing than in 2021. We pedal faster to get to a well-earned hot shower and soft mattress.
Once we’ve settled in, we realize we’ll need to cross the Mohawk River to run our errands. The nearest Lyft appears to be in Canada but the concierge tells us to call Amsterdam’s finest freelance local cab driver. William arrives in his clunker and asks if we’re in a hurry. We say “no” and he offered to give us a driving tour of the town so that he can pick up another fare. We arrive at a “pot party” (essentially a grey-market open-air cannabis bazaar inside of a warehouse) to chauffeur home a local. She has clearly been sampling the wares.
After stocking up on sunblock, burn cream, and contact lens solution we decide not to call William for a ride back. Apparently he owes a favor to his friend who needs to move his recently deceased dog :( This turns out to be an excellent twist of fate because the walk home, while long, is mostly downhill and winds through a handsome park featuring memorials, public art exhibits, and a gorgeous view of the sun setting on the Mohawk River.
We arrive back at our hotel, having finished our hand-packed ice cream cones from the Stewart’s gas station on the walk back. We dive into the leftover Mac and cheese from earlier, compile our thoughts, and begin to steel ourselves for tomorrow. We will need to put in more miles than today to make it to Utica in time for dinner with Becca’s cousin and her husband. Wish us luck!