Well, folks we are at it again! This time we’re upping the mileage. Over the next 14-ish days, our quest is to bike 2 of the 3 sections that make up the 750-mile Empire State Trail. We are starting at the bottom of Manhattan, proceeding north to Albany, then turning west and following the Erie Canal to Buffalo. All told it’s gonna be about a 546-mile journey, riding between 40 and 60 miles each day. We are looking forward to it immensely, so wish us luck, and thanks for following along!
More cool info about the trail can be found here: empiretrail.ny.gov
Our journey begins with a family visit to Eastern CT to pay respects to our step-grandmother, who passed away at the age of 91 after a long, full life. It’s a sad occasion, but good to get to see family before we set off. Then of course there are always last-minute things to do, plus a random eye doctor appointment that Becca realized she had scheduled months ago before we finalized the trip dates…but we manage to fit it all in. Finally, around 5pm, we’ve checked the list 3 times, turned the AC to a warmer temp, confirmed the plant-sitter, held the mail, and are feeling ready to go. Cleo got dropped off at the cat sitter on Wednesday, so the house is feeling pretty empty, and our bikes are looking pretty full. We decide to treat ourselves to one last local handmade ice cream at Sweet Ashley’s before riding the few blocks to out Metro North stop.
Since Becca rides this train to work a lot, she is apprehensive about fitting the bikes. Summer brings more crowds, which is great for supporting the NYC economy, but not so good when you’re trying to fit 2 very full bikes on a train with no vertical racks. But the conductor instructs us to just jam into 2 sections with fold-up seats. We do our best and thankfully no one complains. We collaborate on today’s NYTimes Spelling Bee, tossing Becca’s phone back and forth across the aisle, each entering a word at a time until we hit the elusive “Genius.”
Getting out of Grand Central is, thankfully, not too stressful. Becca gets us to Lexington Ave, and we very carefully bike the few blocks south and east to catch a ferry down to Wall St. We figured this would be more scenic than the subway at rush hour, and less stressful than attempting to bike the city streets. Both statements prove to be true, and we are relieved when we arrive in time for the 8:02 East River Ferry.
Going under the Williamsburg Bridge
It’s smooth sailing until the penultimate ferry stop where we notice the blue and red flashing lights several police watercraft patrolling lower Manhattan. Sure enough, POTUS is in town. We watch as the president departs in his helicopter not 1000 yards from us as we wait for the Coast Guard to let our ferry proceed. The NYC transit worker whose shift was just unexpectedly extended is NOT happy about the delay. After some 40 minutes of waiting and a surprise boat transfer, we continue to our destination: Pier 11 / Wall Street. Our headlights gleaming through the smoky dusk, we pedal towards our cycling journey’s start.
Getting held up by Pomp and Circumstance…and Secret Service
A regular at our hotel is unable to contain his curiosity at our getup. The concierge helps us stable our bikes and is happy to recommend a taco place that will give us a 15% discount. We opt for a closer place that gives us a 10% discount. Tomorrow the grind begins.