"Low Bridge, Everybody Down"

If you know the song, then yep, you're right. We found the Erie Canal, and rode the old mule path for about 20 miles on our way into Syracuse, New York. The path was crushed gravel, and where the gravel had drifted into deep piles, the traction was pretty mushy. After about 15 miles, Jonathan decided it was time to let nature alone, so he rode the last few miles to our WarmShowers' hostess in the support car. Here's a wide part of the trail.

The Erie Canal meant 20 miles of no automobile traffic! What a luxury! But the whole day wasn't like that. We had a couple of interesting things happen along the way. First, we had a breakfast with a full host of members of the Avon, NY American Legion Hall. At 8:00 am, right on cue, we lined up in front of the Veteran's Memorial for a photo, then started rolling east on Highway 5. The Avon chapter was very generous with their time, and presented us with a nice proclamation, along with a poster welcoming us to their Legion Hall. They wanted a copy of the photo of us leaving from the Pacific Ocean, and they want another of us dipping our tires in the Atlantic so they can commemorate our visit to Avon. 

We touched the north edges of the Finger Lakes as we rode along, and at one point we lost Ryan and Jonathan, who wanted to ride faster than Bryce and I were going. Only trouble is, they took a different route than we did, and pretty soon we realized that one or the other of us was lost. Bryce had the route programmed into his Garmin cycle computer, so he and I followed that, and settled in for a good lunch in Seneca Falls while Ryan and Jonathan used Google Maps to get from wherever they were, back to wherever we were. Actually, Seneca Falls is a beautiful little city, and quite famous. It was here that Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the first National Women's Rights Convention in 1850. By the time we were done with lunch, Ryan and Jonathan had found their way back to the correct route. However, they had added several steep hills and seven miles to an already long day, which would explain why Jonathan decided to ride the last few miles in the support car. He still got in an almost 90-mile day! These kids amaze me every day we are on the road!

Anyway, it was a good day for learning a bit of history. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The Erie Canal. And even a bit of the "Last of the Mohicans." The Finger Lakes district is very pleasant on a warm summer's day. Guess it's a good time of year to see the area. We'll keep our fingers crossed that we can make it all the way to NYC without a touch of bad weather while we're out on the road (or the canal path).