June 12, 2024
Day 6 - Utica to Amsterdam (Draft in progress)
Cigarretes, Lotto and Beer!
Our stay in Utica was at the Best Western Gateway Adirondack Inn. It was an older hotel but great for our needs and it was easy to get our bikes in and out. It also had one of the better hotel breakfasts of the trip.
Leaving Utica, we followed the Erie Canal for a few miles until the route switched over to a road for approximately 7 miles. Parts of the road didn't have a large shoulder, but it wasn't too busy. The road took us right through a little town called Frankfort. This town was a bit run down and seemed like it had seen better days, but at least in town the road was a bit wider and we were through it quickly. We stopped at a little convenience store for a butt break, but didn't buy anything they were highlighting on their sign.
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Mohawk and Rail Trails
Today and through the remainder of the trip, we'll be loosely following the Mohawk River to Albany. After our road ride, we joined the path that followed the river. Parts of this trail was an old rail line which made for great riding and we made good time of it.
We stopped off at Little Falls NY for lunch at the Ann Street Restaurant and Deli. It's a short road road across the bridge to town. Our food was OK and the place was busy. It may have been the worst server we experienced on the trip and it was bad enough that it was comical. But all in all it was a nice local restaurant.
We ran into a few guys at lunch we'd seen before who were also biking the Erie Canal. Their group took turns driving a car while the others cycled since they weren't able to reserve a train for the return trip as there was limited space for bicycles. If there is one thing you should plan ahead for, it's booking tickets for the return trip on Amtrak along with a bike ticket.
After days of riding in some rain and through gravel, our chains were in bad shape. Thankfully the trail provides and the guys we met at lunch hooked us up with some bike lube. Our bikes were happy!
Striking up a conversation
After lunch, a block or so away we say a single lane bridge along with what appeared to be a park. The bridge provided a nice view of the river, some historical buildings and some little falls. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's why the town is called Little Falls.
As luck would have it, I saw someone standing there looking at the falls and struct up a conversation. As it turned out, he grew up in the area but had moved away. He still owned a family home in town that he was checking up on. He proceeded to share history of the town, floods and his childhood in the area. I've found that on these trips, everyone has a story and having these random meetups can be very memorable.
Lock 17
To get back to the trail, we were supposed to go back how we came across the bridge you see in the above photo. But instead we decided to follow the canal wondering "Why can't we just go this way?" As it turns out, I'm glad we went rogue.
The path started out as a nice paved sidewalk but quickly it dumped us on a quiet street that led to Lock 17. As it turned out Lock 17 is the highest lock on the trail lifting and lowering boats a whopping 40.5 feet. As luck would have it, we were able to watch a boat using the lock.
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After watching Lock 17 we discovered why this wasn't an official part of the trail as the only way down stream was to take a slipper set of steps down to the path below. We made it happen though and were on our way.
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 316 miles (509 km)
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2 weeks ago