I learned about the Empire State Trail from a newspaper article I read last year and, having a large Northeastern void on my bicycling map, I decided to check it out. The route has three sections: Buffalo to Albany (the Erie Canalway Trail), Albany to New York City (the Hudson Valley Greenway Trail), and Albany to the Canadian border (the Champlain Valley Trail). It makes sort of a sideways T. I decided to start in Buffalo, ride to Albany, head north to the Canadian border, then continue on to Montreal.

The trail is a combination of crushed limestone, pavement, and dirt which, for the first half, runs mainly along the Erie Canal’s towpath. In Albany and heading north towards Montreal, there are more roads.

My overnight shakedown ride for this trip didn’t happen. It rained all weekend and I just didn’t feel like starting a ride in the rain, setting up camp in the rain, breaking camp in the rain, then riding back in the rain, so I was hoping that my listkeeping and checklists would be adequate.