the trouble with uber, not my kind of paradise, clueless couple, rerouted by sting, an erie boulevard, missed pictures

September 6, 2022

Not one to make the same mistake twice, at least not one which involves free food, I managed to wake up before breakfast ended at 9:00. My footsteps echoed as I sleepwalked into the cavernous room. It was cavernous in a number of ways: completely empty, dark, and quite large, but with a low ceiling. I glanced around for bats as I let my eyes adjust to what seemed like 40-watt bulbs, then went in search of breakfast. I found it scattered on several tables at the far end of the room, and wondered if the lighting was supposed to make it more appealing or to hide slight imperfections in the meal.... such as, perhaps, expiration dates. Trying to focus in the gloom, I inspected a white splodge and tried to determine whether it was spilled creamer or bat guano.

At 8:45, less than 10 minutes after I arrived, a bored-looking teenager shuffled in and started loading the breakfast items onto a metal cart to roll them away. I texted Mike as fast as I could to let him know, then told the guy that someone else is on the way. He acknowledged with a "huh."

We ate quickly and Mike, who is on the opposite end of the introvert/extrovert scale from me, started chatting with the teen who was clearing breakfast.

Yesterday, when I reserved the room online, the hotel's website said there were "only three rooms left!” Considering the large number of rooms at this place, the fact that I hadn't seen a single other guest since we arrived, the vacant breakfast room, and the near-empty parking lot, I wondered how that could be. Only three rooms left?? At first I thought it was just a marketing ploy: "Get your room now, before we sell out!"

However, when Mike asked the teen clearing breakfast he said that the number of rooms they can rent depends on how many housekeepers are available, and they’re really short staffed.

We walked back down the threadbare carpet to our rooms, then loaded up the bikes.

There were several dry docks along the trail this morning. This was taken not far from the hotel.

a haunted mansion in Clyde, but don't worry... the sign says it's "historically haunted" so, by definition, it was haunted in the past

Today is Mike’s last day. He says he has to go back to work or he’ll get fired, which is funny considering he owns the company. Our plan is to ride to Savannah where he'll call an Uber to take him the rest of the way to the rental car agency in Syracuse.

Riding his bike is like sitting on a cloud - I couldn't feel a single bump. Another cool thing about it: he can store stuff in his down tube. Apparently, that's a thing. He carried a tool kit and some other items.

This is just a little north of Seneca Falls, which is the setting for the movie It's a Wonderful Life. In the movie the town is called Bedford Falls.

In Savannah, we stopped at Rosie’s Quick Stop where I ate a tuna wrap at their picnic table (covered, and out of the rain) while Mike ate some mixed nuts he bought in the store. As planned, he called for an Uber, but there weren’t any cars available… they don’t inform you that there aren't any drivers in your area until AFTER you request one.

We decided to just keep riding, checking periodically until one was available. Near Port Byron he was able to connect with one, and a driver arrived shortly thereafter. There was a light rain as Mike used his Tetris skills to load the bike and gear into the back of the small SUV, and when he was finished we said a quick goodbye.

Although the forecast called for a 4% chance of precipitation today, it rained most of the day. I didn’t wear a rain jacket because it was a pleasant 68 degrees, and the body heat I generated while pedaling kept me warm.

fortunately, it didn't live up to its name

Like yesterday, parts of the trail were rutted single track. It was nice to be off the road, but the riding was a little more difficult because of the rut. Consequently, I was only able to maintain a speed of 8-9 mph. I likely missed some of the scenery because I was frequently looking down as I concentrated on my riding, but one of the things I didn't miss was a broken wrist if had I fallen.

Most of the “posted” signs are irrelevant and pointless. There’s no way you could trespass into the thick overgrowth. Interestingly, there were frequently small piers (also with Posted signs) across the path from overgrown sections like this, with no houses in sight.

This couple just stopped in the middle of the path, ignoring the happy tinkling of my bell which became increasingly urgent the closer I got. They were oblivious or uncaring that someone might need to get past them. I had to ride on the grass, and they never even looked at me.

Fortunately for them, they weren't geese.

a bit of algae growing on the semi-stagnant water

a lot of algae growing on mostly stagnant water

I pedaled through Weedsport, which I thought was an odd name. Odd because I'd never heard of a sport centered around weeds. Is the sport built around growing weeds in a garden? Or, perhaps it's some kind of contest having to do with marijuana? Fascinating... and what kind of town council would name their town something like that??

Then ....duh.... I realized that the names of several nearby towns ended with "port." "Lockport" ... "Bridgeport" ..."Middleport" ...

It's not "Weed sport," it's "Weeds port." With impaired cognition like that you'd think I'd been competing in weedsport, but you'd be wrong.

In Syracuse, there was more poor signage. As I was pedaling over the bridge (appropriately named Bridge Street) I met a couple of loaded bikers. I was confused for a moment because they asked me if I was going to Albany like they were, but they were heading in the opposite direction. My first thought was that I'd made a seriously wrong turn. Then they let me know that the trail ahead was closed and they had turned around looking for an alternate route. They were having some difficulty because of the paper maps they were using. I was using the Empire State Trail website, which was somewhat better, if not great.

Their names were Don and Mike and we pedaled together, picking our way back up the trail from which they’d just come. We found a way around one detour... only to encounter another one. We learned from a security guard that the bike path ahead was closed because of a Sting concert. He gave us the shortest route to get around it, which entailed briefly riding on the road, then crossing a really busy intersection with no stoplights.

Past the detour, it was much easier for a while as we pedaled together along Onondaga Lake's bike path. Once we were back on Syracuse city streets, with turns to make, I made a couple of wrong turns because I had to keep unlocking my phone to see where we were, while at the same time trying to navigate traffic.

The downtown area was nicer than I expected and, in particular, the Niagara Mohawk Building. The art deco winged sculpture on the front of the historic building is impressive.

The Syracuse Savings Bank Building, built in 1875, was an attraction because it had a "passenger elevator," which was quite a curiosity at the time. The building looks better than it appears in the picture. The reflection pond in the foreground is used as an ice skating rink in the winter.

The monument below celebrates the rescue of escaped slave William "Jerry" Henry. The rescue set a national example for resistance to The Fugitive Slave Act.

I'm always impressed by a good sculpture. When I'm looking at one, I almost expect it to move, or start talking to me. Stare at the guy in the middle for a minute and see if you think he might blink. And what is he about to say?

We ran down an empty side street for a while, then a designated bike path on the median of Erie Boulevard with its own stop lights for bicycles.

I had planned to camp tonight since I spent the last two nights in a hotel, but there was NOwhere to pitch a tent. I even considered tucking my tent in an invisible spot in the city if I could find one, but this section of town had a lot of pawn shops, auto repair shops, tattoo parlors, concertina wire on top of fences, and, a new on to me, ads for naloxone (a drug to counteract opioid overdoses). I couldn't find a place to hide, so I continued rolling.

I was hoping that since I couldn't find something downtown then maybe I would see a park or fire station to camp at the east side of town, but darkness was quickly slipping over the city and I realized that I’d need to spend another night in a hotel.

We found a nice one just off the trail and went to our respective rooms, not having had the chance to do much talking along the way. I ate one of the meals from my panniers, did laundry, and chatted with Oneil at the front desk for a few minutes, the only other person besides me who was wearing a mask indoors.

When you're riding, there are a lot of photo opportunities, and sometimes you have about one second to make the decision or it’s lost forever. Sometimes you can turn around, but there's a balance that each of us finds between stopping too frequently and not stopping enough, between not putting in any mileage versus regretting that missed picture.

I tend to stop a lot but today there were two occasions in which, looking back, I now wish I'd spent those extra couple of minutes.

The first was a shirtless bald man, somewhere between twenty and forty years old, sitting in a cheap, folding lawn chair about twenty feet off the road on the opposite side of the street. There were no nearby buildings. Resting on the grass beside him was a small transistor radio, antenna extended. His bulging gut was so large and so shiny that it was reflective, matching the sheen on his bald pate.

When I see things like that my imagination goes from a trot to a gallop as it creates a story to go along with what I just saw... Why was he sitting there in the middle of nowhere? What was he listening to? (and did the radio even work?) Is he there every day?

The second item I wished I'd taken a picture of was simply a bench. All of the many benches I've passed over the years were dedicated to a person, a family, or a pet..… e.g. “In Honor of Homer. He loved donuts and Duff beer.” Or, “In Memory of Rover. He hardly bit anyone.”

Today, unlike the hundreds (thousands?) of benches I’ve seen in the past, this one was facing away from the path. It was looking into an impenetrable thicket of overgrowth five feet away, and had absolutely no view at all. Like with the first missed picture, I create my own narrative. Was the fact that it was turned away symbolic of an angry relative who turned his back on society? Was there a comedy of clerical errors which caused it? Or maybe it memorialized a person who just loved to look at plants, or, perhaps overgrowth. (LOTS and LOTS of overgrowth.) Of course, by the time I finish, the stories I develop in my brain are quite embellished.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the Empire State Trail. I was half expecting it to be much of the same... just a crushed limestone trail along the towpath, but there’s been enough variety to keep it interesting. Some of the sections are touristy, and some seem pretty remote.

distance: 63.9 miles
elevation: + 1318 feet
total time: 8:41:44
moving time: 5:55:28
maximum speed: 27.0 mph
average moving speed: 10.7 mph
calories: 3302

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Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 202 miles (325 km)

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Jeff LeeCoincidentally, I will be in this area for business the next few days. I'm taking my bike in case I have some time at the end of each day to ride.

I'm staying at a motel in Camillus, which looks to be pretty close to the trail. Is the condition of the trail in that area (either riding east or west from Camillus) decent? I'd probably rather ride east, instead of west towards the big city of Syracuse, unless the trail to the east is very rough.

I saw a picture you took where the trail looks like a muddy single track, but I wasn't sure exactly where that was.

Thanks!
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1 year ago

Mark BinghamIf I recall correctly, the trail was nice almost all the way to Syracuse (and not bad even in it, other than the fact that it was city riding). As far as the condition of the path east of there, I seriously doubt you’ll have any difficulties. Even though it had been raining I never had a problem, and your tires are wider than mine. You do well on gravel; I don’t.

The bottom line is that I think you’ll do fine. It’s a nice towpath. Let me know what you think.
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1 year ago