The City That Forgot Lou Reed

June 30, 2014

Syracuse, New York

A new morning dawns on my pavilion home.

I rode to Newark on the canal trail and talked to some baby bunnies and a flock of about 50 geese loitering and pooping on the trail. Most of them scattered as I plowed through, but some of the more aggressive geese opened their mouths wide, stuck out their tongues, and hissed at me. Those are the ones I swerved around and swore at. I also saw a big fat muskrat up ahead but it swam into the canal before I could converse with him.

One of the many Erie Canal locks. They're numbered, but I can't remember which number this one was. (#30 maybe?) I like the blue and gold color scheme.

Even the commercial barges display the blue-gold theme. This one appeared to be transporting nothing but dirt and broken concrete.

Trailside info on lift bridges. (With blue and gold trim)

After nearly 100 miles on the trail it is still not boring. However, it IS wet from yesterday's storm. The mushy spots and the puddles drove me off the trail and onto State Highway 31 for the rest of the day.

Consider this: Not only does the State of New York provide an excellent 500-mile bike trail that crosses the state, but following close to the canal is this Highway 31 thing--a designated bicycling highway with ridiculously wide shoulders (most commonly 8 feet, up to 10 feet, but never less than 4 feet.) If a motorist wanted to take out a bike rider on this highway, he would have to make a considerable effort to do so. Either that or the biker would have to make a considerable effort to GET hit.

It was 90 degrees today with high humidity. The previous two days were in the 85-87 degree range with high humidity. Personally, I don't mind heat and humidity but, like most people, when I bike in it I will sweat a little. That's OK too. And a couple of nights of camping with only bandana baths is fine as well.

However, there may be a few library patrons in Weedsport and Baldwinsville (B-Town) who might disagree. I felt a bit self-conscious typing my blog next to a teen-age girl, then a woman about my age, and lastly, a young mom with two little kids tugging at her while she tried to use a computer. (Why is it always women? For some reason I think a guy might a} have a less sensitive sense of smell, and b} be more forgiving of a sweaty, unshaven simpleton.)

So here on the outskirts of Syracuse I am freshly showered in a little--and I mean LITTLE--room in a Microtel. I have some beer from the Middle Ages Brewing Company of Syracuse and I can't ask for much more.

Well, there is one thing I could ask for. Syracuse is the Alma Mater of one of the great rock poets/artists of all time--Lou Reed. I've been looking on-line and in The Syracuse Visitor's Guide provided by Microtel for some kind of monument to him. Nothing! If there is one, I can't find it. Syracuse University football and basketball seem to hold the most admiration in this city. COME ON SYRACUSE! Consider culture as a whole!

Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 1,356 miles (2,182 km)

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Jeff LeeI was a semi-obsessive Lou Reed fan for many years, and am disappointed to here that there's no statue or anything in Syracuse. Maybe there's a small plaque on the university campus commemorating the location where he wooed the college girlfriend who was later the inspiration of Pale Blue Eyes?

Here's a decent article I just found about his time in Syracuse: http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/10/lou_reed_syracuse_university.html
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7 years ago

Gregory GarceauTo Jeff LeeGreat bit of trivia on "Pale Blue Eyes." Thanks. Also, thank you for the interesting article on "Luis" Reed and Syracuse U. Good stuff.
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7 years ago

Paul MulveyType your comment here
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5 years ago