sreuter13

Hey folks.

I am looking into riding the length of the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany when I move home this December. Anyone tackle this ride in the dead of an upstate New York winter/done any winter bike touring?

Leebo

Isn't Buffalo the snow capital of the North east? Got a fat bike? Packed trails? How much snow will you wake up to in the morning? Might want to rethink, even with no snow in the forecast. IMHO. Overnight lows?

DGibson

I have ridden it in the summer, and can't imagine doing so in the winter with the conditions that are common for that area. If you do end up doing this please create a video blog of your trip. I would love to follow along.

fietsbob

Dutch love it when their canals freeze over, and they can get out their ice skates..

rumrunn6

360 miles, is that correct? do you have experience touring? do ppl tour in the winter? sounds brutal!

sreuter13

How long did it take you in the summer?

I am thinking of getting a fat bike and slamming out the miles if the temps are mild (20-30).

sreuter13

no real experience touring. Just looking to start adventuring and this one is very close to my home. Maybe I will try a shorter one for my first outing.

DGibson

A long time....long. I am really slow...really slow. I averaged 8mph/30 miles a day the entire trip. (full disclosure the trip was around lake Ontario from Toronto to Toronto). However; the Erie Canal trail was the fastest segment of the entire trip which averaged around 12mph for me.

indyfabz

Where do you plan to sleep?

alan s 

This is a bad idea. Not the time of year and conditions to do a first tour.

Steve B.

If you grew up in the Buffalo to Syracuse corridor, you might remember the area gets a lot of lake effect snow. Thus it’s really chancy.

Folks who do the Erie Canal ride in July, take 8 days, but that’s a leisurely 45 miles per day. But what are you capable of 60?, 80?, that shortens the window for getting hit with snow. Place gets cold as well, as you may remember.

As well, the trail is not all gravel trail, there are significant road sections as well that I’d hate to ride on 5” tires.

And of course, it’s dark at 4:30, as well as cold in the morning till 10 ‘ish, so the daily ride window is shorter than in summer.

Just some thoughts

PedalingWalrus

Sounds like unnecessary sufferfest to me. 😄 When I ride a fat bike I make damn sure to avoid the pavement, if I'm riding in the winter I try to minimize exposure to the wind and if I ride in the snow I'd want it to be packed or less than 10 inches of freshness. Seems like the planned itinerary breaks all 3 rules 😁

FBinNY 

Modify the bike with an ice skating blade up front, and a studded tire in back and you'll be set.

Since you say "back home", I assume you're familiar with upstate winters, and therefore can use you're own judgement.

OTOH, while I was being facetious, the idea of a dedicated icebike sounds interesting.

sreuter13

I live in Rochester and am just out of town for 4 months with work. To test the waters I will just try commuting to work this winter ~14 miles one way. If that goes OK then the tour may be a go. At least a ride from Rochester to Buffalo or something.

jon c. 

When I was younger, I rode Rochester to Buffalo a number of times and it was a very nice ride. But that was on the road long before the canal path existed. And always in nicer weather. Problem with planning a longer ride in December is you often have no idea what the conditions will be very far in advance. Some Decembers would have so much snow it would be crazy difficult to attempt such a feat. Other years it's dry and not that cold. It wouldn't be too bad if you can handle the cold.

Although it would always be too cold for me. There's a reason I left there 40 years ago.

wschruba

Consider that many campsites will be closed over the winter; I would commute every day during the winter, even in bitter cold...but not if I couldn't get a hot shower and heat at the end of the day...

PaddleFoot

I salute your sense of adventure. I would advise playing the weather by ear and taking short trips to get started. You can get the type of weather you are looking for, but getting it for a week or more is a slim chance.

Best of luck to you,

DCwom

One of the highlights of riding the canal trail is the canal itself, keep in mind that portions of the canal are drained during the winter to protect locks, etc.

Leebo

Assuming there will be snow, is the trail packed, plowed or traveled? Might opt for a warmer first time tour imho. In touring, I've made some mistakes, been cold, been wet. To have all three at once might be bad. Maybe do some day trips, out and back or motel to motel to start?

martianone

Wish I could get away in Feb to go !
Have cycled the route from Buffalo to Albany 5 times (summer).
Plus grew up along the canal.
From Buffalo to about Newark, it is your typical mixed use recreational trail. So unless right after a good snow, should be beat down. Probably have frozen food prints or tracks to contend with.
From Newark to near Syracuse, lots of on-road riding - probably would get slush slopped up. Syracuse to approx Utica, mostly on trail. Utica to around Little Falls is more off trail than on. East of Little Falls, mostly on trail.
Summer camping around lock or docks is usually pretty easy, in winter most are closed and canal drained in lots of places. Lots of motels along the way.
I Have a Specialized Fuse, would take that in Feb.

mulveyr 

I live in Rochester and have ridden the entire route a bunch of times, and do portions of it in my area weekly, year round.

A very few parts of it are plowed in the winter, like from Fairport to Rochester, and are easily rideable anytime. Most of the towpath isn't. The parts that aren't are often all but impassible even on a fat bike ( I have one ) because of drifts.

My experience is that outside of the major cities, the towpath simply doesn't get used in the winter, or at least not enough that the occasional dog-walker is going to tramp down the snow enough to make much of a difference.

Riding in the canal prism itself is surprisingly doable on some sections, but of course a very large portion of the modern "canal" is actually in rivers and lakes, so that's not going to help much. There is of course the occasional hole in the ice covered with snow, but since the drained portions are generally no more than a two feet deep, it's not a huge deal.

Personally, if I wanted to do a weekend ride in the winter, I'd probably go from someplace like Albion/Medina to Fairport, where if the towpath turns out to be too unpleasant, there's extremely easy access to Route 31/Bike Route 5/etc to get on the road again and finish up that way.

sreuter13

Thanks for the tip! If you ever want to do a winter tour/ride in Rochester let me know!

sdotkling

This is a funny idea. I've ridden around in the winter quite a bit, and I've ridden the Canal (just a couple of months ago). Can't see how you could practically do it. You couldn't ride the towpath much, because they don't maintain it in winter. The roads around the cities will be congested and slushy. Campgrounds and even many motels will be closed for the season. You might keep your body warm by pedaling hard, but after 2-3 hours, your nose, toes and fingers won't be, no matter how many layers you wear. I suppose if you had a lot of time, and could manage with doing only a few hours a day, you'd eventually make it. But would this be fun? A little masochistic, maybe.

mulveyr 

As someone who has lived in upstate NY all my life, that's not even remotely correct.

While campgrounds along the canal corridor would be closed, motels/hotels/B&Bs stay open year-round, with the number that don't along the entire route countable on one hand. The OP would in fact find it FAR easier to get motel rooms and B&Bs in the off-season as there wouldn't be nearly as much competition from other travelers.

The roads are very well maintained, both in and away from cities. If, as I mentioned before, the OP had to get on Bike Route 5 because of towpath conditions, he would have no problem riding it whatsoever as it's also a significant set of roadways across the state and maintained very well. It's not like we're in a constant state of snowfall here; we can go weeks, and sometimes months with nothing more than flurries that are dealt with in hours. Could there be a blizzard? Of course. But they don't come without several days of warning, and with towns every ten or so miles there's no lack of places to stay while it blows over and the snow gets cleared.

And finally, touring in the winter is perfectly doable with appropriate clothing. A set of goggles, pogies, and chemical foot warmers will keep him happily riding all day.

sdotkling

Okay, okay, sorry to offend your upstate sensibilities. My point was that this would not be a fun tour.

Of course you could do it (Scott walked to the South Pole, and he didn't die. Oh, wait--yes he did.) But think of it this way: It's nearly 400 miles, it's cold and gray, and life is short.

I covered 80-90 miles a day last September, with the sun up at 7 and setting at 7:30 or 8, about 12 hours. I ate a lot of Chicken Riggies and Beef-on-Weck, so subtract a couple of hours every day for eating and looking at maps, not to mention the waking up and packing up routine, for a likely total of 8-9 hours in the saddle.

In winter, the sun is up at 7:30 and down at 4:30. You'd need to stop to eat, and warm up, and clean the crud off your fenders, and look at the map, so subtract the same 3-4 hours a day. How many daylight hours do we have left? Five or six.

Now, as to road conditions, it doesn't have to snow to make a miserable mess. Rain will do. Traffic will be swerving around you in dim light. Few people will expect to see a bicycle in December, and the roads can be pretty scary even in perfect, balmy weather. (Thinking of you, Syracuse sprawl!)

To repeat, no one said it couldn't be done. People ride across Siberia, Kazahkistan, and the Yukon in harrowing conditions. But that doesn't mean it would be a jolly good time, unless one really enjoys merely surviving intact (which isn't a bad thing, not by any means.) But why would someone make this their first bike tour? 'Nuff said.