Prowler 

low bridge, we're coming to a town.
You'll always know your neighbor and you'll always know your pal
if you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal."

Tomorrow morning I'm heading north with my mule packed into the car. I'll proceed to Buffalo, then put my bike back together and head up to the Erie Canal Trail near Tonawanda, NY. Four days riding eastward and four nights camping for about 180 miles. I rode a dress rehearsal this morning and the Voyageur is packed and ready. The weather looks perfect so off I go. I'll be off line for the week but will post a story when I get back. I've looked forward to this for years.




The same 1987 Schwinn Voyageur that I rode on the GAP a few years ago. Similar load but positioned better so it handles better. The bike is in top shape n ready.

steelbikeguy

You know it's vintage when the bags are Cannondale!

a page from my old copy of a 1980 Bike Warehouse catalog #16....(later known as Bike Nashbar)



Steve in Peoria (still have a Cannondale sew-up tire bag)

merziac

Tonawanda NY, previous once great boomtown home of GM supplier Harrison radiator, now reduced to a shell of its former glory.

rccardr 

A ride I’ve wanted to do for a long time- on my same year Voyageur!
Looking forward to pics and impressions.

tgot 

Call her Sal forevermore.

nlerner

Let’s put that on the calendar for next year, Doc!

Prowler 

I didn’t expect folks from so far would know the song I grew up on. I was born and raised not far from Lock 7. Clinton’s Folly is part of my upbringing.

Lock 7 was a good place to “park”.

jon c. 

Grew up in Rochester. The history of the canal was prominent in our elementary education. I left that area long before the trail was built in its present state. I road a few towpaths that existed in the area, but would love to do a longer run some day.

clubman 

Good looking ride. C-dale bags just work.

bwilli88 

I was born in Riverside, had cousins who lived down the street from the bar where buffalo wings were started.

jonwvara 

I had a great time on that ride a few years back with a couple of friends. It was really fun camping at the locks, which we were able to do every night but one, when we had to motel it in Syracuse. I look forward to doing the whole thing again. Have fun!

ehcoplex 

Looking forward to a report! Are you doing the whole thing to Albany? Empire Trail has been on my 'list' and I may do Buf-Alb later this season...

Schreck83 

Trail info here:
https://empiretrail.ny.gov/
I plan on exploring the western part of the trail this summer.

gugie 

Good place to watch the submarine races, I take it?

Prowler 

Grand success. First off, the weather could not have been better. Warm/hot clear, breezy days, every day. Mostly tailwind. I packed a dry tent each morning. Whatzat? Dry tents? I could get used to that. “The mule” ran very well and I got quite used to handling the touring load. Basically the tent was in the front bags and the rest in and on the rear. Normally just cruised along at 12mph. Apparently I CAN do that for hours.

So, drove to my brother’s house east of Syracuse, NY. Rented a car at the airport and transferred all my kit to that. I’d made various cardboard covers, plastic covers and hay bale twine lines to hold the bike safely on the back seat but stuff I could abandon when I turned the car back in. Worked well. Drove to Buffalo, NY Monday morning. Moved out of the car and was underway around 11:00am. I could not stop thinking of General US Grant crossing the Mississippi then abandoning his lines of communication and setting off into the unknown, totally dependent on his own preparations and ingenuity. Off I pedaled on city streets but after only a mile I reached the deserted campus of the University at Buffalo.


Rode thru the campus and connected to the trail that runs along the creek up to the canal just east of Tonawanda. I was pleased to, almost right off, see pleasure boats on the canal. Long distance, cabin cruisers traveling “the loop” and local pleasure boats. American and Canadian flags. Local boats and long distance boats. Neat!!




First view of the actual canal. “And away we go.”

Prowler 

Officially making Canal Trail miles then, I found my way to Lockport to hang out at the “lock ladder”. Just as I arrived so did a commercial tour boat so I got to watch lock operations as it was lifted 50 feet up the escarpment then lowered back down. As an Engineer I enjoyed all the mechanicals, hydraulics and procedures.

Bit of History now: Clintons Ditch was completed in 1825 and was a success. So much so that it was upgraded (canal and lock system), completing in 1862. Included new infrastructure and some new routing, abandoning original canal sections. It was upgraded again in the early 1900s, completing in 1918, Again new locks and routing, abandoning or widening original sections. My journey along “the canal” included following sections of all three eras. The western part of the ride is almost entirely the 1918 canal. Some original sections are pretty shallow, weed clogged and murky but still there, in deep woods. Woods that were very nice on hot afternoons.


Trail west of Lockport



Commercial tour boat getting lifted.



The previous picture was one of the new locks. This is the 1855 era 5 lock ladder going east.

Prowler 

enjoyed the engineering that went into the construction, some of which had never been done before: Lock ladders, guard gates, aqueducts, lift bridges, feeder streams and spillways. Impressive.

The long unpaved sections of the trail were a pleasant surprise in their quality, thus travel speed, was very good. Often times the paved sections were harder to ride (ex: root bulges to leap over, pot holes). I spent quite some time in the drops, just rolling miles.

First night I found my turn off to get to the planned campground and within minutes, riding on the shoulder of NYS roads, I hit something which not only flatted the rear tire but sliced the sidewall. Awchit, now what. I carry boots and spare tubes so got the bike rolling again but the integrity of that tire was unknown and where to buy another was a bigger unknown. After quite some research I found there NO bike shops anywhere, unless I backtracked all the way to Buffalo. And even so, who would have 27” tires? No bike shop along my route ahead for over 60 miles. Did not sleep well that night.



Lift bridge that allows foot traffic while boats pass under. Then lowers to restart car traffic.



Guard gates rapidly isolate sections of the canal if there is a breach in the sidewall. Prevents loosing ALL the water. Lifted after repairs.

Prowler 

Tuesday morning I rode back to the trail, checking that tire often which was holding OK. Backtracked to Lockport then rode south to a Walmart SuperStore. Imaging my relief when I saw two 27” tires on the shelf. And they were folders, all rolled up in a ball. Bought one and a small roll of duct tape (to patch a questionable rim strip), and packed it all then set off east again. BIG detour that day but rolled east and made it to my planned campground that afternoon. Rested, set up camp, changed tire and tube and slept much better that night. 60 miles on a sliced tire. Luck Dragon, huh?


Early start. Gotta make up miles to get back on plan. Lots of miles looked like this. Tranquil canal, nice stone path, lovely trees and clear sky.

Wednesday morning I set off early again but found blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon to restore me physically and mentally. Wednesday was another fine day with many interesting sights. Camped in Lyons, NY. Walked to dinner and breakfast the next day. Nice.



Some towns and villages had parks along the canal. Good shady benches too.



IIRC this was Fairport with lots of loopers tied up for the night. Land power and water.

Prowler 

Thursday was my tough day as I had to ride most of the miles on public roads (like NY31), on the shoulder with 60mph traffic. I did fine but did not like one minute of it. Tool kit came in handy again as the R derailleur cable slipped near the top of a tough hill. Walked the bike to a huge shade tree and sorted that out. Topeka multitool to the rescue again. Camped that night at the Weedsport Motor Speedway, a registered campground and I was not just the only camper but the only soul in the place. Huge facility but dead on a Thursday night. Slept to the sounds of freight trains passing and many tires rolling the nearby NYS Thruway. But slept well anyway.



Snow in June. Actually something falling from the trees. Poplar maybe. Weird white edging.



Wide paved sections, wide stone sections, dual track and single track. Shaded bits were great in the hot afternoons.

Prowler 

Friday morning, the closing chapter. My brother and his wife met me for breakfast (blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon). Then I loaded all my kit into the back of her car and my brother and I rode the final 50 miles back to his house together. SWEET. I was just flying along as light as an unladed African Swallow. Completed the trip around 2pm, sat a bit, drank a LOT of water, washed 100 miles of stone dust off the bike then took a nap. Well played. I rode all of the planned 184 miles and 240 miles all told counting detours, backtracks, and other unplanned miles. Pretty good exercise, eh?



My camping set up. Big shade trees are minimum requirement. Kelty tent.




A well deserved bath coming up.

Prowler 

This was another big accomplishment and I feel good. Only lost 1lb over the week. Notes: The NYS signage for the trail was quite variable - pretty good to awful to very good to abysmal. Without GoogleMaps on my phone, I would not have made the progress I did. The NYS published que sheets were worthless, not worth their weight. I threw them out. I did not buy the NYS Guidebook but I assume its just as worthless. At least get a NYS road map, cutout the section you need and draw in the trail with a marker. Better than you could buy. And NYS street signs are also, eh, “budget friendly” so that made navigation worse some times. However the trail and signage became excellent once we reached Syracuse. Well done.

Carry at lease two water containers and fill them every chance you get. This was first week of June. I can imagine travel in August could be wicked hot. Free water at each operational lock. Sometimes the lock tender said “take the cold water from the fountain in the office”. Nice people. Free camping at each NY Navigation lock but no bathrooms. The campgrounds I stayed at charged 1/2 price for trail hikers and bike tourers. I paid $25 (and no service and cleaning fees). Good facilities even if they were primarily motorhome and luxury travel trailer campers.

That’s enough. I’ve over typed my welcome. I recommend this ride. Boarders on epi

rccardr 

Good on you, Todd. Something to which I’m looking forward. On a Voyageur,of course.

gugie 

A man, a bike, a trail. What more do you need?

Great trip, thanks for sharing with us.

Pompiere

I remember singing the song back in grade school. I think it was during the time we lived in Florida. I remember the chorus as "fifteen miles on the Erie Canal", but it was 50 years ago.

Your trip looks like a good time, but I don't think my back could stand sleeping on the ground any more. With our camper, we can ride parts of the trails and still sleep in a comfortable bed.

The Miami and Erie Canal ran between Toledo and Cincinnati in Ohio, although not much remains of the original canal. We just visited the Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, which is adjacent to the restored Lock 1 of the canal. Some of the lakes that were created to supply water for the locks are now popular recreation areas. We stayed at Lake Loramie State Park and rode to the museum along part of the old tow path.

BTinNYC 

Prowler,
Well done!

A couple of comments; the snow is probably cottonwood seeds, and yes, the .gov provided mapping is horrible/stupid/useless from end to end.