Day 44: Canandaigua to Syracuse NY

Another beautiful weather day in upstate NY. No rain, temps in the 70's and light winds. Today our ride was only 69 miles and the tour leaders selected an 0815 departure for all riders, both early birds and rabbits. You could kind of sense that everyone was in a slow mental state; we were just going to roll along and enjoy the beautiful scenery with no rush to complete.

A mix of early birds and rabbits started together and enjoying the NY roads

Our route took us east on SR20E and along the north shore of Seneca Lake. We stopped to take these photos and enjoy the city park that was there. There was a nice cool breeze blowing and the sailboats were starting to find their way onto the water for a day of fun. A gorgeous place!

Seneca Lake

One thing that I noticed today was that along this route there were quite a number of mom & pop used car lots. I don't know why they seemed to be concentrated here in particular but it seemed that there was a pretty strong local market for used cars.

Our route also took us into the Erie Canal Park near Camillus NY. The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that travels about 363 miles from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

Did you know???...

• It took 8 years to build the Erie Canal? The original Erie Canal was constructed between 1817 and 1825.
• The Erie Canal is 363 miles long?
• The Erie Canal spans from Albany to Buffalo?
• There are 83 locks to solve the difference in elevation from near seal level on the Hudson River to 565 feet at Lake Erie?
• More than 300 bridges crossed the canal along its route?
• Mules and horses pulled the canal boats at 4 mph?
• Costs to transport goods across the state on the canal vs by road were reduced by 80% to 90%?
• Toll receipts paid back the $7.5 million construction cost within ten years?
• The canal was enlarged due to increased traffic demands with construction occurring from 1836 to 1862?
• Tolls were abolished in 1882 because of increasing competition from railroads?

Women's Rights Museum in Seneca, NY

Location of first Women's Rights Convention in1848

Its now 5:25 and route rap starts in 20 minutes. I finished the laundry so I've got riding clothes for a couple more days now. Michele is out getting in a walk but looking out the window I see that it is raining a little. I hope she doesn't get too wet :).

Tomorrow is 80 somewhat flat miles to Little Falls NY; I'm afraid to check the weather forecast.

Tour stats so far:
3090 miles
201 hours riding
15.3 MPH average speed
close to 90,000 feet of climbing

Talk to you tomorrow.

Click here for details of today's ride:
Day 44: Canandaigua to Syracuse NY by xctom2012 at Garmin Connect - Details