Jerelyn and I were up and out reasonably early, though our planned departure slipped, as usual, and we stopped for a goodbye at Lillian and Dan’s. We left Dummerston at 7:30, heading to the Amtrak Station at Albany-Rensselaer , about two hours away. As we were driving there, we realized that we hadn’t really dug deeply into the parking, though we knew one can leave a car at the train station. That led to too much web research and a phone call on the drive west—and a certain amount of stress on my part—but we made it just fine, unloaded our bikes and full panniers and headed into the train station.
At the Albany train station, waiting to board. They’re supposed to allow extra time for bicyclists to get their bikes stowed, but the train was running late, and they didn’t provide that time.
I stayed on the train all the way to Buffalo, while Jer got off in Rochester, then biked about ten miles south to her cousin’s place in Pittsford. The train was pretty full, and the storage units that can be used for bikes—one per train car—were chock full of luggage initially. We were rolling along by the time we got our front wheels off and the bikes hung up by their rear tires. We were a little worried about Jer’s eBike, but we got that hung up too (sans battery). Whew!
Our bikes hanging in the Amtrak storage cabinets. It’s a nice service Amtrak offers, allowing bikes on board. You have to reserve bike space, and it’s quite limited.
The train ride was pretty uneventful. We left Albany about a half-hour late and got into Rochester, then Buffalo, by about the same lateness margin. That was okay.
I helped get Jer’s bike down from the storage area and out of the train, but wasn’t able to stick around to help her get the front wheel back on before the doors were closing and I needed to scoot back onto the train. She did struggle with it, but finally got it, she reported by text, after turning the bike upside-down. It’s so much easier with two people!!
Jer on her own to re-attach the front wheel.
I was able to get my bike down and wheel installed before we got into Buffalo. By then there was some room to maneuver, so it wasn”t too bad.
My bike re-assembled and ready to roll—though I couldn’t put the second rear pannier on until I get the bike through the narrow train door.
In Buffalo, I had planned to bike the few miles south to Mile 0 of the Erie Canalway Trail (which is part of the Empire State Trail). Using Google Maps, I made my way down to where the military ships are docked, but then the trail was closed and construction seemed fairly impenetrable. I reset my destination to the one-star motel in North Tonawanda, from where I’m penning this blog, and turned around.
An abandoned center-pivot bride crossing this tributary into the Niagara River.
It was a very pleasant, roughly 20-mile ride to my motel. I don’t know exactly how far it was, with my various detours and back-tracking, because when I put my front tire back on the bike, I had it reversed, so the little magnetic sensor used for the trip computer wasn’t working. I didn’t clue into that until I had biked maybe five miles. It now reads 14.95 miles, so 20 miles is a good guess.
I stopped a few times en-route for a snack or drink of water, and to take a few photos, and got in around 7 pm I think. A quick trip to Aldi’s, across the four-lane highway (not pedestrian-friendly!), and I’ve been enjoying a nice dinner of sweet potato chips, drinkable Greek yogurt, the rest of a scone I bought at the Albany train station, and some nuts from the Brattleboro Food Co-op. Not a great dinner, but I didn’t really want to walk or bike a mile up Route 62 to a Tim Horton’s or a brew pub that’s a little farther north. I’d rather get to bed early and put in some miles before stopping for breakfast in Lockport.
A rest stop looking our over the Niagara River—the river is flowing north, out of Lake Erie; Niagara Falls is only about three miles downstream from here, though I headed off to the east shortly after this rest.
I will take two more days to bike to Pittsford (about 40 miles each day), then Jerelyn will join me for the rest of the ride back to our starting point in Albany. The total length of the Erie Canalway Trail is about 360 miles, with 85% of it off-road. We will bike it at a relaxed pace, taking nine days (not including today’s evening ride)—if all goes according to plan, that is!