From Albany to Buffalo...

As I've grown older, I've also become more cautious about biking, and I feel safer on bike paths than on even moderately trafficked roads (especially with so many distracted drivers and unmaintained shoulders).  The Erie Canal path near Rochester is almost ideal for a leisurely ride - the biggest downsides are having to share the path with pedestrians, dogs, and rollerbladers, and the occasional frost heave on the paved parts.  (Biking on the outskirts, where the pavement ends and packed dirt is the norm, reduces these inconveniences.)

Because the trail is virtually flat, there aren't the challenges of hill climbs that you'd get biking on roads, and you can practically stay in one gear.  The upside, though, is that you have to pedal almost constantly - no uphills mean no coasting downhill!  (It also means fewer "saddle breaks.")  In the summer, you're likely to see pleasure boaters and kayakers enjoying the waterway.  If you bike through Genessee Valley Park, you can also take advantage of some decently maintained bathrooms.

The Erie Canal was completed in 1825, and provided a much needed transportation route between New York City and the Great Lakes.  Unfortunately, competition soon emerged from the railroads, and later highways, and by the early 1900s, commercial traffic on the canal declined.  At times the canal path around Rochester crosses over the railroad tracks and under highways, and at other times it runs parallel to one or the other - a reminder of the progress of technology.  If you're from Rochester, it's easy to take the Canal Path for granted.  But as a recent transplant to the area, I am grateful for such a wonderful resource so close to home!

Henpeck Park in Greece

Fairport

(near the U of R River Campus)

The path is especially peaceful once you leave the Rochester/ Pittsford area and bike west towards Greece or east towards Fairport.  At times, as you bike alongside rolling farmland, you could imagine you were in the countryside, rather than the suburbs.






I'd love to bike the entire Erie Canal, but the annual organized ride, to cover the 400 miles over 8 days, involves... camping?!  No thank you.