Clean clothes and good night sleep make the difference, right?
Sure.
Today there were more clouds than sun, and although the rain from the night before was gone, it felt damp. The lack of sun also meant it felt colder than other days.
Our joking and chatty mornings that we had everyday so far was missing. We were just riding, making circles. Each of us in our own heads trying to will through the aches and pains.
At least my bike wasn't making noises anymore. Putting some lubricant on my chain helped. I probably should have done that back in Buffalo before we started.
We silently agreed we would stop every 10 miles (or less) to give our aching bodies a break.
And wouldn't you know it, almost exactly 10 miles down the trail we found the Chittanago Landing Canal Boat Museum.
They weren't open yet, but the gentleman who was starting the process, let us in, let us use the restrooms, and encouraged us to check the place out.
Ah history!
This was set up like a little village. Before the canal was enlarged, and moved north it was one of the few dry docks along the canal. It's boatyard recreated with exhibits and buildings made for a nice break from the trail.
I was in heaven, and could've stayed longer looking at all the exhibits and reading the information. But we still had a long way to go, and the clouds were not going away. If anything it was looking worse.
We looked ahead to where we would eat lunch. Onieda was about 15 miles up the road, and looked like a good place to eat. It would be about the half way point as well.
The temperature hovered between 45 and 50, and it would occasionally sprinkle on us.
We were miserable.
Lunch in Oneida was a cute restaurant called The Blend. We were cold, and hurting with 35 miles still to go. And we were hungry.
We got there just as the lunch rush was starting, so they were busy. But the food was good, and we were not outside in the elements. But we also knew we had to get going. We did not want to ride in the dark.
We made our way back to the trail, and continued eastward, continuing to stop every 10 miles or so. We also finally figured out a system to maneuver the many road crossings. One of us would go a little ahead, and let the rest know if they could keep riding, or stop for traffic. This allowed us to keep moving, and for those whose aches and pains were worse with the stop and starts, would allow them to keep going.
We even had to cross the locks...
Twenty miles from Oneida we pulled into Fort Stanwix, the Revolutionary fort located in the center of Rome, New York. We were cold, but the rain had held off, and the sun was actually starting to come out. We decided to get off our bikes and check out the fort.
We spent almost an hour there, touring the fort, checking out the buildings, and perking up our moods. We still had 18 miles to go to our hotel, but we felt better, reminding ourselves that tomorrow we would only have 25 miles.
The time exploring the Fort made us a little chattier, and the sun was making an appearance. It was time to get a move on.
We pulled into Utica and our hotel for the night as the sun was going down. It was a long day. The hardest mentally by far.
After showering, we walked a few blocked to Babe's at Harbor Point, inhaled hot food, and went straight to bed, with sweet dreams of a low mileage day tomorrow.
Stats for the ride so far:
Miles for the day: 59.9
Hours in the saddle: 5:32
Total Daily Hours: 9:00
Miles total: 262.7
Hours in the saddle total: 23:06
Total hours on the trail: 37:02
Comments