Day 6 – Erie Canalway Trail
Today’s Blog Entry
We had another early start, this time so we could hit the road north towards Rochester. We turned east as we approached the southern suburbs (a good thing given the thickening rush hour traffic) and found our morning’s destination, Pittsford, about an hour after leaving the rig.
Pittsford is a small town located along the Erie Canal that offers excellent access to the Erie Canalway Trail. This trail, which follows what used to be the tow path for barges on the Erie Canal, is part of the Empire State Trail system. This system spans the entire state north to south (from Lake Champlain to New York City) and east to west (from Buffalo to Albany).
Pittsford also has a quaint revitalized waterfront district called Schoen Place with a variety of restaurants and shops, perfect given our plan to ride 20+ miles and have a nice lunch afterwards.
We had the bikes ready to roll and were on the trail by 9:00 AM. We rode east along the canal past Bushnell Basin and Fairport before turning around just north of a town called Egypt (!). When we arrived back at Pittsford we had ridden for 21.6 miles in just under 2-1/2 hours.
Cindy had done some on-line research ahead of time so we were hoping to have lunch at the Lock 32 Brew Pub right on the canal in Schoen Place but it turned out that they aren’t open for lunch weekdays. We opted instead for the Village Coal Tower Restaurant, just across the street. It’s a popular locals joint where everybody literally knew everybody else. We both had their chicken and waffles with hot sauce for the former and maple syrup (presumably from New York!) for the latter.
After finishing our lunch we took the scenic route home. This gave us a quick look at the lake towns of Canandaigua, Honeoye, Lakeville, and Geneseo. Pronouncing the names of towns in this part of New York can be challenging at times!
For dinner we had sous vide baby back ribs finished on the grill and some homemade potato salad. These were accompanied by suitable adult beverages, of course, as we made plans for the next day’s move to Watkins Glen State Park.
Today’s Map
Today’s Photos
