Bicycling New England, the
Erie Canal, & around Lake Ontario 2005
Palatine Bridge to Little Falls, NY

July 5, 2005
Distance 27.8 Miles

We started to day with a very small breakfast in the motel. We had our choice of 3 cold cereals, a donut, orange drink and coffee. It was still enough to get us started. We left around 8:30 and rode across the river to Canajoharie, the town that first used clear glass jars to sell baby food. Today we did not have a clear destination in mind, but did have several sights that we wished to see. We followed a bicycle trail made of small crushed rock for several miles; during most of the ride we did not see anyone, only small bunny rabbits. The day was warm, but the sky looked like it could rain and flash floods were predicted for late afternoon. We arrived in St. Johnsville and decide to ask for directions to the museum. By the time we had the directions we could hear the thunder, before we could decide what to do. The sky opened up and dumped on us. We were glad to have the bicycle under the edge of a gas station/store's roof. After about a one hour wait the rain left up so we rode 3 miles off our route to the Fort Klock restoration. This was a fort built for a family unit. We had an excellent tour of the Fort. Below is a picture taken of the kitchen.

By the time we arrived back in St. Johnsville we decided to have a quick lunch before we resumed our bicycle ride. Needless to say by the time we had finished eating the sky was again making thunder and lighting. We headed back to the same gas station/store and again parked under the same roof just as the sky started dumping rain again. This time we had a longer wait until we could again resume our trip. We found the bicycle trail going west only there was a sign saying it was under construction. We tried to ride it for several blocks and then decided, between the rain, and the rocks it was better not to continue. We rode back to the road, climbed a short hill and headed for Little Falls. A few miles later we again headed up a hill where the grade was never less than 5%. We continued on our way and we did have a nice downhill, where we reached the speed of 40 miles per hour, about as fast as Mary Kay ever wants to go. Once again it started to rain, just before we came to an under pass. We stopped until the rain stopped, but this time we only had about a 10 minute wait. When we arrived in Little Falls the sun was shining. We could see Lock 17 as we passed over the bridge into town.

After we checked into the motel, showered, did the laundry etc. we walked up the hill to a good restaurant. The amount of meat they gave Jim should have served a family of 4. When we returned to the motel we met 3 cyclists that are bicycling across the USA from west to east. They are doing 90+ miles a day, defiantly not in our league. As I type this I can hear the thunder outside, and it is once again raining. We will see what tomorrow brings.