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

July 6, 2005
Distance 42.7 Miles

We woke up this morning and the first thing we did was turn on the TV to The Weather Channel. After sitting for two hours yesterday to avoid thunder storms, we wanted to know what the weather was going to do today. The good news was that the local radar did not show any rain for the first time in three days. We ate breakfast in the motel restaurant and headed west. Our route kept us fairly close to the old Erie Canal but we seldom saw the canal. We had the only big hill of the day in the first 5 miles. The rest of the day was very flat with constant little ups and downs.

We stopped for a break around 10:30 AM and Jim dropped and then caught his sun glasses. However, when he caught the glasses, he bent one of the bows badly and when he tried to straighten the bow it broke off. The day was cloudy so it was not a complete disaster but the first thing we did when we reached Rome was to find someone who could fix the sun glasses. We got to ride the bicycle an extra 5 miles getting those glasses fixed. But the man did a good job and it only cost us $10.00. We then rode back into town and checked into the motel. After eating a dessert for lunch we visited Fort Stanwix National Monument which was across the street from the motel. The Visitor center was opened just a couple of days ago. This Fort was built at the point where a portage was made to cross between the Mohawk River and the River that drained into Lake Ontario. The Indians called this place the Oneida Carrying Place because it was land under the control of the Oneida Indians. The forts major battle was in August 1777 in the fight between the Loyalists and American forces. Both sides also brought the Indians into the fight. The Americans won but many men lost their lives on both sides.

After we toured the Fort we cleaned the bicycle, lubed the chains, washed clothes and prepared to ride tomorrow. Not to mention eating dinner.