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Bicyclists from around the country and beyond traveled at their leisure throughout the Mohawk Valley on Thursday and Friday as part of their continuing tour of the Erie Canal.
Being able to go at her own pace is what Joan Blaustein said she enjoys about the Cycling the Erie Canal tour.
“Biking is the best way to see the countryside. You can stop and read the historical markers,” said Blaustein, of Boston.
Participants in the 13th annual Cycling the Erie Canal tour took an afternoon rest stop at Rotary Park in Little Falls on Friday. There, organizers provided the bicyclists with water, fruits and granola bars so they could replenish themselves. Others sought out local cuisine for lunch. Many of the riders took the opportunity to lay down on the grass in the shade or to just stop and talk with others.
First Ward Alderwoman Teresa Lee, who was at the park to help and support the cyclists, said this was the second year the tour decided to stop at the park.
“They stopped here last year, and the liked it so much they wanted to come back,” she said.
This was the second of two rest stops the crew was scheduled to make on Friday. Their trip on Friday started from Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, with a morning rest stop at Schuyler Town Hall. They eventually made their way through the Mohawk Valley, with lines of bicyclists winding through the villages of Frankfort, Ilion and Mohawk.
After the stop in Little Falls, bicyclists were expected to continue in a southwest direction to Canajorharie to stay overnight at the high school. Riders were to be treated to dinner and music.
About 500 bicyclists from 35 states and three foreign countries were participating in the tour that started July 10 in Buffalo. The tour is scheduled to end July 17 in Albany. By that time, participants will have traveled nearly 400 miles by bicycle.
“It’s great. It’s well-organized. It’s pretty. The whole history and the engineering of the Erie Canal is interesting,” said Jim Foreman, of Cincinnati, who was doing the tour with his wife Judy.
Foreman said he had been reading the markers at the stops they have made on the trip and was interested to learn that the canal is really three and a half canals.
Foreman and his wife have done bike tours for over 15 years, but this was their first time doing the Erie Canal tour.
Blaustein, who was also doing the Erie Canal tour for the first time, said she grew up in New York City, but finds herself frequently coming back to New York to discover the rest of the state. She said she has also done tours in the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks.
She said its the group of people doing the tour that makes the trip enjoyable.
“We’ve met some really nice people,” said Blaustein, following up with a story how one individual went out of his way to purchase some batteries for her after asking where she could buy some.
Foreman said the weather has been “perfect” for the bike tour.“There was a little bit of rain and one day it was a little hot,” he said, noting otherwise conditions had been ideal.
Sue Whyte, of Whibey, Ontario, Canada, was dressed in a red and white bicycling jersey with the design of the Canadian flag printed on it. “It’s amazing. It’s beautiful,” she said of the tour, who was also doing it for the first time. “The history of the canal and the scenery and the people.”
Whyte said the weather had also been amazing but that on Friday it was a little “too hot” for her.
The tour was organized by Parks and Trails New York and the state Canal Corporation. Organizers have said it is a “relaxed tour” with riders ages ranging from 6 to 89.
Around two-thirds of the ride takes place along completed portions of the Canalway Trail, which will be a 500-mile stretch across the state when it is completed.
Bicyclists from around the country and beyond traveled at their leisure throughout the Mohawk Valley on Thursday and Friday as part of their continuing tour of the Erie Canal.
Being able to go at her own pace is what Joan Blaustein said she enjoys about the Cycling the Erie Canal tour.
“Biking is the best way to see the countryside. You can stop and read the historical markers,” said Blaustein, of Boston.
Participants in the 13th annual Cycling the Erie Canal tour took an afternoon rest stop at Rotary Park in Little Falls on Friday. There, organizers provided the bicyclists with water, fruits and granola bars so they could replenish themselves. Others sought out local cuisine for lunch. Many of the riders took the opportunity to lay down on the grass in the shade or to just stop and talk with others.
First Ward Alderwoman Teresa Lee, who was at the park to help and support the cyclists, said this was the second year the tour decided to stop at the park.
“They stopped here last year, and the liked it so much they wanted to come back,” she said.
This was the second of two rest stops the crew was scheduled to make on Friday. Their trip on Friday started from Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, with a morning rest stop at Schuyler Town Hall. They eventually made their way through the Mohawk Valley, with lines of bicyclists winding through the villages of Frankfort, Ilion and Mohawk.
After the stop in Little Falls, bicyclists were expected to continue in a southwest direction to Canajorharie to stay overnight at the high school. Riders were to be treated to dinner and music.
About 500 bicyclists from 35 states and three foreign countries were participating in the tour that started July 10 in Buffalo. The tour is scheduled to end July 17 in Albany. By that time, participants will have traveled nearly 400 miles by bicycle.
“It’s great. It’s well-organized. It’s pretty. The whole history and the engineering of the Erie Canal is interesting,” said Jim Foreman, of Cincinnati, who was doing the tour with his wife Judy.
Foreman said he had been reading the markers at the stops they have made on the trip and was interested to learn that the canal is really three and a half canals.
Foreman and his wife have done bike tours for over 15 years, but this was their first time doing the Erie Canal tour.
Blaustein, who was also doing the Erie Canal tour for the first time, said she grew up in New York City, but finds herself frequently coming back to New York to discover the rest of the state. She said she has also done tours in the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks.
She said its the group of people doing the tour that makes the trip enjoyable.
“We’ve met some really nice people,” said Blaustein, following up with a story how one individual went out of his way to purchase some batteries for her after asking where she could buy some.
Foreman said the weather has been “perfect” for the bike tour.“There was a little bit of rain and one day it was a little hot,” he said, noting otherwise conditions had been ideal.
Sue Whyte, of Whibey, Ontario, Canada, was dressed in a red and white bicycling jersey with the design of the Canadian flag printed on it. “It’s amazing. It’s beautiful,” she said of the tour, who was also doing it for the first time. “The history of the canal and the scenery and the people.”
Whyte said the weather had also been amazing but that on Friday it was a little “too hot” for her.
The tour was organized by Parks and Trails New York and the state Canal Corporation. Organizers have said it is a “relaxed tour” with riders ages ranging from 6 to 89.
Around two-thirds of the ride takes place along completed portions of the Canalway Trail, which will be a 500-mile stretch across the state when it is completed.
