Killer Climbs

Weedsport to Oneida – 61 miles
Average Speed – 10 mph

We probably got spoiled riding on the relatively flat surface of the canal path. Today, we were trying to get back to Albany as quickly as possible, so instead of continuing on the canal path to Rome, we opted to take Route 173, which makes more of a beeline across the state. That was a big, hilly mistake.

From Weedsport we made good time to Route 5 and then to Route 173, which avoided Syracuse. The road didn’t pose many problems at all. In fact, I was relieved to reach the top of Onandaga Hill, which I assumed would be the high point of the day. What was I thinking? After the climb, we had a nice downhill run, disturbed only by a steep climb just past route 11, where the road narrowed and twisted with no shoulder and no place to ditch traffic. My chain jammed on the climb and I sweated bullets as I attempted to unclip, certain that I would fall into the impatient traffic that already brushed my elbows. Miraculously, I released my foot and found a driveway where I could pull-off and fix the chain. This was the first time that I can remember my chain getting stuck between gears. I hoped it was the last time. I have used my granny gear more today than on any other day that I can remember. After finishing this climb, I pulled over into the shade and waited for the others to arrive.

Shortly after my rest, we caught up with Nate and Tatiana, who were just ahead. Tatiana had a flat tire, so that gave us an excuse to rest again. We suffered through many steep climbs, but my favorite was the one with the cemetery at the apex. Perfect. I felt like dying. How convenient.

When we finally reached our lunch stop in Manlius, we reconsidered our route as we had been warned about the huge climb to Chittenango. We ate at Dave’s Diner and talked with several other customers, who we regaled with tales of our trip. They happily reminded us of the upcoming huge climb. We pulled out our maps and thought that we could now reconnect with the trail, even though we would have to go a bit out of our way to reach the trail. Dave, the owner gave us directions for the shortest route to access the trail. Our waitress came and informed us that the guy who had been sitting next to us and who had been offering advice had paid for half of our lunch. Nothing like those random act of kindness moments.

Reaching the trail was simple. A ranger spotted us and offered us a map that the State Park produces, which was far superior to the other information that we had found before. His map had actual distances on it. The condition of the trail deteriorated as we headed east, but was still a nice respite from the grueling climbs we had done for most of the day. The trail ranged from wide to single track, which seemed curious, especially since it narrowed without warning. When it finally ended in a huge pile of limestone, we got back onto the road to try to reach our intended destination of New Hartford.

Some people never leave their small towns. They don’t know the distance of nearby towns, nor did we. We could only guesstimate distance, but thought that we could rely on local knowledge. We reached Oneida late in the day. I had spotted a Super 8 and thought that maybe we should call it a day, since it had been a rather tough day. We asked a few locals how far away New Hartford was. 12 miles seemed to be the most popular distance. We could probably make it, but it was getting late and it wouldn’t be so hard to make up 12 miles tomorrow, so we stopped for the night with plans to make it to Amsterdam the next day.