Off the trail

Fairport to Weedsport – 58 miles
Average Speed – 11 mph

We reluctantly left The Turner Inn with Amanda directing us on our way. We took the cheater way out of the neighborhood and avoided a nice climb. We retraced our way back to the trail in Fairport, stopping at the bike shop to get some replacement tubes. Oddly enough and this will not come as a shock to anybody who has been reading this blog, the bicycle shop person knew NOTHING about the canal trail. Is there a trend here? I remember back in Muskegon that we had stopped at a cycling shop looking for a map. The owner knew every detail about the entire length of the Musketawa Trail. What a concept.

Fairport Canal

We took several hours to go just a few miles, stopping along the way to chat with fellow trail users and watch boats and kayaks go through the locks.

We had only reached Palmyra by lunchtime. We got off the trail there and followed Route 31 east of there. The road had a good shoulder, except for when passing through towns along the way.

Shortly outside of Palmyra, we stopped at a thrift store thinking that Mary Ellen might want to get her sweatshirt for the train ride back home. Tatiana was wearing a Buckeye Fire t-shirt and when another customer saw that she came and asked if we were from Columbus, where she once lived. We spent some time chatting with her and finally got back on the way. Weedsport began to seem like an impossible destination this day.

The terrain offered us some nice climbs, which we partook of all the way to Weedsport. Maybe next time we come through, the canal trail will be continuous, thus eliminating the need to test the strength of our quads.

When we reached Weedsport, we did notice a section of the canal trail that seemed to be new. The locals were somewhat familiar with it, but didn’t have the details that cyclists would like to know.

I continue to be sleep deprived, waking up several times during the night, mostly in response to irritating my wounds. One of these days, I will get a restful sleep.