Thunder and Locks

Mohawk-Hudson Trail

The next morning dawned bright and sunny and proved to be a wonderful day for bike travel.  Little Prince and I breakfasted on donuts from X’s to O’s bakery and headed out around 8:00 in the morning.  The first few miles were through urban terrain until we crossed a set of railroad tracks and climbed the biggest hill of the day (which wasn’t that big) and we began our journey along the Mohawk-Hudson Rail Trail.  This trail begins in Cohoes, though the official Erie Canal trail guide which I finally found at an amazing bookstore in Troy indicates that the trail continues on into Albany.  From what I could tell however, this is not always a segregated bike path but rather follows a combination of city streets and a waterfront trail.  Cohoes is the start of the largest portion of complete bike path which we followed all day, stopping at well-used parks (even on a weekday) for bathroom usage, snacks, and to refill our water supplies.

The path was smooth and easy to ride and it was the first time in more than a week that Little Prince was able to be disconnected and only worry about pedestrians and other cyclists rather than the stress of riding in the city where a car or person can – and will – often appear suddenly from around a corner.  For me, riding without the added weight, and at the slower speed, equates to what I imagine the Sunday drives of yore were like.  I just amble along, sometimes singing or humming a tune or bantering with Little Prince.  While this sometimes happen when we are attached, there is a relaxed nature to the ride when we are separated that I have found incredibly enjoyable.

About 3-5 miles after being unhooked from the follow-me, however Little Prince had reached the apex of his stamina so we hooked back up and on we went to our first lock of the day: number 7!

Lock 7

Lock 7 on the Erie Canal was our first introduction to the purpose of the Erie Canal: to transport goods and people westward from the coast.  It is the source of the New York State nickname: the Empire State.

Boat going west

LP learning how it all works from the lock captain at lock 7.

The western gate.

East gate

One of many motors that pump water and close gates.

Boat entering the lock from the east.

At the boat level.

Leading up to the lock on the eastern side.

Dam adjacent. We thought it helped power the lock.

A boat that was heading east leaving the lock.

Lock E7 Niskayuna, NY Lift of 27 feet.

Western gates open to allow passage of a boat.

LP at lock 7.

Waiting for it all to begin…

A boat coming in to go east.

Camping for free

Back in Rensselaer, A and M had been full of advice and good tips about touring and two tips that I will forever appreciate were: all the locks are available to camp at, and if needed, camping on the bike path is an option.  And at lock 7 I was able to confirm with the lock captain that camping on the locks was indeed allowed and encouraged!  Sadly, it was only around noon that we had arrived at lock 7 otherwise we would have stayed for this lock had one of the larger grassy areas, a port-a-pottie, and potable water available.  But my goal was to get to lock 11 by that night, for we had great weather and the trail was easy.  However, a week of rugged terrain and then two days off the bikes lulled me into a false sense of ease and when Lock 11 did not look as inviting to camping as expected I continued to pedal us on until the sun was setting and we had yet to reach the next lock.  Around 7 we were both tired and cranky so when the bikes fell for the second time, we pitched our first bandit-camp on the side of the path.

Some people passed by as we set up around 8 in the evening but didn’t say anything and in no time the tent was up, dinner eaten, and we were tucked quietly into our sleeping bags.  My only fear was that thunderstorms were in the forecast.

Thunder

Close to 4:00 the next morning a large rolling boom in the distance woke me from a fitful sleep.  The sun and birds were not even awake yet and so I lay there listening, unsure if it were the thunder I feared or some other source.  I didn’t have to wait long to hear it again and suddenly an intense and overwhelming fear sent me into action.  While our campsite was well away from people and we were unlikely to attract the attention of animals or authorities we were not well protected against lightning, and my only thought was that thunder brings lightning.  Waking Little Prince from his sound sleep (I swear he could sleep through anything) we broke camp and packed the bikes in record setting time.  I wasn’t completely positive where on the map we were but I did know, from looking at it last night, that there was a crossing of I-90 within at least 5 miles of our campsite and so I prayed that it was an overpass and we’d be able to wait out the storm underneath it.  Thankfully, my hunch had been correct and we reached the overpass not long after the storm began in earnest.

Around 5 AM the rain was not as hard and soon was reduced to little more than a drizzle with the sun promising to arrive in full force soon enough.  The trail that early, and just after a rain storm was something no picture can ever fully convey but we did meet these folks just outside of Canajoharie:

Ft. Plain Museum

After meeting the herd of deer Little Prince and I moved on into Canajoharie where we hoped to find a restaurant with something to warm our bellies and a source of water to replenish our water supplies.  While the restaurant we chose was not the most vegan-friendly, we were able to get some potatoes and oatmeal before setting off for a hardware store to find some pliers.  Just before the hardware store Little Prince saw a sign for the Ft. Plain museum.  Since we had gotten such an early start and were already more than halfway to that night’s destination I didn’t have any qualms about at least seeing how much admission might be.

LP investigating the grounds.

Map of the area

Rear building and a model of the old blockhouse.

Looking out from the top of the hill where Ft. Plain once stood.

LP has enlisted in the revolutionary army!

Heading back down the hill.

Taking a detour into the woods to find the old bridge.

The old bridge.

Nature taking over.

As it turned out the museum was not only free, but came with an amazing personal tour of their exhibits from early Native American habitation of the area through to the days when the Erie Canal brought a booming business to the area.  And afterwards we went up to the top of the hill where the fort had been and explored a bit.

And… Hail.

The area surrounding Ft. Plain is much as it was in the 1800s: farming is still the major source of occupation and income for the residents.  Therefore, it is no wonder, as we followed bike route 5 back to the trail, that we began to see signs warning drivers of horse and buggy in the area.  Sadly, we didn’t see any of these but we did meet a man who spoke with a thick Dutch accent and was kind enough to keep us company as we put sunscreen on for the day that had started cold and wet was turning hot and humid.  The humidity was my first clue, the dark clouds rolling while we sat and ate our lunch at the top of one of many rolling hills was another.  But, it wasn’t until about a half hour after we were back on the trail that the  thunder started to roll.  We were close to Lock 17 by this time and the map also showed a nature park close by that was sure to have shelter so, back onto the follow-me Little Prince was hooked, as I raced us towards the promise of safety.

When the rain started coming down it was in large fat drops and on we raced, Little Prince pedaling his heart out. But it wasn’t long before the rain turned to hail and fearing injury I drove the bikes straight for the treeline and found shelter midst the undergrowth and sheltering branches of the trees on the edge of the path.

The hail didn’t last very long, thankfully, and just as it was clearing I spotted another cyclist coming towards us decked out in rain gear and clearly prepared for the weather with protective coverings over his panniers and clearly looking much drier than I was feeling at that moment!  It must have been quite a shock to see Little Prince hiding like fugitives among the trees, but he was nice enough to stop and chat for a while.  It turned out JW was coming from Buffalo on his first tour of the canal, to spend the Memorial Day weekend with family in Troy.  We exchanged contact information and I hoped that we might run into each other again.  Our two groups went on our separate ways as the rain slowed to a clear, hot, sunny day once more.

Lock 17

I had been correct that shelter wasn’t far, but no longer useful to us, Little Prince and I continued on to lock 17.  While there were plenty of quiet places along the trail that day to bandit camp, my reason for going to lock 17 was to see and take in the multitude of lessons available.  Not only are there geological marvels, the glacier potholes, but there are also mechanical and engineering achievements to witness.

At this lock the boats are raised by the greatest amount (40.5 feet) along the canal and it is truly breath-taking how incredibly huge this lock has to be in order to achieve this, especially when compared with the ruins of an original lock that was one of many to raise boats to the same elevation.

The old enlarged lock that used to be part of a series in this section of the canal.

Erie Canal Lock 34

LP at the center of the lock.

Where water would have entered.

Looking in.

Lock E17 Little Falls, NY Lift 40.5 feet

The woods on Moss Island

Our first sighting of glacier potholes.

Glacier potholes.

Glacier potholes

LP in a pothole

Coming out of the hole

Some local graffiti that seemed fitting.

The pot holes formed by rocks acting as drills.

Scouring on the rocks from receding glaciers

Exploring Moss Island

A tree is beginning to grow in the counter weight

East lock gate of lock 17 is massive!

NYS Barge Canal Lock 17

An information sign on the bike path.

With two highly successful days under our belts and our imaginations fed by exploring Moss Island for a good hour Little Prince and I turned in for the night and hoped for little more than lunch at a vegan restaurant the next day.

Just a warning…

The coming post is a bit long and yet only covers two days!  Thanks for sticking with it and I hope you – dear reader – enjoy sharing in our trials and triumphs.  As you have probably surmised this blog is far behind our actual positions.  I will do my best to update more frequently, just hang in there.  This stuff is just getting good!

Troy, New York

Having not had a chance to play with A ALL day on Sunday Little Prince was ecstatic to learn that the same day we were heading to Troy, A and M were also going to be running an errand there and we would be able to tag along with them. Where logistics are concerned I felt much more comfortable riding the road to Troy with A and M. There is safety in numbers when cycling, and when accompanied by an experienced local. M also provided us with a quick history and guide to the local scene in Troy.  The town is an old factory town from the days of the American Industrial Revolution and it is interesting to see that it is still broken up along similar wealth and status lines.

X’s to O’s

Troy is also home to an AMAZING vegan bakery called X’s  to O’s bakery where not only are sweet treats available (and with gluten-free options) but lunch items are too!  And I can not begin to tell you how truly amazing their food is.  But, I think my favorite exchange with one of the staff members came when I asked for my usual order (Little Prince knows this by heart now) which is a loose leaf chai tea with steamed almond milk.  In some shops this is a tea au lait.  In other places its something else.  And the reason I order this is because chai lattes are often pre-mixed with honey as a sweetener or sugar.  And, as a vegan, both are not acceptable.  But as a nutritionist and tea-lover these are also big no-nos.  Chai tea should bite, not be sour, but have a slight kick to it.  And the sugar added is often too much for me.

What made me laugh was that in the confusion of making the drink a supervisor came over to help and realized what I had ordered was a chai latte.  When I told her “yes, but I don’t want any sweetener.”  She looked at me with a horrified face, and exclaimed that other places put sweetener in a chai latte?!

Therefore, X’s to O’s, you will always have a soft spot in heart because not only did you carry the most amazing baked goods, savory and healthy foods, provided a whole smorgasbord of games for Little Prince but you clearly understand us crazy folks who feel there is an overabundance of sugar in our American diet!

Library

While more than 80% of our day occured at the bakery, Little Prince and I did also take time to check out Troy’s library (again, no pictures, sorry).  I was able to finish my thesis work and send it off to my adviser, now I just sit back and wait for comments! I also did a little work on the blog while Little Prince wrote in his log book and completed his school work for the day.  Once completed, he inquired of the librarian if he could also use a computer, turns out in Troy they require a child be 8 years old, so 7 and 3/4 just doesn’t cut it!

We didn’t stay much longer before heading off back to the bakery to grab dinner before they closed and then ate at waterfront park before meeting our host for the evening J, watching an episode of My Little Pony, reading a chapter from Dorothy and the Wizard, and falling fast asleep.  And it was a good thing to, because the next day we headed out on the Erie Canal!

Al-ba-ny! Al-ba-ny! Al-ba-ny!

After seven days on the bikes with little break, the half day in Greenfield really didn’t feel like much of a break, Little Prince and I were excited to explore the state capital of New York.  M and A, our hosts in Rensselaer were great, providing us with an amazing dinner the night of our arrival and yummy breakfast that got us going that morning.  We also – finally – got to do laundry! Man we were getting smelly.

Little Prince also wanted an opportunity to explore the park with his new best friend – A – and A was sweet enough to indulge the producer/director/actor in Little Prince and play his wonderfully imaginative pretend games.  But what I appreciated most was that A expanded on my lessons of compassion during their time playing:

Years ago, when Little Prince first became interested in good vs. evil (as I have learned this is a normal part of development that allows children to better understand and handle the changing world around them) I was able to convince him that simply “killing” the bad was not really a good solution.  Instead we settled on “jail” as a compromise.  A, took this a step forward and asked, “why don’t we bring the “bad-guys” to the “community” and have them decide the best way to teach our villains a better way?”  My heart swelled as Little Prince took this suggestion to heart, and while the “bad-guys” still ended up in jail, it was the first exposure Little Prince had to introducing foundations of compassionate justice, and rehabilitation rather than removal.

With this lesson in mind Little Prince and I hopped on our unloaded bikes and headed across the Hudson into Albany.

ALBANY!

Albany from Madison Ave. 5/19/14

M was kind enough to provide us with the local’s insight on the best way into Albany and directions to a vegan restaurant, Lil Buddha Tea, a small shop on Lark st. that specializes in tea but – I thought – also served food.  Turns out this would be the

Lil Buddha Tea, shop front

first of many times I would misread information, or find misinformation that I was too tired or strapped for time to verify.  While the shop DOES carry food this is only Tuesday-Saturday, and so we were a day late.  But, as I have found there is a reason for all things.

With drinks in hand, Little Prince and I left our bikes locked up in front of the tea shop and walked up the street to Lark Natural Foods.  While there were no reviews on HappyCow to give us any idea what this store was like, by this time we both extremely peckish and ready for anything!  It turned out to be a very small, garden-level store with a few snack items – such as Little Prince’s favorite: sea-snacks!  And it was also there that the man behind the counter told us about a Natural Lifestyles Expo going on in Albany that day not far from his shop.  It sounded interesting and as I figured the New York State Museum was sure to be open (and less busy) on Monday we figured we might as well check out the Expo that was on its last day.

Expo

The first thing I noticed upon reaching the Armory, that was holding

The Armory is located at 195 Washington Ave. (Photo credit: Chad Gamboa)

the Expo were signs for tickets and will call ticket pick up.  Nervous that the tickets would be too expensive (museum was free) I warned Little Prince that attendance might be too expensive.  Forewarned, we inquired of the two volunteers the price of tickets, turns out they were free!  So, in we went and spent the remainder of the afternoon getting chair massages, winning a football, sampling food, and even picking up a few treats for the road.

State Capital Tour

The next day, Little Prince and I set off for Albany early in the morning hoping to get a jump-start on the day and arrive not long after the New York State Museum opened.  Arriving with little problem we found that bike parking in that area was seriously lacking.  The racks we did find were this style:

Standard horizontal bike rack courtesy of intrexfurniture.com

Bike racks like this are my absolute least favorite when the bikes are unloaded for three reasons: 1. to securely lock your bicycle to these racks your front wheel is meant to go up and over, this is nearly impossible for Little Prince’s 20″ and mine is really too heavy to make this practical; 2. such racks also tend to damage the bike or when someone else adds their bike they often end up getting tangled with, or damaging the bikes already parked; and 3. such racks are often placed too close to the building to be used properly.

Finally locking the bikes we entered the museum to find it: closed.  So, what were we to do?  A quick search found the number for tours of the New York State Capitol, and they

Riding around Empire Plaza

The Egg, close up.

Looking down into the Commerce center of Albany.

The Egg.

had one starting in two hours!  So, off we went to find a bookstore and a playground to fill the time.  Sadly, the conclusion of this search was that Albany shuts down on Mondays and playgrounds were a little too far from the capitol building to be useful.  So, Little Prince and I played catch with his new football in the Empire Plaza before joining the tour.

Governor’s waiting room.

Antique Grandfather clocks can be found through out the building.

The Assembly, back of the room.

The presiding seats of the Senate.

Political Reporters hall, this is the New York Post’s office.

Electronic voting

Going to Senate observation wing.

Senate chambers

The Goddess Minerva overlooking the Congressional Library entrance.

Pictures of the fire of 1911 that destroyed what would have been the library.

Detail work was incredibly impressive

An Assembly members desk.

Assembly ceiling, there is quite the drama surrounding this ceiling!

Windows in Senate Chambers

“Hogwarts” staircase

State Senate observation wing.

Architecture is full of details.

Not all the detailing was finished when the building was declared finished.

In the Governor’s waiting room.

LP as an Assembly member

We had a great time, and learned a lot about New York’s history.  Even I learned something.  Little Prince’s take away is best quoted from his post-tour observations as written in his journal:

Four Presidents were Generals. The State Capitol of New York looks like a castle.

And indeed it does!  Which, turns out, was the point of its construction: to show the wealth and power of the state known as the Empire State. For more information you can take a tour yourself or check out this great webpage with excerpts from our own tour: http://www.hallofgovernors.ny.gov/

Self guided tour

The remainder of our stay in Albany was a bit of a self-guided bike tour around the city as we searched for an illusive bookstore to purchase the Erie Canal Trail Guide that I had heard about at the Expo.  We never did find a bookstore (that was both open and carried the book) in Albany.  We did find a great Library with a place just for Little Prince:

Albany Public Library’s Comic Cave

Comics Cave in Albany main cranch

Little Prince engrossed in Bone.

Bone takes over LP’s imagination!

Pamphlet from Albany Public Library on comic books and reading

And we had some pretty good food at Bombers Burrito Bar and Thai at Sukohothai Restaurant right next door.  Both were very good and pretty vegan-friendly which is always a big plus for us!  But, at Bombers Burrito Bar we also found a newspaper with the following horoscopes:

LP’s horoscope for the week.

My horoscope for the week.

Seemed to be pretty right on with our experiences for the last few days!  After two days in Albany we were expecting to be back on the road after a short stint in Troy, NY.  Hopefully, forewarned we would overcome the obstacles sure to be in front of us.

Finding our groove

When trying to accomplish a big goal it is often that I can forget to stop and appreciate the little goals that have been accomplished or even the beauty that is found in the process of reaching a goal.  By our second day of travel I had to start contacting hosts to let them know we were falling behind in our schedule and would not be reaching them on the days I had originally asked that they host us.  For one particular host couple this was never a problem and I really feel like they have become my “zen masters” of touring.

I don’t always think I need a “zen master” or believe such mentors to be limited to certain pursuits such as meditation.  But cycling IS a form of meditation, relaxation, and this tour is ultimately about much more than a destination.  It is about the journey.

Day 3

After a good night’s sleep and the first words of wisdom from my zen masters LP and I started this day off with a bit more of a relaxed outlook and a motto: “slow and steady, consistency is key.”  Slowly but surely we made the trek along route 2A through small towns, up and over small and large hills, and with far less frustration than we had previously faced.

As we had previously, with each new town we heralded the cry, “New town!”  But this time LP and I were more relaxed and started to

Scarecrow face on side of road

notice distinguishing features of each town, or catalog the dates each was established and then compare them to towns we had previously encountered to determine the oldest and youngest that we passed through.

One such town was Gardner: the chair city.  While mostly a manufacturing town it was one of the more notable being earlier in the morning as well as having a giant yellow chair (2-storeys high) right around the corner from this sign.

The Chair City

One trick, or technique, I had read about in my preparations for this trip was that sending stuff home after the first night could be a big morale booster because there is a seeming reduction in weight.  While neither our second or first nights involved our own cooking we did camp the first night and then the second I chose to completely unpack and set aside any items that were not used at all (besides camping equipment).  These we then mailed home from Templeton, Ma.

Around 5:00 PM LP and I began to see more populous areas and signs that we were nearing the town of Greenfield.  The day had been rather overcast and the solar panel I have, was not able to keep my phone charged.  Unsure of the next step LP and I stopped at the beautiful Free Library of Wendell.  Their website does not even begin to show the beauty of this building.  While small, there was a multitude of resources and even a great little playground for LP to run around in while I printed off our final steps to Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, where our second host was waiting.

However, after climbing the hills of Wendell Depot Rd., and then going through Wendell State Forest more hills were really the last things my legs needed.  Therefore, around 6:00 PM I had enough battery and just enough reception to call the host and find out just where we were in relation to them.  As it turned out we were still 12 miles away and facing some hilly terrain.  So, with no campgrounds all that close and at least three hotels to choose from less than a mile behind us, LP and I made the decision to settle into another hotel for the night.

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The Hampton Inn of Greenfield, while expensive was the first and closest to have a room available.  Much more expensive than the Rodeway Inn of the previous night the hotel staff at this location were incredibly accommodating, kind, and compassionate.  Not to mention they were amazed that LP and I had found our way to Greenfield by bike!  And, as you would imagine, with greater expense comes greater amenities of which Little Prince was more than happy to avail himself of!  The only difficulty we had, was dinner.  For some reason, Tuesdays are not a great day for food delivery in Greenfield and with no in-room microwave I had to make do with a coffee pot to heat the water for our dinner.  But all-in-all we fell quickly to sleep by the time we had settled down.

Day 4

More words of wisdom and encouragement from my zen masters as well as an email reminder from my thesis advisor convinced me that continuing on as we had been was the wisest course of action.  Greenfield is a rather large city in Massachusetts and even has a number of vegan options for food.  Therefore, this seemed like a great opportunity to explore the city and rest our legs from the last few days.

One of the great perks of the Hampton Inn was a free breakfast in the morning.  With the usual offerings LP and I were able to find some vegan options such as a bagel with jam for him and oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit for me.  Then, we packed up the bikes, headed back through the I-91/Rt-2 round-a-bout and into downtown Greenfield.  We loaded up on supplied of anti-sting ointment, vitamins, and snacks at Green Field’s Market, a local coop grocery store and then headed to their local library.  With only an hour of time on their computers I was able to get much of the

Good Crooks Bk. 1

methodology done and transcribe the survey I will be using next spring while LP found a number of great books including Good Crooks by Mary Amato which he wasn’t able to finish but added to a list of books to look for at the next library we visit (there are sure to be many library visits on this tour).

While at the library there was an incident with another patron (I wasn’t involved) that I had never seen at a library.  While largely unaffected, the incident certainly colored my impression of this city and I was pleased with how professional and calmly staff handled the incident.  Though it certainly makes me wonder how often these incidents occur!

Conscious of time ticking away and still unsure of where we would be staying that night LP and I made our way down the street to Greenfield’s vegan-friendly Mesa Verde for burritos.  I had their kale and sweet potato concoction which I highly recommend while LP had the fajita burrito.  Feeling a bit run down from allergies and tired from our days of biking LP asked me to read a few more chapters of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, our current reading which is loaded on my iPad and so lunch turned into a two hour event!

Afterwards I decided to check out the local bike shop for advice on area roads as it was looking unlikely that we would make our warmshower in Shelburne Falls and would instead end up at a campground about 10 miles from Greenfield called Country Aire Campground.  The folks at Bicycle World on Federal st. in Greenfield were amazingly,stupendously helpful. They gave me a bunch of free maps of the Franklin County area (super bike friendly by the way), directions on the best way to Lanesborough and EVEN let us use their bathroom before setting out on the road again!

The mountains of Charlemont seen from 2a.

Some artwork under a bridge we found as we double checked our route.

And so, off we went on to Charlemont to spend the night in the same campground as a school group of 8th graders which of course brought back memories of my own class trips in 6th and 8th grade.  Some fun times when you have no care for the adults around you and are more

Pirate Ship sailing the sand seas of the Country Aire playground

worried about who-likes-who and how your peers perceive you.  To me though, these were ok kids who let Little Prince join in their game and play on the play structure with them while I made dinner.  And thankfully they quieted down not long after the two of us had settled in for the night.  The campground itself was one of my preferred locations.  A little too close to route 2A for me, it was a very large area with a playground full of innovative and distinct structures.  The bathroom

Heated bathroom, close to office and rec room

we used was heated (there is an unheated one as well) that was complete with showers and had beautiful wooden stalls in the women’s room.  The next morning it was a bit rainy and cold so Little Prince and I went to eat our breakfast under the awning by the bathrooms.  One of the owners was nice enough to allow us to sit in their Rec room which was also rather large and held a game called “carpet ball.”  I really enjoyed our time at this particular campground, but as I have seen on this trip some stays are too short and so, after breakfast away LP and I pedaled into the mountains of NW Massachusetts.