A gravel bicycle with a front handlebar bag, two large rear panniers, and a tent strapped to the rear rack, is parked on a rocky beach on a lake. The weather is mostly gray, with some small breaks in the clouds. Across the lake can be seen low undulating hills, covered in trees, some beginning to turn fall colors.

Niagara Falls, Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes

A man on a loaded touring bicycle rides towards the camera, on a wide trail through a forest with leaves on the ground. It may be lightly raining. The man is smiling.

Introduction: Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes

One of the traits I inherited from my father is a need to exercise anywhere I go. His exercise was jogging: he ran nine marathons. Mine is cycling. So when it came time to visit my dad's new senior living facility in Buffalo, I started looking at what might be fun to ride while I was in the area. The proximity to Niagara Falls, the Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes helped inspire a plan; cross over into Canada on the Adventure Cycling Association Northern Tier route, ride up Niagara River Parkway, connect with the Empire State Trail along the Erie Canal, head down to Ithaca, then work my way back through the Finger Lakes.

Day -1: Getting there (eventually)

I've been flying with my Performance Bike-branded hard-shell case for at least 30 years. I've often been charged an absurd amount of money, but never been told I couldn't bring it. First time for everything, I guess. Fuck Southwest.
A crowded bicycle repair area, with three different people working on bikes on repair stands. The back wall has apparently well-organized tools hanging on a white peg board; the side wall has supplies such as tubes and bike parts in shelving.

Day 0: Gearing up

We headed down to Campus Wheel Works to get outfitted and take a test ride through the city. We got to chat with Ethan and Alex, the shop owners, while they put our bikes together. Ethan has recently returned to school as a non-traditionally-aged student, so we got to chat about his journey and about some of my Bike Lab work.
A woman on a touring bicycle rides on a flat, open road with a grassy verge. Trees in the distance show some fall colors. The photo is shot from the level of the rear tire, giving an impression of movement. The woman has ribbons and a colorful bandana attached to her backpack, blowing in the breeze. The weather is sunny, with a few wispy clouds visible.

Day 1: Buffalo to Queenston, Ontario

Today's we would start by crossing into Canada on the Peace Bridge, then riding along Niagara River Parkway, past Niagara Falls to Queenston, Ontario. Temperatures were pleasant and riding was easy.
A woman on a bicycle with rear panniers rides on a gravel pathway along a waterway on a pleasant-looking day. Across the waterway is a field of yellowing plants, possibly soybeans.

Day 2: Queenston, ON to Medina, NY

Today's ride would cross back into America, ending in Medina, NY. We headed through Iroquois Nation lands and agricultural regions to get to the Erie Canal, then along the canal through historic towns, ending with a fancy anniversary dinner.
A woman on a bicycle with panniers rides on a gravel pathway by a canal. The weather is partly sunny; both sides of the canal are lined with trees. It looks pleasant.

Day 3: Medina to Churchville

Today would be an inverse of yesterday; the first half of the day starting out on canal gravel, the second half on rolling roads. We again had nice weather and nice riding.
A tree lined double-track path through the woods is dappled with sunlight. A few leaves are on the ground. In the distance, near the vanishing point of the road, a bicyclist with panniers rides towards a bright clearing.

Day 4: Churchville to Lakeville

Nancy only had time for five riding days, and she wanted to see a little piece of the Finger Lakes herself, so today we'd be riding south to Lake Conesus. The place we'd stayed was chosen for its location; reachable in one day from Medina, close enough to get to the Finger Lakes the following day. We were staying in Lakeville at the north end of the lake, which was about 40km away; our plan was to ride to our motel, drop our bags, and if Nancy was up for it, do the loop around the lake for a 70km day.
On a rainy day, a bicyclist with yellow pannier covers rides on a rail-trail through a forest. The pleasant-looking trail is mostly covered with brown and yellow leaves. The shot is probably taken from another bicycle; the pathway in the foreground is blurred by motion.

Day 5: Lakeville to Rochester

This would be Nancy’s last riding day. We’d enjoyed the Genesee Greenway so much that our plan was to ride it basically the whole way into Rochester, where we'd meet my childhood friend John.
A bicyclist on a folding bike with full panniers, covered with red rain covers, rides on a leaf-covered rail trail through a forest.

Day 6: Rochester to Cayuga State Park

I was entering phase 2 of the trip, riding with my friend John. We've toured before, San Francisco to LA, but it was a while ago. Today would a big day to start with, almost 100km, and the weather was threatening all day long. We wanted to get a decently early start, so after a very nice breakfast at the diner around the corner, and meeting some of the resident hippies at the co-op, we got on the road, mostly avoiding the rain during the day.
On a drizzly day, a bicyclist in rain gear with panniers rides through a rural landscape. Ahead of him is an Amish buggy that has just passed an intersection on a cross-street.

Day 7: Cayuga State Park to Ithaca

John went to Cornell, so we were headed into his home turf. Ithaca is at the south end of Cayuga Lake; my original plan had been to ride down the east side of the lake, but John brought to my attention that riding the west side would bring us by Taughannock Falls, the tallest waterfall east of the Rockies. Seemed like a good plan.
A cascade of waterfalls is seen in a deep gorge. At the top of the image can be seen some autumnal trees and bushes; small waterfalls, perhaps three or four feet tall, lead down to a larger waterfall in the front and center of the image, with the water blurred to white by motion.

Day 8: Around Ithaca

I was now over a week on the road and in desperate need of laundry and a chill-out day, so John was going to show me around Ithaca a bit. Ithaca is Gorges, as you may have heard, and there are interesting waterfalls all over the place. We visited the campus and Moosewood Restaurant.
A bicyclist, riding away from the camera, in a bright turquoise shirt with a bag slung over his shoulder, waves at three young girls in Amish garb in a wagon on the other side of the road, being pulled by a black donkey.

Day 9: Ithaca to Keuka Lake

From Ithaca I'd be gradually making my way back to Buffalo through the Finger Lakes region. That meant cutting across the glaciated landscape, which in turn meant a lot more climbing than I'd been doing so far. Today's route would start with 500m of climbing, some of it steep. The weather was lovely, so with some rest and recuperation behind us, we were in for a great day.
Clouds hang over a lake on a misty, rainy day. A fancy, covered private boat dock juts out into the lake in the foreground. The far side is wooded with autumnal trees.

Day 10: Keuka Lake

Route research had identified Keuka Lake as the nicest lake to circumnavigate; today's route plan was just to go around it. The weather had other ideas.
A bicycle with panniers is parked on a kickstand on the rocky shoreline of a lake. The far side of the lake is a sloping, tree-covered hill. The sky is cloudy, with some light breaking through. A bouquet of flowers sits near the water line, in front of the bike.

Day 11: Keuka Lake to Letchworth State Park

Because I had chosen to camp two nights at Keuka, today's day would be the longest on the trip. The route I'd sketched out came to 105km, but the last few days had shown me to check the terrain before I finalized the plan for the day. A couple of the straight-line roads looked like they went straight up steep ridges; I'd probably be better off doing some more distance and skirting some of the drumlins.
A river bends around an impressive granite mesa. The mesa and the banks of the river are lined with autumnal trees. The sky is mostly cloudy but the sun is peeking through in places.

Day 12: Letchworth State Park to Sprague Brook Park

The morning would be riding through Letchworth State Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the East; probably overstating the case, but it's pretty comparable to Big Bend and some of the other features of the Southwest. Really quite impressive granitic river bends with autumnal trees.
A man in a bicycle helmet stands in front of a green sign reading "CITY OF Buffalo". An abandoned factory can be seen in the background.

Day 13: Sprague Brook Park to Buffalo

The plan was for a relatively short day. After breaking camp, I decided to check out the park's mountain biking trails; with the full touring rig it was a little spicy. The ride was mostly flat or downhill from here, not so much of the rolling terrain I'd spent the last few days coming through. I'd drop 200 meters over the course of the day.
A smiling man, presumably riding a bicycle, takes a selfie with a late-afternoon rural landscape behind him

Upstate New York: Conclusion

I always embrace the chance to have a different kind of cycling experience, and the three phases of this trip gave me a number of opportunities.
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