Day 17: Utica to Syracuse

Two day ago, I was taking a rest at the Taichi Bubble Tea restaurant in Utica. My Couchsurfing host Thomas messaged me back and told me his address, which was about 3 miles away. I had to get there between 5:30 PM and 6 PM so I had plenty of time.

I don’t know if it’s the cloudy weather, but the town looked a bit gloomy. I felt riding on the city roads was a little unsafe with the cars so I rode on the sidewalk at times.

Just before reaching Thomas’s house, I stopped at Slice Pizzeria where I ate the biggest slice of pizza in my life. It was the size of a small pizza pie. That ended up being my dinner for the day.

I met Thomas at 5:30. His house is huge and is 100 years old. Thomas and I didn’t chat too much that night. After taking a shower, I was able to do laundry before going to bed.

The next morning, I talked with Thomas a bit more over a cup of coffee. Thomas is a manufacturing engineer working on helicopter parts. He went to school at the University of Illinois and lived there for some time before moving to Utica with his wife.

The morning was cold, about 40 F. I had to wear pants and a long sleeved shirt for today’s ride. Thomas had to go to work at 6:30 so I left his house the same time as he did. I cycled to Miranda’s Cafe, but it was closed. Then I went to Willie’s Bagel Cafe that’s near the bike trail and bought myself a ham, cheese, and egg croissant sandwich before getting back on the Erie Canal Trail toward Rome and Syracuse.

Rome was only 15 miles away from Utica. I arrived around 9 AM. I didn’t know where would I stop for lunch on the way to Syracuse so I thought I better eat a full breakfast in Rome.

As I was slowly riding my bike on the wide sidewalk, I disgruntled man passed by me in the opposite direction and cursed at me for riding on the sidewalk. I don’t know if he was drunk, or mean, or crazy, or all of the above, I didn’t let him bother me knowing that 1% of the people I meet will be some kind of an asshole.

Just as I was about to arrive at Eddie’s Paramount Diner for my second breakfast, I met a solo female cyclist named Cindy coming from the opposite way. She’s 70 years old and is riding an ebike from Niagara Falls to Albany. We connected instantly and decided to have breakfast together at Eddie’s.

It was my first meal with a cyclist and we bonded over our cycling adventures. Cindy has bicycled to many places and worked in IT and healthcare. She’s now retired and lives in Florida, on the side of Gulf of Mexico.

I decided to pay for Cindy’s meal because I have been treated so kindly by my Warmshowers hosts that I want to pay it forward.

After breakfast, Cindy and I went on our separate ways, but I will never forget our brief encounter. It’s rare to meet a 70 years old, solo, female, long distance cyclist.

On my way to Syracuse, I met a few more cyclists. They were all going to Albany. There was Bill, then Avi and Jake. Finally, at a rest area, I met Travis. He was smoking weed and seemed a bit strange. As it turned out, he’s a high school dropout, but has a law degree and a PhD. He also lived in New York City, was in a band, and was a bike messenger for 25 years. An interesting person, indeed.

Farther down the trail, I came to the town of Canastota. I decided to grab lunch at La Bamba, a Mexican restaurant. It was a much needed rest and I took my time eating a giant quesadilla.

Somewhere between Canastota and Syracuse, I reached 500 miles on my bike odometer. So far, I had ridden for 14 days with 3 rest days. Not bad.

I got off the bike trail as I arrived outside of Syracuse. I took the local roads to my Warmshowers host Gretchen’s house. When I arrived there, I had cycled 65.9 miles that day.

I met Gretchen, her husband Michael, and their two young sons, Galen and Shannon. While I was taking a shower, their friend Jonathan arrived at the house. Jonathan just retired last year and completed a bike tour on the Adventure Cycling’s Northern Tier route.

Over a delicious home cooked meal of rice, chicken, and asparagus, we chatted about immigration and border crossings. As that’s something I have to be aware of when I exit the US and coming back.

I went to bed around 7:30 PM and woke up at 6 AM. Today, I have about 32 miles to ride to Port Byron. I plan on explore downtown Syracuse a bit before getting back on the bike trail.

My Couchsurfing host, Thomas

First breakfast at Willie's Bagel Cafe

On the Erie Canal Trail

The narrow gravel paths

Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY

Some interesting sculptures in downtown Rome

Me and Cindy

A historical sign about the Erie Canal

Looks swampy

Two of the many geese I saw on the trail.

Crossing the canal

Bill, going to Albany from Buffalo

Another downed tree

Beginning to see the blue sky

Left to right: Avi and Jake

Trail closed, but I snuck through.

Riding beside the river

I like these signs that tell you about the next crossing.

Travis

Downtown Canastota

Lunch at La Bamba. I always lock my bike and have a direct view of it.

Made it to 500 miles on the odometer!

One of many informational signs along the bike trail

Nice shoulder on the road to Gretchen's house

Had two plates of this delicious home cooked meal by Michael!

Left to right: Shannon, Michael, Gretchen, and Jonathan