troy, new york

Smooth water in the Erie Canal near Little Falls, New York this morning.

 Day 54. 80.9 miles from Little Falls, New York to Cohoe, New York. This is our last day on the Erie Canalway Trail and the last day of pedaling eighty miles or more. After some recalculating and map checking, we've decided to go back to our original plan to ride to Old Orchard Beach instead of Rockport. Why? Rockport is approximately 300 miles and Old Orchard Beach is approximately 220 miles. Eighty miles is eighty miles! Why pedal it if we don't have to? It also looks like, on the map, Rockport has a little more traffic to deal with. Anyway . . . it looks like we'll head to Old Orchard Beach to dip our front tires. 

Tomorrow and Sunday, we don't pedal. We're taking two rest days before heading to Maine and the Atlantic Ocean. We haven't had a rest day since 26 June! That's twenty days! So we're taking two! We'll use that time to repack and reorganize everything for the trip home. We'll also look over and finalize our route and how many miles we'll pedal each day. We'll also plan lodging for the remaining nights on the road. (Well, Margaret will do that.) I'm sure we'll find a few other things to do as well. I'm looking forward to two days of laziness. I may even find the New York license plate I need to be caught up with the states I've been through. All I need after that is Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine!

This is what we look like after eighty miles of pedaling, some of which included unexpected climbs. So, you're asking, where is Phil? Well, Phil and Gale had to find a bike shop in Albany this afternoon. One of his bikes needed some repairs that only a Specialized dealer can do. He found such a bike shop, left his bike, and will pick it up tomorrow morning. That's why he's not in the photo with Sarah, Barry, and me at the end of today's ride. I didn't want you to think he fell into the Erie Canal somewhere and we left him floating downstream. He is alive and well and will be pedaling with me Monday morning after the rest days. By that time, we will be more than ready to see that beautiful Atlantic Ocean.

We've been blessed. I'm reminded of this special passage of Scripture from Numbers 6:24-26:

“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

25 

the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

26 

the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. 

Not sure what to call this but it is interesting, fun, and could have been a challenging and exciting restoration project. Long live those little VW buses.

BTW Someone paid for our motel this evening. I don't know who that is but I am grateful and thank you very much. You are loved.