Reporting on: Monday, June 22, 2009

Riding Route: From Syracuse to Little Falls, NY

Temperature: 64 to 83 degrees/Winds: 10-15 mph

Elevation Climb: 2800 feet

Miles Ridden Today: 78

At this point in the ride I'm looking for an easy way to the end of the trip. The limo caught my eye and if I could afford it - it might just be the way to finish this ride! ha (picture above)! We rode about 8 miles before we got out of the town of Syracuse this morning. The usual traffic, lights and stop signs slowed the trip some, but we're all use to it by now. After that we had a wonderful 35 mile ride on great country roads. The scenery was beautiful and we rode side by side as we followed the Erie Canal and the Mohawk River ...passing through many small and picturesque towns. It was wonderful while it lasted! Once we were on Rt 5 the traffic picked up considerably. After the peace and quiet of the back roads the noise seemed deafening - and we had to get back to concentrating again!

We arrived in Little Falls about 2:30. After getting settled in the hotel Champ, Tom and I took a walk around the area. Little Falls is probably one of the smallest towns we've stayed in...with a population of a little over 5000. This area was a thriving place in the 1800's - when it had the biggest cow hide processing plant in the country. Later there were paper mills and woolen mills - mainly because of the abundance of water - and the ability to ship products on the canal. As we walked town we observed many old brick building sitting empty - a sign of the hustle and bustle of days gone by. Both the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal go through town. Two of the pictures above are of the canal at Lock #17 (still a working lock). Today it's used mostly for pleasure boats - with very little commercial traffic. This lock is part of the New York State Erie Canal which replaced 3 locks of the original 1825 Erie Canal... and until recent years was the highest lift lock in the world at 40.5 feet in height.

This is the first time I've explored the upper part of New York state - and I have to tell you it's quite beautiful...and has lots of history. As in past days, we again rode by beautiful old mansions with immaculate yards. Some of these home were build in the late 1700's and 1800's. What stories they could tell!

Short report today! Albany, NY tomorrow!