Riding 141 Miles on the Erie Canal Trail – East Syracuse to Schenectady

After riding the epic 65 mile farmer’s daughter gravel grinder back in August, I had a week of vacation planned. Riding the Erie Canal trail has been on my to-ride list for years, but I didn’t have enough time to plan and ride the whole 292 miles, but instead just an overnight trip from the Old Erie Canal State Park in East Syracuse. I asked my parents to drive me and my bike to East Syracuse (~2 hr drive from Albany) so I could ride home from there via the Erie Canal Trail. My plan for Day 1 was to ride from East Syracuse to Little Falls and stay at a hotel for the night, riding home to Schenectady from there the next day.  Day 1 would be 80 miles (the longest I would have ever ridden) and Day 2 would be about 60 miles, a total of about 140 miles.

I started at the Old Erie Canal Trail State Park. The trail was a gloriously flat crushed stone bike path. It was just lovely.

After about 40 miles of riding, I stopped for a quick break to re-fill my water bottles in Rome at a rest area near the water at Bellamy Harbor Park.

After riding for a while, I made a stop in Ilion at a marina for some sherbet. It was quite delicious and refreshing and just what I needed to get me through the next hour or so of riding to get to my hotel room in Little Falls.

I stayed at the Inn at Stone Mill, an excellent bike-friendly hotel. They let me take my bike up to my room in the elevator which was really nice.

It was actually my first time staying at a hotel by myself, which was fun! I showered, changed and walked across the street to the Canal Side Inn for a delicious burger and beer, which hit the spot.

I walked around the area near the inn after dinner to stretch my legs. It was a gorgeous night.

I was so thankful I booked a hotel to stay at instead of camping solo–having a shower, real meal and a comfy bed was an amazing luxury after riding 80 miles in the 85 degree heat!

Day 1 – East Syracuse to Little Falls -80 miles

I got up around 8 to have breakfast before taking off to ride the 60 or so miles to Schenectady on Day 2. The inn offered a breakfast so I had a bagel, some yogurt, granola and fruit before loading up my bike heading out. Knowing that I had 60 more miles to ride was a bit daunting but I was looking forward to it.

The fun part of riding the Erie Canal is stopping at the locks and thinking about the history behind it. Protip: free camping is available at all of the locks for those that want to camp during their Erie Canal ride! I opted not to camp for various reasons (too hot, riding solo…)

It’s pretty cool that there is an actual bike path I can ride 140 miles without being on an actual road for much time at all. I think the total time I spent on a road was maybe 5 – 10 miles? I’m not 100% sure but it wasn’t much.

Day 2 was a little less exciting than Day 1. It was also very hot (around 92 degrees when I finished.) I stopped to eat my lunch at the Yankee Hill Lock in Schoharie Crossing. Finally after 5 hours of riding, I made it to Schenectady. I debated riding the ~40 miles to Albany but to be honest I’ve ridden that section of bike path hundreds of times so I stopped at the Schenectady waterfront, where I met my parents and we had some delicious beer at the Biergarten.

Day 2 – Little Falls to Schenectady -61 miles

Touring Setup

This was my first ever bike tour, so I set up my bike a few days beforehand to see how all my gear would fit. Since I wasn’t camping, I didn’t need to pack a tent, sleep system or cooking items so my set up was lighter than what it would have been if I were camping.

Rear rack

Since I have an XS frame, I need to utilize a rack and pannier set up so I can fit all my gear on my bike. I have a basic Blackburn rear rack that was about $35.

Panniers

I have the Axiom Cycling Gear Oceanwave Twin Panniers. I like that they are big and can fit a ton of gear, and they are made with recycled plastic from fishing nets. However they are not waterproof, so I wouldn’t want to use them in a downpour. In the panniers I kept a drybag of clothes, toiletries, and ziplock bag of food, along with my bike tools that I usually keep in my saddlebag. The saddlebag doesn’t fit on my bike when using panniers.

Top Tube Bag

The Revelate designs mag tank top tube bag. In here I kept quick snacks, my spork, and other random odds and ends I needed to have easy access to.

Handlebar Bag

The Ghost Cat Bags Charge handlebar bag. I’m in love with this handle bar bag! The bag colors are completely customizable which is so fun. They are high quality and look awesome. In this bag I kept my charging block and cords, other odds and ends.

Stem Bag

The Revelate designs feedbag. This is my favorite bike bag of all time! This is where I keep my phone, chapstick, sun stick, and I also kept a bottle of Gatorade in here that I picked up at a gas station. I ended up filling it up with water for Day 2 to have some extra water on hand since the temperature was going to be in the 90s.

I packed two 26 oz water bottles along with a 1 liter flexible water bottle that packs down small when empty. I had to re-fill a few times a long the way.  Overall I think I packed really well. I had enough food and there were places to stop and resupply if needed. Although keep in mind there were very long stretches without any bathrooms or gas stations.  I really enjoyed riding this section of the Erie Canal trail and will plan to ride the trail in its entirety eventually!