37.7 miles – +1051 ft – Total miles 250
Another day of hot weather but thunderstorms are coming through tonight and it is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow.
I rode more than 10 miles today on the Canalway Trail, some of which follows the towpath of the Erie Canal. It was quiet and even had some shade. I saw about 4 people on the trail, including a touring cyclist riding from Pittsburgh to Maine, just as I pulled in to Canajoharie. It’s fun to trade stories!
Here’s a view of the trail – I had a few paved stretches, but mostly the surface is dirt or stone dust.
I crossed the canal from north to south near Lock 9, and reached into my handlebar bag to get my camera, only to realize it was missing. So that solved the mystery of why my sister had gotten a call from the Goshen (Mass.) police, to tell her about a “lost” item in Goshen. I passed through Goshen on Tuesday, stopped at the Town Hall, partly in frustration because there was no cafe in the town. I guess I left my camera there, because that’s where they found it. The police looked at the pictures on the SD card to see if they could get a clue as to who owns it. One of the pictures of me just leaving my sister’s house looks up her driveway, and includes the two cars in the garage. They tried the license plates until they got it figured out, and called my sister! A huge thank you to Officer Hughes! She will mail the camera to me at a friend’s house in Rochester, and I can get it in a few days. I will be more careful in the future when I start moving again, to look around for my “personal belongings!”
Here’s a trillium from a stop along the trail:
Judy's Bike Ride 2017 
5 days on the road and encounters with the police! Glad it was a good one – I’m sure they got a kick out of it.
Great story! Appears today overall was a pretty good one.
Yes, it helped a lot to plan on a shorter ride. I arrived Canajoharie about 1:30. Tomorrow to Utica.
Judy — Glad to hear of the great police work in Goshen, MA! Keep following the Erie Canal west along New York bicycle route #5. Once you get to Palmyra, it’s a straight shot along the tow path almost all the way to Niagara Falls. Let me know if you’d like suggestions based on my experience from last summer. Keep heading into the sunset! — Dave
A true detective story! An almost hidden pathway that looks like it leads to a magical kingdom. A beautiful wildflower. Love the glimpse into your adventures that you are giving us with your posts.