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Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions
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This summer will take me to upstate New York, near the Erie Canalway Bike Trail.

I'm looking for firsthand information about this trail. Online has it as 380 miles running east-west between Albany and Buffalo. The website says the trail is "surfaced in stone dust." They suggest hybrid bikes and their EAQs have this: "The ride is not designed to be done on a road bike designed for speed."

The current idea is to rent a road bike in Buffalo and ride to Albany (staying in hotels each night). The trail is fairly flat but I don't think I'd want to ride more than 100 miles on too many days, or less than 50 on any day. I'd then either use public transportation or ride back to Buffalo.

Anyone have advice for a 6 -10 day bike trip in this area in June?

Thanks!

Jed

"If you want to ride by the Force, you had better make sure that you are a real Jedi." - FastYellow (6/13/2011)
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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If its the trail I'm thinking of that runs along the erie canal the parts I've seen are covered in a like a packed stone.

The part I know- Medina,NY to Lockport, NY is for couples noodling around on mountain bikes/beach cruisers.

If I took a road bike on it 1. The ride would be horribly uncomfortable with vibrations 2. I'd prolly wipe out.
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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I'm thinking of doing this on a bike too. A friend did a bunch of it and his points were:
  • If there is no rain it's generally okay on a road bike (assuming you've ridden on gravel/dusty sections before and okay)
  • When it rained there was a few points where he lost control of his bike so recommended doing it on a cyclocross bike or something with fatter tires if possible
  • When he went the wind direction was fairly consistently in his face (think he road Buffalo->East too) so suggested looking at wind forecasts if you want to make it easier.



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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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Maybe start with some bike shops in the Buffalo area. Like all shops, they're staffed with people who love bikes and love to ride, even if they're more bike-racing centric.
  1. Handlebars Manager/Fitter is Chris Bushover Phone: 716 835 0334 http://www.handlebarscycleco.com/ contact@handlebarscycleco.com
  2. Tom's Pro Bikes (has rental bikes) Owner Tom Lonzi Phone: 716 651 9995 http://www.tomsprobike.com/
  3. And, the local Tri Club: Buffalo Triathlon Club is very active, and lots of nice people. http://www.buffalotriathlonclub.com/

Don't forget your rain jacket.

Karen ST Concierge
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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send me a pm if you have trouble finding a suitable bike, I live in the area. Campus Wheelworks has a bunch of the felt disc cyclocross bikes for demos they might rent out. I know some people who have done it alone or w/ groups of boy scouts, it's not overly rough. There is a lot of history along the way. You could start up in Lockport to get the full effect

You may be able to take Amtrak back if they have a baggage car, there is a station on exchange st and out in depew
Last edited by: jroden: Apr 17, 15 10:45
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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I live near the canal in Lockport and frequently run on the path. It's mostly a crushed stone that's pretty packed down but I prob wouldn't want to ride a road bike for to far on it. A hybrid bike would be your best bet for comfort. As stated above, Tom's Pro Bike rents bikes and are great to work with.
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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I grew up on Rochester near the path. Some parts of it are paved, but most is stone dust. I'd definitely recommend a cross bike. Also, there are some areas where the path isn't right along the canal and you detour onto a few roads. Also, there is at least one area in Rochester (Schoen Place in Pittsford) that you will either have to walk your bike through or ride around.

Sounds like a great ride, I wish I had a chance to do a week long ride like that

AP Racing Crew|Cupcake Cartel|Picky Bar AmBadassador
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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I've run/ridden some of it, but only about 10mi from Albany, since I live here. So, at that point, you probably don't care much since you're almost done anyway. But, I know there are sections (near Albany) that require road riding. So it's not all just a leisurely stroll along a shaded multi-use bike path. Additionally, there are plenty of frost-heaves on the path in Albany, so it's not going to be super smooth riding here.
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [STConcierge] [ In reply to ]
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STConcierge wrote:
Maybe start with some bike shops in the Buffalo area. Like all shops, they're staffed with people who love bikes and love to ride, even if they're more bike-racing centric.

Don't forget your rain jacket.

I had called one bike shop. I'll contact the folks you've mentioned as well. Thanks!

Jed

"If you want to ride by the Force, you had better make sure that you are a real Jedi." - FastYellow (6/13/2011)
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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trijedi wrote:
This summer will take me to upstate New York, near the Erie Canalway Bike Trail.

I'm looking for firsthand information about this trail. Online has it as 380 miles running east-west between Albany and Buffalo. The website says the trail is "surfaced in stone dust." They suggest hybrid bikes and their EAQs have this: "The ride is not designed to be done on a road bike designed for speed."

The current idea is to rent a road bike in Buffalo and ride to Albany (staying in hotels each night). The trail is fairly flat but I don't think I'd want to ride more than 100 miles on too many days, or less than 50 on any day. I'd then either use public transportation or ride back to Buffalo.

Anyone have advice for a 6 -10 day bike trip in this area in June?

Thanks!

Might want to think about at least a cross-type bike. Most of the trail is crushed stone or packed dirt.
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [jroden] [ In reply to ]
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jroden wrote:
Campus Wheelworks has a bunch of the felt disc cyclocross bikes for demos they might rent out. I know some people who have done it alone or w/ groups of boy scouts, it's not overly rough. There is a lot of history along the way. You could start up in Lockport to get the full effect

You may be able to take Amtrak back if they have a baggage car, there is a station on exchange st and out in depew

I'd called Campus Wheelworks two weeks ago. They said they rented Felt Z35 road bikes with stock wheels / tires and that road bikes were fine on the trail.

I live in southern California. Once or twice a year, my local cycling group rides 100 miles to San Diego and we take Amtrak back.

For this trip, I'm also considering taking bus or train (with rented bike) to Albany and then biking back to Buffalo. The other choice is to ride both ways, or ride one way and take the train back. It might ease the logistics to take the train on the first leg since I'd *know* when to get on the train and could be flexible in riding back.

It sounds like I need to make sure to get a cyclocross bike, or a hybrid. I might also have to back down my estimate of how many miles a day is reasonable.

Thanks for the input.

Jed

"If you want to ride by the Force, you had better make sure that you are a real Jedi." - FastYellow (6/13/2011)
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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the wind here is out of the west most days, sometimes south and rarely the east. Riding back from Albany could be a slog into the wind. You have all day to shoot so 100 mi per day would not be too much of a reach, if I were going to do it i'd use my regular steel road bike with 25 or 28 c tires.

If I were going to spend a week biking in ny, I'd head down south toward the PA border in chautauqua, allegheny etc. counties and ride down dirt roads through amish communities with names like "Hencoop Hill" It's the greatest riding down there
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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Here's what to expect of the trail.


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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [kny] [ In reply to ]
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That picture is gold. No road bike for me, but a cross bike would probably work. I'll also have to factor in the advice of riding south. The only constant right now is being in Buffalo. There is lots of flexibility in planning the cycling part of the trip.

Thanks again for the photo!

Jed

"If you want to ride by the Force, you had better make sure that you are a real Jedi." - FastYellow (6/13/2011)
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [trijedi] [ In reply to ]
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Definitely ride south. Hills, finger lakes, wineries. Will require more planning than simply riding the towpath, but far more rewarding.
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [dado0583] [ In reply to ]
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dado0583 wrote:
I'm thinking of doing this on a bike too. A friend did a bunch of it and his points were:
  • When he went the wind direction was fairly consistently in his face (think he road Buffalo->East too) so suggested looking at wind forecasts if you want to make it easier.

I bet he rode in the opposite direct as the prevailing wind in the area is from the south west. riding from Buffalo towards Albany gives you a tail wind almost any day. We have strong north west winds with cold frontal passage and those will really get you sailing along.

Hugh





Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [kny] [ In reply to ]
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nice riding!

http://www.tourchautauqua.com/Media/Images/Amish-Country-NY.JPG






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Re: Erie Canalway Bike Trail Questions [jroden] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for your advice. We rented road bikes from Campus Wheelworks. The trip ended up being one way from Buffalo, NY to Pittsburgh, PA through upstate New York's Amish country and Pennsylvania's Allegheny River trail. We stayed in motels and B&Bs. Rain featured in several days of riding. Worse than the rain were the forecasts of thunderstorms which didn't materialize but still affected the day-to-day planning and improvising.

Note that the Erie-to-Pittsburgh bike trail is only a notion. We rode on country roads for most of the 300 mile trip. Even some of the designated bike ways (esp 517 in Buffalo) seemed ill-suited for safe cycling. Still, most of the ride was scenic. As Californians living through drought, the brown flowing rivers, the green forests, and occasional puddles were welcome sights. The tunnels on the Allegheny River trail were especially memorable. Most drivers shared the road politely.

We used only electronic maps. The free OSMaps (Open Street) routable maps were worth as much as they cost. They didn't have many of the smaller roads we used. Garmin's base maps were useless. Google maps seemed to be the most accurate. By talking to locals, we supplemented the electronic data. Information from people in the area was invaluable.

Again, thanks to all in this thread whose advice helped make this little bike tour a fun trip.

Jed

"If you want to ride by the Force, you had better make sure that you are a real Jedi." - FastYellow (6/13/2011)
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