By Day 7 I was feeling more confident and gotten a better sense of distances. I now understood what biking 70 miles in a day felt and could more easily prepare myself for the following days ride. Day 7's first leg turned out to be nearly 50 miles going from Syracuse to Rome.
Heading east from Syracuse I ended back upon the Erie Canal for most of my trip. Over 100 years ago, boats used mules to tow the boats through the canal. For much of the Erie Canal Trail the towpath is now the multi-use trail!
Some of the Erie Canal in these section is clean, but other sections are quite swampy with some sludge looking areas. This is because these sections of the canal are not used any more and some sections have been filled in.
East of Syracuse is very rural and sparsely populated until you reach Canastota. I did observe numerous flocks of geese, and some cute goslings! I saw huge swarms of geese almost every day on my trip.
As I headed east I passed through the town of Canastota. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like people cared the Empire State Trail runs through their town. There was zero signage on the trail advertising local businesses in Canastota, and after I spent some time googling, the closest deli/pizzeria was about a mile away on a loud road, not very inviting. I was also surprised there was no signage pointing out the International Boxing Hall of Fame located in Canastota. Canastota was a great location to stop for lunch but there was virtually nothing open in the downtown on a monday. It felt like Canastota turned its back on the Empire State Trail :-(
After about 30 miles on my new saddle I began to have new pain that I had not experienced on my old saddle. On my old saddle my sit bones had a lot of pain, but on the new saddle, it seemed like my tailbone was getting rocked!
East of Canastota there was about a 10 mile detour which really put a cramp in my style. A bridge was out and they routed me way out of the way in Oneida County. The following day I met some fellow Empire State Trail riders and they were able to walk their bikes over the bridge even though it was technically closed to traffic. They said many times when a sign says "bridge is closed" its just closed to cars, and with some sleuthy ingenuity you can get your bike across the "closed" area. PRO TIP!!
Farther along I crossed over a lock which is part of the New York State Canal System. This system allows boats from the Hudson River to access the Great Lakes. It is the successor system to the original Erie Canal. Almost all commercial traffic has ceased on this system and it's used mostly for recreational boating. The canal system costs New York State over $100 million a year to operate. I wish they spent that $100 million on bicycle infrastructure instead!
As I kept rolling along I entered parts of the Old Erie Canal State Park. Something I liked about this part of the Empire State Trail was there was signage indicating the next road crossing. Although this did not tell me how far I was from towns, each marker gave me a sense of accomplishment. I wish the Empire State Trail had better signage describing distances between towns.
By this time it was almost 3 pm and I was getting very hungry, even hangry. As I entered the outskirts of Rome, I saw a sign for a shop called "Cycle Shack". I took a short detour off my route to explore this bike store.
Unfortunately as I arrived at Cycle Shack I soon realized that it in fact was a motorcycle/ATV shop, not a bike shop. I did not bother to venture inside. #fail
As I headed into Rome the Empire State Trail runs on West Dominick Street. This area was one of the seedier areas I biked through on my entire trip. There are many run down buildings and stores around here and I did not get a welcoming sense. Rome has seen better days, especially since the closing of the military base a few years ago. Alas, while the neighborhoods in Rome leave something to be desired, I did find an excellent dominican restaurant on Dominck St, Unico Sabor Latino. This place had a ton of delicious hot foods to select from. I got spicy chicken with rice and beans, with some pork skins. After a nearly 50 mile ride it truly hit the spot. They even let me bring my bike inside. Unico Sabor Latino --- 5 Stars!
As I biked through downtown Rome the neighborhood got a little better, including the Capitol Theater, a restored Rome landmark. I wanted to explore Rome a little more but due to me making a 10 mile detour, I was now getting close to nightfall and wanted to get to my hotel in Utica. Also there turned out to be another small detour in downtown Rome (which was very poorly signed).
My 2nd leg of the day was about 18 miles from Rome to Utica. East of Rome the Empire State Trail turned into something more like an ATV track. In some spots it was somewhat muddy, and I was glad I chose 700x35 tires! This section would have been good to have a gravel bike. When planning for a trip on the Empire State Trail, choose tires that can easily get you through some muddy and rocky spots.
The trail keeps on going in a mostly wooded area until you reach Utica. The trailhead in Utica was nice and some money seemed to be spent here. Many differernt trailheads were added across the Empire State Trail.
I decided to stay at a Red Roof Inn just north of downtown near the trail. While it wasn't as seedy as the Dollinger's Motor Inn in Albion, the crowd here also left something to be desired. If you see people barbecuing in the parking lot, don't expect it to be the Ritz Carlton.
My room was clean and tidy and was the best I could ask for after a big day of riding. Everyone was nice, except a car had driven into the front of the hotel check in recently, so it was a bit of a mess.
Utica was another city that I did not have enough time to explore on my own. The Empire State Trail skirts the northern side of Utica, but doesn't really go into the downtown. I wanted to explore Utica because it has reinvented itself over the last 20 years by opening its arms to immigrants from all over the world! My hunch was that there were some hidden food gems!
Utica is also known for it's italian-american population and local italian cuisine. Within walking distance of Red Roof Inn was Tavolo, a stylish italian restaurant and bar. For a tuesday night, it was jammed! I tried the Greens Morelle, which is a take on famous Utica Greens. Although it had a little too many cheesy breadcrumbs for my taste, the flavor was excellent. I also had a delicious white pizza with arugula, fontina, and a balsamic glaze.I put half the pie in tin foil for the following day's ride. Yum!
At the end of dinner my tailbone was beginning to really give me trouble. I also was having pain in the grundle/perineum area, which was new development. I decided fatefully to SWITCH BACK to my old saddle which I wasn't happy with either. My saddle crisis reminded me of this clip of Don Rumsfeld! I knew I probably would be in pain in my old saddle, but I knew what I was getting into.
Stay tuned for Day 8 - Utica to Amsterdam was one of my favorites, as I got to see Little Falls, a truly delightful gem in the Mohawk Valley.
