Today’s riding was 50/50. The trail was nice, with much of it tree-lined and shady. But first…

Our first photo op was at Onondaga Lake which, fun fact, was designated a federal Superfund site in 1994! I read that clean up efforts have been going well.

Next up was a park as we approached Syracuse that had a lovely LGBTQIA+ painted sidewalk, which I thought was cool, and which also featured three abandoned rental scooters, which seems to be an active participant sport in Syracuse because those things were lying about everywhere.

I would have liked to take pictures in downtown Syracuse, but I was unfortunately too busy trying to navigate and not run into parked cars or pedestrians. The Canalway Trail actually runs right through the middle of the city. So that’s another fun fact in case you’re thinking of doing this ride. I did manage to take a picture of the train station.

Before leaving town we visited two bike shops in search of a mirror for Charles, which turned out to be a waste of money according to him as the one he bought (also the only option available) won’t stay situated in place.

As we were leaving Syracuse the wind was gusting cold and the sky was dark behind us. We felt like we were outrunning it for quite awhile, but around 1pm or so, our luck ran out. on went the rain gear and we rode all the way to the lunch stop in Canastota in a light to moderate rain.

Lunch was at a very authentic Mexican restaurant, at which we were the only patrons the entire time we were there. But the food was good and they didn’t mind two messy and wet cyclists coming in.

We were on the “old” Erie Canal for most of the afternoon. This section appears to have turned into nothing more than a weed-choked drainage ditch which has not seen any kind of boat traffic for many years.

Since the rain had ended just as we were ordering lunch, the afternoon was sunny and mild, even cool in the shaded areas.

We did see the the current, functioning part of the canal this afternoon, but not for long. The area at lock 21 was very nice, and this lock has two gates, which makes for an interesting view, with the water levels being significantly different in the three sections.

The final eleven miles passed uneventfully, and we were looking forward to getting to our hotel, having warm showers, and getting some laundry done.

Well.

The best thing I can say about tonight’s accommodations is that the room is nicer than the rest of the building. Back in 1963 when it was built, I’m sure it was a fine place. But that was a long time ago.

Wyndham should be embarrassed to have their name on this place. It is in a less than desirable area of town; three young persons came into the lobby while Charles and I were stripping the bikes down (more on that in a second), apparently just for the fun of causing trouble. I was beyond irascible at this point in the journey, and I turned from what I was doing and gave this kid my signature withering angry face, and they literally noped right out of there. I was actually impressed with myself. What a super power!

Backing up a bit, we rolled into the parking lot after this 50 mile day and it looked like the place was literally abandoned. Almost no cars in the lot and the attached Denny’s is closed; I could see the outline of where the sign used to be over the door. We looked at each other and were like, ah, maybe we should look for something else. As it turned out though, the two respectable hotels across town (a Hampton Inn and a Fairfield Inn) are both sold out because evidently Rome, NY is a hot place to be. So we were pretty much stuck here.

And so when the rabble-rousers showed up we were stripping our stuff off the bikes because they don’t allow bikes in the rooms. Ironic. We have been assured by the man running the front desk (who honestly did try very hard) that it is his responsibility to ensure our bike’s safety where they are locked up. Fears allayed!

The bikes are locked up in the breakfast room, which is not used because they don’t serve breakfast right now since the Denny’s moved out.

Speaking of which, restaurant options appeared sparse in this section of town, so we went to the Walgreens across the street, got a couple of Stella’s (meh) in those comically large cans that I’ve always associated with brown bags and street people and some Pringles, then broke out the JetBoil again and had dehydrated meals in the room.

We also spent quite a bit of time attempting to gather the $10.50 in quarters it would cost to do one load of laundry in the workout room/laundry room, only to have the washer coin thing jam after putting $3.50 in. A hand lettered sign written on the back of part of a dryer sheet box stated that the washer cost $7.00 (!!!!!), not the $3.50 that the sign advertised. So after pushing in the first $3.50, the washer wouldn’t start, but the coin thing also wouldn’t pop out to let us out the rest in. No clothes washing for us (I can wash things in my little scrubber bag, but I’m not doing a whole load that way, and things never dry overnight anyway).

So, we were both unhappy and feeling down and unsettled this evening. Tomorrow is another 50 mile day, with an unreserved state-run marina and campground at the end. The website does say that they have laundry facilities. Let’s hope they have a tent site available.

So, onward we’ll go in the morning. Maybe tomorrow it won’t rain, and the marina/campground will be nice, and it’ll be okay. The idea of catching the Amtrak 63 Maple Leaf leaving Rome at 12:05pm tomorrow to Buffalo was discussed, but we’re not going to let this beat us yet.

For now, goodnight to all the other brave guests at the Ramada in Rome, especially that young pregnant woman with the baby and four other small children who obviously lives here.