GoPro Video – Bicycling the beauty around us

Erie Canalway Trail: Jordan NY to Camillus NY

On the morning of Sunday, May 29, we drove from the Airbnb in Scipio Center NY that we were renting for the week of May 25 through June 1 to Jordan NY, a distance of approximately 19 miles. Our destination was the Erie Canalway Trail. We rode only a small portion of the trail, Jordan to Camillus.

We parked at the Jordan trailhead, alongside Canal Street.

Bob is ahead of me on the trail.
At the Stop sign, we will cross over S. McDonald Road
Jordan, NY

As we crossed over Bennetts Corners Road, I spotted a sign.
The sign indicates that we rode alongside the Old Erie Canal.
Memphis, NY

I liked the Welcome sign on this portion of the trail.
Memphis, NY

A little farther along the trail we came across a garden. The garden is the Bryan M. Place Memorial.

Who is Bryan M Place? Bryan died in January 2010, when he was 39 years old. He was a well known financial expert. His interests included coaching youth sports, reading, downhill skiing, and long distance running.

The Bryan M Place Memorial is a beautiful place along the trail.

The pier leaned A LOT to the right. I took a couple steps forward on the deck, took this picture, and immediately turned around to walk off the deck!

We soon arrived at the Camillus Erie Canal Park.

This map shows where we were on the Erie Canalway Trail.

We ate a picnic lunch at this park pavilion.

A man and woman who had passed by us at the Jordan trailhead, as we were unloading our bicycles, were eating lunch at this pavilion as well. They were in for the long haul. This day they had started out in Niagara Falls and were riding to Syracuse, or beyond, before calling it a night. They had camping gear, or they stayed in a hotel on rainy nights.

After lunch we rode to the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, approximately 1 mile farther east on the trail.

The 9 Mile Creek Aqueduct was built in1842 and was in use from 1845 to 1918.
It was one of 32 aqueducts on the 19th century Erie Canal.

9 Mile Creek Aqueduct (base level)
Photo by Bob
If you look closely, you can see me on top of the aqueduct.

After seeing the aqueduct, we rode back to the pavilion where we had eaten lunch. At this point I had ridden 12 miles. The most bicycle miles that I had ridden so far this year was 8.37 miles earlier in May. I decided I had done enough riding for the day. My legs were very tired. My knee; however, was not hurting (yay!). I thought it best to stop before the pain started. Bob rode his bicycle back to our car, while I stayed at the park. I spent part of my time at a picnic table in the pavilion where we ate lunch. The rest of the time I sat at a bench alongside the Erie Canalway Trail.

I enjoyed my view, while waiting at Camillus Erie Canal Park.

It was really cool, when a tour boat went by where I was sitting!

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

Bob left Camillus Erie Canal Park around 12:50 pm, and he returned with the car at approximately 2:30 pm. Upon his return, we visited Sims’ Canal Store Museum.

Sims’ Canal Store Museum
This wall mural of a boat traveling over the 9 Mile Creek Aqueduct is on the second floor.

Sims’ Canal Store Museum
This fully furnished dollhouse depicts life in the 1800s.

Sims’ Canal Store Museum
On the first floor is a replica of the original store.
I *almost” said “hello” to the store keeper.
The cutout looked very realistic.
The eyes followed you, too!

Will we ride on the Erie Canalway Trail again? We hope so! No plans have been made to do so, though, in the immediate future.

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda

On Wednesday, May 11th, we drove from our home in Warren PA to Leeper PA, a distance of approximately 47 miles. Our destination was the Rail 66 Country Trail trailhead.

We parked off Route 66 in the Car Mate parking lot next to the trail.

From the Leeper trailhead we rode our bicycles, south, to Lucinda. The photographs that follow were taken along the trail.

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
Discarded railroad ties

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
The flag on the barn caught my eye.

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
DB’s Smokin’ Bar-B-Q is located in Lucinda, along Route 66.

If DB’s Smokin’ Bar-B-Q had been open, we would have eaten lunch there. We have eaten there before, and the food is excellent.

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
We ate a snack of tuna salad, crackers and fruit at this picnic pavilion.

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
Bob is approaching the picnic pavilion.

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
Bathroom Stop

Rail 66 Country Trail – Leeper to Lucinda
Former Lucinda Railway Station

We turned around about 1.25 miles south of the Lucinda Railway Station. Bob rode alone back to Leeper.

I stayed at the Lucinda Railway Station
and waited Bob’s return by car.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

Total bicycle miles ridden: 8.37 miles.

This was my first time on the Rail 66 Country Trail, whereas Bob rode his bicycle on the northern part of the trail in September 2021. The trail is very well maintained. We plan to return one day soon and ride our bicycles from Lucinda to Marianne and back. We hope to see inside the Lucinda Rail Station at that time as well. On another day we plan to ride the northern part of the trail together.

The 2022 Riding Season Has Begun

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
Wildlife Loop

It has been 8 months since I last published a blog post for ”Bicycling the beauty around us”. Our last bicycle ride in 2021 was in September. So far this year we have bicycled in our neighborhood, and we rode our bicycles at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island in Virginia. We bicycled a total of 17.89 miles, in April, while on vacation in Virginia.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during those three bicycle rides.

Cycling Assateague Island 4/15/2022-4/17/2022

Great Allegheny Passage – Confluence to Ohiopyle, PA

Our wedding anniversary was this past Sunday, on September 26th. We decided to take an anniversary trip to Confluence PA, where we spent 3 nights at an Airbnb. We brought our bicycles with us.

Around 10:00 am on Monday, September 27th, we left on a bicycle ride. Entry to the Great Allegheny Passage was a couple blocks from our Airbnb. We rode from Confluence to Ohiopyle.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

I took several still images, while bicycling the trail.

Great Allegheny Passage
I am looking across the bike/pedestrian bridge
that we had just crossed over from Confluence.

The Great Allegheny Passage runs 150 miles between
Cumberland, MD and Pittsburgh, PA.
We rode the 10 miles between Confluence and Ohiopyle.

We rode along the meandering Youghiogheny River
through a mostly forested trail.
The trail surface itself was mainly crushed stone.

Opposite the river on one part of the trail was a wall of rocks.

What a nice resting spot along the trail!

We had a picnic lunch here.
At this portion of the trail we were on our way from Ohiopyle to Connellsville.
We did cross over the bridge, but rode no further.

I am very pleased with myself that I was able to complete the Great American Passage from Confluence to Ohiopyle. I have ridden very little this year. I may have been able to make the return trip, but I didn’t want to push it. My knee hurt, and the pain would undoubtedly worsen. Bob rode back to Confluence to get the car.

After Bob left I rode my bicycle downhill, just a short way back from where we had our picnic, to Ohiopyle State Park. I walked a short way along the Youghiogheny River, admiring the rapids and waterfalls.

This is the bridge that we rode across
before Bob rode back to Confluence to get our car.

Ohiopyle Falls on the Youghiogheny River

Overlook of Ohiopyle Falls on the Youghiogheny River

I found a shady bench near the Visitor Center. I could hear the roar of Ohiopyle Falls behind me. It was a pleasant place to await Bob’s return.

Bob returned to Ohiopyle shortly before 3:00 pm. He said it took him 45 minutes to make the return trip on the Great Allegheny Passage. His average speed was about 13 MPH. Bob took a shower at the Airbnb, before driving back to Ohiopyle.

Ira Trailhead to Peninsula and Return

We vacationed the week of June 25 through July 2 in Hudson, Ohio. We brought our bicycles with us, intending to bicycle the entire Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park several times during the week. Because of extreme heat and high humidity and rain we ended up riding only a small portion of the trail.

On Saturday, June 26th, we drove to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and bicycled the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail from the Ira Trailhead to Peninsula and back.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

Highlights of our ride included obtaining a national park passport stamp in Peninsula, watching a train cross over above the trail, and seeing a Great Blue Heron just south of the Beaver Marsh. We began our bicycle ride at approximately 9:30 am and finished at 11:07 am (1 hour 30 minutes and 48 seconds later). I took only two pictures.

We stopped at the Beaver Marsh
on our way back to the Ira Trailhead from Peninsula.

Just south of the Beaver Marsh we saw a Great Blue Heron.

Total bicycle miles ridden: 10.15 miles.

Allegany State Park Bicycle Ride

Yesterday we went on our first bicycle ride this year outside of Warren. We transported our bicycles to the Quaker Run area of Allegany State Park.

We met our friend Liz at the Quaker General Store. The three of us rode the new Quaker Run Multi-Use Trail (3.2 miles round trip). We didn’t realize that the trail from the Quaker General Store to the Taft Cabin was a slight uphill climb, until we turned around and began our ride back to the Quaker Store. We coasted most of the way back to the Quaker Store.

The new Quaker Run Multi-Use Trail is being built in two phases. We rode on Phase 1 of the trail. The second phase of the trail has begun and will run from the Quaker General Store to the Quaker Lake Beach. When completed, the trail will run over 5 miles. We are looking forward to the completion of this trail!

When we finished bicycling the Quaker Run Multi-Use Trail, we transported our bicycles to the Red House area and bicycled around Red House Lake (a 3-mile loop). This trail was somewhat more strenuous, as there were definite hills to ride (or walk) up. Borrowing the words from a friend “I was feeling my winter inactivity by the time we got done.” (Thank you for the suitable choice of words, Jim R.)

Total bicycle miles ridden: 6.27 miles.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.

Bicycling Allegany State Park

It was nice to see Liz again. It had been more than 15 years since we saw each other. We have seen Larry (Liz’s husband), though. Larry sells automobiles. We have purchased two cars from him. We hope that both Larry and Liz can join us on a bicycle ride in the near future.

Allegheny River Trail: Foxburg to Parker

On Monday, May 25th, we went for a bicycle ride on a portion of the Allegheny River Trail.

The Allegheny River Trail is 30 miles in length. The trail runs on asphalt between Franklin and Emlenton for 27.5 miles and on an isolated section between Foxburg and Parker for 2.5 miles. It meets the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail in Franklin, crosses beneath the Sandy Creek Trail in East Sandy, and passes through two old railroad tunnels.

We completed the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail in August 2018.

We have yet to ride the Sandy Creek Trail.

As for the Allegheny River Trail, we are riding that trail in segments. In early May 2019, we completed our first segment — Emlenton to Rockland (6 miles). In mid-August 2019 we completed our second segment — Franklin to Belmar (5.1 miles). In September 2019 we completed our third segment — Rockland to Kennerdell (6 miles). We completed our fourth segment — Belmar to Kennerdell (10.4 miles) in October 2019. We completed our fifth segment — Foxburg to Parker — on Monday’s ride (2.5 miles).

We parked at Foxburg and rode south to Parker. We turned around at Parker and rode north, back to the parking lot in Foxburg.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our bicycle ride.