Day 16: Acres of Apples

We biked by more fruit trees than I knew existed in the world today. Acres and acres and acres of apples and all sorts of other trees I didn’t recognize. It didn’t smell as nice as the pines in the Adirondacks, but it was stunning in its own way.

From Lake Ontario to the Erie Canal

We spent most of today biking through the farms along the shore of Lake Ontario, mostly with views of fruit trees, but with an occasional town and a peep of the lake in the distance. We got one last good look at Lake Ontario at an excellent park in Poultneyville, which had a swing set overlooking the lake.

It was rolling hills for the first half of the day, then a long slow climb inland, and then flat as a pancake once we got to the Erie Canal (a grand total of 33’ of climbing over the last 8 miles of the day).

We finally saw some strawberries for sale at roadside stands today, but sadly didn’t grab them when we saw them and then didn’t see anymore for the rest of the ride. Hopefully we’ll come across some tomorrow.

We also finally ran into other touring cyclists. A father and daughter on a weeklong tour with no set destination riding a tandem bike, and an older couple riding the Erie Canal Trail from Buffalo to Schenectady. It was nice to chat with them and reassuring that there are others out there. It’s odd how few other cyclists we’ve run into so far.

My mom’s friends John and Susan are hosting us for the night in Fairport. They fed us a feast for dinner and gave us a short walking tour of the town (it’s super cute!). After all day on the bike, a nice walk is a welcome change of pace.