. . . is making me crazy. I hope both NYCeWheels and Brompton appreciate my restraint. I am not bombarding them with emails every hour asking exactly where, and in what state, my future Brompton exists at any given time.
I was away for a week recently, and couldn’t help but fantasize about future travels with my Brompton. I’m so used to being on wheels now that I feel a little captive when I’m without them. Next time I drive far from home, I may very well have a Brompton in my trunk, and thus plenty of opportunities to slip in a little ride here and there, no matter what else I’m up to.
I felt my Brompton-less-ness acutely this trip, so I did the next best thing and rented a bike, and rode about 18 miles along the Erie Canal.
The bike’s a Trek Navigator (“City/Trekking bicycle”, said the sticker). Big, fat, tires, straight handle bars, chubby, loopy frame. Not my kind of bike, the way smaller-wheeled bikes are, but fun to ride, just the same.
It was a gorgeous day, and the Canal has its own kind of beauty, and much of interest to see. Here’s Lock 32:
The Canal is flat, and the terrain not terribly varied, but it is lush and green at this time of year, and beautiful, just the same:
I tried taking a couple of shots without stopping the bike, with varying degrees of success (this one worked pretty well):
This one blurred. We’ll call it a memory shot:
Here’s a lopsided look at a common structure on the Canal. Are these technically locks? Or another kind of gate?
I took this “panda” shot on the fly, too. Why do people take these shots? I’ve no idea, but I felt obligated to try it:
There are many metal bridges, in various stages of appealing decay, along the Towpath Trail:
While visiting here, I often drive over these bridges. It was thrilling to see them from a completely different perspective:
Cycling often offers a close-up view of interesting structures not observable by car:
Not just structures, either. I saw this Blue Heron very early in the ride:
This small family was completely unconcerned by my presence (gotta love a quiet bike):
As were these guys, whose pals couldn’t even be bothered to move off the towpath as I rode by:
There’s a small stretch in the village of Pittsford where bikes must be walked. I understood the need — the path here is well-developed for pedestrian and commercial usage — but I minded having to dismount just the same. Crabby of me, and perhaps not very reasonable, especially since it’s a lovely stroll:
Mules no longer tote barges on the Erie, but there are still watercraft to see:
As this boat demonstrated, there’s more than one way to “cycle” on the Erie Canal:
It’s difficult to see them in this small image, but there are three bicycles splayed across the roof of this sight-seeing craft. Frankly, I think I’d be happier to have my Brompton inside the cabin. Oh, wait — I’d be happier to have my Brompton, period!
How many more weeks until the companion of my dreams arrives? Two? Three? More? Anticipaaationnn . . .