Day 45

Day 45 was good for me.  95 miles from Henrietta to Liverpool which is the north end of Syracuse.  After getting out of city limits we road along the Erie Canal for about 25 miles.  Though the trail was crushed gravel which made it more difficult, the canal is very impressive and the little towns that are by the canal were interesting.  The first three pictures are from the canal area.  The canal was started in 1817 to develop a water route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.  By 1822, 220 miles of the canal were open.  It was very controversial at the time and many opposed the government investment in the future.  All those who opposed are forgotten by history but those that supported are part of history. 

The forecast was for rain today; however, I got an early start and though I was in sprinkles most of the day, never really got wet.  Many of those behind me got caught in a steady downpour.  I felt good and actually biked faster the last 60 miles today into a slight headwind and sprinkles than yesterday when I had a slight tailwind.  Kim brought treats to the second sag station which was most appreciated by the riders tired of the same snacks every day.

Syracuse was the original site of the Iroquois Confederation which was originally five Indian nations before expanding to six.  There has been much written how the Confederation was one basis for the colonial government for a representative form of government.  The Iroquois Confederation is an amazing story which I have read much about.  The Seneca were the west end of the Confederation and it is their lands which we are not biking through.

The next pictures are of a park and Lake Onondaga which we biked by on the way to the hotel.  The whole terrain today were green hills and farms in the valleys.  The last picture is of supper, one of my three favorite meals of the day.

Tomorrow we bike about 80 miles to Little Falls.