My Rochester Ride

Oh! Hey there! It's been a few weeks, hasn't it? 

I am in Rochester, NY for a conference this weekend. In fact, I've been here since Thursday and the conference is just starting this evening. But because I'm on the Board for the conference, I've been here for lots of pre-conference activities (mostly meetings). Thanks to an adjustment to the pre-con activities schedule this year, I wound up with nearly all of today as free time - hallelujah! Having done my homework before I came to Rochester, I knew that there were several bicycle trails in the area. I opted to bring my personal vehicle to this conference so I could toss my bicycle on the back and get out for a nice ride today...which is exactly what I did!

While other Board members were looking forward to sleeping in, finding a nice spa for a massage, or generally just chilling for the day, I've been looking forward to this morning since I arrived and wheeled my bike into my hotel room!

Naturally, Milton Moo made the trip; he wanted to pose on my bike in my room.

As soon as I got up, I started to get ready - I braided my hair, hit up the ice machine to fill my CamelBak, and put a Lara Bar and a snack bag of pretzels in my pack. I wheeled my bike down the hall, onto the elevator, and into the lobby. I parked it and consulted with a girl at the front desk on my intended route. I was out on the street and riding by 8 AM. 

I headed south on South Street (appropriate) to Broad Street where I crossed the Genesee River and picked up the Genesee Riverway Trail (GRT). My plan to was to continue south on the GRT until I reached the Erie Canal Heritage Trail (ECHT). Originally, I'd planned to head west on the ECHT, but when I got to the intersection of the trails, I opted to head east instead. While I'll never know what I missed by not going west, I do know what I saw by heading east and I'm quite pleased. Let's take a look, shall we?

After leaving the hotel, I rode straight through to Pittsford, NY where I stopped after an hour of riding for breakfast - a Cherry Pie Lara Bar.

The waterfront in Pittsford was very quaint.

Along this portion of the waterfront, bikes must be walked.
(There is an off-waterfront continuation of the trail for bicycles.)

The ECHT runs right through the grounds of the Maintenance Subheadquarters during the weekend.

It was a lovely morning along the Erie Canal.

Erie Canal Lock 32

The Erie Canal - The Great American Canal!

A little bit about the Erie Canal.

Erie Canal Lock 33 - Henrietta, NY

Another shot of Lock 33. Sadly, I didn't see any boats in the canal during my ride.

I noticed this cycling banner and just had to take a pic!

In Brighton, NY.

One of the ECHT trail markers.

Directional signage along the trail.

The East Guard Locks at the Genesee River Crossing.

I found quite a bit of enjoyment on two of the three trails!

Crossing the Genesee River on my way back to the GRT, looking north.

Looking south crossing the Genesee River. Those are dredging boats in the background. Silting happens constantly, so silting is a year round operation.

I thoroughly enjoyed the fulfillment of Waldo. J. Nielsen's vision this morning!!!

Um, yeah...it wasn't very steep!

Approaching downtown Rochester.

The tall white building on the left in this picture it the Hyatt where I'm staying this week.

I doubled back to the University of Rochester campus to tool around just a bit (and add some more miles to my trek).

See what I did there?

And my final mileage. All along I was telling my colleagues that I was shooting for 25-30 miles this morning, so 27.28 works for me!

This morning's bicycle ride was EXACTLY what I needed today. I haven't been out on my bike since I did 33.70 miles THREE WEEKS AGO. I was OVERDUE for a nice, long, mind-clearing ride which is precisely what I got this morning! It was just enough "me time" to put the last few days of meetings behind me before focusing on the actual conference which kicks off in less than an hour with the First Time Attendees Reception. And this morning's ride makes New York the fifth state in which I've ridden my bike...45 more to go!