Omaha to NYC Day 35: Beautiful day, upset tummy
Animated map: https://www.relive.com/view/vYvEd3VYPwq
Pretty, but loud with a dash of gastric upset. That was my stay at Ilion Marina. I was happy the bathroom was heated because I made a lot of trips during the night. Despite all that I slept well. If you're tired enough nothing will stop you.
When I woke up to cool patchy fog I faced a shorter day of 60+ miles to Lock 9. I learned from Charlie and Audrey that if you set up your tent under a tree you won't have a dewy tent. I set up under a maple and my tent was dry so it has to be true.
The first order of business was heading the three miles to Herkimer to get breakfast and even more importantly, seeing the bridge that serves as the Herkimer Coffee logo. The coffee shop in Herkimer was t bougie. It was the only breakfast place in a working class town. Consequently, it was hopping. The owner, working the counter, called everyone by their first name or buddy in a classic New Yorker loud talker voice. After a breakfast of oatmeal and chocolate chip cookie (gotta love the carbs) I biked over to the bridge. It isn't locally famous as I'd thought. When I mentioned it people just said, “that old thing”. When I got there it sat there looking like the logo but with trees growing on the top. It's an old trolley bridge that crossed West Canada Creek and was briefly the price of the area.
After admiring the local aged out infrastructure it was time to put on the miles. I was glad the bike trail wasn't part of the aged infrastructure. It was smooth as butter. By 10:00 I was cycling through a shady cut. By 10:30 I was cycling past the Herkimer House. I learned Nicolas Herkimer was a Revolutionary War commander who was killed during the war. I was entering the truly old part of the country. Another group of six tourers passed me. I never got their names. Then the three guys from Lyons appeared. We rode together for a while until they took a break.
We passed a group of high school boys matching, chanting, and carrying a big cross. I presumed they were a Catholic group of some traditional variety. I don't want to be nosy and didn't stop to ask. The mystery was resolved about five miles down the trail when a man flagged me down to ask how far back the group was. They were from the Mater Dei Academy just west of Syracuse and were indeed on a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs near Auriesville. He was the support crew with three port-a-potties on a flat bed trailer. The march is a multi day event.
I continued to Fort Plain where lunch was the order of the day. I found a place serving bulgogi sandwiches. Yum! This town was on the fancy side. I couldn't tell which towns would show signs of wealth and which would be struggling. I rode onto Fultonville which seemed to mainly be a big truck stop. I was grateful for the gas station bathroom because my GI woes were continuing. I think it was the iceberg lettuce salad from the previous night, but I think the road noise was a factor. After many miles of riding sometimes sketchy roads, the sound of a busy highway is stressful.
I was entering territory Kisho knows from doing a century ride. He mentioned the trail surface got rough near Amsterdam and he was correct. Tree roots have totally undermined the paved trail making it a series of bike speed bumps. It got so bad that I moved out onto the road running parallel to the trail. Thankfully this section wasn't too long.
I'd been thinking about the camping situation at Lock 9. I like camping and I liked my nights by the locks, but Lock 9 seemed like it would be a repeat of Ilion with two highways and a railroad running right next to it. I decided to look for an Airbnb which seemed like the best last minute option. I concentrated on the Schenectady area. It added some miles, but Amsterdam would have meant a longer day until Albany. I found the perfect place, an off-grid treehouse in Alplaus. It would still be rustic, but quiet, a great place to reflect on the last solo night of my trip. I contacted Dan the host who responded right away. It was on. I passed Lock 9.
The extra miles meant another long day, 80 miles. I rolled up to Dan’s just before 6:00. The treehouse was on his property about 500 feet from his house through some woods along a creek. It's a special place. No water or power beyond enough to charge a phone. You need to bring your own bedding, which I had. Despite these things, the treehouse was truly cozy.
There weren't a lot of grocery or dining options in Alplaus, but Dan, going above and beyond the call of duty, drove me to Walmart to get dinner supplies. I sat in the treehouse eating wings, potato chips, carrots, and chocolate while watching the dying light of autumn being the trees along the creek. I didn't reflect, but enjoyed the space as my eyelids got heavy.
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