Lyons, NY to Rochester, NY
When I woke up the next morning, my homesteading host made me a fabulous breakfast, and I started back on the trail at about 7am. I knew that today was going to be a busy day, because I knew that I was biking past Palmyra, NY as well as stopping in Rochester! The ride to Palmyra was lovely, and I got so lost in it I ended up having to deliberately slow down. I realized that I was going to make it to Palmyra long before the Mormon sites I wanted to see, namely the Sacred Grove and the Grandin Printshop, even opened! I took it easy and made it to Palmyra essentially right when the Sacred Grove opened at 10am. The Sacred Grove does not have bike parking, but the Mormon missionaries volunteering there were nice enough to just bring my bike right on inside. The Sacred Grove itself was quite lovely, as I expected - very much a well maintained, stunning, northeast woodland. The Grandin printshop, which I went to right after, was also fun! I learned all about how they printed books in 1830, which was very fascinating and not too unlike what I have to do when I make zines, just far more burdensome. Throughout both Mormon site visits, the people there thought I was just a charming Mormon boy from Springville, UT, which I let them think - it saved me from any direct prosleytizing, plus it was sort of fun to reinhabit a mode of being I haven't experienced for decades but grew up with and remains familiar to me.
After Palmyra, I had about 25 miles to Rochester. The ride to Rochester took me along some very charming canal towns, including one called Fairport, NY that I thought was just magical. So many people were outside in Fairport right along the canal, watching the water go by. It looked like something out of a Seurat painting. Upon reaching Rochester, I was pleased to see that, even though I had to exit the Erie Canal path to get to downtown, there was still ample bike infastructure, including a path right next to the river that was lovely. Once I was in Rochester, I went to the Strong National Museum of Play, which I had been looking forward to seeing the entire trip. What an absolutely marvelous place. The Strong Museum had exhibits on board games, card games, dancing, video games, imagination, and so much more. It was such a joy to be in a place dedicated specifically to game studies, which is something that has always fascinated me. The whole experience reminded me of this essay by David Graeber that has played a transformational role in how I live my life ever since I read it. After the Strong Museum, I went to a vegan restaurant and got a vegan version of Rochester's "garbage plate," which the vegan place called a "compost plate." It was delicious! Once I ate my fill of compost, I biked the remaining distance to my Warmshowers host. This Warmshowers host had previously been on bike tours and he loved telling me about his adventures and how fast he used to be able to ride. It was fun listening to him! He showed me to his basement where a bed had been made up and I went to sleep shortly after.
Rochester, NY to Medina, NY
Waking up in Rochester, my host made me a fantastic breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, and toast, and I got back on the trail at around 7:30am. I knew that today was going to be a shorter ride, but it was still lovely riding along the canal. I think I probably saw more geese and goslings this day than I did any other day, and that is saying a lot, because I saw them so often. I also passed what a marker indicating the northernmost point of the Erie Canal, which was sort of interesting. Eventually, I rolled into Medina, NY, which I learned very quickly is not pronounced like the famous city in Saudi Arabia. Medina, NY is pronounced like "Ma Dye Na," apparently. In Medina, I stayed at an AirBnB, which was honestly extremely nice and it felt good to entirely relax after arriving. I arrived at something like 3pm, and I just slept, chilled, and read the entire rest of the day. I had been reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon this trip, and I was getting close to finishing it, so it was good to get some bulky reading time in! I went firmly to sleep at about 9pm.
Medina, NY to Buffalo, NY
I woke up in Medina ready to tackle my final day of biking! The trail from Medina to Buffalo was stunning, and my favorite part was that it was paved once you got close to Buffalo. As we approached the end of the Erie Canal, the look of the canal towns changed a bit, but they remained charming and lovely. Tonawanda in particular had a gorgeous bike route right along the river that was bustling with people, it was a joy to bike past so many characters. One guy was biking down the path listening to "The Midnight Special" loudly and singing, and I smiled for a while just thinking of that guy. Right before I rolled into downtown Buffalo, I got to see the majesty of Lake Erie, having biked the entirety of the Erie Canal. Eventually, I made it to Buffalo and pulled into my final AirBnB. I made it to Buffalo just in time to catch the bus to Niagara Falls, which I had planned as my reward for finishing the bike trip.
Niagara Falls
I caught the bus to Niagara Falls at 5pm, and arrived at the falls at about 5:50pm. I had initially thought it might be possible for me to catch the final Maid of the Mist boat ride to the falls, which left at 6pm, but given the distance between the bus station and the dock, I knew that it was not going to be. The falls themselves were absolutely beautiful though, definitely one of those things that are hard to photograph that stir up a feeling of awe deep within your stomach. It was wonderful to be sprayed by them as my final reward for biking 350 miles and defeating pericarditis. After spending a few hours at the falls, I returned to Buffalo on the 9pm bus and went to sleep. The next day, I finished reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and started reading The Wind in the Willows. I love both books, but this passage in The Wind in the Willows really encapsulated my feelings as I rode the train home to Burlington.
"Once beyond the village, where the cottages ceased abruptly, on either side of the road they could smell through the darkness the friendly fields again; and they braced themselves for the last long stretch, the home stretch, the stretch that we know is bound to end, some time, in the rattle of the door-latch, the sudden firelight, and the sight of familiar things greeting us as long-absent travellers from far over-sea"
Bonus: The Lion's Journey
Two days before I left on my bike trip, my friend Dee gave me a little graduating lion plushie that had apparently been thrown away by a graduating student in Burlington, since we found it in the trash. We both joked that it would be nice for the lion to come with me on the bike trip, since I am going to Lyons, NY afterall, and it would be nice for the lion to see the world after thinking he was going to be thrown away. The lion became a source of motivation for me to actually seek out the welcome signs of every town I could. Here is the Lion's journey, from beginning to end.