LOW BRIDGE: DAY 2 - MEDINA TO FAIRPORT
BIKE FRIENDLY BUSINESSES
Day two! Time for a second (or maybe third?) ice cream cone as Tinsel in Albion welcomes hundreds of riders with fruit and discounts on ice cream scoops. You're in for an especially sweet treat since Tinsel is a certified Bike Friendly New York business and is owned by Erie Canalway Trail Ambassadors. Tinsel's name pays homage to Albion's Christmas connection as Albion boasts the first Santa Claus 'school. Visit Tinsel.
ICONIC LIFT BRIDGES
♫ "Low bridge everybody down" ♫ from the popular Erie Canal song refers to the modest height of the bridges under which mules, and later steam-powered barges, traveled. Eventually the bridges were replaced by "lift bridges" to accommodate taller craft. As you travel the western part of the Erie Canalway Trail, which parallels the original alignment of the Erie Canal, you'll find yourself repeatedly going over and under the bridges. Upon hearing the ding-ding-ding at crossings you'll inevitably come across a group of fellow cyclists watching in wonderment as the steel structures rise and fall.
SMALL TOWN CHARM
WHERE THE CANAL MEETS THE GENESEE RIVER
You'll know you're at the point where the canal meets the Genesee River when you see clear and murkier water merging. Riding along the stone bridge in Genesee Valley Park, you can also see boats cautiously passing (and a fair amount of dredging equipment, just in case).
WELCOME TO ALBION!
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: RIDER STORIES
Advice for a bike-travel newbie
Kim Andresen, having never pedaled more than 20 miles at a time, rode the 400-mile tour with her partner and his brothers in 2016. The next year she submitted a blog post to Adventure Cycling Magazine describing her experience as a first-time, long distance cyclist on the Cycle the Erie Canal tour.▶ Read Kim's article, "Three Things This Bike-Travel Newbie Learned"
