Preparing to Bike the Empire State Trail - Erie Canalway Q&A

[@stevebarratt6912]

This is a very helpful series as I plan my next adventure, thank you !

[@larrywasserman5983]

So cool that you guys ride the trails together. Keep up the good work

[@camloh]

I live right off of the Empire State Trail and plan on doing its entirety next summer. This summer we did the GAP/C&O, stealth camping, etc. I also did about 175 miles on the Empire State trail. I find that the towns on the EST are not as well set up for bikepackers as the GAP/C&O but that is because the trail is relatively new. Although I knew the area I was biking in, I got lost and off the trail several times (Utica especially!) as the trail / road was not well marked. It certainly has the potential to be a great bikepacking trail. It would be nice to have primitive campsites set up every 10 miles or so like the C&O. There are not too many camping options between Buffalo and Rochester. Thank you for your videos on this trip. I also saw the ones you had on the GAP and they were very helpful.

[@FollowThomas]

Thanks for Q&A. It's very helpful for me. I'm gonna ride it next year. Thanks 👍😊

[@SchoharieCrossing1825]

Nicely done! Thank you for answering many of the general questions folks have about the EST! During the "on-season" be sure to stop into Schoharie Crossing near Amsterdam! :) 13:52

[@pppjourneyonabike5992]

You should mention the Erie Canal Trail visitor centers...tent camping is possible... showers/restoom. Laundry facility for small cost. Also Little Falls has a marina park to tent camp for $10-15 includes shower/restroom in the building.

[@michaelbrummett9244]

I live just off the west end of the trail, and am planning a ride to Albany this year. I ride the sections from Buffalo to Fairport ( 4o to 50 miles a day ) frequently each riding season. Narrowest tire size 32mm wide, bogs down a bit on the stone dust sections in the wet days. Otherwise I can choose a cruiser bike with 26x2.2 mountain bike tires, or a choice 29x2.1 or 26x4 on a fat bike frame. The wider tires mean you have no worries on trail surface. Take the time to stop and check out the sights. The canal remains one of the engineering marvels of our country, built by amatures willing to take the chance. Even though you travel mostly along the 1918 era barge canal, you will ride sections of the mid 1800's rebuilds, and a few sections of the original canal bed in hiding.

[@waynewaddell1564]

Hey I plan on cycling the trail this yr. Flying into Buffalo. Looking for a safe route to cycle to trail head/navel park area. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Coming from western Canada.

[@AdventuresWithDanaJodie]

Plan on doing this summer 2023

[@richardsiderko6239]

Doing Schenectady to Syracuse RT next week including a few brew pub stops. Will be riding a Trek 8.4 DS with 38mm tires. Packed light. Everything in one Arkel pannier. Thanks for your review. The GAP is my all-time favorite thus far. Highly recommend it. Also, can't beat the scenery on the Island Line Rail Trail in Vermont across Lake Champlain with the bike ferry. If you want something adventurous try the Cross New Hampshire Bike Trail from Vermont to Bath, Maine. That was a hoot. Happy pedaling everyone.

[@NobleInventionBikeTouring]

We'll have to check that out!

[@Peter-rp3zs]

@@NobleInventionBikeTouring I live in Vermont and have use the Island Line Rail trail when I ride up to Montreal. The Burlington to Montreal trip is really a great ride, super great scenery in the Champlain Islands, and unbelievably good trail infrastructure south of Montreal. And Montreal itself has great trail systems to get you around the city. Haven't done the Cross New Hampshire Trail, but would like to-- photos of the Presidential Rail Trail make it look beautiful. Would like to ride the Empire Trail from Buffalo to NYC. Wondering how safe the on-road portions would be. (I rode from Key West to Maine using ACA's map, and ended up walking my bike on the side of the road for 12 miles because it was honestly not even remotely safe (The map did, to its credit, warn me about that segment).

[@SuperGiu]

Can you please recommend two sections on the paved section of the trail, since I don't want to go on the streets? I watched all of your videos and took notes.

[@NobleInventionBikeTouring]

If you're looking for off-road but paved sections of the Erie Canalway I'd recommend the Mohawk Hudson Bike Trail east out of Schenectady, and the trail (I think it's all paved) between Canajoharie and Amsterdam.

[@kathyzielinski7673]

Great information! Thinking of doing this one perhaps in mid to late May. Do you suppose there is a lot of rain at that time?Did you guys do hotels? I didn't notice panniers. Thanks!

[@NobleInventionBikeTouring]

Glad you liked the video! You're rarely going to miss rain entirely on a long trip in this region, but May is a good time of year to go for reasonable temperatures and moderate amounts of precip. The driest months are typically in summer, but that's also when it is very hot. We camped in our van but there are many hotels along the route to stay at. We'll have a Bike Tour Blueprint of the system up at our website spring of 2022 which will detail places to stay.

[@larrycamilli9589]

As far as I can tell, bicycle manufacturers have hijacked the word "gravel" and now use it to mean anything that isn't asphalt or concrete. [And many cyclists have adopted the same definition, which leads to confusion.] Civil engineers generally use "gravel" to refer to crushed stone with each piece about the size of a thumb, mixed with sand. The definitions that I've found on the web (including from the USGS) say that the size can be as small as a pea. Even with that definition, the non--paved parts of the trail are stone dust; not gravel. -Compacted pulverized lime(stone?) with a thin coating of crushed shale on top. -When I rode it (three times - on the PTNY-organized ride), the shale had been pushed aside by cyclists who went before me, so the surface was essentially compacted lime. -A little softer than the asphalt, but nowhere as soft and lumpy as sand and rocks. I wonder how many trails that I avoided because the surface was described as "gravel" weren't actually gravel.

[@Lughnerson]

Insects?