Empire State Trail

I had 12 days to take off of work before the end of the year or else I lose them. As I've been toying with the idea of a really long bike tour, A Daydream or a Goal?, I wanted to get a more experience with a multi-week tour done as a bit of a test. At first I wanted to do the Northern Camino del Santiago Route through Spain in the late summer however some things had stopped

• Getting to the official start (Irún, Spain) would take 3 flights with at least 2 different airliens and I had never flown with a bike before
  • Getting from Santiago back home would have the same issue
• Losing 2 days for travel was annoying and cutting it close to what I had available

I even considered cutting the amount of flights down by doing a route from larger hubs like Bordeaux to Porto and visit Santiago on the way but the mileage was really getting up there given the time.

After some more research I found a US route that was long enough for me: The Empire State Trail. Logistics would be a lot easier since I can get from the West to East Coast with one flight and if anything ever happened I was in the US and could likely figure it out. I also wanted to try to do some camping which would be good to try in a country whose laws you are familiar with.

The trail was also nice because I could remedy never visiting upstate NY despite having lived a year in NYC. Initially I just figured to do NYC to Niagara Falls but after looking at flights it seemed easier to fly from Toronto even though it would add some more mileage. And thus the trip was born, I bought flight tickets which would give me 12 days to get to Toronto. I was confident that I would make it to Niagara well before that and have time to Toronto but worst case the Amtrak was never too far and a train from Niagara could take me to Toronto.

The only other solo long bike tour experience I have was Taipei -> Kaohsiung, which is one of the greatest places to bike in the world. This trip was going to be a bit different culture, cost, environment, and gear wise but any comparisons I make are against Taiwan.

I caught a Sunday night redeye and got into NYC at 8 AM. I found the logistics of traveling with a bike pretty easy. As long as you get your bike in a box you can just check it in and you're good to go. I spent a lot of time packing the bike, I put in extra cardboard so things didn't rub against each other, bubble-wrap on the chain and handlebars, and foam around the frame. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this flight turned out. There was no damage to the box or the bike and all the extra gear I tossed in the box (camping supplies, bike bags, tools) were all accepted and in the box. For my first time doing this I felt really good getting off the plane.

Now even though things got to JFK well, the assembly was a bit rough. I managed to take 2 hours to put the bike together. To be fair, there were a lot of bags to repack and put on the bike but I spent at least 30 minutes trying to fix a simple chain loop and almost got so overwhelmed I thought I'd have to go to a bike shop to get it fixed.

Nevertheless, things eventually got sorted out and the journey began! I left JFK airport at 11 AM to meet a friend in Madison Square Park. We were supposed to meet up at 10 AM but he was gracious enough to push it to 1 PM.

Shout out to Ryan for watching my bike as we walked from McDonalds for me to eat and then to CVS for me to get snacks and then to a bathroom for me. This was meant to be a quick hello so after talking and walking he went to work and I hit the trail!

To be 100% honest this was not an amazing route. It took 3 days to get past Albany, and the first 2 were relatively boring. Once you get past the Bronx the trail follows old rail networks and you tend to be on a paved trail flanked by trees. The fall colors hadn't really hit this south of NY yet but it was still pretty. However, after 10 miles of this you get a bit used to it and start hoping for a hill or some kind of open space just to see more. This section is also dominated by private property. There are signs everywhere that let you know that for some reason the undeveloped forest you're in is someone's property and you should stay on the trail lest you want to trespass. I had read online that there was virtually no camping on this part of the trail but didn't understand why until I saw all those signs. Would it be possible to hide somewhere on this property and set up a tent? Probably. Did I want that to be my first solo camping experience? Not really. Needless to say I spent the first 2 nights in cheap motels I could find on the way.

The 3rd/last day on this route was the best. I spent a night in Kingston and from there went to Albany. The ride had more open spaces, the stretch from Bard College, Tivoli, Germantown, and Catskil was particularly beautiful.

As I mentioned, I had done a tour of Taiwan before and earlier this year did 2 other long distance rides with friends, Memorial Day Cycling and First Seattle to Portland!. In all my tours I had never had any serious leg pain. When each day ended at our designated point I would usually feel tired but I wouldn't feel pain. There was one day in particular in Taiwan which had a lot of climbing and in final hour of the day I had to take breaks on the last climb to avoid cramping but there was no pain. At the end of day 2 of this trip I started feeling pain, right above my left knee. I was targeting around 70 miles a day of biking so at this point I had no more than 150 miles done and feeling pain was extremely surprising. Nevertheless on day 3, in order to get past Albany, I sent it and did 100 miles. For the rest of the trip I would have pain in both legs above the knee. It would come and go but generally appear after 40-50 miles. I could walk just fine so this caused me to take more breaks. Still not totally certain what caused this pain but my guess is something to do with my posture or how I was fueling my body.

As I pulled into Albany I met a couple who were finishing their biking trip from Buffalo to Albany. As we chatted I mentioned how my last leg of riding had no camping and I was worried I wouldn't be able to do any. They had reassured me that there would be plenty of camping heading West, whether it would be at official camping sites or just on a piece of land that looked nice. Honestly, I really needed to hear that and get some kind of reassurance because I was flying by the seat of my pants and had never solo camped. I didn't want to stop in Albany itself because I would need to get a motel and I had more time in the day so I pushed to what would be the first lock on the Erie Canal.

While the NYC to Albany portion follows railroads converted to trails, Albany to Niagara Falls follows the Erie Canal. Along this canal are 30ish locks and the New York State Canal Corporation does a fantastic job maintaining the locks and making the area near them into a small park. Most of them will have picnic benches, cut grass, and a portable bathroom. The couple I met in Albany had told me that these locks were amazing to camp at and while you technically needed permission from the supervisor to spend the night there, they were generally say yes if you asked them and if they're not there no one is going to mind if you stay. So on the 3rd night I rode past Albany to Lock #7 and spent my first night in the tent

Needless to say this was an amazing start to this leg. Lock 7 was the best lock I had seen and it was so beautiful getting to stay there. The riding on this stretch of the leg wasn't totally 'rural', there were a good amount of towns on the way and for a while you ride next to I-90. That being said things were already much more scenic than the previous leg. More open space to be able to see farther, significantly less signs tell you about private property, and more fall colors. It was also nice to ride next to water, the canal was quite scenic and felt like a friend that would come and go for the next 400 miles.

One of the best riding was the area around Syracuse, which started with Green Lakes State Park. The family to my left had 3 tents setup and were playing Christian music full blast for a few hours while the tent to my right had food roasting on the campfire while they watch a football game on a TV laying on the back of a pickup truck. I was sneaking peeks as I ate my cereal mixed with strawberry protein and setup my tiny tent. There was a lake near the campsite that I visited at night and the next morning.

After this I rode into Syracuse itself. The Empire State Trail takes you through a small part of it to the south so I didn't see much but what I saw was nice: young people, industrial, colonial architecture. I stopped by a trendy coffee shop and bakery and then went out of the city. The way out takes you around part of Onondaga Lake, which was an awesome ride on such a clear and sunny day. I never really thought of private property and how it can restrict access for others to nature but this was a stark contrast to the NY -> Albany route which had so much private property. It was amazing that the county invested in this and anyone in Syracuse could enjoy the lake.

This part of the trip was a lot more rural. Less forests and more large farmland. Towns were more spaced out as well. At one point you go off the canal and are on the shoulder of an old state highway, so classic rural riding. I really like this part even though there was a hill and my legs were so tired I had to break multiple times.

The trail doesn't go through much of Rochester unfortunately, it takes you south of the city, so I can't say too much about Rochester itself. There are a few cool towns near it though, like Fairport, Pittsford, and Spencerport. Other than a handful of cool small towns it continues to be quite rural until you get close to Lockport. My last night camping was spent outside of a town on the side of the canal. It was really beautiful and so nice to be able to just stop somewhere, pitch a tent, and go to sleep. A simple freedom but a sweet one.

As I got closer to Lockport I got more and more excited that I would be at Niagara later that day. I kept grinning and imagining the photos and views in Niagara and Toronto. Ironically, as I got closer and closer to Niagara and started feeling more pain in my legs Niagara felt more and more distant and I was getting frustrated.

After Lockport there's a town named Tonawanda where you split north for Niagara and south for Buffalo. The road from Lockport to Tonawanda isn't super interesting, it felt like following a trail through a bunch of suburbs, and then Tonawanda itself wasn't anything special (sorry Tonawandans). From Tonawanda to Niagara Falls you follow a 'Shoreline' trail along the Niagara river (it isn't always shoreline). Also not a particularly interesting ride but what really did me in was the wind. It was buffeting and felt like it wouldn't stop. I don't mind if I go slow because I'm tired but the wind doesn't ask you how fast or slow you want to go, no matter how much effort you put in you will be slowed down with nothing you can do on your end. Until I got into Niagara State Park and saw more and more of the mist of Horseshoe Falls, I was pissed, but once I got to bike around the park, see the beauty of the falls, and get soaked at Cave of the Winds it really hit that I made it to destination #1, Niagara Falls!

While Niagara is beautiful there isn't a whole bunch to it. I had meant to hang around after sunset and see the falls at night but once I got to my motel room with a dead phone, took my first shower in 6 days, and laid in bed for a bit, there was no chance I was getting out of it. I didn't want to spend another whole day at Niagara so decided to head for Toronto after checking out the falls on the Canadian Side.

The route from Niagara to Toronto would generally follow the waterfront and I knew it was a bit more than 90 miles. I planned to split this into 2 easy days but after heading out and really enjoying the ride, I got about 30% of the way when I decided to do it in one day. The route takes you through rural roads until you get to Burlington which was when I went on a more direct route riding through cities all the way to Toronto, rather than taking the waterfront trail. Riding through Oakville, Bronte, and Mississauga reminded me a bit of the South San Francisco Bay area and the cities there. I made it into Toronto around 7:30 pm, had dinner, and then went straight to the CN tower as that was the only iconic thing about Toronto I knew.

The rest of the time in Toronto was very lowkey. The first 2 days I was there I was soaking in the revelry of making it. Whereas Niagara was very frustrating to get into, no matter how much my legs hurt or how slow I got, making it to Toronto was exhilarating. It was the real destination, once I was there I didn't have anymore riding to do. I got in Tuesday night and my flight was Friday afternoon. I had to spend half a day packing my bike but otherwise I had a bit of time to go around Toronto. Although I didn't see a lot of the city as at this point my body was pretty exhausted and wanted to just chill, Toronto was a beautiful city. Extremely diverse, nice parks, good bike lanes, solid food, and good weather when I was there - not much I had to complain about as a tourist.

I'm really happy with how this all turned out. So many things turned out well that I was unsure about when planning

• Solo camping went flawlessly even when campsite for the day was unknown
• Bike wasn't destroyed in air transit and I got faster and disassembling and assembling it
• Rain gear worked extremely well, I had some damp clothes for a day after but me and my gear never got wet
• Made it to Toronto early
• No mechanical issues with bike
• No injuries
• Lots of beautiful areas and sites
• Never felt lonely on the bike

In the future I think I want to avoid bikepacking/touring more than 3 days in North America. While it is easier logistically, it is more expensive than other regions. When I was touring Taiwan, hotels were relatively cheap and food was at least 5x less than what I was paying on this trip. It was a bit annoying to be paying $12-15 just for snacks at 7/11. I tried to optimize and go to Dollar Store locations but it's annoying to change routes for specific stores and everything at the Dollar Store is not a dollar anymore. Taiwan is a bit of an unfair comparison given how amazing it is for cycling, but it was so nice to be able to go to a country with incredible food and not worry about paying for it given how cheap it is compared to America.

As a 'test' ride for some kind of multi-week tour it showed it was very possible but I would want to change some things:

• Getting Aero Handles and/or touring handlebar for more hand/arm positions while riding
• Checking my bike fit in case an issue there caused leg pain
• New saddle for long rides to save my butt from as much pain as possible
• Get a charger in my front hub to rely less on multiple power banks
• Only buy return flight once I'm at destination
• Lock in nutrition strategy
  • What to eat, where, when, and how to use electrolytes properly
• Leave extra time for lower mileage days to rest body and spend some more time exploring
  • I had extra time but I never really felt like I did because most of the plan from Albany to Niagara was to go as far as I could and then camped
• Do part or all of tour with friend(s) or biking group
  • Taiwan and this were only done solo because they came about in 1-3 months and it would be hard to find someone to do this with

Next time hopefully will be in Europe or Asia!