Recovery Day

Jun 23 - Amsterdam NY to fort plain NY (lock 15): 27 miles

A storm is coming.

We were warned two days in advance by our dad and then the day before by my husband, and we could also see the forecast for severe weather coming our way.

This meant either we needed to hole up here in Amsterdam or we needed to get an early start to make it to shelter before the worst of the storm came in the afternoon.  

Holing up? Staying put? Not an option.

We set out from our cheap motel (with Seriously Questionable Plumbing) by 8 a.m.  We did have the benefits of no cooking, no tent to put away, and clean clothes from doing laundry in the bathtub. 

Along route 5? Or the slightly longer route back down the hill to the path?  Slightly longer route - safer and potentially more scenic.

For the first time the navigation was completely easy, no turns just follow the path, adjacent to I-90 for most of the way, and mostly gravel. We spun along at 90 RPM for 2 1/2 hours with two breaks and reached lock 20 at Fort Plain by 11:30 a.m. By this time we could see that the weather was going to go around us to the north and south.

We had a quick check-in with the lock master (who was friendly and super helpful as all of them have been - I love the canal system here in New York!!!). "Sure set up your tent anywhere over there". Have I mentioned yet that the lock side camping has all been free for us cyclists? 

A search for a lunch spot revealed our first real food store aptly named Plain Foods Co-op, where we bought about 10 pounds of dried fruits and nuts and couscous and tomatoes and tofu and yogurt and... you get the idea.... Finally some protein!!

We ate some of our bounty across the street at the local park where we can watch comings and goings including many Amish in buggies and pushing along little scooters, all in their traditional dress.

The afternoon was spent hanging out in the sunshine with our feet up doing gear repair and watching the geese and the canal operations.

Keeping watch at lock 20