“Anyone can ride in the sunshine!”, a fellow biker from back home would cheerfully exclaim during a drenching ride. Yes, indeed, it takes a true cycling nut to ride in the rain.
7am start. Steady rain. 50 degrees. Not ideal cycling weather. The Ontario County Rail Trail was first up, and it started out rather pleasant. I came upon a seasoned trail hiker who asked what I was doing out there in the rain. Good question. I asked her about the trail conditions and she said there would be some mud after a bend, more mud before a bridge, and some standing water after that. Unfortunately, she was spot-on correct. It was a wet slog into the town of Geneva.
Seneca Lake State Park sits on the outskirts of Geneva would have been a splendid spot for a paddle, but the weather did not cooperate today.
Onward to the Cayuga Seneca Canal Trail, which was in fairly good condition despite all the rain. I came upon a ‘wish rock’ clinging to a tree:
Holding the bright blue rock, I made a wish that it would stop raining.
The next town was the lovely hamlet of Seneca Falls, thought by many to be the basis for the fictional town of Bedford Falls in the classic movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Jax and I met up on the town’s proclaimed bridge that stars in the opening scenes of the movie. Jimmy Stuart’s character (George Bailey) threatens to jump off the bridge before an angel changes his plan. Here, Jax provides a thrilling re-enactment. Perhaps most wonderful of all… the rain stopped as we were there.
Not to seem ungrateful for the respite granted by the magic wish rock… but upon reflection, I should have specified a duration as part of my rain-stoppage wish. Like, “I wish it would stop raining for the next several hours”. Careful what you wish for! About 2 miles out of Seneca Falls, the rain resumed and would keep falling for the rest of the day.
A few miles from Syracuse, I passed over an 1842 Erie Canal aqueduct that has been beautifully preserved and restored. Jax snapped a pic from the creek view as I stand atop the well-engineered aqueduct that amazingly continues to hold the flowing canal waters.
After a wet and chilly 75 miles, we finally arrived in the metropolitan city of Syracuse with a finishing temperature of 59 degrees. With some luck, and maybe another wish rock, we’ll hope for dry and sunny weather tomorrow.
Domagala.Bike 
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