Tour the Towpath: Cycling Dewitt to Rome

Last fall, Frankie and I were out for a bike ride on the Erie Canal.  We stopped at a road crossing to wait for a break in traffic, and there we met another child.  This boy, who was several years older than Frankie, asked him are you riding Tour the Towpath, too?  Confused, Frankie looked at me; we didn't know what Tour the Towpath was.  The boy showed us his map and explained all about it: Tour the Towpath is a 36-mile ride between Rome and Dewitt, with overnight camping in Canastota.  He looked Frankie up and down, and checked out his bike.  I think you could do it, he said.  My little brother is doing it.  Of course he's pretty hardcore.  Are you hardcore?  Frankie had never heard that term before, but this boy's vote of confidence and the entire conversation made a big impression.  On subsequent rides, last fall and this summer, the Tour kept coming up in conversation: Frankie was very interested.

In August, I got a small group email from another parent at Frankie's school, wondering if anyone else was planning on riding in the event.  Now Frankie was even more excited about the Tour.  Riding with friends = awesome, so I signed us up.  Since we only have one bike rack, I also registered for the shuttle, so I could have my car waiting for us at the end of the ride.  I parked my car in Rome, and the shuttle service transported me, our two bikes, and our overnight camping gear back to the start of the ride in Dewitt.  Because the shuttle left Rome so early, and it's almost an hour drive to get there, we let Frankie sleep in and Erwin dropped him off in Dewitt; we didn't want  him to start the ride exhausted.  Plus there was a lot of down time, as the shuttle had us at the start by 8:45 am, and the event didn't start until 10 am.  I was very grateful that Frankie didn't have to sit around waiting with me, as he would have been terribly bored. 

the shuttle service

When 10 o'clock finally rolled around, Frankie was chomping at the bit to get riding.  And honestly, so was I.  There are no restrooms at the Dewitt trailhead and I had left the house hours ago.  We planned a stop at Cedar Bay, a mile or so down the trail, just to use the facilities.  But first, there were a few kick-off speeches.  Once they were done, I held Frankie back a few minutes to let the bike traffic thin out, then we set out.  We hadn't seen our friends yet, but were too impatient to get moving to wait any longer, and knew we'd meet up later. 

kick-off announcements

riding back to the canal from our pit stop at Cedar Bay

view from the bridge

When Frankie and I got to Chittenango, we stopped at the Landing Museum and went inside.  Frankie loves reading all the interpretive signs along the canal, and was excited to look at the exhibits and read more in the museum.  We used the facilities, and because it was air conditioned and very hot outside, ate our lunches inside.  I asked and was granted permission to fill our hydration bladders in the kitchen sink, and we browsed the gift shop.  Then we looked out the window and saw our friends pedaling up, so went outside to meet them.  Frankie and the kids ran around outside, climbing through the replica canal boat and checking out the other buildings.  The other families sat down to eat and Frankie brought me to the barn to show me Sal, and then the canal boat.  Then we rejoined the group and when they finished eating, we herded the kids through the bathrooms again, then set out riding together. 

We took a short break along the canal in Canastota while several of us adults signed in at the checkpoint, then biked down to Zems to set up camp. 

Zems is an ice cream parlor in Canastota where Frankie and I have stopped several times after previous rides.  It has a basic mini-golf course and some arcade games and Frankie loves it there.  It was a crushing blow to discover the ice cream shop closed at Labor Day.  A milkshake would really have hit the spot on this hot muggy day.  We claimed our luggage and set up our tents on the grass, dispatching the kids to go play. 

Then we all walked to dinner together.  We went to Casatina's, a little Italian place.  Frankie was thrilled to get pasta, and the food was really delicious when it finally arrived, but this tiny restaurant was completely overwhelmed by our party of 11 (and several other groups of riders, as well).  Every table was full, and service was very slow.  When we were waiting to pay the bill, one of the Dads volunteered to take the restless kids to the Main Street Market across the street and let them pick out ice cream bars.  When the rest of us arrived back at Zems, the kids were watching Wall-E projected on a screen outside.  It was a bit buggy, so I went back to the tent and got some layers for Frankie and I, plus our tooth brushes, so we could get ready for bed immediately after the movie.  

It was not a particularly restful night, for the adults anyway.  There is a very active train track a few hundred feet north of where we set up our tents, and the adjacent Main Street is busy for Canastota.  A train roared by every 20-30 minutes all night long.  Luckily, Frankie managed to sleep through all the noise, and awoke refreshed, although very early.  The local Rotary Club kindly provided breakfast for the riders: donuts, yogurt, bananas, juice, and coffee.  Frankie was thrilled to have a donut for breakfast, and tried and liked a new flavor of yogurt, cherry-vanilla. 

The dew was very heavy and the tents were soaked.  I did not relish the idea of jamming the wet tent into the big duffel to be transported soggy to Rome, knowing I would then have to set it up to dry when I got home, so I asked the owner of Zems if I could leave it there during the day to dry out and stop to pack it up this afternoon driving back from Rome.  He very kindly agreed and the rest of our group did the same; packing wet tents is no fun.  The owner also opened up the min-golf course at 7:30 am and let the kids play for free.  He was so sweet and generous I almost forgave him for the lack of ice cream.  But seriously, letting the kids play in the morning was a life saver, because once again, we had to wait until 9 am for the event to start.  This was kind of torture, sitting out the nice, cool morning temperatures, because it was going to be another scorcher, even hotter than yesterday.  

Sunday morning announcements

Finally, we were free to ride!  We didn't have lunches today, just snacks, so decided to just power through to Rome and get big lunches there.  Of course, we had to stop at the town park along the trail and let the kids play on the playground. 

crossing the Thruway

Lock 21 was another big attraction.  I don't know if it's always this busy, or we just had good luck with timing, but we got to see the locks operate in both directions, first to raise a sailboat traveling eastbound, then to lower a westbound pontoon boat.  The kids loved it! 

Once we finally got riding again, it was a quick 6 miles to our finish point in Rome.  Frankie set out from Lock 21 like a rocket, biking far ahead and setting the pace for the group.  One of the Dads who had previously been setting the pace rode with him, and they would stop periodically in shady spots to get drinks and wait for the rest of the group.  There were a few us us close behind, but also some laggers.  Frankie was very proud of himself to be the first from our group to reach the end!  He still had plenty of energy, and when I was loading the bikes in the car, announced he was going to pee in the bushes.  I looked around... the parking lot is an enormous grassy field.  What bushes?  He ran all the way to the edge of the field and back. 

Once everyone was checked out and loaded up, we all went to Nicky Doodles afterwards for the long awaited milkshakes and some lunch.  This is a great family-friendly place with picnic tables in the shade -- exactly what we needed after the long hot ride.  Then we drove back to Canastota to pack up our tents.  Frankie was planning on another round of mini-golf while I packed up, but Zems was closed entirely so he had to hang out and help me. 

Other families considering the ride should be aware that there is a minimum age, although it is neither advertised nor enforced.  When I registered, I got a pop up waning that the minimum age for riders is 9 years old, but I was given the option to provide reason why I thought my 7-year-old could complete the ride (he has completed several previous 12-15 mile rides on the Erie Canal and was excited to ride with friends).  Once I provided that information, the registration went though, and we had no further issues.  Another family in our group had to do the same for their 8-year-old. 

In summary, Tour the Towpath was a blast!  We all had so much fun, kids and adults alike, and everyone is already talking about riding again next year.  The total mileage was about 37 miles over two days, 36 miles on the canal and about a mile roundtrip down to Zems and back.  I'm so glad Frankie and I participated!