The first 500 miles of by bicycle tour took me from NYC to Niagara Falls along the Barge Canal Trail colloquially known as the Erie Canal Trail. I left NYC on a Sunday morning and I began my tour on highway 9W (a stretch of highway west of the Hudson River) -- by far the most horrible bike riding I've ever done. From NYC to Albany, 130 miles, I was on 18-24 inches of shoulder and finally I connected to the trail 30 miles north of Albany.
// Crossing over the George Washington Bridge
// First Night of Camping at Hook Mountain State Park
During my second night of camping I had this guy stop by to chat and it turned out that he's done cross country trips on his bicycle and motorcycle. He gave me 20 bucks and said that I should start a donation jar. Though I never took him on that advise, throughout the trip I had plenty of people share their hospitality and generosity.
// Crossing Train Tracks off of a Road from 9W
From this point on I was on the Barge Canal Trail. There were a few times the trail disconnected and I got on highways or farm roads, but it was 90% trail for about 350 miles.
// Crossing over a Bridge as part of the Trail System
// Crossing over the Barge Canal
I relied heavily on Warmshowers to secure hosts throughout my trip. Andy, in Utica, was kind enough to let me have my first rest day in 6 days (left). And the stop after that was Syracuse (right).
// Resting before Entering Rochester
// Abandoned Rail Line along the Trail
Communities along the trail varied a lot. I by passed tiny house communities, trailer home communities, and there were water base communities. The pictures above are of these communities that had their entire structures built on the canal.
// Grain Silo
// Niagara Falls
// View from Outside of my AirBNB for the Night.
The first major section of my tour is done. I completed 500 miles in 10 days of cycling and my next segment will be going through The Rust Belt.