Day 11: Little Falls to Latham, New York 75 miles 2133 feet of climb

Today's ride followed the Erie Canal along the Mohawk River and the historic area that played such important roles in the early days of the American Colonies as well as the development of New York State.

I took my first shower at 5:45 this morning.  My second shower came about seven miles into the ride.  Lucky me.  The faster riders (the majority of this group averages between 17-21 miles per hour!) missed most of the 20-minute deluge.  Michelle, Shane and I got soaked.  But good.

The bucolic setting along the Mohawk River.  That's Fort Plain on the far shore.

The first 50 miles was a straight shot down Route 5 through both small villages and larger cities.  It was so depressing at times as we rode through what, I hope, were once-thriving towns along the Mohawk River.  Yet today, there were numerous people just sitting on front porches or benches, drinking beer or something stronger, at 9 in the morning.  But more depressing than that was the fact that I had no gas for that first 50.  I was just so sluggish and couldn't get my body to wake up until we left the main roads for more park-like surroundings.

The Erie Canal is made up of both the narrower channels we rode alongside yesterday as well as the river systems such as the Mohawk between Buffalo and Albany.  Today, we watched as Lock #8, seen here, was put into use with boats heading down river.

We passed a massive bike tour as we approached the Canalway and Mohawk River Bike Paths.  Those riders were about to complete their Erie Canal Bike Tour, which started last week up in Buffalo.

These bike paths provided relief in two ways.  As a respite from the highway, they were a welcome change of scenery.  But, as the sun was now out and the temperatures were rising, the shade from some of the paths was grand.

I've been trying to figure out how much energy I'm expending each day.  Having jumped into the tail end of this ride, I tried to remember how much I ate in past years.  The first couple of weeks, it's a matter of too much versus not enough.  Same on this trip.  I actually think, for all that I ate and drank yesterday, it wasn't nearly enough and that's why I was so listless during this morning's portion of the ride.  [Yesterday's calorie count, assuming 79 miles at 15 mpg was 4865 calories.]

Continuing our tradition of finding local hang-outs, we stopped at Jumpin' Jacks, a famous drive-in in  Scotia, New York.  Absolutely GREAT onion rings!

So what did I eat today?

Breakfast (6:00 am):  Scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast, strawberries, orange juice and tea.
1st SAG Stop (9:45 am):  Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, fig newtons, orange slices.
2nd SAG Stop (12:15 pm):  Cheeseburger, onion rings, lemonade @ Jumpin' Jacks.
Motel arrival (3:00 pm):  Coke Zero and a power bar.
Dinner (6:30 pm):  Grilled chicken sandwich with bacon, guacamole, lettuce and tomato; sweet potato fries, unsweetened iced tea @ Red Robin.

And, during the course of the ride, I drank the equivalent of 6, 24-oz. water bottles, four with water, two with Gatorade.

The next three days are supposed to be scorchers and we're all being warned to drink more than we think we need.  I've been drinking all day so I hope I'm well hydrated.