June 30 – Saturday
Well we were up and gone from the lock E3 wall by 7:30 and Lou, the lock tender at #4, had the gates open and was waiting for us. By 8:15 the Waterford flight was behind us and we were in the Mohawk River. It has a pristine look at this point and winds around large patches of lily pads and small islands where many fishermen were casting from canoes and “bass boats”. Where did all these people come from? It was Saturday. These bass boats are interesting. I have seen ads and watched a few fishing shows where guys were in bass boats, but never had any real exposure to them. You will see a fellow quietly sitting on what looks like a bar stool at the front of the boat casting his line – all looking very peaceful. Then I guess he gets some signal or sign from the fishing gods and he starts up the 200 HP outboard on the back of the boat and zooms off at 40-50 MPH to quietly drift along the river bank some more. The boats are sparkly and shiny and from a distance look like they are 10” high with 5” of free board. There is definitely a boat for everyone.
The Mohawk is well marked with plenty of navaids as we cruised past a lot of homes and some that looked like weekend getaways. The river flows past and separates the towns (cities?) of Scotia and Schenectady where there are signs of some heavy industry – Schenectady, I believe, is where GE originated and has a major presence. Quite a few names for places on the maps include “Edison”, as in Thomas Edison. After 2 more locks we decided to stop for the day and tied up to the wall at the top of lock 8. It is kind of remote but has a park-like setting and the bike path (there is a bike / hiking trail that runs almost continuously from Waterford to Buffalo) was next to the lock.
After resting up a bit from the arduous morning of steering the boat etc. we decided to unpack and unfold the bikes we have aboard and take a spin on the trail. As soon as I hit the ground with the first bike, Dan, a self described “bike fanatic” came rolling off the trail and said he always wanted to see a folding bike. He dismounted and laid he highly modified Cannondale mountain bike on the grass and proceeded to help me setup our two bicycles. He just couldn’t help himself from making sure our tires were at a good pressure, the derailleur adjustment was just right on both bikes and that Polly’s grip shifter was assembled in the correct relationship to the hand brake on the right side of the handle bar. During this work we talked bikes in great detail and I learned the mfg., model number, cost and reason for choice of all the nifty components he had on his frame. Dan and his brother ride year round and here in upstate NY that requires tires with 123 carbide studs in each,(you have to ride them on concrete for a couple of miles when new to seat the studs well into the rubber), that will allow safe riding on the frozen Mohawk when the ice is smooth. Also, the worst temperature zone for winter riding is between 30 & 35F when it is cold enough to freeze but still some moisture to splash onto your brake pads and cables. Forty-something Dan has a great outlook on life and while a bit intense, is a very nice fellow.
Polly, Kathy and I took off westward on the trail and rode about 2-3 miles to a riverside picnic site. No ice cream available for the girls so back to the boats. Total time pedaling was about equal to that required to setup the bikes with Dan’s help. Not inspired for any serious cooking we had hot dogs on the grill and left over beans from an anchorage in the Chesapeake. A shave, shower then on to bed with much cooler air moving in to make for sound sleeping.