550 cyclists on Erie Canal adventure reach Medina

Group headed east on Monday through Orleans County with destination to Fairport

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Christa and Dean Berry are on their third Cycle the Erie Canal ride. They are heading for Wise Intermediate School in Medina to check out a selection of books from the Author’s Note bookstore.

MEDINA – Medina and Orleans County tourism committees rolled out the red carpet today for 550 cyclists and their 100 volunteers who arrived in town on the 26th annual Cycle the Erie Canal ride.

Orleans County Tourism director Dawn Borchet, tourism creative director Lynne Menz, Medina Tourism Board member Barb Gorham and Job Development director Kelly Kiebala worked in shifts to greet cyclists as they signed in at the Tourism Booth.

The first thing cyclists were asked to do was write their name on a giant map of the United States, indicating where they came from. By 2 p.m., names were already filled in across New York, Maine, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Indiana, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Canada and New Mexico. Two sisters on the ride came from Australia.

Jim Murray of Santa Clara, Calif. points to his home town on a map set up in the Tourism Booth at Wise Intermediate School for cyclists to sign. This is his first time on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride.

The map was an idea of Borchet’s, who said she saw it at a tourism event in Wayne County.

“It makes a good impact statement,” Borchet said. “I took it last year to a legislative meeting, and until you have the visual, you don’t realize the impact to our area.”

There are cyclists from 37 states will travel 40-60 miles per day this week, visiting historic towns along the Erie Canalway Trail. The trip started in Buffalo this morning and ends in Albany on July 14.

The trip on Monday will include rest stops in Albion, Holley, Brockport and Spencerport for the day’s riding ends in Fairport.

The grounds surrounding Wise Intermediate School are a sea of tents all set up for the 50 cyclists and 100 volunteers who will spend the night there on their 400-mile ride from Buffalo to Albany on the Erie Canal trail.

For some riders, this was their first attempt, while others have done it multiple times.

Jim Murray of Santa Clara, Calif. is one of the first-timers. While he was in college, he worked in Niagara Falls, so he was excited to be back in the area. He said he waited until he was retired, because it took a lot of time bike riding in preparation.

This was the 14th year in the event for Jim Englert of Wayne, Steuben County who is a volunteer. This meant he rides every other day and helps load and unload gear and luggage on the trucks accompanying the riders the other days.

Christa and Dean Berry from Washington, D.C. are on their third bike ride. They enjoy seeing the locks in Lockport and were looking forward to having “Utica pies,” a name given a special pizza in the city of Utica.

“This is such beautiful country,” Dean said. “There is so much more to New York than New York City.”

Peter Ashley from Titusville, Pa., Trish Zdep of Buffalo, formerly of Elba, and Joe Kaufman from Eau Claire, Wis. relax by their tents before heading to State Street Park for a concert featuring bluegrass music by Creek Bend.

Peter Ashley from Titusville, Pa. was riding with Trish Zdep of Buffalo, formerly of Elba, and Joe Kaufman from Eau Claire, Wis. This was their third year volunteering and riding every other day.

Zdep’s favorite thing is all the little towns along the way. In Medina she was especially impressed with the architecture and the stone buildings.

“This is a great way to see New York, that isn’t New York City,” Kaufman said. “You meet new people. I saw a guy I first met three years ago.”

He praised the reception given the cyclists in Medina.

“Dinner was fantastic and we loved the cherries,” Kaufman said. “There are a lot of first-timers this year, including a guy from Germany.”

Craig Cashman from Watertown is on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride for the first time, with four friends. This is his first time in Medina.

Craig Cashman of Watertown said he had always wanted to do this ride and convinced four friends to do it with him this year.

“This is so well organized,” he said. “We are impressed at how they cater to everything you need. “This is my first time in Medina and we rode around downtown. We were amazed at the beautiful churches. I also enjoy the music.”

Medina Tourism Committee, chaired by Jim Hancock, sponsored a bus to take cyclists around town and back on a regular schedule all afternoon. Stops included the Medina Railroad Museum, Sandstone Hall of Fame, the Visitor’s Center and Canal Basin.

The 400-mile ride from Buffalo to Albany encompasses eight days and is sponsored by Parks and Trails New York.

A stream of cyclists pedal across the railroad tracks on Gwinn Street about 1:45 p.m. Sunday en route to Wise Intermediate School, where Tent City was set up for the 550 riders and 100 volunteers on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride.

Jim Englert of Wayne reaches for a handful of sweet cherries at the Tourism Booth, while volunteers Kelly Kiebala, left, and Orleans County tourism director Dawn Borchet look on.