On Thursday I again rode along the Erie Canal. The pancake-flat path along the canal offers an unrestricted and fairly monotonous view: water, water, water, bridge, water, water, water. I began to wonder if I might be stuck in some sort of groundhog day, doomed to an eternity of biking along the obsolete waterway...
After a couple hours of riding, I stopped and set up my easel facing the canal (although I probably could have painted the canal from memory by this point). As I began painting, a parade of dark clouds marched across the sky. They took turns jumping in front of the sun, causing the light to change every thirty seconds. "Just pick one place and stay there," I instructed the clouds. They ignored me. "Stay still or else...!" I shouted, shaking my fist at the sky. In response to my threat, the clouds pelted me with heavy, over-sized rain drops. Frustrated, but unwilling to surrender, I kept painting. The rain came and went, and the clouds continued to play shadow puppet games with the sun. As I finished the painting, the rain stopped completely and the clouds vanished, leaving behind an expanse of uninterrupted blue. "Well NOW you decide to behave," I grumbled at the sky, and settled myself comfortably into a grumpy mood. A man (whom I will dub the Annoying Comment Fairy) ambled by and stopped to inspect my painting. "Very nice," he said "but why did you put all those clouds in there? It's such a beautiful day!" He beamed at me. Still dripping from being rained on five minutes before, I gave him my steeliest stare. The Annoying Comment Fairy smiled back at me and walked away, an annoyingly cheerful spring in his step. I resisted the urge to paint a bright yellow 'Kick Me' sign on his back.
Wednesday (9/14) mileage: 50
Thursday (9/15) mileage: 41
Total trip mileage: 1,355
Coming soon: Rochester
Below:
Painting of the Erie Canal (with clouds!)
Northernmost point on the canal (which looks just like the other less-northerly points on the canal)
My newfound traveling companion. She needs a bath. So do I.
'Butts Road' (which passes over the canal)
A boat on the canal
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