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Registration
Open for Cycle the Erie Canal 2017
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Celebrate
200 years of the Erie Canal and experience one of
the most scenic
and historic trails in America this summer
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Albany,
NY – January 2017 / Newsmaker Alert / Registration is now open for
Parks & Trails New York’s 19th annual
Cycle the Erie Canal
tour, an unforgettable opportunity to bike across New York State and take
in the rich history of the legendary canal that transformed America. The
eight-day, 400-mile recreational
bicycle tour from Buffalo to Albany is scheduled for July 9-16, 2017.
This year also marks the beginning of the bicentennial celebration for
the Erie Canal.
Cycle
the Erie Canal participants will experience one of the best trails
in America as they pedal through historic canal villages and discover the
small-town charm of Upstate New York. Along the way, canal historians and
local experts will introduce riders to the people, places, and things that
make the Erie Canal so important to the history of New York and the nation.
With more than three-quarters of the route off-road on the mostly-flat
and traffic-free Erie Canalway Trail, the tour offers unparalleled cycling
for all ages and abilities.
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Registration
for Cycle the Erie Canal includes camping accommodations each evening
with restrooms and showers; eight hearty breakfasts and six delicious dinners;
two refreshment stops daily stocked with fruit, snacks and beverages; SAG
support and baggage transport; daily cue sheets and marked routes; entertainment
and historical presentations every evening; and guided tours of the Canal,
historic sites, museums, and other attractions. Shuttles will be available
at the beginning and the end of the ride to transport riders and their
bicycles for an additional fee. Registration fee is $760 for adults and
$415 for youths ages 6-17 and non-cycling participants.
Erie
Canal Trailblazers, who commit to fundraise to help Parks & Trails
New York close the gaps in the Erie Canalway Trail, pay only $100 and receive
special recognition on the tour.
For
riders with less time, four-day options are available from Buffalo to Syracuse
and from Syracuse to Albany. Two-day weekend options are also available
from Buffalo to Fairport and from Canajoharie to Albany.
Parks
& Trails New York is the leading statewide park and trail advocate
working to create a network of parks, trails, and greenways so that New
Yorkers can enjoy better connections to the outdoors. Cycle the Erie
Canal supports Parks & Trails New York’s work on the Erie Canalway
Trail and in communities across New York State.
Launch
of the Cycle the Erie Canal registration comes a few weeks after
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a historic commitment to complete and
connect the Empire State Trail, a 750-mile trail that will connect Battery
Park with the Canadian Border via the Hudson River Valley Greenway and
Champlain Canalway Trail and Albany with Buffalo via the Erie Canalway
Trail. This initiative will not only create the nation’s longest multi-use
trail, but it will also bring substantial health, economic, and environmental
benefits to the millions of New Yorkers who live along the new trail.
Event
sponsors include the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor as the Heritage
Sponsor, and CSEA, Hodgson Russ, and tourism agencies representing Orleans,
Wayne, Cayuga, Madison, Oneida, Montgomery, Schenectady, and Albany Counties
and Rochester and Syracuse.
For
more information on Cycle the Erie Canal, visit www.ptny.org/canaltour,
email eriecanaltour@ptny.org
or call 518-434-1583.
High-resolution
Cycle the Erie Canal photos available
here.
About
Parks & Trails New York
Parks
& Trails New York is the leading statewide advocate for parks and trails,
dedicated since 1985 to improving the health and quality of life of all
New Yorkers by working with community organizations and municipalities
to envision, create, promote, and protect a growing network of parks, greenways
and trails throughout the state for all to use and enjoy. For more information,
visit www.PTNY.org.
Contacts:
Parks
& Trails New York
Robin
Dropkin, Executive Director
518-434-1583 |