Day two of Cycling the Erie Canal offered a cool and dry day for the most part, until some thunderstorms drenched some riders and others' tents and belongings (such as one radio reporter). The ride started in the Village of Medina, which has a historic section of downtown (see pictures in slideshow), including Bent's Opera House, from 1864.
The Mayor of Holley, the trip's next stop, greeted each and every cyclists who pulled into a rest stop in his village. The berg of 1700 residents puts its best foot forward along the canal, both waterway and trail. The historic canal used to run right through Holley, when it was called "Saltport". The larger canal, navigable now by large pleasure boats and moderate cargo vessels, is about a quarter mile from his John Kenney's downtown, and he's doing everything he can to draw them in.
Brockport served as lunch stop for many of the cyclists, another town with some buildings that harken back to the beginnings of the canal's hey day. Both are towns, evident in their names, that became waterside communities because of the canal, joining Middleport, Lockport, Spencerport and others.
The day finished in Pittsford, after going through a more industrial and wider section of the canal south of Rochester.
After the day's 54 miles, it's 100 down, 300 to go.
