John W. from Pittsburgh, PA on 4/5/2022 12:09:34 PM:
Getting from Exchange to Canalside is easy, just use google maps and switch it to bicycle travel. It’s about a 5 minute ride, less than half a mile. Of traffic is a bother, you can always use the sidewalks.
Weather should be typical NE USA summer. There are parts of the canal that are swampy and will have lots of mosquitoes if you stop but they are no problem if you are riding (other than swallowing the odd one!). Otherwise you are passing through a lot of farm country.
Do you have a daily distance goal since you stated you haven’t done long distance riding before? Is this and out and back trip or terminating in another town? How do you plan on getting back to Buffalo? Are you staying at hotels/B&B’s or camping which means your are hauling gear? Some of these things will help people on this forum give some good advice.
The one piece of advice I would give you is to get out there and get some miles in before you do this trip. Even though the trail is flat, there’s still a lot of miles to cover. Do 10 miles one day, 20 on another. Take your time and enjoy it but knock out some miles and gradually build up. Do a 20 out and 20 back one day as you get close to your departure day.
Let us know what your plans are…
John