Fall bike trips with a purpose

Looking for a little adventure that combines beautiful scenery, an interesting exercise route with history and landmark viewing? Here are some bicycle ride suggestions:

•Ride the trail at Hemlock Lake to look for eagles.

•Bike that flat Erie Canalway Trail to its eastern end at Palmyra to view the Aldrich Change Bridge. This relic from the early canal days allowed mules to cross the canal without needing to be unhitched. It sits in Palmyra Aqueduct Park and is being reconstructed by volunteers.

•Pedal an 8-mile loop including a segment along the shore of Lake Ontario at Hamlin Beach State Park.

•Ride the Erie Canalway Trail west to Medina where Oak Orchard Creek flows under the Erie Canal, takes a sharp turn then tumbles down a 40-foot ledge in a frothy fury known as Medina Falls.

•Ride the Ontario Pathways Trail to find a wooden water tower left over from the days when steam locomotives pulled trains on the rail-trail.

These and many other local bicycle trips are mapped and described in the new, second edition of "Take Your Bike - Family Rides in the Rochester Area" by Rich and Sue Freeman.