JACKSON TWP — Wayne Roccia coached track and field at Seneca Valley High School for years.

Bicycling wasn't one of the events.

It's a major event in his life now.

Roccia, 71, recently completed the Canalway Trail in New York, a 400-mile bike ride from Buffalo to Albany. The route links Rochester, Syracuse and Utica as well.

“I did this as a promise to my dad, who passed away in 2017,” Roccia said. “My brother, Don, died in 2016. The three of us have done biking trips together.

“We did the Katy Trail (225 miles) in Missouri seven years ago. We've talked about doing this one in New York. Believe me, my brother and father were in my backpack, along for this ride.”

And it was a long one.

The Canalway Trail is 75 percent off-road. It was originally formed as a trail for mules to cart equipment for construction of the Erie Canal.

The jaunt by bicycle took eight days. There were 360 cyclists participating on this particular ride. All were provided directions on a GPS.

“It doesn't take long to get separated from everybody else,” Roccia said. “I was riding alone for much of the time.”

While the majority of riders brought along tents to spend nights in “tent cities” — baseball fields or high school football stadiums made available for overnight stops along the way — Roccia met up with his wife, Peggy, at hotels they mapped out along the trail.

They had dinner together before anchoring down for the night. Roccia would jump on his bike the follow morning while his wife would hop back into the car.

“It was a challenge sometimes, meeting up at the end of the day,” Mrs. Roccia said. “The trail rarely comes near the actual roadway. But we managed to find each other.”

Other than some tight hamstring issues the first couple of days, Roccia came through the 400-mile jaunt in good shape.

“And he worked through the sore hamstrings by the third day,” Mrs. Roccia said. “I was quite impressed the way he handled this.

“Of course, he did a lot of training to prepare for it.”

Roccia rode the Rails to Trails, Montour Trail and Butler-Freeport Trail in the local area as part of his training.

“We're fortunate to have trails like those so close by,” he said. “I'm on my bike quite a bit.”

Roccia described the Canalway Trail as mostly flat, except for a few hills when it neared a town.

“I don't do hills too well,” Roccia said, laughing. “On the few occasions the trail did go near highway traffic, I got a little uneasy. Those cars go by quickly.”

The weather was good for most of the ride. The riders dealt with rain that first Saturday and Sunday, then again on the final day of the ride.

Besides that, they were riding in sunshine.

“Wayne paid attention to the forecast,” his wife said. “If rain was expected the following day, he'd ride extra miles to avoid having to ride as many miles in the rain that next day.”

The bike ride was billed “rain or shine, so you had to come prepared,” Roccia said.

“This trail is very old. Some towns have taken care of their portions of it with paved flat top. Other towns have done nothing at all through the years, so those portions can get muddy.”

Roccia said there were “support stops” every 15 to 20 miles, where water and snacks were available.

His longest ride in one day was 64 miles, his shortest ride 10 miles.

The Roccias have been married for 49 years.

“I'm proud of what he did,” Roccia's wife said of completing the trail. “He made a promise to his father and he kept it.

“He may be careful about what kind of promises he makes in the future,” she said, laughing.

Regardless, Roccia's lengthy trail riding days aren't over yet.

“I'm sure I've got another one in the works,” he said. “I just don't know when.”