After a week of nine and ten mile per hour days, I'd call it a good morning. The afternoon was pure evil in comparison. The towpath was paved for only two blocks. After that it was crushed stone. OK, I can live with that.
Pavement reappears from time to time, especially under bridges.
The pavement looks beautiful from the overpass, but it's all a part of the master plan to destroy touring bikes. Last year I stressed my hub on the gravel surface and never recovered. It was one popped spoke after another that began on this ribbon of gravel. This year I was much luckier. Twenty or thirty miles down the trail I suffered a flat tire.