Niagara Falls

Riding the Erie Canal bike trail was a rollicking good time. I hadn't considered it much at all previous to our arrival so it came as a welcome surprise. After being out in the mountains we knew the canal would be flat and we thought we'd going screaming along. We did, at first. The canal doesn't seem to handle too much industrial traffic these days, although we did see a barge or two. Mostly pleasure boats: powerboats big and small, kayakers, and jet skis. Some of the towns along the way are a delightful treat with all kinds of shops and vibrancy. Others don't seem to have found new industry or energy after their canal heyday.

Directions were easy through this stretch and we had a lovely surprise as we took a bend near the outskirts of Rochester and stumbled on an REI right at the canal's edge. We bought a couple tent stakes and a new waterproof stuff sack for my sleeping bag. Figuring out directions, going off the route, searching around for stores - it can swallow up time so it's extremely convenient when something you'd like is right there at hand. Employees were setting up tents and a bike repair station outside the store. "Are you with the ride?" "What ride?" Apparently, about six hundred cyclists were due to make their way through as part of the Cycle the Erie Canal bike tour.

I don't know where I got the idea but I imagined they would all come as one enormous peloton. The reality was they were stretched out over lots of miles and could not be found in any mass horde on the trail. When we stopped for lunch in a town called Spencerport the place was mobbed with bikes! Every restaurant and cafe had bicyclists taking a break. We saw one guy with a jersey proclaiming proud membership to the "Old Farts Bike Club." Average age of the riders: 62. Recharged, we continued heading west. Then the headwinds began. Earlier in the day we had been going 12 or 13, then 11 mph, then 10, then 9 sometimes, then dipping to 8 in the dark times. There were high points though: A young girl in her backyard passed out water cups to cyclists along the canal trail. "There's enough for everyone." It was very sweet.

We called it a day at Middleport and set up camp at a park right on the canal's edge. First dinner of rice and beans and bell pepper and then dessert of garlic bread and dipping sauce as we just squeaked our order in before the pizza shop closed. Rach and I decided to wake up early the next morning to give us extra time at Niagara Falls, for time crossing borders, and to try and beat the wind.

After a good rest, we made our earliest departure yet and were riding by 7:30 AM. The headwinds had also woken up with us. The dirt surface of the trail was degrading during this stretch so we hopped back on paved roads. Goodbye Erie Canal. Next we rode through the Tuscarora Indian Reservation (lots of cigarette shops) and toward the Canadian border. The crossing was a bit confusing (no signs for bicyclists) but we managed to figure it out and were now in Canada! There is a fantastic park along the Niagara River with botanical gardens and ropes courses and lookout points. We continued south along a bike trail to the American and Horseshoe Falls.

The Falls were inspiring and we appreciated them as we best knew how by sitting on some grass in the shade eating ice cream and smoothies. I read my new book (Tom Wolfe's A Man In Full) and we lounged about for a fine stretch. Eventually we hit the road again and it was incredible how the madness and mania of the crowds and zip lines and tour boats and casinos gave way to a regular neighborhood just a few miles south of the Falls. 15 or so miles of riding along the river took us to the Peace Bridge to cross back into the US and into Buffalo. The pedestrian and bicycle section is closed for repair so we called a phone number on a sign and an official van drove behind us as shield from other traffic.

Today is a rest day and we are luxuriously recharging in a hotel in downtown Buffalo.

Miles: 73 from Macedon to Middleport, 63 from Middleport to Buffalo

Lock number 30

Posing

Rach suggested sleeping in one of the pockets of the door

Lots of picnic tables - good amenities

Fully styling

Ice cream for when it's hot

Camp in Middleport

They call this the "Aero Car"

Niagara Falls

Looking toward America

The mist is reaching us way up above, those people must be soaked

Make a wish

Along the Niagara River