July 7, 2013

After a wonderful rest day with Dee and saying good bye to Chuckwagon, we were awkwardly getting ready for our first day ever with such a small group. We have toured for probably 10 thousand miles together, and never had only 4 people. It sure feels strange.

Good bye Haven Motel. We won't likely find such a clean and affordable stop again.

We stopped at Katies least favorite place for breakfast, and Roger made friends like always. He is a magnet for strangers at McDonalds.

We headed north along the Niagara River from Fort Erie to the Lewiston-Queensomething bridge north of Niagara. We biked right through the Niagara falls area we had visited the day before with Dee and Chuck, flew past a few other attractions, and were making great time. The weather was overcast, mild, and breezy. Perfect.

Before the bridge, we discovered a secret treasure in Canada. A public restroom...errr....washroom. Just amazing. Laura did a dance.

Katie loves the tailwinds. She has been holding out gummy worms to keep Rog and I moving.

After a confusing entrance onto the bridge, we were told to cross the bridge as cars, but cheat a bit. We cut over to the truck lane and skipped many hundred cars and cut to the front of the line saving hours of waiting. Inspection was pretty quick and painless. At least we didn't get searched like some of the cars we saw. We have nothing to hide, but it takes us a half our to pack our stuff back up just right.

We rolled onto our first USA streets, and stopped at the side of the road to build our next gameplan. The drivers were courteous, the shoulder was perfect, the convenience stores were friendly, and the restrooms were clean again. When back outside I overheard Katie mumble "What the deuce is Canada good for anyway?". While this might be a bit harsh, many cyclists going through the Erie coast of Ontario seem to exit with this sentiment. There were some gems, and some bright spots, but overall I would certainly not do it again. I would bike elsewhere. Sorry Al. Next time we bike with you,

We had a great tailwind at our backs and did another 30+ miles in only a couple hours. We tried 10 miles along the Erie Canal trail. It is nice, and neat, and historic, but gravel and slow. Up on the highway we had a 15mph tailwind on smooth concrete. 11mph became 16mph. The day was getting late, but we pushed hard and made it to the city park which is free (donation only) here in Middleport. We never saw a town this clean, polite, and bicycle friendly, in all of our time in Canada. It reminds us of Iowa. Cascade Iowa has a doppelganger here in New York.

When inspecting the camping options in the city park, Roger and I stopped at the police station and Officer Swift gave me an honorary badge of sorts. I think it gives me ultimate powers here in New York. We got harassed a bit at dinner by the town drunk, who is a real moron. If he stops at our site tonight, I may have to call Officer Swift.

Well, we ate our deep fried bar food (served by a very friendly guy) and have our tents setup a few feet from the Erie Canal. My turn in the shower is next, so gatta go. Yep, the free campground even has showers.

I notice now that Sarah kicked our butt today and plans to kick it again tomorrow. Sadly, I don't think we will get to meet Sarah again unless she takes a rest day....or five.

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