August 10, 2023 to August 11, 2023
Day 55 and 56: Niagara Falls, NY to Wolcott, NY
Erie Canal
Thursday, August 10:
We waited for the rain to let up on Thursday morning before leaving Niagara Falls; it was around 8:45 am. A thunder storm was predicted for later in the day, so we were hoping to make some quick miles before getting caught in it; however, that did not happen.
We rode Bicycle Route 5 until Lockport, NY where we met the Erie Canal and the Erie Canal Trail. What a treat! The Erie Canal Trail is 360 miles long, but we only did about 70 miles over two days; it is mostly crushed stone and has many amenities for cyclists. I think many people do it as a credit card tour - riding from town to town and staying in hotels; however, there is also some camping. One of the big treats in Lockport was watching the Lock actually operating. We saw boats waiting for the water to rise so they could progress to the next lock; we were also lucky enough to have the lock operator explain what was happening. It was fascinating. This took a bit of time and was worth it, but meant meeting up with the thunder storm because of the delay. However, we were lucky to seek a dry refuge under one of the many bridges that cross the Erie Canal and waited and about a half and hour to let it pass.
Friday, August 11:
Today was a big mileage day; we were trying to make 87 miles, and half of that was on the trail - which meant slow going. The crushed stone surface is slow, and all the people we encountered around populated areas slowed us down even more. But although it was slow, it was fun to see people enjoying the trail, and I liked taking in the scenery of the canal towns.
We left the canal trail in the town of Macedon and followed some of the ACA route but mostly our own. We met up with Lake Ontario, Great Lake number four, in Pultneyville. What a beautiful sight today as the skies were fairly clear and blue! Many of the areas of shoreline we passed were filled with sailboats. Along the way we also encountered more farm stands and orchards than I could count. Lots of apples up this way. Tonight our campsite is at Cherry Grove CG, which is nice. We are still being eaten by mosquitos! It has been an issue for about 95% of the trip, and has gotten in the way of playing more cribbage at night, so that has been a little bit of a bummer.
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Team Bean
Stats
- Cribbage Game Wins: Mike 11, Dawn 8
- Tortillas Eaten: Mike 162, Dawn 54
- Jars of Peanut Butter: 5
- Flats: Dawn 2, Mike 1
- Bike Haters: 4 (We had our first one in Montana yesterday.) None in North Dakota that we know of.
- We may have had some bike haters in Canada…not sure; they do it in a polite way…
- Bags of Salad Consumed: 24
- Dog Encounters: 2
- Beers, too many to count
- Bags of M&M’s: 5 of various sizes
- Fritos: 11 of various sizes
- Bear Encounters: 1
Today's ride: 159 miles (256 km)
Total: 3,736 miles (6,013 km)
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