Day 125: Welland, ON to Buffalo, NY to Zanesville, OH - Two Far 2017 - Florida to the Canadian Maritimes - CycleBlaze

August 30, 2017

Day 125: Welland, ON to Buffalo, NY to Zanesville, OH

WE DID IT! We rode the final leg of our bicycle tour today, across the Peace Bridge to Buffalo, NY. It was a nice last ride, warm and mostly sunny with a light breeze. Kerry's "bug" seemed to be better, so that made for a much better day for him.

The first few miles were along the old Welland Canal on a nice bicycle trail.

The old Welland Canal - used for recreational activities. The shipping traffic uses the new canal, which we didn't ride by today.
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The old Welland Canal at the rowing club. Lanes are marked in the canal.
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This sign was on the door of the store where we had our first stop. We didn't take in a dog or wear roller blades, but we did wear our shirts!

I went in, but I kept my shirt on!
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In Port Colborne, the Welland Canal Trail connects to the Friendship Trail. It is a great trail, but has a lot of very tight gates that are not tandem friendly.

The Friendship Trail from Port Colborne to Fort Erie - a nice smooth, flat, straight trail, but with way too many tight gates to maneuver through. We got off the trail onto the road after a few miles.
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When we got off the trail, we stopped for a snack at the local Avondale store. The clerk there was very nice and insisted that I take a new pack of chocolate cupcakes when I dropped one on the floor trying to open the package. Kerry tried to insist on opening the second package, but I managed to do it myself without wasting any more cupcakes.

Cindy at the Ridgeway Avondale store She is a great example of Canadian friendliness.
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Last night, we had learned that the Peace Bridge had closed to cyclists three weeks ago, but a shuttle was being provided. We stopped at the information desk in the duty free shop at the bridge and the guy there called the shuttle for us. In a few minutes, we were back in the US and quickly through customs at the bicycle gate. From there, it was just over two miles to the car rental agency. Just like that, our tour was over.

In Buffalo, we rented a minivan to drive home. We're visiting family and friends in Kerry's hometown tomorrow, then we'll drive back to Florida. I'll do a final post in a few days. For now, thank you all for following along with us. I hope you've enjoyed our daily ramblings.

Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 4,889 miles (7,868 km)

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