Pennsylvania, Niagara Falls, New York

Fall is fast approaching! The last 4-5 days, since our last update, the weather has been perfect for cycling....cool crisp mornings and afternoons in the low 70's. Pushing on from Cleveland we had three more days along Lake Erie, equal parts urban riding and that of country through beautiful wooded areas and also a lot of vineyards. The majority of the shoreline was either privately owned or inaccessible due to thick woods/brush, however, the handful of unobstructed shoreline views were great and the sunsets never disappointed. We crossed into Pennsylvania for a short 50 mile stretch where Sarah had a bit of a tough day.....an old time Italian deli owner losing control of himself when asked to put red peppers on her sandwich and another salty local lady yelling "Hey lady ya can't put ya bike dayr I gawts money ta make at dem tables!" We both looked around for her imaginary customers as tumbleweeds rolled by. However, we made it through Pennsylvania unscathed and our first "road score", by way of $12 blowing across the street, made up for the rather edgy people. We rolled on into New York $12 richer.

 

Shortly after crossing into New York the landscape changed to vibrant green rolling hills and huge extravagant homes along the lake. Our second day in New York, while having lunch, the skies went from clear to grey in no time at all and the rain started coming down in buckets.  Luckily there was a pavilion nearby. After two hours of waiting for the rain to let up we realized it was hopeless and pushed off to pedal the remaining 40 miles through Buffalo and over the Peace bridge into Canada to Niagara Falls, Ontario...stopping along the way at Tim Hortons for the fuel of coffee and doughnuts to get through the rain.

 

The last 20 miles into Niagara Falls were some of the most serene of our trip. Riding on a bike path along the river, the rain having let up with the sun popping out to create steam as things dried rapidly. Coming around a bend to see the city of Niagara Falls on the horizon was a complete shock, as neither of us were expecting such a large city. We rolled into town a bit past sundown and stared at the Falls for awhile, bewildered by it's immensity and power, before grabbing a hotel room to dry ourselves out and gorge on pizza. 

We decided to take the following day off, as we've been riding steady 60-70 mile days since leaving Indiana, to hang around town and enjoy the spectacle. We took a little boat tour that takes you surprisingly close to the falls....so close you have a rain poncho on for the heavy mist. Interesting history tidbit....the boats name is the "Maid of the Mist" as centuries ago the Neuter Indians would send their most beautiful maiden over the falls each year as a sacrifice. Another rather unusual bit is back in 1827 two hoteliers drew a crowd of 10,000 spectators sending a boat full of animals, including a buffalo, two bears, two raccoons, two fox, a dog, and a goose, over the falls as a publicity stunt to "see which animals would survive". The goose made it. 

 

 

 

 

Having our fill of Niagara Falls we pushed on this morning, quickly crossing back into the good 'ole USahA. We're now riding on a dirt path, the Erie Canal bicycle trail, for 100 miles of our 420 across New York. It looks a little something like this.....

 

We penciled out our remaining miles in order to figure out a date for plane tickets home. It looks like it'll be a short 13 more days on the bicycles before the celebratory lobsters in Bar Harbor, Maine......