|
|
Back to North Meet the Riders Bamacyclist Home Day 44
|
|
|
|
Back to North Meet the Riders Bamacyclist Home Day 44
|
|
| ROUTE: Niagara Falls to Henrietta NY | DISTANCE: 80 Miles | WINDS: SW 5-10 Helping most of the day |
| WEATHER: Sunny and a little warmer...high 87 | TERRAIN: Flat in sections and rolling in others | TOTAL CLIMBING: 2300 feet |
DAILY REPORT:
Well, we're starting our last week on the road. Can't believe it's come
this far so quickly. Seems like a lifetime ago and then it seems like
yesterday that we dipped our wheels in the Pacific and here we are bearing down
on the Atlantic a mere 50 days hence. But here we are all rested and
raring to go on another leg of our journey. I say everyone is rested, but
from the looks on most people's faces, they could have used a day to recover
from all the activity they did yesterday. Most hit the ground running
yesterday and it probably took more out of them than they'd like to admit.
But it didn't take long for the blood to start flowing once the pedals started
going around. By the time they got on the road, I could hardly keep up
with the front riders...and I was in the van.
If
you've never been to Niagara Falls, you need to go. Even though it is touristy
to the tenth, it is still a spectacular natural wonder. It's a shame there is
so much commercial building around the natural beauty the falls provide. It's
hard to describe the power the water generates as it tumbles down the last few
meters before going over the drop. And the colors of the water--and the
intensity of the rainbows the spray creates--are ever changing. The water color
varies from deepest emerald to deep teal to pale blue-green laced with foam to
every shade of blue, even navy. I don't think I'd ever tire of watching the
water. The photo to the right is of the American Falls from Goat Island looking
north toward Rainbow Bridge.
I
think the riders enjoyed their day off in Niagara. Our motel was a 10 on a
scale of 10 and was located within easy walking distance to the falls. If there
was anything negative about the motel, it was the fact that it was a high rise
with only elevator access to the ground floors. This made getting luggage and
bikes to the rooms and getting everything back down for loading this morning a
challenge. But it was worth it to be able to spend the two days conveniently
located within sight of all the touristy things to do. We had only to walk
across the street to get to Niagara Reservation Park, Goat Island, the American
and Horseshoe Falls, the Wax Museum, and the balloon ride. Even better, it
was only a block from the best ice cream stand we've had since we left
Astoria...priorities are important.
To those who have never been to New York, it is
not all concrete like New York City as the common misconception holds it to be.
The first time I was through here, I was really surprised to find the terrain
mostly forest or farmland, with lots of dairy farms, crop farms, and wineries.
I also think that New York has the best roads of any state we ride through for
the most part. Usually there is a nice shoulder to ride on even though we
may be riding on a pretty busy roadway and we'll also ride on plenty of quiet
back roads before we get through 
the
state. Just as the motto says...I
It didn't take long for things to settle back down to normal after they got on the road. It did feel a little strange not seeing the folks that left yesterday and we lost another one today unexpectedly...Richard Pauls developed a severe sore knee coming into Niagara Falls and it didn't get any better during the day off so he decided to leave. We even thought it strange when we didn't see a couple other riders too, but they were just off riding bonus miles after missing a turn about 10 miles from the motel, but we finally found Ernst and Alfredo before I had to issue the APB for their recovery.
All in all it was another great day...all the remaining ducklings and four new ones all in safely. Tomorrow we head to Syracuse and will ride along the Erie Canal for a short bit. I think the riders will enjoy the diversion off the highway. I've always enjoyed riding the canal, but it presents a few navigational challenges...seems simple enough...just ride along the canal, but it never seems to work quite like that. Anyway, join us tomorrow for another day in the saddle...we're closing in on our prize. M
| DID I REALLY SAY THAT?: "I'm more worn out from our rest day than I've been from riding." "Can we stay another day?" "I think my giddy-up got up and went." "This front tire looks pretty bad. How
much farther do you think I can ride it?" "According to the tour yesterday, the falls is moving south every year. How did they know exactly where to build the tourist things?" |
DID I REALLY DO THAT?: Sondra gets the award for the least amount of mileage on a tire. I got a call just before arriving at the SAG that she had cut a tire and needed a new one. I hustled back about 10 miles on route to help her fix her flat and put a new tire on in place of her cut one. I was driving back up route and got another call before I even got back to where I was when she called me the first time. "What? You have another flat? On the front this time?" "No," Came the reply, "It's the back one again." When I got to her the second time, they had already changed out the tube but showed me another pretty good cut on her brand new tire. Less than 5 miles and she'd already ruined another one...now that takes concentration to hit that much stuff on the road in such a short time. This may be a new record...if not, it's right up there with the best. |
|
DID I REALLY SEE THAT? |
|
 Powdered donuts? I didn't see any powdered donuts. |
 Cool morning departure. |
 Beautiful farms in Canada. |
 Redneck riding lawnmower. |
Copyright © 2007 by Bamacyclist
All rights reserved.
