Brockport, NY to Newark, NY

August 14, 2010
59 miles

Dinner provided by folks at the Brockport church


Today was a shorter day bicycling so everyone was in the frame of mind to take it easy.
Yesterday I bought an MP3 player because I knew I would be on the Erie Canal bike trail today for a long time. I loaded the player with music and rode the first part of the trail by myself. John and Lesa were ahead of me all the way to Specerville.

John and Lesa on the Erie Canal Trail out of Brockport


Near Rochester I met up with Gail, Ken, and Nancy and rode with them to Pittsford. This little town was very nice along the Erie Canal. There were restaurants that overlooked the canal. Gail and I had a great Greek salad overlooking the canal.

Then we headed east on the trail but it soon became very ashy so we jumped back onto Hwy 31/Bike trail 5 all the way to Newark. In the area of Palmaya a couple suggested we take an alternative route which turned out to be a dead end so I got back onto Bike Trail 5 and met up with Ken, John, and Lesa and followed them into Newark where we were staying at a Presbyterian church. In the evening we had dinner at a bar/grill and to my delight they had beer from Sonoma County. Well, of course I had to support my home county and had some Lagunitas IPA.

Erie Canal Trail

Genesse River

Stopping for a break on the Erie Canal Trail with Gail and Ken

Rowing team in Rochester, NY

Gail and Ken riding on the Erie Canal Trail

Boats lowered in the lock on the Erie Canal

Niagara Falls (Canada) To Brockport, NY

August 13, 2010
70 miles

Ken went over directions in the morning today since some of us were out late to see the lights of the falls.

The instructions appeared to be a little complicated at the beginning because of customs and some routing. We decided to follow Ken so we wouldn't get lost.

Crossing a bridge over the Niagara River connecting Canada with the US



Customs entering the US didn't take too long and we followed Ken about 20 miles on Upper Mountain Road until it met Hwy 31. There was a coffee shop so everyone decided to check it out even though we had a lunch stop 10 miles later in Middeport.


Going through customs on the US side


After lunch, Gail, Lesa, John, Tom and I headed east toward Brockport. We stopped at a Walmart in Holley and Lesa decided to get a pillow. I ended up getting a cheap MP3 player.

During the last stretch Gail and I rode together. We jumped on the Erie Canal trail from Holley to Brockport and got to the church by 3:00 p.m.

We then walked down to the Canal and there were showers for bicyclists and boaters passing through.

Many members of the local church showed up for dinner and provided us with some great food.

Pitstop at the bakery near Lockport

Erie Canal in Lockport, NY

A locke on the Erie Canal with boats waiting to be lowered to the next locke

Gail riding on the Erie Canal Trail

Downtown Brockport

Niagara Falls (Canada) Restday

August 12, 2010
4 miles

This was our last rest day of the official trip. Ed and I began the day by going to the old part of Niagara Falls Canada to do laundry. Then it was back to the hotel to hang out for a few hours.

We checked on Tom's condition and he said his leg was doing better and he would be ready to ride tomorrow.

Around 3:00 p.m. we took a bus to the tourist area of Niagara Falls. Then we walked over to the Hard Rock Cafe. Around 6 p.m. went to the Secret Garden restaurant and Ken and Nancy treated the group to dinner.

Afterwords Gail, Ed and I walked to the falls to see them at night with the lights on.

Dinner at the Secret Garden with Niagara Falls mist in the background

Panorama

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls at night

Selkirk,, Ont. (Canada) To Niagra Falls, Canada

August 11, 2010
89 miles

Today was a tough day. We had to ride a long way and also both Ed and Tom got injured in two separate incidences.

Tom, Ziva, Susan, Ed and I headed out of camp together back to Highway 3. After a couple of miles on this road a rock apparently was thrown up from a truck and hit Ed in the forehead. Ed had a pretty good bruise and had to stop for a few minutes before continuing to ride.

Ed riding on Lakeshore Drive- Lake Erie in the background


Riding along Lakeshore Drive


After about 26 miles into the ride we stopped in Dunville for a coffee break. We stayed there about an hour. I then went outside and sat with Tom under a tree for a while. We had a good talk before the rest of the group came out of the coffee shop. Once we got back on the bikes the humidity rose significantly. I was pouring sweat and thirsty most of the rest of the ride.

When we came to Port Colborne we stopped and had lunch. The only waiter at the cafe took forever to get our orders. Kim and Sharon showed up soon thereafter and joined us.

Coffee break in Dunville. Ed has a bandage on his forehead where he was hit by a rock.


After lunch we made our way out of town to the Friendship Trail. While on this trail Tom hit one of the wooden posts blocking cars from entering the trail. He was pretty bruised up and his right leg really swelled. Ed went to a C store to get some ice while I tried to put pressure on Tom's leg to keep it from swelling any further.

Riding on the Friendship Trail toward Fort Erie, Ontario. Tom in the foreground


We rode a little slower to Fort Erie on the trial. I called Ken to give him an update that we were running a little later than expected. He and Blaine had driven the trailer to the hotel at Niagara Falls and they were now riding back to meet the group.

At Fort Erie we turned north toward Niagara. Ed, Tom and I got a little confused in the route so we had to ask several people including some policemen how to get to the falls.

As we worked our way through the town of Niagara Falls we stopped at the viewing area and looked at the falls. There were many tourists here but we got through the traffic without a problem.

We didn't get to our hotel in the north end of Niagara Falls until about 4:30 p.m. Ed and I shared a room at the Super 8 hotel. He and I later went to a government liquor store and bought some beer for the group. Later a number of our group came to our hotel room to hang out and relax.

We all went to a restaurant near the hotel for dinner. Then we met up in Ziva's hotel room to wish her and Susan goodbye. Ziva's husband came up from Maryland. Susan was flying out to NYC for an exhibit of her stain glass.



Looking east across the Niagara River to Buffalo, NY at the end of the Friendship Trail

Ed and I reach Niagara Falls, Canada

Port Burwell, Ont (Canada) To Selkirk Ont. (Canada)

August 10, 2010
58 miles

We didn't have the greatest sleep at the Port Burwell campground. Some guys in a nearby campsite were making a lot of noise late at night. Also it poured around 11:00 p.m. so the tents got wet and muddy.

Once we folded up the tents I saw that my bike had fallen in the storm and the mirror had broken off. I tried to fix it but the plastic mount wouldn't hold together. (Mirrors were essential on the tour and I felt a little naked without it.)


Fortunately in the morning it had cleared and the riding conditions were good. Ed, Tom and I decided to head out early and enjoy the morning.

Leaving Port Burwell Campground, Tom and Ed in the lead



We stopped in Port Rowan and had an iced coffee in this nice town. Others in the group also joined us in the cafe.

We had our lunch stop in a small pull out overlooking a marsh area near Lake Erie. Then we rode to Normandale for ice cream.

Before Port Dover I saw that my odometer was approaching the 3,000 mile mark. Ed, Tom and I pulled over to celebrate and mark the spot for others. Lesa and John pulled up and Lesa took a picture of us at the 3,000 mile mark.

Odometer clicks over for 3,000 miles

Marking the spot where we hit 3,000 miles


Ed, Tom, and I celebrating reaching 3,000 miles


Then Ed and I rode to the beach area in Port Dover and saw hundreds of people swimming in Lake Erie. We saw Nancy and Ken having lunch at a cafe in town.

Beach at Port Dover- Lots of people enjoying the 72 degrees water


As we got to the Selkirk area some of the roads weren't marked. I could not use my GPS as we were going into a "provincial park" and the garmin map did not have the roads of the park on it. We flagged down some motorcyclists but they didn't know the area. Then Ken showed up and we followed him into the camp.

This camp area was very nice with great views of Lake Erie.

Ed and Ken riding the last few miles toward the campground

Sharon, Kim, and Ziva drying out tents from the rain in Port Burwell

Panorama of view of Lake Erie from our campsite

Dinner at the Haldimand Conservation Center-One of the best camping spots

Ridgetown, Ont.(Canada) To Port Burwell, Ont (Canada)

August 9 2010
72 miles

After we left the dorms in Ridgetown we stopped at Yeks Smokehouse for breakfast. Most of the group stopped here before heading out on the road. Ed asked me to ride with him as we headed out of town. We got on a very smooth road called the "Talbot Trail" for 26 miles. No shoulder but the surface of the road was nice.

Ed in the early morning heading out from Ridgetown



Lunch stop was in Port Stanley near the railroad museum. Everyone did the obligatory jail photo of the circa 1700's jail near the trailer.

Sharon enjoying today's ride


We rode east after lunch to the Port Burwell Provincial Park. It was very humid at the campground and most of us waited until close to dinner before showering. Later in the day it clouded up and began to rain. Blaine, Sharon, and Ziva prepared dinner and we had our nightly meeting during a rain shower. Later in the night while in our tents the skies let loose with lots of rain.

A guy explaining to Ed and Tom how tobacco is harvested

Guys harvesting tobacco on the side of the road

Ed's bike with a "loaded" ice chest

Ziva's technique on how not to tear up while cutting onions

Dinner is served

Ken will help out anyone with bike problems

Nightly meeting in the rain at camp going over tomorrow's route

Sun coming through trees at Port Burwell Provincial Park the next morning

Columbus, MI to Ridgetown, Ontairo (Canada)

August 8, 2010
68 miles

Today we were scheduled to go into Canada. To do this we had to ride to St. Clair, MI then turn south to Marine City, MI and catch the ferry to Sombra, Ontario.

When we started riding around 7:30 a.m. it felt more humid than it had been the last few days. Also we had a lot of clouds but no rain. The whole group got to the ferry at the same time. It took about 10 minutes to cross the St. Clair river and going through Canadian customs was a snap.

Our first rest stop. Sharon (on the right) was chalking the road to let John and Lesa know we had left the church and would be at the ferry terminal.


On the ferry crossing the St. Clair river to Canada


Going through customs in Sombra,Canada


Entering Canada


We followed the St. Clair river for a ways and then turned southeast toward Ridgetown. Often we had headwinds when we made a turn. Fortunately it was not a high mileage day and we got to Ridgetown, Ontario by 3:00 p.m.

We rode to the University of Guelph and settled into the dorms there. The dorms were older than the ones in Wa. and Mi. We parked our bikes across the green in a large storage shed. There were also no other people on campus for summer school.

Ken and Blaine went to get takeout for us for dinner and we ate it in the lobby of the dorm building.


Kim enjoying the ride in Canada

Our final rest stop after turning onto Ridge Line Rd to Ridgetown.