Around lake Erie - Day 3

Day 3, Tuesday August 19.

From Port Colborne, Ontario to Irving, New York - 95 km.

Day 3 cycling route.

Perfect weather for cycling this morning, cool, sunny with some clouds and some wind; hope it stayed through the rest of the day. Started just before 8:00 AM.

Friendship trail

Had a very pleasant ride in the morning; cycling for 25 km on the nicely paved, flat and quiet Friendship trail between Port Colborne and Fort Erie.

Shadow and a friend at Ridgeway along the Friendship trail.

Ridgeway - Cultural Capital of Canada - really?

Beautiful Erie beach at Fort Erie.

Near the end of the Friendship trail, there was an access to lake Erie beautiful public beach.

Beach park - Fort Erie

Fort Erie had several nice lake front public parks to enjoy.

Going through a densely treed short trail

At the end of the Friendship trail, I cycled through densely treed dirt trail for a short distance.

First sight of Buffalo skyline from Fort Erie

Soon I reached the Peace Bridge. Had to cross the bridge by walking the bicycle on the side walk, but the side walk was closed. There was a sign to call a phone number. I called, no one answered; left a message and proceeded to go around the barrier. As I walked the bicycle on the sidewalk a car honked behind me. A pickup truck with a lady officer stopped beside me, and told me that I was on the wrong sidewalk. She directed me to go through a tunnel under the bridge and use the sidewalk on the other side of the bridge which was designated for people coming into Canada from the US.

Flags on the bridge. Notice the wind direction and strength.

Walking trails on lake Erie - US side

Not good!

It took about 20 minutes to walk across the bridge. At the US side, an officer stopped the traffic to let me cross back to the other side and lined up behind cars to go through custom and immigration.

Buffalo Botanical garden.

It was very challenging to find my way out of the city of Buffalo. Had to ask for directions several times. At one point had to cycle for a short distance on a highway with clear sign that bicycles were not allowed.

Had lunch at a local Pizza and Sub restaurant, just out of Buffalo. One hour later I saw the first Tim Horton on this tour on the other side of the road. Could not resist to stop.

With Miriam Klein. Note the tan on my forehead.

While I was enjoying a strawberry and banana shake and checking out my maps. Miriam showed up. We chatted for awhile. Miriam was cycling from Louisville, KY to Portland, ME by herself. Brave lady. She will be on the road for 4 weeks only accompanied by her mascot 'John the Rabbit'. To know more about this free spirited lady, you can read her blog 'Heartland to Portland with John the Rabbit' at the following link. Hope to hear from her again.

Miriam, with John the Rabbit, saying 'Good bye'. "All the best"

Tonight I stayed at the Light House Inn in Irving NY. The WiFi connection was weak and slow. Could not send pictures on Facebook. Could not use Skype to make calls. Could not download tomorrow's route.

This place cost $1.00 more than the best hotel I stayed in the US, the Clarion Hotel in Erie, PA, yet everything about it was 'cheap'. The chairs were plastic lawn chairs, the curtains 'see thru', thin towels, one soap bar provided - no shampoo. The worst part, it was noisy; almost every half hour I could hear trains passing by. The railway track was not too far away. Did not get a good night sleep.

Except for this hotel, this day was a good day. I enjoyed the ride, the views and the people that I met along the way. The wind was against me but it was not bad. Hope for more days like this.

End.