Day 48 - Fort Plain, NY to Pittsfield, MA - 103 miles

Day 46 - Rochester, NY to Syracuse, NY - 91 miles

Day 44 - Niagara Falls, NY to Rochester, NY - 81 miles

DOWN GOES FRASIER... Well, down goes Proulx, anyway.

On another day of riding straight into some tough winds, I had just commented to Marcus (who I had now been riding with for a few days) how nice it was to be riding with someone else. Headwinds can be demoralizing, but having someone there to share in the pain somehow makes it easier. Having someone there by your side to talk to also makes it easier to get tangled up. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but we were talking about something -soybeans, maybe - and BAM!!!! (mom you may want to stop reading now) Next thing I know, I'm on the ground - in the middle of the road. My first instinct has me turned around just in time to see an oncoming car swerve out of the way to avoid hitting me. It wasn't a matter of inches, but it was enough to make my heart skip a couple beats.

My wrist, which apparently took the brunt of the fall, was really sore, but thankfully there didn't seem to be anything else wrong with me or the bike. Marcus stayed upright, but went off the shoulder a bit and screwed up his wheel. Fortunately we were close enough to Rochester to hobble in to the city to meet our kind Warm Showers hosts where we had a great meal and the requisite 'warm shower'. Tonight it'll be plenty of ice and ibuprofen for me and a trip to the bike shop for Marcus. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Day 43 - Buffalo, NY to Niagara Falls, Canada

Rainbows resulting from the mist coming from Niagara Falls

A quick ride over the Peace Bridge led us into Canada where the slightly puzzling signs were found ...

... I think they mean the same thing, but not sure why one has pictures and the other words. Hmmmm. Anyway, a leisurely ride up along the river and voila...an amazing view of the famous Niagara Falls surrounded by all the glitz and glamor of....Gatlinburg or Myrtle Beach. The misty view of the falls made it worth the ride up, but without lots of money to spend riding boats, shopping or in the casinos, there was not a lot to be done for a couple of touring cyclists. We checked out the long row of dingy motels just off the main strip, but decided camping in a field somewhere would be better than paying $40 for those dumps. Even the "Value Inn" which proudly advertised its "Clean Waterbed" couldn't sway me. So it was back across a different bridge, into the US and to a state park where we found a nice picnic shelter to sleep under. Unfortunately they came by and closed up the restrooms while we were eating dinner. DOH! A "shower" from the water fountain wasn't ideal, but, hey, it was probably a bit nicer than the shower at the Value Inn would have been.

Day 41 - Barcelona, NY to Buffalo, NY - 84 miles

9/11 memorial in Buffalo

Though the winds continued to ignore convention and blow from the East (ie- into our face), the rains held off and allowed for a pleasant day around Lake Erie and up into Buffalo where a much needed day off from riding would be taken.

Surprisingly, it's not snow covered and freezing here in Buffalo during the summer - who knew?

Day 40 - Geneva on the Lake, OH to Barcelona, NY - 75 miles

Woooohooooooo!

Like the stacks of pancakes I’ve been devouring on this trip, doughnuts have been consumed at unhealthy levels. So, of course we had to stop at the famous Madsen Donuts on our way out of town to grab a handful of tasty calorie bombs.

We quickly made our way over the Pennsylvania border and were cruising along until PSSSSSSSSSSSTT. Uh oh! It was the sound I had been dreading ever since I had started looking for an open bike shop where I might be able to find a new rear tire. My tire had blown and we were over 20 miles from Erie, PA and the nearest bike shop that MIGHT be open on this Labor Day. As luck would have it, we were in the middle of nowhere – which just so happened to be the location of the Elk Creek Sports Store/gas station and Dan, the benevolent owner, didn’t even wait for us to ask for help. Once he heard what happened, he made a couple of phone calls and found an open shop in Erie – “You can throw your bikes in the back of the truck and I’ll bring you down there.” Wow! Experiences like this should not surprise me by now, but they still do. The people of America have been so incredibly kind, generous, caring and helpful – it’s just awesome!

After getting a new tire and some grub, we continued on towards the New York border. Though, I knew it was coming, the sight of the “Welcome to New York” sign sent a chill up my spine. I had actually made it from Oregon to New York. Cool! I rode that high all the way to Barcelona, NY where we found a nice park with a picnic shelter that was sure to protect us from the rains that still looked imminent. To be sure the recently seen black bear didn’t interrupt our sleep, we were let into the enclosed picnic area by Chuck, the guy that came around to lock everything up. Nice guy, that Chuck.

Day 39 - Bay Village, OH to Geneva on the Lake, OH - 73 miles

Love to see signs like these!

It has been wonderful to be off the beaten path for a while, but I’m also excited to be on a more well traveled route now as it can make it easier to find amenities and also easier to meet other cyclists. After a surprisingly pretty approach to Cleveland from the West (who knew?) luck and timing were on my side as I met a fellow tourer early in today’s ride – turns out we are headed the same way and at a similar pace. After this chance meeting in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we sat down to watch the air show that was going on and discussed all things ‘touring’. It was great to be able to share stories from the road with someone who could really relate.

Marcus and I rode to the town of Geneva on the Lake, Ohio which felt more like a mini Myrtle Beach than a relaxing lakeside retreat – it was a bit of a shock after so many days pedaling through the tranquility of corn and beans. After cruisin’ the strip for a while on our quiet, gas-free ‘hogs’, we grabbed some grub and a beer and prepared for the rains that were sure to hit us during the night and into tomorrow.