Today's post will be brief, because there's not much to report. I rode a little over 40 miles, from Dunnville, Ontario, to Fort Erie, Ontario -- unfortunately, most of it in the rain. The silver lining is that the predicted scattered thunderstorms didn't materialize. And I had a tailwind. And it was never a downpour. And my rain gear mostly kept me dry. So, actually, not so bad after all.
One consequence, though, was my camera was tucked away in a dry bag -- so I didn't take many photos. Nor, given the weather, did I actually feel like stopping very much. Plus, even though much of the route, like yesterday, was along the scenic Northern shore of Lake Erie, there are only so many ways you can take a picture of a lake with a point and shoot camera, especially when the sky is a mono-grey. But I very much enjoyed the ride and scenery, and the high degree of freedom from car traffic that the route offered -- rain and lack of photo ops notwithstanding. Indeed, the last 15 miles or so were on the Friendship Trail -- a paved (and, today, quite deserted) bike path that connects Port Colborne with Fort Erie (to its East). A very nice way to while away some mileage on a rainy, dismal weather, day.
Actually, the trail wasn't fully deserted. Right outside the town of Ridgeway, I came across a group of about 20 bikers, standing around the trail conversing. Being the shy guy I am (not), I barged right in and asked what was going on. It turns out it was a supported tour of the Niagara area, covering 4 days, for women only. Put together by a biking tour company, based in New York, I believe, called Women Tours, but drawing its clientele from all over the States and Canada. They were very welcoming and, conditioned on my agreeing to assume honorary woman status (which I donned enthusiastically), invited me to lunch. Which, I, and the zillions of hornets buzzing around, very much enjoyed (I can't ever remember having to check my sandwich, before each bite, to make sure I wasn't also ingesting a hornet -- Stephen, that story was for you).
To my dismay, however, I was so enjoying the conversation that I forgot to pull out my camera and take a picture. So, if any of you biking ladies are reading this post, please email me a group shot if you have one, and I'll add it to this post. My info, I think, is with Amy, on a napkin (assuming it didn't bleed into an unreadable mess).
One photo I did manage to take is from the bedroom window of the lovely B & B I landed at in Fort Erie -- the Lakeshore Bed and Breakfast (thank you, Tripadvisor). Perched right on the edge of the Lake, you can see the skyscrapers of Buffalo across the Niagara River to the Southeast, and the endless waters of Lake Erie itself, noisily lapping at the shore, directly South. Good stuff.
Here are today's route and metrics:
One consequence, though, was my camera was tucked away in a dry bag -- so I didn't take many photos. Nor, given the weather, did I actually feel like stopping very much. Plus, even though much of the route, like yesterday, was along the scenic Northern shore of Lake Erie, there are only so many ways you can take a picture of a lake with a point and shoot camera, especially when the sky is a mono-grey. But I very much enjoyed the ride and scenery, and the high degree of freedom from car traffic that the route offered -- rain and lack of photo ops notwithstanding. Indeed, the last 15 miles or so were on the Friendship Trail -- a paved (and, today, quite deserted) bike path that connects Port Colborne with Fort Erie (to its East). A very nice way to while away some mileage on a rainy, dismal weather, day.
Actually, the trail wasn't fully deserted. Right outside the town of Ridgeway, I came across a group of about 20 bikers, standing around the trail conversing. Being the shy guy I am (not), I barged right in and asked what was going on. It turns out it was a supported tour of the Niagara area, covering 4 days, for women only. Put together by a biking tour company, based in New York, I believe, called Women Tours, but drawing its clientele from all over the States and Canada. They were very welcoming and, conditioned on my agreeing to assume honorary woman status (which I donned enthusiastically), invited me to lunch. Which, I, and the zillions of hornets buzzing around, very much enjoyed (I can't ever remember having to check my sandwich, before each bite, to make sure I wasn't also ingesting a hornet -- Stephen, that story was for you).
To my dismay, however, I was so enjoying the conversation that I forgot to pull out my camera and take a picture. So, if any of you biking ladies are reading this post, please email me a group shot if you have one, and I'll add it to this post. My info, I think, is with Amy, on a napkin (assuming it didn't bleed into an unreadable mess).
One photo I did manage to take is from the bedroom window of the lovely B & B I landed at in Fort Erie -- the Lakeshore Bed and Breakfast (thank you, Tripadvisor). Perched right on the edge of the Lake, you can see the skyscrapers of Buffalo across the Niagara River to the Southeast, and the endless waters of Lake Erie itself, noisily lapping at the shore, directly South. Good stuff.
Here are today's route and metrics:
Looks like you're gonna miss Niagara Falls. Really?
ReplyDeleteWhat map are you looking at bro? Of course I’m hitting Niagara Falls! (Never been…)
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