Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario

I guess it has been a few days since I blogged. Since then, we passed through the Erie region of Pennsylavia and northwestern New York on our way to Ontario. We took today (Friday) off for rest. We expect to ride straight through for the final 650 miles over 5 or 6 days.

We stopped an did some touristy things over the past few days -- making the trip fun again. Stopping to talk to the locals makes a world of difference.

Some advice. If you have not yet visited the falls, and plan to, don't stay long. You can fully experience the falls in only a few hours, there is nothing else to do here, and it costs a fortune to stay. $3 can of soda. $50 entrees in bad restaurants. %7 surcharge on everything for currency conversion and/or GST. Oh, and the falling US dollar against the rising Canadian dollar is not helping either.

That said, the falls are impressive. It's worth a visit if you are nearby...

Photo Journal

A Pennsylvania vineyard, Lakefront at Dunkirk, NY, A bicycle museum near Buffalo, and Niagra Falls Ontario.
Photo Journal

Video Journal

Behind the falls
Beside the falls
Below the falls

Ride Summary

Wednesday: 105 Miles from Astubabula, through Pennsyvania, to Dunkirk, NY
Thursday: 81 Miles from Dunkirk to Ontario, Canada
Friday: Rest day in Niagra

Miles this year: 5105

Ohio

Well, we have spent a few days riding through Ohio. At first, it was a lot like Indiana -- nice rural roads, farms, etc. However, as we approached Lake Erie the scene changed. An increase in population density, some rolling hills, the view of the lake (of course), and a sharp drop in road surface quality. The Ohio roads near the lake are in worse shape than a lot of Route 66. As a result, I am still riding the Rivendell. The Opera may not come out before we reach the mountains.

By tomorrow, we will be in New York -- although we will still have about 700 miles to go once we get there, because we are not taking the shortest route home. We want to get to Niagra Falls and go to Canada first.

I'm getting pretty tired. The four days off in Chicago were not enough to recover. In fact, I think I might have been better off not stopping at all. We might take a day off in Niagra to sight see before the final push to Manhattan. At this point, I'm mostly just looking forward to getting home. Hopefully, I will not be too cranky to blog.

After we visit Niagra, I am tempted to try to cover a direct 450 mile route to NYC in two 225 mile rides. David would probably be willing to give it a try, but Ro would try to stop me. But then again, she wants to get home too...

Photo Journal

A couple of shots from the road in Ohio, and a several shots of the harbour surrounding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cameras were not allowed inside the museum, so I did not get any shots of the exhibits. Don't fret about it. The reason cameras are not allowed inside, is because nobody would bother paying the $20 to get in if they knew what was in there.

Photo Journal

Ride Summary

Sunday: 115 Miles from Fort Wayne, IN to Bowling Green, OH
Monday: 118 Miles from Bowling Green to Cleveland
Tuesday: 71 Miles (We lost 5 riding hours by visiting the Rock and Roll Museum) from Cleveland to Ashtabula, OH

Miles this year: 4919