2011-06-16 Nigara Falls Rest Day (0 miles)

My rest day started with waking up at 6:30 am, which is sleeping in for the usual routine.  So I took my bike down to the trailer and worked on cleaning it.  I had not been able to do that last rest day, so it really needed it!

I learned from Kathie about cleaning glass out of the tires.  The procedure is:  deflate the inner tube; look for small cuts in the tire; squeeze the cut which reveals tiny bits of glass; dig the glass out with a tiny flat head screw driver (or tweezers); fill the crack with a drop of super glue!  We were all shocked with what we found!!  Who knew??  It might save us from getting a flat!

Mary discovered her back wheel was cracked, so we had to find a bike shop that could fix it.

We loaded her bike on the Sag wagon, and tried to find the local shops.  After three places, we went to a big shop that was 15 minutes away.  No problem for them!  They had to take the entire back tire assembly off, which requires special tools.  We grabbed a quick lunch at a Panera, and they had finished it by the time we returned.


While at the bike shop, I saw this electrical bicycle rack:

In the afternoon Patty, Sue Lincoln and I walked over to the Falls, and took a ride on the Maid of the Mist.  It was a lot of fun being so close to the falls, but we all got very wet!  Although the rain coats they gave us covered our clothes, our shoes were drenched!  We did wear shoes that were meant to be wet, so it was not a problem.

We wandered through the gift shop, and went back to the hotel.

My last duty as Sag driver from the day before was to load up the coolers with ice, and restock the snacks.

Tomorrow we head out to Brockport, NY, 68 miles.  Weather looks good, with temps in the 60's.  Road is still rather flat, with small rolling hills.

2011-06-15 Hamburg to Niagara Falls, NY (45 miles)

I was sag today, but the ride was only 45 miles.  There was no rush to get out this morning, so we got a chance to see Sara's NEW bike!  She shipped her old bike home, and I am sure she will enjoy riding this one.

The day went well at Sag stops where we had a chance to meet some of the locals.

 Then we arrived in Buffalo, NY.  There were detours, and lots of city traffic.  There was a fire drill at one of the high rise buildings, and they blocked my route with a ladder truck across the road.  With the one-ways, and name changes it took me a while to find the route again!  The entire group of riders were to meet at the "Peace Bridge" area.  Those who had passports with them could go across to Canada; five others took a route that kept them on the US side.

After waiting in line to be checked for passports, I drove the Sag wagon across.  There were two flags on the Peace Bridge, side by side, marking the border of the two countries.

Tomorrow is a rest day, and it gives us an opportunity to take our time to see the Falls, and take it easy...at least off our bikes for a day!

2011-06-14 Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY (91 miles)

It was a very long day of riding today, compounded by head winds.  I rode with Jeanette, Mary, Bev and Patty, which off set the rest of it.

The ride out of Erie, PA, took us through some beautiful neighborhoods.  We could hardly get up to speed for gawking at the estates!

Once out of Erie proper, we had more hills than before, although they weren't very long...just enough to keep us going up and down.  The cue sheet was three pages long, partly because of the many turns to get out of the city, and partly because it was a 91 mile day!

Dinner was SO good tonight...burritos with all the fixings, even to the hot sauce!