Author: Jodi Eller

We woke up and rode to Dunkin Donuts with Dirt for breakfast. Matt still had a gift card he was wanting to use, and so we treated ourselves to coffee and breakfast sandwiches. We said a long goodbye to Dirt and thanked him for making the long trek from New Jersey to see us. We headed back toward the Erie Canal and quickly noticed after the long showers from yesterday, the trail was much harder to bike on. Mud quickly started spraying all over the bikes and gear. This was going to be a long, wet 40 miles, but at least we wouldn’t have to worry about traffic around Rochester.

Last night, we had stayed up quite late visiting with Dirt. Dirt had brought a board game that we had to play a few rounds to get the hang of. You might be questioning the term ‘late’ since most of my posts have us in bed by 8, but yes, late to me means 11pm. Trying to get my legs to move, now fully covered in mud was quite hard and by noon I wanted to take a nap. I pushed on and made it through the day with many breaks where I would lay my head down on a picnic table. Matt seemed to be fine and took the opportunity to take more photos.

We ended the day at this cute little South Shore Campground. We went in to register and a little elderly woman took one look at us and said “it will be $5 for a tent site, biker discount.” She also gave us the wifi password right away, obviously having dealt with many bikers and showed us where the shower house was. She told us to set up and watch the sun set over Lake Ontario. We didn’t quite make it down for the sunset after setting up and showering, but we did get there in time to meet some of the other guests who were staying in their campers around us. One of them walked over with peaches and a toy poodle that looked identical to my mother’s beloved Sadie Rose. Her and her husband were up from Florida and she had just gotten the dog a few years ago from Florida Poodle Rescue. I thanked her for the peaches and held the dog as we chatted about Florida. The dog licked my face and brought back years of memories dog sitting.

Today we ate breakfast with Sonya, Dianna and George and headed out to enter back into the United States. We had a few miles before we reached the check point to cross back into the U.S., and we took our time leaving Niagara. After entering the long line to enter back into N.Y. George peddled past us to but in line. He is from Germany and thought it might take longer to get back into the U.S. The four of us waited patiently as the row of cars crept forward. Finally, after about twenty minutes it was our turn to have our passports checked. I had thought we might have trouble, hearing stories of other bikers getting searched and having their food thrown out. The four of us went up to the window and the guy took one glance at our books, asked if we bought anything and then rushed us through. We had made it in and I didn’t have to throw out a delicious muffin I had been saving since yesterday. We rode the rest of the day leap frogging with the N.Y. crew along the Erie Canal trail. Toward the afternoon we took a break at a boat launch and got roped into helping an elderly couple get their boat on their trailer. George, Matt and I held ropes and helped pull the boat up. The couple thanked us and gave us ice cold water in return. We then said goodbye to George, Dianna and Sonya, since they were heading into Rochester that night. The three of them were such a delight to camp with and to run into along the bike route. We wish you luck finishing up in New York City. We left the canal and went to resupply in Brockport before calling it day at the Econo Lodge.

Hello Canada!  We followed a bike trail along the Niagara Parkway for most of the day until the skyline of Niagara Falls was visible. Passing into Canada was a quick check of the passport, and then a hustle through a turn stile before walking our bikes over the long bridge that connected New York to Canada. Niagara Falls was beautiful and for the first time during this trip, we were surrounded by thousands of international tourists all enjoying the sights, smells and mist that surround the area. We took a long break walking our bikes along the edge of the falls. The power and movement of this water is spectacular. About ten years ago Matt and I took our first trip to Niagara Falls seeing it from the New York side. It was our first road trip together on our way to see my family in Maine. I remember the falls sparkling through a rainbow mist, and the feeling of damp cool air soaking into my dreads. My youthful eyes were filled with joy and excitement and anticipation of this new love and romance. Now, ten years later I look upon the falls with aged eyes. The raging waters create clarity and calmness while the sea of languages enrich my senses! I feel the strong mist soak through my short hair and I can’t help but smile at the love in front of me behind the camera lens.  Many people say the view of the falls from the Canadian side is better than the view from New York. I can’t remember how it looked ten years ago from the opposite side, but the view before me is spectacular and still fills me with a youthful joy and excitement!

We left the crowds and traffic of downtown and entered the quiet streets towards the hostel. We got to the hostel around 5 and were surprised to see the N.Y crew’s bikes. They had come in that evening and it was good to catch up about our rides the last two days. We set up our tent in the back yard of the hostel and biked over to the local brewery for dinner. We were back by 10 pm and  asleep soon after that.

Today the rain storms caused us to end our day early. What was going to be a short break to get out of the weather at Evangola State Park turned out to be a long day inside the tent. The rain continued throughout the afternoon and we decided to get a spot next to the lake. We hung our clothes inside the tent to dry as we listened to the rain come down all around us. We ended up eating fresh cucumber and cooking dinner of Mac-n-cheese using our Emberlit ultra lite wood burning stove. All of the twigs and sticks around us were soaked, but we were still able to get them hot enough to boil water. This stove, given as a gift from Scott, has been a lifesaver.

New York has been a haven for fresh produce stands along the road side. Many of these stands are on front lawns and look like they were picked right from the gardens in the back. Many times there are just donation boxes or small signs with prices. Beets, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes on every block. It is so refreshing and reminds me of the tables filled with Florida citrus during the winter at home. The cucumber we are eating tonight came from a man who was sitting out on his lawn. As we rode past him he shouted at us and asked if we wanted any tomatoes or cucumbers. I quickly stopped and turned the bike around. He gave us more than we could carry,  and we thanked him! The best cucumber and tomatoes of the trip and a great snack to eat waiting out the bad weather.