An unexpected four nights in Buffalo, we spent our days catching up with old friends, watching 4th of July fireworks, Ryan fixed our loud chains that were thankfully only put on incorrectly, and even went to the theater to watch Moonrise Kingdom. A great movie that we would all recommend. We finally left Buffalo, taking the bike path northeast along the Niagra River to avoid the city streets. The days have been hot recently, making for small appetites and drinking warm water. I think I will put cold water on my list of everyday things I miss while on the bike.
Once we hit the town of Lockport, we started following the Erie Canal, riding along the tow path on 90 miles of trail. All of the locks are still in use, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and New York City. This canal is the reason why New York grew to be the center of commerce in the United States. The canal provided an easy way for agricultural goods to move from the productive farmlands of the mid west to the populated east as well as carry settlers and equipment to the frontier. More recently in the last 30 years, the locals and the state have worked together to restore the canals and build biking and hiking paths along it. This has been a huge influence on keeping the small towns vibrate and filled with tourists.
Riding along the canal brought back memories from our time spent in southern France following the Canal du Midi. Both canals are beautiful, but the Canal du Midi had more of a romantic, older feel. We make less miles when riding on bike paths, but in our opinion, it is worth it. We have learned through these 2+ years of travel that being able to slow down and not hurry our way through life is a treat onto itself. Life is simply too short.
The roads have stayed flat, similar elevation gain and loss all the way from Minnesota. Leaving the Erie Canal, our roads began to become rolling and the towns became a bit smaller. Our first day off the canal, we switched water sources and came to Lake Ontario. The town of Pultneyville sits on the lake and the entire town consists of maybe 60 homes. We were approached by a man who inquired of our travels and offered the shower at the local marina. Finally, a shower! We gladly obliged and cleaned up before joining a few of the locals sitting in beach chairs by the water to watch the sailboats and simply chat. It was a great way to learn of the area and share stories. I swear, people just keep getting nicer and nicer, making it easy to maintain our lifestyle and not be lonely. I would find it extremely difficult to ride solo for this reason. Although tempting to take them up on their offer to spend the night on the marina beach, we continued on to make most of our miles in the late afternoon.
This region of New York houses fruit orchards, some of the biggest in the United States. There are fruit and vegetable stands every ten or miles, making it easy to stop and enjoy freshly picked produce. We have yet to pay for a night of camping since we left Ohio. The roads runs through plenty of forest and we somehow get lucky enough to actually find an old campground tucked back in the woods. One even had a picnic bench, a tree to hang food and an old outdoor toilet. We did not use any of those three things, but it was nice to know they were there:-)
Once we hit the town of Lockport, we started following the Erie Canal, riding along the tow path on 90 miles of trail. All of the locks are still in use, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and New York City. This canal is the reason why New York grew to be the center of commerce in the United States. The canal provided an easy way for agricultural goods to move from the productive farmlands of the mid west to the populated east as well as carry settlers and equipment to the frontier. More recently in the last 30 years, the locals and the state have worked together to restore the canals and build biking and hiking paths along it. This has been a huge influence on keeping the small towns vibrate and filled with tourists.
Riding along the canal brought back memories from our time spent in southern France following the Canal du Midi. Both canals are beautiful, but the Canal du Midi had more of a romantic, older feel. We make less miles when riding on bike paths, but in our opinion, it is worth it. We have learned through these 2+ years of travel that being able to slow down and not hurry our way through life is a treat onto itself. Life is simply too short.
The roads have stayed flat, similar elevation gain and loss all the way from Minnesota. Leaving the Erie Canal, our roads began to become rolling and the towns became a bit smaller. Our first day off the canal, we switched water sources and came to Lake Ontario. The town of Pultneyville sits on the lake and the entire town consists of maybe 60 homes. We were approached by a man who inquired of our travels and offered the shower at the local marina. Finally, a shower! We gladly obliged and cleaned up before joining a few of the locals sitting in beach chairs by the water to watch the sailboats and simply chat. It was a great way to learn of the area and share stories. I swear, people just keep getting nicer and nicer, making it easy to maintain our lifestyle and not be lonely. I would find it extremely difficult to ride solo for this reason. Although tempting to take them up on their offer to spend the night on the marina beach, we continued on to make most of our miles in the late afternoon.
This region of New York houses fruit orchards, some of the biggest in the United States. There are fruit and vegetable stands every ten or miles, making it easy to stop and enjoy freshly picked produce. We have yet to pay for a night of camping since we left Ohio. The roads runs through plenty of forest and we somehow get lucky enough to actually find an old campground tucked back in the woods. One even had a picnic bench, a tree to hang food and an old outdoor toilet. We did not use any of those three things, but it was nice to know they were there:-)
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