Buffalo, Bike Paths, and Niagara Falls
Chris and I made a spontaneous trip to visit his family in Hamburg, NY, this past weekend. Chris had to wait for me to get back from the Tour of Tucker County, so we didn't arrive at his parent's house until 3AM. The all-night drive was worth it for a great weekend of riding and family fun.
After a few hours of sleep, we left for our big ride into Canada around 11AM. We parked in Buffalo, crossed the border on the Peace Bridge, and rode along the coast of Lake Erie into Port Colborne. From there we traveled up the Welland Canal. It was beautiful being able to see both the old and new parts of the Welland Canal. The water was such a pretty shade of blue - crystal clear cerulean. At the end of the canal, in St. Catherine's, we time-trialed into Niagara on the Lake. This is a beautiful town, sitting right on Lake Ontario. Chris and I sat down under a tree next to the lake for a break. If we'd had the time, I think a nap would have occurred for both of us. Hanging out at Niagara on the Lake was my favorite part of the day.
From there we rode to Niagara falls - still on a bike path. This whole ride is possible on a bike path, which is such an awesome thing! And equally as awesome was the number of people out using the bike path.
Niagara Falls is always an amazing thing to behold. The greatest flow it is ever at is 25%! I can't even imagine what the falls would be like at 100% flow.
It was 22 miles from the Falls to the car, back in Buffalo. We had a goal of finishing the ride at 6:30 in order to get home for a delicious dinner of ribs Chris's dad had been working on all day, and to be able to have some quality family visiting time. So from the Niagara Parkway to the Peace Bridge (about 16miles) we time-trialed our hearts out, and made it to the car at 6:28.
The next day we rode around Hamburg with Chris's dad and hung out with the family. We were both beat from the driving on Saturday night and the big ride from the previous day, so it was nice to chill out.
It was a short visit, but well worth it. I hope we can get back up there, together, soon.
Click the link to see our ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/311179302
