We have spent the past four days riding along the historic Erie Canal across the state of New York. This morning we woke up in a campground near our first official destination—Niagara Falls!

We rode to the Falls around 11. Our campground had advertised that it was only six miles from the Falls, which was not the case… it was more like nine. (These are the kinds of seemingly small discrepancies you notice when you’re on a bicycle!) We spent the afternoon wandering around. We walked over to the Canadian side (over the Rainbow  Bridge) which provided the best view of the Falls. We also splurged and bought tickets for the “Maid of the Mist” boat tour. This boat takes you right up next to the Falls for a closer look. Plus, you get totally soaked, which was great for us because it was actually blazing hot today (well, for New York, anyway). We had a great day exploring Niagara!

Our first view of the Falls from the US side

The Rainbow Bridge, connecting the US and Canada

View of the Falls from Canada

Getting ready to board the "Maid of the Mist"--and be soaked!

VIew of the falls from the boat--check out the rainbow on the left!

We had a generally uneventful week of riding. We were not affected at all by the flooding from Irene. We had hoped for a tailwind out of the storm, but no such luck! Instead, we had a strong headwind our first two days. We meandered on and off the Erie Canalway Bike Trail, which follows the canal all the way across the state. It was GREAT in the places it was paved, providing a safe haven from cars and the wind. But it was slower in a lot of areas where it wasn’t paved. It was nice to at least have the trail option, and it provided easy camping spots (which we used Wednesday night).

Watching a lock in action on the Erie Canal

 

Bethany also got three flats this week! We are thinking this is because of the massive piece of metal she ran over the first day. That was our fifth flat of the trip, so we’re planning a trip to a bike shop soon to replace the actual tire.

We were grateful to meet up with some friends on Monday night for dinner. David and Debbie Sweet and Rachel Clancy, who were a part of our church in Auburn, moved to Watertown, NY in March. They drove about an hour to come meet us for dinner—what a blessing to see familiar faces!

This week we will head out across Pennsylvania and toward DC!