Day 42

Day 42 was a relatively easy day from Brantford to Niagara Falls.  I was excited to get done, partly because tomorrow is a rest day, mostly because Kim is meeting me in Niagara Falls. Again, we were in the middle of two rain systems, but we biked in cool cloudy weather and made good time. The first picture is of a brick mansion next to the road.  What was unusual is that the house was not unusual, but common.  Today and yesterday we saw huge brick mansions alongside the road, one after another.  About 15 miles from Niagara Falls the terrain changed and was very wooded with houses interspaced.  It felt like riding in a vail.  The second picture reflects that part of the ride. 

Riding into the Canadian side of Niagara Falls at noon on Sunday was congested to say the least.  I found some other riders on the walkway and took some pictures of the falls, myself and other riders.  The whole walkway was full of people and we heard many different languages.  Niagara Falls is the result of glaciers retreating about 50,000 years ago creating a lake which gradually uplifted creating the Falls about 12,000 years ago.  The original Falls were about 7 miles north, but over thousands of years have moved due to erosion.   I knew they were beautiful, but they were more majestic than I anticipated.  Though Native Americans have lived here for thousands of years, I am sure the early white explorers were amazed at the first sight and hearing the Falls.

Five of us went over in a group.  We had to be in the car lane as bicyclists are not allowed on the sidewalks.  We were all wearing our ABBike jerseys and it was slow going across the bridge into the US.  For that reason lots of passengers in cars asked us about our tour and wished us the best.  Most could not believe we were biking across America, so do we.  The next picture is Jeff and Julie behind me in line.  When we finally got to customs, we all resisted the urge to be funny. 

The last pictures are Gary, Jeff and me under the New York sign.  About the same time we got to the hotel, Kim arrived and it was great to see her.  We plan to hang out tomorrow and then hit the road again on Tuesday.