August 1st
Saturday
Miles 55
Niagara Falls, Ontario to Middleport, New York
We broke camp and left early to avoid the large number of tourists we knew would be arriving to see the falls and walking along the Niagara Parkway. The mist on the falls was larger than yesterday, shining with the morning sun. We rode past the original hydroelectric power stations built on Niagara Falls (Canada) and the statue of Nikola Tessla, inventor of hydroelectricity. Nikola Tessla and George Westinghouse were the first to install hydroelectric in1895 at Niagara in Canada. A little further down the river we saw whirlpools in the deep canyon below. The power of water is amazing! The ride along the Niagara Recreation Trail was very quiet, peaceful, and scenic. The trail and many parks along the trail are very well groomed and clean which is impressive considering the millions of people that visit the area.
After one wrong turn or missed sign signaling a turn, we made our way onto the bridge to return to America. It took an hour to cross the bridge due to heavy traffic that was bumper to bumper moving at a pace so slow we got off the bike and walked. The border was busy with Canadians on holiday or crossing to buy dairy, beer, and gas duty free and much less expensive in the U.S.
Once in New York we rode on some very rough road (we were spoiled to the smooth roads in Canada) before entering the Erie Canal bike path, a hard packed cynder path along the Erie Canal we will ride on for approximately 90 miles through New York.
We camped at Middleport, NY along the canal in a very nice area the town established for boater, hiker, biker camping complete with electricity, nice washrooms with showers, and picnic tables. There were several boats docked there and hooked up to the electricity like a motor home or camper would be.
Whirlpools
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