June 15, 2024
Welland to Niagara Falls
So much to see
There was so much to see along the way that we didn’t arrive at our destination until almost 4:30 pm, unusually late for us. In addition to lots of stops of interest, we had to proceed slowly on trails, as many people were out enjoying a lovely Saturday.
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I am always fascinated by canals, so I was delighted to ride almost the whole length of the Welland Canals. We arrived at one lock to see a sailboat come in to the lock under power to share a very large lock, 766 feet long, with one other sailboat. The second photo of the same lock was taken 5 minutes after the first; it takes only 8 minutes to release the water.
A view of another lift bridge, which I went out on in order to look back up the canal to see the drop at a double lock.
A little further down the canal, we arrived at a lock as a large freighter was heading up the canal. It took up a lot more of the lock than the sailboats did. Mooring in the locks for these large ships is done by creating a vacuum seal, no ropes involved.
We turned right from the canal and rode through the beautiful town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. We were briefly along the Lake Ontario shore, our fourth Great Lake of the trip.
As we rode south toward Niagara Falls, we were looking at New York State on the other side of the Niagara River.
Hydropower is the name of the game around the Niagara River. We saw about 100 years of power stations along the river.
Several miles north of Niagara Falls is a very large ropes complex. Even in my younger years, I don’t think I would have been tempted to try. Just watching others was scary enough.
The river bends and eddies at a spot known as the Whirlpool. Like most everything else around the Falls, it is beautiful but commercialized.
We made our way safely through town on a very busy Saturday afternoon. I had forgotten how busy and crazy the city is. On a plus side, with many Japanese tourists, there are many Japanese restaurants, and we had an excellent dinner.
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 939 miles (1,511 km)
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