July 7, 2017
Buffalo, NY to Pleasant Camp, ON
Day 8 - Canada
Sunny, Headwind
Woke up and enjoyed breakfast with Leslie, Dan & Jenny. Slow start today as Cameron slept in and I had to fix my flat on my front wheel. I had developed a slow leak the last 10 miles the day before.
The original plan today was to bike up to Niagara Falls then back down to a camp site on the Friendship Trail, a total of about 45 miles. Thinking Cameron was not up to this after yesterdays 60 plus mile ride we changed gears and decided to head back into Buffalo and visit the Buffalo Sabres Ice Hockey team store, try to take some photos of the lighthouses and then head over the Peace Bridge into Canada and head straight to the campground.
We left Leslie’s house about 10:30 a.m. and went to a bank to get some Canadian currency. They didn’t have any but they said you could get it at the duty-free store once in Canada.
Re-tracing last nights route, we headed back to downtown to the Canalside waterfront area. Cameron got a Sabre’s T-Shirt and he bought some gifts for friends. Those gifts turned out to be 6 hockey pucks that he carried in his bag for the rest of the trip.
We also had a look around the Canalside waterfront area which is the 1825 terminus of the Erie Canal where it flows into the Buffalo River. After the canal was shortened in 1895, the canal was filled in around this area. the current terminus for the canal is in Tonawanda.
The canal has an adjoining bike trail with mile market one at Canalside, the Empire State Trail which follows the canal all the way to Albany, NY, where the trail branches south to New York City and north to Canada. One day we will come back and ride that one.
After riding through Canalside and past the Buffalo Naval Park, when took a side trip out to the Erie Basin viewpoint where we were able to get some more photos of the Buffalo Main Lighthouse, Buffalo North Breakwater Lighthouse, Buffalo Harbor Lighthouse, Horseshoe Reef Lighthouse & Buffalo Intake Crib Lighthouse. The Buffalo Main Lighthouse still didn’t look like it was open and we weren’t about to bike all the way around to find out. As the lighthouse was not open, I will contact them by mail to get all the stamps.
Built at the same time as the Erie Land Lighthouse, the original Buffalo Main Lighthouse was first lit in 1818. The tower standing today was built about 1000 yards from the original and was built in 1833.
The Buffalo North Breakwater South Side Lighthouse was built in 1903, ordinally on the north breakwater it was moved next to the Buffalo Main Lighthouse in 1985.
Marking a dangerous reef, Horseshow Reef Lighthouse was first lit on September 1, 1856 and could be seen from up to ten miles out in the lake. Originally in Canadian waters, but a change in the border was made in 1913 and it is now in U.S. territory. After the Buffalo Intake Crib was built the lighthouse was obsolete and discontinued on August 1, 1919.
Built in 1907, the Buffalo Intake Crib provides drinking water for Buffalo. A navigational beacon was added in 1908 and the keepers of the Horseshow Reef Lighthouse maintained both lights.
After visiting downtown Buffalo we rode towards the Peace Bridge that we will cross to reach Canada. There was a bike trail most of the way and getting onto the bridge was pretty easy.
It took us about ½ hour to cross as we had to walk the bikes and we stopped several times for photo ops.
We arrived in Canada at 1:15 p.m. and cleared customs quickly, we just cut in line on the car line. After getting on the trail I decided to see if we could make it to the Duty-Free shop. A quick look on google maps indicated that it was bike-able so off we went.
After getting some money, we found a Tim Hortons and Cameron really enjoyed the grilled cheese sandwich. And we found they also had free wifi which we will need.
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We then hit the Friendship trail heading east out of Fort Erie. The trail was nice going through trees with glimpses of people backyards. At Ridgeway it was Cameron’s turn to have a flat, this time the back wheel. We fixed it on the side of the trail and got to our campsite at the Pleasant Beach Camp at about 4 p.m. Later than expected, but a nice easy day.
The camp give $10 off for cyclists which was a bonus. Once set up we headed to the beach for a swim. The water was nice with some medium waves. Nice sandy beach and I would consider visiting this area again.
Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 331 miles (533 km)
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