July 6, 2017
Lake Erie State Park, NY to Buffalo, NY
Day 7 - Buffalo
Sunny, headwind
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Colleen came over about 7 a.m. on her way out and we spoke again. We probably could have rode with her today but we planned to stop in Dunkirk and she wanted to put on more miles and get through to Canada.
We left camp at 8 a.m. and arrived in Dunkirk at 8:45 a.m. As we had to wait until 10 for the lighthouse to open we headed to the grocery store to stock up and ate some more breakfast.
We got over to the lighthouse early and they were able to open before 10 a.m. for us to get a stamp. I discovered my camera battery was dead so used my phone. We did not do the tour as we had many miles to go.
Two towers have lit the coastline at Dunkirk, the first light from 1826 to 1875 and the present light that was first lit July 1, 1876.
The floor from the original tower is visible on site.
Located on the grounds of the lighthouse is a 1939 skeletal tower that was originally at the harbor entrance to replace a wooden tower.
The Buffalo South Entrance North Side Lighthouse was first lit on September 1, 1903 and was decommissioned in 1988 and relocated to the grounds of Dunkirk Lighthouse. This bottle light has a twin that stood on a small breakwater opposite the North Breakwater Light and was later removed to the grounds of Buffalo’s historic 1833 tower.
We left Dunkirk at 10 a.m. and stopped again in Silver Creek at 11 a.m. for a 30-minute break. I'm finding Cameron needs to stop every hour for a break so we divide the day up into hourly periods. Somewhat like his school day. I found some electricity at the city park to charge my camera. I also wandered across the rode to the Rite aid to find camping propane but they didn't have any.
Headed out on Hwy 20 then Hwy 5. We are today riding bike route 517. We somehow missed the ACA turn off, probably because I was just following the 517 signs and stayed on Hwy 5 which turned out fine as it had a 6 foot plus wide shoulder. The traffic was busy and fast but we just zoned out in our giant bike lane.
From there we took Lake Road into Hamburg, then headed up Hwy 678 into Buffalo. We picked up bike route 517 again and turned on Ridge Road to catch the bike trail into town.
Heading along the bay we stopped and took a distant photo of the Buffalo South Entrance South Side Lighthouse. As the lighthouse is surrounded by industrial land, this is the closest land view there is.
The Buffalo South Entrance South Side Lighthouse was first exhibited September 1, 1903.
Next we were able to get a distant view of the Buffalo Harbor Lighthouse.
There have been a number of lights in this location, the original built in 1871, a second lighthouse built in 1914. After a freighter hit this light in 1958, the present tower was built in 1961.
We biked out to the Main Buffalo Lighthouse but the Coast Guard who administers the site had closed the gate so we had to back track to Ohio street to cross the freeway. From there we found the hockey arena for the Buffalo Sabres, but the team store was closed for the day.
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We carried on through the lakefront park then turned up Porter Avenue towards our warmshowers host’s house which was in Allentown. Here we found a place to eat so grabbed some burgers and fries which was just OK. Maybe I was tired but I didn't really enjoy my meal.
Finally we got to the house around 7 p.m. and met up with Leslie and Dwight, a great couple who welcomed us to their home. Also staying were Dan & Jenny who had cycled from Santa Monica, CA on Route 66 and were now heading east on the Northern Tier. Jenny had just finished preparing a meal and had included enough food for us so we had an enjoyable meal with new friends.
Cameron was done, today had been a little to much for him at over 60 miles. I will evaluate our options for tomorrow. He was in bed early tonight.
Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 306 miles (492 km)
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