Sunday, July 20th 2008
We’re off- a 7 day tour of Nova Scotia
JC and I drove (really just JC drove) to Saint John’s, NB Canada (home of the reversing falls) and left the vehicle there to take the ferry to Digby. Sticker shock, though JC had warned me. $10 for the bike and $40 for my person. A massive ferry, capable of carrying many semis and bus sized RVs, the ride is very smooth. The car was left in the hotel parking lot and we rode to the ferry. The clerk at the Ferry booking desk asked me JC’s name and I told her “Jim”, but she didn’t ask for his last name, so as she was printing up the receipt I asked if she didn’t need his last name. She told me she thought I said “Jones” and that was what the receipt stated. JC and I had a good laugh about it and noted that if the ferry sank, he would go down in history as James Jones (JJ).
You can sometimes see whales and dolphins from the ferry and there was a naturalist from a local museum on hand with binoculars, but moderately heavy fog rolled in and enshrouded us on our journey.
The fog mostly lifted as we entered Digby. An interesting phenomenon- as the fog was thinning, you could look down into the water at the edge of the boat and see a halo of rainbow. There were Salmon cages near the dock; they look a little like docks themselves, with screening over them.
Donning raincoats/windbreakers we headed out of the ferry area and came to a visitor’s center, where they advised us to take Highway 101! The lady there said NS highways aren’t like highways on the mainland, but we went through Digby and up onto Highway 101- no difference to me except that bikes are allowed. Fast cars, lots of tarmac to warm you up- we stayed on for one exit then got off- but inevitably we had to get back on because it is the only route going across an inlet we needed to cross. Between exits the road was very hilly and I was thinking about proposing a shortening of the tour. It would probably have been faster/ shorter/ flatter on HW101, but route 1 was definitely more scenic.
On cue, we did manage to find a store with both Gatorade and ice cream- an event I had declared would be a miracle.
Annapolis Royal presented a grocery store (where there was cyclist from Europe- said he had cycled Cape Breton and suggested it be cycled clockwise due to extreme hills) and an ATM, but no cell phone service. A short distance out of Annapolis Royal was another causeway, on which perched one of the few tidal electric generating plants in the world. There was an extremely knowledgeable man, who proceeded to tell us the pros and cons and mechanics of the system and how it compared to other types of electrical generation. JC later suggested he was probably part of the team waiting for the tide to go out so they could do some tinkering/ research into how the system was holding up (they could actually stand in the turbine chamber and look at the channel and turbines).
JC pointed out our probable destination across the bay. At the campground (CG) we ate a little of the food procured in Annapolis Royal and scoped out campsites other than the one we had been assigned- it was really quite nice, but we were looking for something a little more protected due to the expectation of rain. JC made a decision to grab a camping cabin. I revolted after finding out that even after paying $75 (inc tax), we had to pay for showers and refused to shower- I am sure JC will be paying for that later.

Monday, July 21st
It did indeed rain most of the night, making the cabin seem the correct choice in hindsight. We deliberated waiting 'till 8:00 for the camp’s restaurant to open or leaving while it was not raining. We chose the former and were amused by a group of bikers in the café. About six strong, they didn’t really resemble bikers, except for their black clothes; no tattoos, perpetually looking angry faces or tough guy stuff. They were all from New England and consisted of engineers, computer people and one accountant (3 Harleys, 2 BMWs and a Triumph). We had a great conversation with them. The waitress was equally entertaining. When we finished it had started raining again and this continued until about 1:30, not necessarily a downpour, but drizzle/ mist. We stopped once for Gaterade (I didn’t partake) and no ice cream. The owner/employee of the store was very familiar with Kejimkujik provincial park and called it just “Kedgee”.
The second real stop was at a huge grocery store while still about 10 miles away from the CG. They had more variety/selection than yesterday. The approach to the CG (according to JC’s GPS unit) was a down a long road with deep newly added gravel. We shouldn’t have to travel that road again to leave the CG, fortunately, because it was slow and hard on the rear. No cell phone service- pay phones only and no ability to get change at the CG. Showers (currently being converted to pay), laundry, food, wandering and bed.

Tuesday July 22nd
We packed in a fine drizzle this morning… wet tents after out efforts yesterday (camping cabin) to not have to pack wet tents. The drizzle stopped shortly after leaving and we cycled about 15 miles to Canning for breakfast. We shopped there, also. There are no towns big enough to have a grocery before Blomidon PP. The path became more and more hilly until we finally arrived at the park, which was the climbing finale, with such an extensive/steep hill (with switchbacks), that we gave up riding and pushed 50% of it and rode 50% in the lowest gear. My bike is now refusing to shift onto the granny gear. We walked down to the flats as the tide came slowly/quickly in. The cliff at the edge there is very soft and erodes easily. There was a marked line from which ground water escapes and the cliff is stained and seeping below the line. Scott’s Bay would have meant about a 10 mile ride and then a return up the CG hill, instead we hiked along some trails along the ridge to outlooks, almost 3 hours. Upon our return, we slacked and lay around talking about what we might be able to ditch and additional things we might need in order to ride across the US. While hiking we had discovered that this CG actually had showers (unusual in a public CG), so we took advantage of them- quite nice. While there, we met a couple from London, ON (we passed it last year on our circumnavigation of Lake Erie). They cycle, canoe and backpack. He looked the part, but she didn’t- it's always a pleasant surprise when my guesses about people are way off. We also visited the CG hosts, Gerry and Wheet of NS. They told us about their 6 children and the gypsum mines on NS. Dinner was little- granola bars. We really don’t eat dinner and are not generally hungry in the evening. No cell phone service (of course) and the change I had did me no good- the phone only accepts quarters.

Wednesday July 23rd
It was barely drizzling when we left this morning. The hill down was scary as opposed to
difficult. The rims of the wheels get so hot on such a decline, you need to stop and let them cool. My bike caused the CG gate to go up, which I found amusing, but JC’s did not. Lots of mist this morning. We returned to Canning for breakfast again (same restaurant), and were given advice from a local man about our conflicting directions to Barass Corner- one set of directions came from the GPS unit and the other from the unit’s computer software. Coming into Kentville, we searched for a bike shop to repair my granny gear. I have already lubricated the heck out of the cable housing and almost unscrewed the stop screw to no avail. At this point I think the lower cable housing is bad, about which I can do nothing. I also lost a machine screw from my front rack, for which I again did a temporary fix with a cable tie. We found a bike shop, but no tech until 1pm. Not killing me enough to wait 3 hours. I was able to find a hardware store and the staff helped me size and replace the machine screw. I made it up all but 4 hills and those were walkers (JC walked them as well; I am sure he did this just to make me feel better). No rain and the skies had cleared. At New Ross, I got desperate and accepted the kind offer to use JC’s phone, since the credit card phone in town wouldn’t take any of my CC. No answer- I left a message that I was alive. The Canadian phone company and my own cell phone company seem to make it incredibly difficult to phone anybody. It is weird; they seem to make it possible to only make local or collect calls. I sent postcards starting on day 2 (all of which made it to their destinations after I got home) and collected the $4 dollars in quarters required to make a 1 minute call to the states in expectation of finding a pay phone.

I would have bought Gatorade if I had realized the magnitude of the hill just beyond the town’s center. We stopped at the top and collapsed at someone’s drive and talked to the home owner. He let me fill my water bottle. Lesson learned- always top all bottles at every chance. More and more ups and speedy downs. At Barass Corner we found a little mini-mart/ grocery store and asked about hotels. The family running the store told us about a B&B and called for us. We were pretty shot. There was no answer, but just as we were hopping on our bikes the owner came out and put us on the phone with the B&B owner. The owner had asked the store owner how we seemed- like the local version of a credit check: very funny- how old are they, are they skuzzy or respectable looking… the B&B is 5 miles in the direction we are going tomorrow as opposed to 10 miles in the wrong direction to the CG. Gravel roads in decent shape brought us to the B&B- 100 Acres and an Ox. It was a beautifully appointed new house, built in old NS style overlooking fields of blueberries, a faraway lake and several valleys. The owner had told JC she would not be home until 7pm. We waited on the pleasant back porch and were much more presentable after about an hour of drying. Ardythe, the owner, was incredibly kind and gracious. Realizing we had not had dinner (she doesn't realize that is our style), she cooked us a great meal (while we showered), a beautiful pairing of fresh ingredients and the perfect portion sizes made me feel like she knew me and how I eat. I am a vegetarian, and JC is not, but she didn’t blink. She gave us homemade lemonade, poundcake and fresh fruit w/lightly sweetened whipped cream for dessert: so excellent. We talked with the other couple staying and then went to bed. Now I have to put in my disclaimer. There are only queen sized beds at this B&B- I know, because we were the first to arrive and I looked into all the bedrooms. I had a very difficult time sleeping in the same bed with JC and thus got about 3 hours of sleep. This in turn made JC feel badly and he got only about 4 hours of sleep. He is going to have to let me sleep happily on the floor. It is however, only sleep, and we got up to a fabulous breakfast.

Thursday July 24th
We got up and picked blueberries (at least I did- JC was only interested in eating them). Ardythe made eggs I doubted I would be willing to eat. They looked like poached eggs, but when you cut into them, they were more like hard boiled and she had seasoned them excellently. Since breakfast is normally our biggest meal, I also partook of yoghurt, fresh fruit, whole grain muffins with blueberries and sautéed veggies. The meal was truly a fabulous start to our day. We packed up and headed out, initially taking the route suggested by Ardythe, but then turning around to rely on the GPS. The GPS route was quite nice. The unit has the normal settings for “no highways” and such, but additionally has a setting for “pedestrian” and “bicycle”. It is not always perfect in its routing, but accurate. It occasionally sends us off on “shortcuts”, one of which turned out to be a street running parallel to the main drag, but used solely for accessing driveways. Lots of rolling, but nothing compared to yesterday. We saw a moderately sized group of summer camp teens cycling for 3 weeks. They were scarfing lunch prepared from a grocery store’s shelves, just short of Lunenburg. In Lunenburg we tried out the Fisheries museum- pretty good, but could be so much better with more info about how things got done. The tall ship was nice to walk around and JC seemed to enjoy relating to it as a Navy guy. Next we went to the Bike Barn to have my granny gear worked on. It was indeed the cable housing, but not the one I had thought. The problem actually lay in the upper housing coming out of the bar-end shifter. This is a very old housing, but since it doesn’t get subjected to the rain, like the lower one does, I did not suspect it. Apparently new cabling contains a lining of some sort- maybe Kevlar or silicone. The owner also worked on my back brakes, which had become merely a slowing tool and he “gasp” actually replaced the pads. I usually just spin them around or take them off and rotate them, then readjust them. When test driving it, I was almost thrown from the bike when braking. Funny.Very nice. While there, another group from the same summer camp came in. There are apparently 3 of the groups out at once and they are all self-supported and camping. One of the other groups had been in earlier and had reportedly suffered 9 broken spokes. On to the Ovens, approximately 9 miles away. This natural park is private and its main lure is ocean caves. Uplifted shale is eroding vertically/perpendicularly to the shore. There is a trail and several stairways through chimneys into a few caves. I would like to come here with Dwight and kayak them. Afterwards I had a great veggie sandwich, made from diced veggies, an avacado/hummis spread and field greens w/vinaigrette on local whole grain bread- very messy, but great. JC had fish and chips doused in vinegar. It was plenty of food with no need for ice cream. It has been very foggy all day near the coast and the Ovens was no exception. After dinner (and during, really) various Chapin family members and friends played a ukulele, guitar and piano (though the ukulele was not played at the same time as the piano), and later Steve Chapin played the piano, sticking mostly to Cole Porter and Gershwin, with the twenty somethings chiming in. I tried the pay phones several times, but one had no dial tone and the other had been co-opted by a teen calling Microsoft tech support for the laptop he had in the booth with him. He had a pile of quarters to be admired. We walked back in the dark, using my headlight as a flashlight. JC showered, but I was too shot.

Friday, July 25th
Wow, I slept well last night; head on pillow and “blink”- out. It rained throughout the night and we hopped up and packed as soon as it stopped. After yet another unsuccessful attempt to use the phone, we ate breakfast at the same attached camp restaurant (Hodge Podge Lodge), with similar great results: fresh fruit, local soda bread and a small serving of home fries. We left at around 9:30. It was a really late start for our ~69 mile day. The hills were all doable, but we did disregard the GPS in the end. It takes us on a more circuitous route, with less traffic, but more miles. We were just about spent when we found a tiny “dirt” road enclosed by pines. Pulling off about 25 feet, we took off our shoes and lounged on the pine needle cushioned ground. So needed, even though 10 minutes after getting back on the bikes we came to a store we knew would be nearby. Spent is spent. At Kejimkujik National Park, it started to pour and the kind admissions person told us to get out of the line of cars and go pay at the visitor’s center. I found a CC pay phone, called home, but talked to the answering machine. It stopped raining as we finished paying and rode another 4k to the CG. I have heard all sorts of great things about this park, but they were all said by car campers and day visitors. It is a long way in and might be better appreciated if you spent a couple of days there if entering on a bike. Things are spaced quite far apart. In addition there is no laundry, the concession stand (no store) is 7k away (walking- too late to try this) and the only pay phone in the CG is quarters only. Dumping in my $4 for 1 minute, I got to speak to my 14 year old, but he never told anyone I called… note to self- investigate why only some species eat their young. At least I know no one is dead. Showers were welcome and then a dinner consisting of the two 4 day old rolls and the jar of pesto, carrots, granola bars, cashews and M&M’s. It is amazing, considering the heat, that the rolls were not moldy- gobs of preservatives?

Saturday, July 26th
Today we got up around 6am. There were a bunch of really obnoxious 20 somethings roaming the CG until 5am, talking very loudly and being extremely vulgar, even for my standards. At one point one was talking about what he expected from his sleeping girlfriend when he returned to his tent and what he was going to do if she did not perform, followed by some charming words used to describe her. I had to resist the temptation to pull down their tents; it would smear the image of peace loving cyclists. Hopefully life will stick it to them. The combination of a lack of security, long ride in, no direct lake access from the CG, no laundry or store would probably discourage me from ever returning on bike or at all on a Friday or Saturday. We ate breakfast at a restaurant just outside the entrance (Tent Dwellers), where the owner also runs a stand apart grocery store. She moved back and forth pretty efficiently. It was drizzly when we entered, but had stopped when we finished breakfast. It seemed forever until our 1st turn at about 15 miles, then the riding got better and the sun came out. We stopped at a house and JC rang the bell to ask questions about whether the closed bridge was truly impassible, even for bikes (since we have had long detours avoided by the discovery that a bridge was only impassible for cars). The owner was said it was definitely out, but that we could go on to Bear River and cross there. It was much further than we expected and we went down this outrageously steep hill, which we could see climbing back up the other side of the valley. The worry about hot rims resurfaced, because we worry about the possibility of popping a tire from the heat. At the bottom were no ice cream cones, but we did meet another Vermonter, who said we should “fuck” them? She clarified (it seems she thought JC would automatically know what she was talking about) she was talking about Bush and his cronies- just making a statement about the way a specific county in Vermont feels. JC is enamored of the root beer popsicles he finds in the novelty ice cream cases and found them there in Bear River as well. The way out of Bear River was to follow the river itself (still hilly). Someone told us the shortest way to Digby was to go up the steep hill, but I laughed at this prospect. It would have been about a 1.5 mile walker. I had already gone up that road, past two houses and had to walk after just a short way to them. We did need to get back on Highway 101 for a bit, since it was the only road to Digby along the coast, but we stayed on it for just that one exit again. Digby itself has quite a bit of traffic and the road seems a little dangerous, so mostly we rode on the asphalt sidewalk. Digby CG is only 4.67 miles from the ferry we will catch tomorrow at 1pm. Entering the drive, I checked the door latch of the office and there was a note telling people to come to the trailer at the top of the small hill. JC had overshot the entrance, so when he caught up with me I suggested he not stop, but continue up the hill. At that moment, the owner came around the office and JC had to come back down. I laughed myself silly and almost fell off my bike; maybe I was a little punch drunk by that time. There were pay showers and a laundry and each tent site had a little lean-to with a picnic table inside. If it rains, the owner had told us, we could swap the table out and tent in the lean-to. The lean-tos are sided with Kevlar? House wrap or something and there are several which are fully enclosed and have board bunks built in; very small, but could be fun. There is a rail trail into town, which we took and had dinner and ice cream.

Sunday, June 27th
We went back into town for breakfast, then wandered around on the wharf, taking pictures. Moving to the ferry dock, we were joined by a group of 30 supported cyclists. Many were tired from the unexpected hilliness of the terrain and the high mileage of their organized tour. They averaged 70 miles a day (no packs). I was rather proud that we had averaged 50 miles per day with packs, and had some days of 70 miles or so. The ferry ride back was blessed with porpoises jumping around us, but fog killed any chance of seeing whales. JC was disinterested; apparently in the Navy you become unappreciative of marine life. Off the ferry, onto the roads, back to the hotel and going home.

Haha, here is a one day account of the first day by our friend RH. I was a little hard on him. He shaped up superbly.

Hello friends -
I am on this bike ride - the Allegheny Passage - not for the casual rider. 50 miles a day is quite a bit and my first day was a relentless 1%+ grade (doesn't sound like much but for 50 miles you can feel it). Of course I did not train and my legs and backside told me so. But, I am here to report it so that's a good thing. My traveling companions LD, DK, and EK like to travel @ 13 mph. Now, that's a tad fast I think - not huffin' puffin' but lets you know it. Why? There is a reason - limits time on your as_ mostly, which makes sense. LD is the taskmaster. It feels so good to stop. I have enjoyed the scenery though - very good and is shady and not too hot. Mostly cloudy in fact which brings me to why I'm at a computer rather than camping as planned. About 1600 yesterday the sky opened up (and I don't mean the clouds cleared) mucho agua mucho mucho for 1/2 hr+. We rode w/me in the lead at 12mph. Kept warm until we stopped. Got drenched. Our stuff was mostly in plastic and some stayed dry - others not, incl my wallet, (not). Then the sun came out & it was quite nice. We rode on to our planned destination for the night - the longest 7 miles I ever saw! At the little town of Rockwood PA we saw a B&B which looked all so inviting in the late afternoon sun. (lot's of biker's there too - wonder why?) We continued along the trail for 1/2 mile to the chosen CG. Yuck, dark (and wet of course) but 10 smackers P/P and no H2O or showers, pit johns. Had to ride about 3/4 miles for those ammenities (incl. however). I felt they could stick it ___ ___ ___ ___ ____. Went to B&B, no room at the inn. Asked in store - another CG just 3 miles aways (that's a bunch and 'up the hill') - but they had been known to come pick up people - glory be. Called and got a recording. Checked tourist brouchure and after a few other frustrating phone calls (cells don't work by the way) went to the place where the washrooms are for the expensive CG. They had room in their guesthouse (sans breakfast so not a B&B we were told). That was way over 100 greenbacks for 4 dirty bikers but we were stuck. Ride on 10 more miles to another town? Dark clouds now building. LD and I were in the 'it's the principle of the thing' mood. It was getting about 7PM now and our level headed DK said let's get the guesthouse. That done we washed the sand off our bikes and get them under the porch and gear inside before more raindrops fell. Good decision. The room is a whole house! Gameroom w/pool (billiards) in the basement too. Even a computer. Take Care - RH

Okay, thanks to an article from Adventure Cycling, four of us investigated and then set out on the approximately 320 mile trail from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC. Here is our story...

Saturday, June 28th, 2008 (McKeesport - Connellsville)
The trail from Pittsburgh to McKeesport is not yet finished. That part continues to move back and forth from trail to road. As a result, we started at McKeesport. We arrived here in a Honda CRV, with two bikes (front tires removed) inside and two in a Rocky Mount rack on top. A friend (RH) dropped us off, will drive to Connellsville, drop his bike there at River's Edge Campground, drive to Hancock, leave the car, take a shuttle to the Amtrak station, the train back to Connellsville and then get a ride back to his bike. Very convoluted, but there is a reason to his madness.
We spent a considerable amount of time configuring the bikes, sorting out which bungees would work best with which baggage/racks and which small bags were unneeded. Starting time was approximately 11:30am.

It is possible we did not start in the right place in McKeesport, but the marina in which we started was not bicyclist friendly. There appear to be only two bike trail parking spaces, no bathrooms and no water. A few miles down the trail in Boston was a park which made up for these deficits. The trail here is moderately well marked, though we chose the GAP trail (East side of the river) instead of the Youghiogheny which would have taken us across the river. No big deal, but we may have had a slightly nicer trail on the other side.

We lunched at West Newton in the Trailside restaurant/bike shop, as it conveniently rained during our meal. There were three men there, a father and two adult sons, who were en route to California. They were shunning the Adventure Cycling route so they would be novelties. The journey is to promote the active participation of fathers in the lives of their children. They were plotting and watching the weather via an armored laptop.

As we left, two women on the deck above poured water down on us from above, oblivious to the fact that the deck was not solid and was situated above a bike rack. A little funny; at least it was not soda.

At the River's Edge Campground (6:00), the only reason we realized we had arrived was that my rescue bike, which RK is riding, was locked at the side of the trail. If he hadn't locked it there we would have passed by and needed to double back. It rained on and off, but EK (14 years old) had managed to put the tent up in between. We ordered food from a pizzeria, showered and did laundry. Setting a clothesline was a waste of effort- we had to take it all down and use a dryer. At about 11:00pm one of the owners/managers went to the Amtrak station and brought RH back. I thought this was truly amazing kindness. Trains come through on the other side of the river about every 2 hours.

Sunday, June 29th (Connellsville - Rockwood)
River's Edge was just a hop/skip from Connellsville's town center. We found a diner almost immediately. Stares accompany our cycling shorts, though with the trail running right through town one would think people would be used to them. EK is not wearing cycling shorts. The plink/snap noise I heard yesterday is more pronounced since adding the equipment RH had brought in the car for us (sleeping bag, pad, tent). I stayed behind in Connellsville to await the 11:00 opening of the bike shop, while the rest went on to Ohio Pyle. The owner showed up a little early. He took apart my axle (I have broken one before with the same resulting noise), replaced the cones and bearings, then tightened down the spokes. It was probably the spokes. He didn't want me to pay him... hmmm. I caught up with the gang at Ohio Pyle; the GAP trail is all crushed limestone, very smooth and well draining.

We stopped in Confluence, which does a very good job of encouraging cyclists to come into town. Each town has a Welcome map, pinpointing where services and sights are. Very cute town.

The Pinkerton tunnel is probably permanently closed and a trail goes the longer way around the hill. It was on this part of the trail that we were struck by a total 30 minute downpour. Our stopping point was Rockwood, but since it was 7:00, the B&B's were filled or closed and the campground was $10 per person for no local water, pit toilets and no local hot showers. Some ammenities were available across the river in town. We finally settled into the campground's "bunkhouse", a full house with a full kitchen and 3 bedrooms, tv, pool/ping pong tables and internet capable computer, but for $160. Sometimes a roof over your head and a dry bed are worth more than at other times.

We washed our clothes by hand as it rained quite a bit more. Dinner was partly an MRE (meal ready to eat) left over from some government mission, chicken wings from town, grapes and jarred pesto on rolls (from a Confluence grocery) and dried fruit. The trains did not keep us awake.


Monday, June 30th (Rockwood - Evitt's campsite just past Cumberland)
Just past Salisbury we crossed a huge viaduct, under which I saw a deer on a deer path. You are so high up here it is a little like riding in a helicopter. RH later looked up the difference between a viaduct and a bridge- reportedly a viaduct is a series of different spans all tied together. Probably many of what we call bridges are actually viaducts. Windmills abound on the two ridges.

We breakfasted very late in Meyersville. Again, excellent signage/map encouraged us to go down a steep hill to a diner, something we would have been unlikely to do if we had not know the diner was definitely there.

The Keystone viaduct spans a valley through which a river, railroad and road all travel. This day probably held the largest quantity of interesting things to see. Just short of the Continental Divide we passed a tractor mower, who did his best to avoid catching up to us when we stopped. This included stopping for pictures at the divide, where there is a bridge he passed under as well.

The Borden tunnel is unlit, though moderately short. RH failed to remove his sunglasses before entering and so followed me closely through. I had also forgotten, but managed to take them off while riding. Hmmm. Why are we so opposed to stopping?

Savage tunnel is lit and long, with a long smooth downhill ride alongside a scenic railroad track. In the Brush tunnel, you actually share the tunnel with the scenic rail, but that train does not run very often.

In Cumberland there is a nice visitor's center and a grocery which was off the beaten path. Several cyclists passed through here while we plotted and we met two men also going to DC.
We never saw them again.

At Evitt's hiker/biker campsite, there was already someone in the site and only one table, so we illegally camped in the day use picnic grounds. The pump at this site and one other might have been impossible to get water out of if you only had one person working it. We cooked dinner and hit the hay. The trains were almost on top of us, but we were so tired we slept pretty well anyways. In the middle of the night there was an incredible BOOM, which at first seemed to be thunder right above us, but must have had something to do with the idled train starting up on the hill next to us.

Tuesday, July 1st (Evitt's campsite - Hancock)
The C&O is much rougher than the GAP, with the surface constructed from dirt overlaid with gravel. Of the four of us, three have road bikes. Additionally, the towns along the trail are generally smaller. We were to stop in Old Town for breakfast, but missed it, so we left the trail and traveled the under 1 mile to PawPaw for a lunch of pizza. Since it had been raining, we were quite a mess, but the owner didn't blink at our muddiness. We did our best to rinse/refill our water bottles and selves. It was 11:00.

A National Parks crew was working on the PawPaw tunnel. They were working on the all brick interior (the portion under the towpath), but when we went through they were eating lunch. Again, this tunnel is unlit, but the towpath is very uneven, requiring us to use flashlights. A family came through after us without any lights at all, but it is creepy and you don't get to see the details. The towpath is moderately narrow and passing just a few people on bikes coming the other way requires hugging the wall. As we emerged it started to pour, so we drew back inside. EK's helmet fell in the canal inside the tunnel; he fished it out with a clothesline and a hooked bungee. It is fortunate it floats.

We passed several primitive campgrounds, all on the Potomac side of the trail. It rained on and off, making the trail mucky and finally it poured on us long enough to soak us. The trail was a mess by this point and we mostly gave up trying to avoid the puddles and mud. We saw a huge spider on the trail. Its body was the size of a quarter. If anyone knows what kind of spider this is, please leave a comment.

Eventually we hopped on the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT), which seemed cheating, but it was paved and sooooo pleasant to our rears to be on something so smooth. This trail exactly parallels the towpath for a while.

In Hancock, the C&O bike shop was very easy to find and right next to the WMRT and C&O. At the bunkhouse we hosed our bikes, panniers and pretty much everything else. Dwight and Rick showered while Dennis, the shop owner, fixed EK’s shifter, which was slipping constantly, and tightened the front derailleur cable so EK could use his granny gear. The granny gear would turn out to be essential for the hills on the detour and our side trip to Antietum.

The compound is ultimate funk and very cool; the yard, enclosed by a 6’ fence, is bounded by outhouses and outdoor shower stalls, as well as a “bunkhouse”, which is probably an old lumber shed/lean-to screened in. As a guess, the shop and the yard were probably a hardware and lumberyard in a previous life. 8 bunk beds were built in and closed cell pads were provided. Altogether it is a fine place to “camp”. RH and I compared the bunkhouse to a chicken coop or a dog kennel, but you didn’t feel caged when inside. Dinner was at Weaver’s. The food was basic, but pies are their specialty.

Wednesday, July 2nd (Hancock - Horseshoe Bend campsite just short of Sharpsburg)
RH left us at this point to go to BWI and take a flight to a family party. DK’s phone, which took a beating by getting soaked on Sunday now turns on and has graphics on the screen, but the whole image is upside and backwards as if your were viewing it in a mirror and the picture’s colors are inverted… very funny, but it seems to function fine. We continued for 10.7 miles on the WMRT and returned to the C&O. The rail trail is marked by hand printed signs where you need to exit it, for the rail trail has a dead end spur beyond that.

At Fort Frederick we stopped for bathrooms and water but didn’t enter the fort. At Williamsport we trekked uphill to a mini-mart and bought supplementary food to eat w/the rice and beans we’ve been carrying: salsa, Combos, cookies and doughnuts for the morning. We also went into the canal museum and played a “build the cheapest canal” game. EK constructed a model suspension aqueduct.

The first of the two detours (called the extended detour) around the collapsed towpath takes you around some rough ground, which sandy patches and gravel, some of which needs to be walked. The second detour is unavoidable. It follows country roads and is very hilly.

The next possible hiker/biker site when returning to the trail was taken by an SUV with Virginia plates (more on this later). The subsequent site was 3 miles further and the pump handle had been removed due to water quality. We ended up taking that one (Horseshoe Bend) and sharing it with Jim, a retired dairy farmer, Wendy, a 27 year old from Beaver Creek, PA and 3 young men from Boston, PA. I went back to the Big Woods site for water- the pump gods were with me for this one could be operated by one person, then returned for a dip in the Potomac. It is very difficult to get into the water, for the mud is 2 feet deep at the edge.

Thursday, July 3rd (Horseshoe Bend - Calico Rocks campsite just past Point of Rocks)
We left moderately early, but the 3 young men beat us out. I was commenting that I would need to have my bike tuned before my next trip, to have everything tightened from the rattling it has gotten on this trail, when I looked down at DK’s bike and noticed that he had lost the bolt which holds his rack and fender on. The only reason I looked was because I had lost this same bolt a couple of years ago on a bone shaking gravel campground drive. We used a cable tie, which turned into a permanent fix. Hardware stores are hard to find.

We had to backtrack a little to exit onto the roads for Antietum. This brought us into contact with the same vehicle which had parked in the Big Woods site. I commented that she had forced 7 people to move on to share a site with no water. She claimed she was supposed to be there, worked for the Parks service and had a permit/key. To me it was irrelevant, for she took a hiker/biker site with her car.

Moving on to Sharpsburg for breakfast, we began our detour to visit Antietum. Not unusual, the “diner” was a store/gas/diner shop. A clerk scrounged around and gave us a bolt which might fit DK’s bike- very sweet and resourceful.

Most people on the roads were exceedingly cautious around us and our bikes. The car tour of Antietum was hot and hilly but interesting. It was nice to return to the shade of the trail. There was a curious man-made tunnel/cave, but we never found out what its purpose was. The main tunnel had been deliberately filled in, but someone had dug out the fill of a smaller, secondary tunnel and it was open near the top.. too creepy for EK and I.

At Harper Ferry, the Appalachian trail joined us for a while. Trail traffic steadily increased between this point and DC, though the only place it really caused us trouble, in hindsight, was near Great Falls Park. We stopped at Calico Corners campsite and asked to share with some people who had hiked the ½ mile from the Point of Rocks access point. There was also an older cyclist with a hammock tent. After putting up the tent, we returned to Point of Rocks and got some grill food, potatoes salad and coleslaw, at which point we were joined by Gene from the campsite. He is retired and cycles everywhere. Now living in Florida, he is cycling the whole C&o and Gap this year. He does about 70-90 miles per day. Returning to the camp, we jumped in the Potomac, again knee deep mud. The other group there was building a bonfire. Later they were on the phone giving friends directions to the site and I had visions of loud drunkards, but those never became reality. They were moderately quiet and turned in around midnight.

Friday, July 4th (Calico Rocks - DC)
I got up in the middle of the night because it had started to rain; rescued the clothesline items. I thought it was just a passing shower, but at 6:30 it was still raining. The same car with the Virginia license plates came down the road, so the driver was probably not lying, but no uniform, special license or signage. We packed inside the tent and by the time we were finished the rain had stopped.

Continuing on to White’s Ferry, we encountered the same diner/store/gas shop combo and ate breakfast. I believe this is the last ferry across the Potomac and it continues to run on a cable to keep it from drifting downstream with an engine pushing it across.
Several cyclists crossed to our side. It is probably popular to come up from DC on the Virginia side of the Potomac to White’s Ferry or Harper’s Ferry and then return on the Maryland side.

Great Falls Park is very beautiful.
The river there is reminiscent of something out of Algonquin Provincial Park, with huge rocks and unusual habitats for the region. There is a really nice boardwalk out, but the place was very busy due to the holiday. Many people use the trail from here to DC and we saw lots of families, joggers with dogs and people fishing. Despite the fact that the population density is quite high in this area, the trail continues to be secluded from surrounding development and sheltered from noise. Even as we approached downtown DC this continued to be the case.

Unfortunately, we needed to get up onto the Francis Scott Key bridge and most cyclists seem to carry their bikes up a set of stairs. We could probably have gone further and ridden up a hill on our bikes, but it turned out to be not as impossible as I thought it might be. We ended our tour quite muddy in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in Arlington. The weather the last two days cleared up and became quite muggy, but the heat was kept at bay by the river and the shaded path. Tomorrow RH will return from the airport with my car and we will go home on Monday.

Reduce, reuse, recycle, repeat

Nicest newly discovered site for material reuse (bike themed):

cool diy messenger bags This person makes these messenger bags out of vinyl banners. I am not saying I think nylon banners are cool, but companies are going to continue to use them and throw them out. Moral dilemma- do we refuse to reuse them and demand they stop using them?

Hometown reuse? Not bike related, but: Buffalo ReUse tears down houses board by board and resells the stuff from a warehouse. Not just the mantelpiece or the doors or doorhandles, but the studs and floorboards and glass block windows, kitchen cabinets and clawfoot tubs.

Winter Geek
Having become more focused on my 75% travel miles by bike challenge, I did invest in one winter item to make travel more comfortable.

New purchase: booties (very dorky looking)- these are just heavyduty waterproof nylon covers; they have no insulation, but paired with my waterproof pants, they keep my feet dry. There are no solid bottoms on these, but they are extremely effective. MEC $28

In Buffalo the weather generally hovers around freezing in the winter, with February temperatures sitting in the mid-twenties. Temperature is rarely a problem. On my way out of the house w/bike, one of my children's friends asked me if it wasn't currently too cold to be cycling. I told him, "if you are cold you aren't peddling fast enough". Leaving no skin exposed is vital and insulating extremities keeps frostbite at bay.

Old purchase- reuse: Ski mittens; why people use gloves for sports which don't require fine finger control I don't understand. When your fingers are together, they keep each other warmer. I will look for/design myself new mittens; my ski mittens (though they had zippers to open the sides up) made my hands sweat. Something to keep the fingers warm, while allowing the palms to cool would be perfect. Think pit zips for the palms : ) Also, a pair of safety goggles- I priced out clear glasses made for cycling and they approached $100. The safety goggles don't look too weird, I can attach my mirror, and they cover my exposed face and eyeballs (see above). They work great.

I also now have a rescue bike. It is a low end Trek mountain bike, which was left locked to a fence about 1 week too long. Devoid of wheels and its seat/seatpost, my spouse bought me parts and now it is a happy functioning bicycle again. The bike shop told him it would be cheaper to buy a new bike... but he saw the environmental cause and rallied in time for Christmas.

Looking Back- Mirrors

It is amazing how many comments people make about my mirror. Living in a mid-sized city makes you continually conscious of the traffic. Turning your head to look behind you puts you in several dangers: the proclivity to swerve slightly when turning your head around, the momentary lapse in attention to the doors of parked cars and the chance that a pedestrian might choose that time to step out. Using a mirror can mitigate some of these problems, though it is not always wise to exclusively rely on it.

Mirrors come in two basic flavors. There are the mirrors which either strap on or attach to the handlebars and the mirrors which stick to the helmet or attach to glasses.

On the pro side, handlebar mirrors have a greater reflective surface and can stick out further. On the con side they vibrate with the bike, are farther from your eye, don't show what is behind you if you are turning and make you wider.

Helmet mirrors have all of the opposite pros and cons. They don't vibrate, but have a smaller reflective surface. In addition, if you attach them to your glasses... you have to wear glasses. During the day, this is not such a problem. At night however, if you don't normally wear prescription glasses, you have to wear clear lenses or safety glasses.

My preference is for the latter. Although there is a period of adjustment, the close proximity to my eye allows me to shift my attention quickly from the road to the mirror and back. In addition, wearing glasses is a good practice anyways to keep bugs and debris out of your eyes. Someone commented to me that it must be annoying in the rain, however I use a Giro helmet with a visor and this keeps most of the rain off my glasses.

I find it amusing that while searching for a picture of my mirror, I found this article on the Icebike site. They have the full address for the company which makes my mirror (the Take-a-Look), though I got mine from my local bike shop. It is also important to point out that mine came out almost unscathed from being fully stepped on, when foolishly left on the concrete sidewalk. Its reflective side kissed the concrete. The result was one small scratch on the top border. The thing just folded up and protected itself. You don't "bend" it as cited on the Icebike site; it is jointed in three places to allow for adjustment.

For the most part, this winter has been mild. Although the temperatures have hovered around freezing, there has been little precipitation sticking on the ground. For about 9 days I was forced to take a bus, which it turns out picks me up 1 block from home and drops me 1 block from work. It is kind of nice to listen to my podcasts on the bus.

There are so many reasons to bicycle and every time you ask another commuter or bicycle errand runner (?) you hear another. I have decided to try to use a bike for 75% of my single person, non-huge item travel. This relegates the car to hauling lumber, multiple children and vacations. I do, however, use the car when getting all dressed up for a night out on the town.

Most errands can be accomplished on a bike. I have a trailer, which can be used in the summer for grocery shopping, but not in the winter. It is a Burley double. The hitch is superior to anything else I have seen, but it is made of rubber and may become brittle and snap in the cold.

A couple of years ago, I went into my local pet supply store and purchased a 40lb. bag of dog food. I had my helmet on, but the clerk asked me if I wanted him to put the bag in my car. I told him that if he didn't mind walking about 10 blocks, that would be very nice. We still laugh about this, though recognize that sometimes we are also oblivious to what is going on around us.

So how did I get it home? I have my panniers and if you lay the bag across the panniers, the weight is supported and balanced. It was very stable.

Lately I have been cheating on the 75% miles by bike by picking up the groceries on the way home from a regular deployment of children. This allows me to shop less often, because I don't have to rely on getting everything in the panniers. The big grocery store is exactly on my way home. Still cheating I suppose.

Cold and dark.
iz commented about the dark. Dark when we leave home, dark when returning. How do people handle it?
I alter my route to one even less traveled by cars. I assume that cars will not see me and ride in a way that they don't necessarily need to see me. Occasionally I ride on the sidewalk for short spells, especially if I am in a low night-time pedestrian area.
As for lights, since the city is already moderately well lit, the lights on my bike serve to alert, not brighten my way. Both front and rear lights are made by Blackburn. Both have a flashing mode, among others. The front light's steady-on mode is an excellent flashlight, a great asset if something goes wrong (also good when touring, instead of bringing one more thing).
My bike has reflectors all around, improving my visibility from the side, and I wear a pants tie down, which has reflective tape as well. Adhesive reflective tape can be purchased from car parts stores and sew or iron on tape can be purchased online from BikerHiway at a very reasonable price. You can even cut the stuff into cool shapes.

Gearing up for the colder weather- literally
Here in Buffalo, NY, USA it can get moderately cold and the weather vacillates between just below freezing and just above. Paired with significant snowfall and the use of salt on the roads, it can get very sloppy in the winter.
Last fall I shifted from my road/touring bike to a low end Diamondback mountain bike. Putting fenders on it and its lack of toe clips made it a very pleasant bike to ride in the cold and slop.

There have been two problems which continue to plague me and both involve cold rain. The first concerns wet feet. There are a few solutions to this; the first is to wear boots. This is a pretty good solution when the temperature wavers around freezing, but is less appealing at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 7 degrees Celsius. The other possibility is shoe covers. Hmmm. There must be another better answer.

The second problem involves the top half of the body. In warmer weather, I am prone to doing nothing, letting myself get wet, then changing my clothes when I stop. In colder weather, however, this is not practical. Pricing out rainwear has been depressing. A trip to REI results in a bill approaching $150 for just a suitable jacket. "Suitable" entails something with enough ventilation to allow you to adjust your body's heat and robust enough for commuting. Pit zips are ideal. I found an outfit in Oregon which is designing, manufacturing and selling their own stuff. The outfit arrived in the mail today. For $89 I got a "seconds" jacket and rain pants.

I was apprehensive about even opening the package, feeling that for the price the quality or functionality would be poor. A great surprise awaited me. I opened the jacket first. It was vivid yellow, just like a cycling tourist would wish, had pit zips, an extra long "tail", reflective tape on the arms and tail, ample velcroed wrists, was fully lined and the collar had a soft polar fleece lining as well. It even had a tab on the back for a blinky light. I am still trying to figure out why it is a "second".

The rainpants were not quite as excellent, for they are not lined or fleeced. Otherwise, they are very functional. They have ample flare at the leg bottoms and velcro tabs to tighten them to your ankles. The "pockets" are not pockets at all, but zippered access to your shorts' pockets. I don't generally use pants pockets when I ride, so this is okay with me. Technically, these are made to be worn over tights or long-johns.

The ultimate question will be one of durability. Time will tell. I will try to reassess them next fall. The company which makes them is J&G Cyclewear. They shipped them the same day I ordered.

For another view on winter cycling try IceBike.

Today my 13 year old went for a trek with me.
Together we went up the Canadian side of the Niagara River to Niagara Falls and back the US side. 42 miles and not one complaint. He even took a spill on a recently sealed driveway slick from rain. We probably averaged about 13 miles per hour, but it was a good time.

I still think customs and the bridge authority are trying to kill cyclists, but am less flustered by it. I insisted that we ride with the cars across the Rainbow bridge, but my son balked at this, so we again walked across and were scolded by the customs officer. This time I merely stared blankly at him when he said "for future reference...". Yeah, whatever. What are they going to do to me. There are no signs instructing cyclists about policy/ procedure, and the way the government works, it will be years before some committee can agree that there should be. In the mean time, my 13 year old will grow up and finish college.

A Century...
In the bicycling world, 100 miles in one shot is called a century. Though the most I have ridden in one day is about 75 miles, 100 seemed very "doable".
For my first century, I chose to ride with a local cycling club called the Niagara Frontier Bicycling Club. In this way the route would be planned out for me and there would be at least minimal support should something go wrong. They name the ride the Can-Am. The people they had manning the rest stops were very nice and the food was plentiful. I would suggest this ride for anyone interested in a century. They also had two shorter rides- I think a 42 and 32.
We have had almost no rain this summer, but on this particular day it rained all day. Not on and off, mind you, but for 95 miles out of the 100. The route traveled up the Canadian side of the Niagara River, all the way to Lewiston, ON, then crossed the bridge into the US, trekked along the Niagara River going East to Wilson, NY and then back to Buffalo, NY. I was at a distinct advantage on this ride, because I have traveled almost all of this route in sections. I did a Niagara Falls loop in mid-August, traveling up the Canadian side and back down the U.S. side and in early September I did a one way trek to Wilson, NY. Because of this, I knew the twisted intricacies of the Peace Bridge in Buffalo and was also oriented to the route through Lewiston. The only place I was a little disoriented was exiting the Queenston/Lewiston bridge back into the U.S. There the road is basically an expressway and you must get off it as quickly as possible. Some of my fellow travelers apparently went too far on the expressway and had difficulty getting off of it. I do personally wonder if Customs is trying to kill cyclists, because they tried to tell us to go to the first exit in order to leave the customs plaza at the Peace Bridge and sent us down the middle lane (truck/rv/car lane) at the Lewiston bridge, never thinking to close the lane for us- full speed traffic coming at us with no divider to save us if someone crossed the middle line.
The route on the U.S. side of the Niagara gorge is really nice, for they have closed off one side of the Robert Moses parkway to motorized vehicles and you get two car lanes plus the ample shoulder on which to ride. You have to share it with pedestrians and roller bladers. Quite amazing really.
I did the ride in 6.5 hours. This is amazing, considering I consider myself to be a slow rider; about 16mph. Doing the calculations, that would put me at about 15.4mph, but I did stop at all the rest areas and eat a banana or chocolate chip cookies. Slow and steady makes the grade.
I do feel a little odd sometimes traveling with a club. Most members have fancy bikes with carbon fibre frames and bicycle shoes with toe cleats. I ride my touring bicycle: heavy, long, with fenders and front bag, lights and sneakers with old school toe clips. One of the club members did mention how nice fenders would have been in the pouring rain...

Circumnavigating Lake Erie
In July of 2007, we set out from Buffalo, NY to travel around Lake Erie by bicycle. In order to chop Detroit out of the loop and in the interests of time, we skipped the whole far western end of the lake by taking a ferry from Leamington, Ontario to Sandusky Ohio. With great appreciation I traveled with a gentleman from Vermont and it turned out to be a very good fit. This was only my second unsupported ride and far longer than the previous one (which I did alone). Jim has done other unsupported rides, including one around Lake Ontario.

July 21st, 2007
We started out in Buffalo, NY by traveling down Vermont St. to the Peace Bridge. The toll plazas have been rearranged and rebuilt within the last year, so I could not find the exit and I could not find my passport. Finally a guy told us about the gate the custom official could have let us pass through, but we took the sidewalk to get around the buildings instead.
In Fort Erie, we traveled the street near the Niagara River instead of path- the path is too close to a stone wall, and I have collided with the wall once in the past. The bike path ends, more or less, in a new housing development and you are shooed onto a dirt path, unimproved and odd, though a wooded section of trail.
After that the bike path is paved until long after Ridgeway, all the way to the Welland canal. Last year or two years ago, there was a section which was unpaved/unimproved and extremely rough.
We mistook highway 3 for provincial route 3. Highway 3 is very dangerous- a 5 inch shoulder, with traffic traveling at 80 clicks per hour. After 2-3 miles we diverted toward the lake on a road, then bridal path – two sequential sections running perpendicular to the paved roads and parallel to the lake, then back on a road towards the lake. The bike and bridal paths are probably remnants of a rail line.
At Port Colburn airport (more like an airstrip) in Barnaby (? So Jim thinks) we saw many skydivers- not with mushroom shaped chutes, but wing shaped- coming down.
Initially we saw only divers landing, mostly down.
The first group had divers drifted, then dumped most of the air in their chutes maybe 300 feet above the ground, which caused them to drop precipitously and pull up just before the ground (this must provide quite an adrenaline rush), while others drifted lazily, enjoying the descent. Some were in tandem, possibly a first timer and a veteran paired. It looked very difficult to land in that fashion.
When most of those were down, the plane took off with another load. The first diver was out so much sooner than the rest- this diver bore the brunt of many jokes about why he got out so early- paid half fare, fell out…
We watched the plane rise; it seemed like forever, but Jim thought maybe it was about 10 minutes. We really could no longer see the plane, but then saw small black specs coming down- clustered together like seeds in a kiwi- freefalling for a long time and very fast. Like fireworks, they opened their chutes.
Jim and I were talking about how expensive a hobby it must be- special clothes, the chutes and the plane ride. Jim said the cost of hot air balloons was one of the few hobbies he could cite which were more expensive, for you not only need the balloon and the equipment, but you also need a chase team.
We moved onto the lakeshore, route number 3, where the traffic was far less and the speed limit was down to 60 clicks. There was plenty of shade and the road was moderately level. Jim noted that someone had mentioned that the road gets hilly primarily near the places named “Port” something, and this did seem to ring true.
At Port Colburn we had stopped for Gatorade, but no real food, because I was carrying some dinnerish food. Later on we stopped again for Gatorade and ice cream, which became a reoccurring theme- an agenda mostly pushed forth by Jim, of course. It was nice to sit down on something other than a bicycle seat. People along our route shouted out “helpful” comments, like “big hill up there” (true) and “the bridge is out” (not exactly true). We noticed that there were large rocks piled up on the edge of the lake, which is probably a strategy to quell large waves which rip onto shore in storms.
Got into Rock Point Provicial park at about 1:00. We felt a little like we were cheating, stopping so soon, but it was a beautiful first day. The temperature reached about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and there was barely any wind. My speedometer indicated we traveled about 15.5 miles an hour.
Rock Point is nothing like I remember it from my excursion with my husband more than twenty years ago, but it is difficult to discern whether that is due to my memory or a landscape change. There are fossils out on the point and large fish rotting on the shore, maybe from the storm, which pushed through just days before. We checked out the camp store, but ate the macaroni and cheese, cashews and carrots I had brought from home. We used Jim’s stove to cook and it was interesting to see how his equipment compared to mine. He has an MSR stove and I have my parents very old Optimus. We showered in the odd shower stalls- each was its own room, as was each toilet. The whole setup was very clean, but strange.
It turns out we have matching REI tents (I find this incredibly funny). Could not call my husband- the phone would not connect to the Canadian network. Very tired I went to bed at around 8:30.

July 22nd, 2007
7:00 start, no breakfast. The first place my partner wanted to stop was a McDonalds, but I decided to assert myself and told him that I would go to a grocery store, while he ate at McDonalds and that I would join him. It would have been quite acceptable to me, but he insisted he would go with me to the store instead.
This was the beginning of my realization that he would be a very flexible and compatible cycling partner, and he became much less serious as we progressed on our tour. We were brought together by a classified ad on the Crazyguyonabike site. Last spring he had advertised for a partner for a trip around Lake Ontario, which I was unable to schedule. At that time I had suggested that if he was interested in something in the 2007 summer, I would be interested in that. This summer, I managed to book the Cycling the Erie Canal and this Lake Erie trip with only 5 days in between.
We breakfasted on yogurt, fruit and blueberry muffins.
We both got a little sunburned today, traveling on a slightly busier road near the shoreline. We could see a large city to the south, which Jim suggested might be Cleveland (not Toledo, as I was guessing), which is probably a good guess. There was a power plant and some sort of a factory on the shoreline, which we went around. The factory was well concealed behind large berms and tree groves and was not unpleasant or ugly to circumvent. There were giant smokestacks and conveyer belts, but I still could not tell what they were making.
In Port Byron we got homemade ice cream. Port Byron is a summer touristy type town, with a beautiful beach. A pickup truck driver warned us that there was a man in an orange shirt who had stolen a van and was armed with a hammer. Supposedly he was being pursued by a motorcycle gang. Sounded like a twisted soap opera.
At around 2:15 we got to the campground, Turkey Point. It was maybe slightly slower than yesterday, but there must have been a tailwind, because at times we were going 20mph. There were a couple of hiking trails, including one to an old fish hatchery. At one place we noticed a lot of shuffling noises, but this turned out to be a water cistern, spring or something, which I wanted to, but was unwilling to check out; there were dire warnings about poison ivy.
We showered and then ate dinner. We subsisted on pita bread, carrots and fresh blueberries from my panniers. Turned in again at around 8:30. We went about 62 miles today.

July 23rd, 2007
Got up early again (there is a trend here). There was a group of cyclists near the rest rooms who asked us about our trip and gear. They had their bikes on their car and were heading for the Niagara Region to do some day cycling. We cycled to Port Royal and ate a pleasant breakfast. There we met one of the few touring cyclists to be found on our trek around the lake. He was going from Washington to Maine, but is from Wyoming.
It was hot and seemed long, but the most interesting things were the approximately 50 windmills. The province or wind power company is building an interpretive center, but it is not opened yet. There were also some graveyards, which the historical or preservation center must be trying to preserve by setting them in concrete and brick to keep them from breaking further.
A hotel in St. Thomas was at the end of our day. The adventure cycling maps, which Jim had so wonderfully procured for us, did not mention any campgrounds in this area, because they were so far off the beaten path. In fact they were really no further from the bike route than the hotel, but it was not that important. The clerk at the front desk was very funny, not familiar with the local restaurants. She appeared to be young, and also felt that the fifteen minute walk to one of the restaurants of which she knew would be too far. The walk turned out to be very pleasant and dinner was likewise. It was nice to get moving, without being on the bike. We spent the evening looking at the maps and strategising Cleveland and the possibility of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We tried to watch a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis movie; it was not for me. We trekked 55 or 60 miles today and are tired, but not muscle sore.

July 24th, 2007
Left at around 7:00 and Jim complained I snored- I told him he should just throw a pillow at me. We headed towards Fingal, 10 miles southwest of St. Thomas. A man there asked us our position on big dogs which chase bicyclists, then told us that there were two sides to the dog situation. I told him my side used a lock to defend, while he didn’t seem clear on the concept of public roads. Obviously he has a dog which chases bikes. Jim wisely kept his mouth shut.

There were anti-windmill farm signs, anti- water/sewer signs and not for sale signs.

A little cooler and light rain today, but a really nice day to cycle. The forecast on tv last night called for warmer temperatures and no rain, but that forecast must have been for London, Ontario, 10 miles north of St. Thomas (wink/nod).
Lots of people with orange shirts today, including a two man crew using a wood chipper aimed into the back of a high back pickup truck. They had left the windows open and had to clean out a bit upon their return to the cab, but it seemed that they regularly do this with the windows open- funny.
We camped at Rondeau Provincial Park, and decided not to go further; it would have been another 35 miles to the next campground, and we felt that our 55 or so miles had been enough. The worker at the camp registration booth asked for a phone number for the site registration, and I provided mine. She stated my husband’s name and I said “close enough”, but she insisted on the names of the people actually on the site. After I had given her our names, I requested she not tell my husband, at which point Jim and I had a good laugh (husband knows). There was a nice hiking trail out into the bay, but it was very buggy. At the overlook, Jim pointed out a baby bunny at the foot of the wooden platform and a muskrat swimming in the water.
For dinner, we tried putting Jim’s rice/sauce mixture into the pitas, which was a mess. Still tasty enough, but I switched to pb&j. We needed to get rid of the pitas.

July 25th, 2007
Left at about 7:00 to run away from potential rain. It rained most of the morning and caused me some concern about being struck. Jim has bright yellow pannier raincovers which are moderately visible, and a red blinky light, but this is an area which we could definitely improve. Unfortunately, there was little we were willing to do to remedy the situation at the time, such as pulling over and waiting it out.
We breaked at a store/restaurant to get off our bikes, out of the rain and get Gatorade. The lady who served as clerk, cook and waitress was a wealth of interesting information about the local crops. She spoke of the corn and its derivations, care and farming methods. She told us that most of the corn grown in that area of Canada is used for seed and that there were special techniques required to grow and harvest seed corn. She also told us about some of the other local crops: tobacco and beans. We were especially surprised that they grew tobacco in Canada, for we associate that crop with the southern portion of the US. They are also growing a lot of soybeans.
It finally stopped raining and we took off our rain gear, but my shoes were soaked. Jim’s feet were far drier, a fact which I later attributed to his fenders. I dry my sneakers by putting dry socks in them and letting them absorb the water, then repeating this. Usually by the second pair of dry socks, the sneakers are relatively dry. Both Jim and I use toe clips, instead of clipless shoes. I doubt I will ever make the shift, for I see no value in them; the shoes wear out and are expensive and they are too specialized. I bring no other shoes with me, Jim brings flip flops.
We were able to do laundry at Sturgeon Woods camp ground, and the price was pretty good for a site: $32. There is almost no exchange difference for Canadian/US money at this time. Provincial Park sites have run around $28 (though the price leaps to about $40 if you reserve). The campground is edged by a large shallow pond, which teemed with wildlife. We saw at least 15 herons, and there were some sort of white large cranish looking birds.
At the store near the CG entrance, they had ice cream, so we got floats and milkshakes while the laundry finished up. We didn’t bother with dinner, but ate the cashews and apricots. We traveled about 55 miles today and are very close to the ferry at Leamington.

July 26th, 2007
We got up at 5:30 and got going. I was having difficulty sleeping anyways. The wind had kicked up quite a bit, and I was concerned it was about to pour. Feeling it would be good to be dry and on the ferry, and anxious about the confusing ferry schedule, it was nice that Jim was okay with leaving so early. It was a short easy ride to the ferry dock. The waterfront in Leamington is lined with plaques citing the history of shipwrecks in the Pelee Island passageway, so we spent the hour or so before the building opened reading those and abusing each other. Beyond listing the wrecks and how many, if any, lives were lost, the plaques also indicated the evolution of shipping on the great lakes.
On the ferry, they let us stand our bikes inside the hold on the car deck, and Jim locked our bikes together, mostly to ensure they would remain upright. The first ferry had a cafeteria and a lounge type area where you could watch a video about Pelee Island. I declined on breakfast, wishing to eat the stuff which was still in my panniers, but Jim missed out because he figured he would eat on the second leg between Pelee and Sandusky. Unfortunately the second ferry was much smaller and had only a snack booth. The very first ferry of the day has a one hour disconnect from the ferry used on the second leg, and we took this ferry so we might have some time to explore Pelee Island.
We only had about an hour on the island, but did a very short visit to their winery and took a quick jaunt to Fish Point, the most southern point on the island. The displays in the winery were interesting, with discussions about corks and insect problems suffered by the grape vines. We did not have time to get off our bikes and walk the 1.5km to the very end, which was a little disappointing, but it gives us a reason to return some day.
The second ferry was much smaller, and was not really equipped for bikes. There were only about 12 vehicles on the ferry. We stood on the top deck and watched the boats and islands go by.
Nearing Sandusky I thought you could see Cleveland, but Jim thought it was Cedar Point amusement park, and he was correct. What had looked like skyscrapers from afar were actually the 6 or so rollercoasters. The temperature began to drop as we approached Sandusky, and it rained a tiny bit, but the slightly heavier rain held off until we docked. We stayed warm by hanging out on the upper deck near the AC heat exchanger.
At the end of the journey (we had predicted this), we needed to move our bikes, because they had let us chain them upright to the vehicle gateway. You had to walk off the boat, then walk back on the boat via the vehicle gateway, then walk the bike through customs. I thought we might have trouble because they ask how long you have been in Canada, and I figured Jim and I would give different answers (yea, I am clueless).
It was raining lightly when we set off through Sandusky and there was a man trying to hold up an umbrella while riding his bike, though he would not get very wet had he closed the umbrella.
Rural roads were the norm moving away from Sandusky, but after a while the shoulder became narrower and the traffic increased as we approached Cleveland. A bike path appeared when things were beginning to look questionable. In Ohio, there is a fine for drivers who venture into the bike lane, and it must be enforced with moderate frequency, for people did not enter the lane. Even when the traffic was stopped due to someone making a left turn, cars would wait in line rather than move into the bike lane.
We decided to stay in a hotel in order to finish the day closer to Cleveland. We had to travel on busier roads in order to find a hotel, and while we were asking around, a woman offered to let us stay at her house. I was astonished that someone would be that trusting and kind, but we declined, even after she repeated her offer several times. In hindsight, it might have been fun to offer to buy her dinner if she picked us up and dropped us off from the hotel. We went about 60 miles today.

July 27th, 2007
We ate the continental breakfast at the hotel and did not especially hurry due to heavy rain. By the time we were ready to go, the rain had ceased and things were beginning to dry. Weather reports predicted that there would be two bouts of rain, so I wanted to jump out and try to get to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame between them. The second bout never materialized and the rest of the day turned out dry, albeit a little warm.
The bike lane continued and the traffic into Cleveland was not nearly as heavy as one would expect.
I took a spill on the bike path just short of Cleveland, when I struck an object, which had entered the path. I was a little bruised and scraped up, but fortunately there was a bathhouse situated very close by and I was able to take a full shower and get patched up.
We reached the Hall of Fame just as it opened, and spent a little time trying to convince the cops and security that it was important to secure the bikes- to no avail. The bikes were locked against a fence outside. There were not even bike racks.
I had been to the Hall of Fame once before, but this was Jim’s first visit. I love reading about the emergence of rock and its foundations. It was cold to me inside and I had difficulties staying warm. I also stiffened up quite a bit from my bumps, but felt much better after riding a while afterwards. We left the Hall of Fame at about 2:00.
Jim went into a grocery store in Euclid, while I stayed outside to watch the bikes, and later we got ice cream and spoke to an occasional motorcycle rider about the tour. The bike lane has continued throughout Ohio, which is quite a pleasure. A woman gave us a dire warning about the weather, saying it was supposed to thunder and lightening and that hail was predicted. Since the sky was beginning to seem dark, we took her seriously and hurried towards Perry Town Park, in which we planned to camp. I was on autopilot (very common I am afraid) and we missed our turn, but a couple came to our aid, giving us excellent directions. It was funny, because the husband did not seem to know any of the street names and his wife drew us a perfect map. When we stopped for a moment to talk a man offered to let us stay at his summer cottage, but it was 15 miles down the road. It was getting late and we did not reach the park until about 7:30.
Perry Park was beyond our expectations. Very cheap, clean and staffed by a sociable man, the tent sites were under a nice canopy of trees and meant for tents. The caretaker showed us a guest book and we looked for other cyclists. There was an entry for a couple cycling around the lake on the 22nd of July and several for transcontinental rides.
We ate dinner and prepared for bed; it was 10:30 when we actually made it to our sleeping bags. We traveled about 55 miles today, and it never rained, thundered or hailed on us.

July 28th, 2007
We got up at 5:45. I thought I woke Jim up, but he insisted he was already awake (yea, right). He says he can sleep through anything, but I can wake him up by yawning in my tent. I thought I would be really stiff, but that was not the case. Oddly enough, my knee began to bother me and I really slowed down to spare it. This may have adversely affected Jim, because he had to cycle at my speed or constantly wait for me. He adamantly insisted he was just looking at the map (very sweet guy).
We ate breakfast at a diner, then cycled for a very long stretch. At a small grocery, we stopped for Gatorade and upon exiting the store were faced with many cyclists participating in the Across Ohio Bicycle (XOB). This is a tour similar to the Erie Canal tour: supported. They were fun to talk to and were almost at the end of their line. We parted from their course almost immediately, but met some others at a drive in restaurant. They had finished and were working their way back to their car. Ate very good root beer floats. On our way out of the restaurant, we came across a tandem couple from Iowa. They pedaled next to us for a while and we leap frogged each other for a while, but we passed them for the last time when they stopped at a farm stand. There were some challenging hills today.
We stopped in a town just short of Erie, PA at a hotel. I think Jim was quite tired and this was an unplanned hotel, but no biggie. After showering, the couple on the fully loaded tandem (Charlie and Sue) appeared and took a room. The first restaurant we tried served nothing but chicken, so we moved on (I am a vegetarian, but would have eaten coleslaw and potatoes) to a different restaurant as a group. We traveled about 64 miles.

July 29th, 2007
Up and out at 6:45 to beautiful weather. We seemed to be riding slowly; there may have been a headwind. We stopped in Erie, PA for breakfast, but I mistakenly ordered an omelet with meat sauce, so Jim made me eat his home fries and some of his toast.
We drank soda about 10:30- ick, but I had forgotten to fill my water bottles.
Riding into NY we aimed for Lake Erie State park. We adjusted our route for one small detour around a missing bridge, and climbed several hills. A clerk in a small grocery told us not to try to avoid it, and she was right. She also warned us of a detour near Silver Creek, which no longer detoured. There were some rolling hills today.
Lake Erie State park was about at the 50 mile mark. We stopped and amused the staff at the registration booth, picking on each other and generally acting like fools. When they heard we had no dinner, they gave us an apple; too funny. We set up the tents and lolled around to avoid the trip to the store we felt we needed to make to get something for dinner, about 2-3 miles away. A little forethought would have helped us. We just got macaroni and cheese and drinks and returned to the park for showers and dinner. All in all a pleasant day. Knowing the area I now know how far Buffalo is, and it seems insurmountable that we will go all the rest of the way tomorrow. I used to drive this in my car and it seemed to take forever, though it will be no longer a day than most others. We went about 52 miles.

July 30th, 2007
We left the park bright and early. We ate breakfast in Dunkirk, but I was not really interested in eating. Jim didn’t seem to have that problem. We stopped in Silver Creek also, but the grocery store had no cold smallish Gatorade, so we moved on to Irving and a mini-mart there for our Gatorade stop. Passing through the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, we took a slight wrong turn, but it was tranquil and cool and led us to where we needed to be anyways. The Seaway trail driving route is very serene and keeps you off the main busy roads. I have not traveled it before on that section. Rolling hills were a small challenge, but not a big deal. The Frank Lloyd Wright house, Greycliff, is situated along this road, but we decided to pass. Nice views of the city and the small windmill farm in Lackawanna were frequent. As we emerged back out onto route 5, there was a mini-mart and this is where I realized I had lost my wallet. Jim bought my Gatorade and resigned to dealing with it at home, we continued on to Buffalo.
The route 5 passage to Big Tree road was confusing, and I have only ever traveled it by car. We ended up pulling a dangerous maneuver, cycling up Milestrip road. Though it has a wide shoulder, it is billed as an expressway, but our distance on it was short. We worked our way up to the part of Buffalo I know, but I travel it on the weekend when there is far less traffic. At one point, a woman who I thought was waiting for us turned right in front of us. The trucker who saw it commented on it when we all reached a red light. One sign indicated it was 92 degrees, but it was not that warm. At Tifft Farm nature preserve we rested and drank, then headed for chaos at S. Elmwood to avoid LaSalle park. Jim asked several times if we were getting close to my home, to which I kept replying “4 more miles…” Home at last!