Day
47 – Cape Vincent to Selkirk Shores SP ~55 miles
We
woke up a bit late after spending the night with Ken and Joanne. We
got up around 10 and headed downstairs for breakfast. Ken made us
crepes and Joanne had made fresh muffins! It was so good and we ate
as much as we could to fuel up for the day ahead. After breakfast we
gathered our things and packed a lunch from the leftovers from last
night. Before we left we took a picture together and they gave us two
flags to put on our bikes! They are half Canadian and half USA,
perfect! We said goodbye and took off toward Selkirk.
We
left around 12:30 and it was already a really hot day. We crept along
and battled through the sun and wind. We took a shortcut that Ken and
Joanne told us about that cut about 5 miles from our day.
It
was one of those days for us where we were just kind of feeling out
of it. Both body and mind. But there isnt much we can do but take it
slow and keep pushing on. We eventually stopped for lunch and got out
of the sun for a bit. We had roast beef sandwiches and fruit and
tried a new flavor of vitamin water. It was a blessing to get out of
the sun, but we had to keep going.
It
has been flat for so long we really forgot what hills were like, but
today we were unpleasantly reminded. They were hard in the rain and
cold of Northern Superior, but they are worse when it is 85 degrees
with the sun beating down.
We
arrived in Selkirk around six and stopped for dinner at the only
place around which was a gas station. We ate and then headed into the
State Park about a mile down the road. We pulled in and got set up
and showered and made a few phone calls.
There
was another bike tourist named Mike staying at the park as well. He
is from a town called Wellington which is about 70 miles west of
here. He is finishing up his trip around Lake Ontario in the next
couple days. It is nice to finally be able to talk to another
tourist. Hopefully we will be seeing more on the last half of our
trip!
We
treated ourselves to a campfire and enjoyed the nice night. We are
going to bed exhausted. We are in need of a rest day which we are
going to take in Buffalo, NY in a couple of days. We are making good
progress though and are very happy about that.
Day
48 – Selkirk Shores SP to Rochester, NY ~ 93 miles
We
woke up this morning around 9 to the sounds of the loud campground
around us. We got us and ate the rest of the bagels and Nutella we
have been carrying for a couple days. We could tell right away it was
going to be another hot day today, more so than yesterday.
We
ate and then headed out. Our plan was to head to Beechwood State
Park, but we learned last night from Mike that there isn't camping
there. So we were going to plan to find a private campground to stay
in tonight.
Right
away we were into the hills and they lasted all day. Just like a
roller coaster, up and down and repeat. We stopped at a gas station
about 7 miles or so down the road for an energy drink and then
continued on our way. Today we feel much similar to yesterday, a bit
empty and exhausted and cranky. Long days of nonstop biking can have
that effect.
We
went through the city of Oswego and kept pushing on through the
hills. We stopped in a small town for lunch and sat in the grass, in
the shade, for a bit while we ate. We have to say that it is a bit
disappointing that even though we are on the roads closest the lake
we don't get to see it that much. We are getting a bit tired of farm
fields all day long.
We
reached Sodus Point, which is where we planned to look for a private
campground, at around 65 miles. There wasn't anything there. We drank
some water and got out of the sun while we thought about it and
decided to push on to Rochester. It is going to put us in a better
spot to make it to Buffalo on Tuesday.
We
rode another 30 miles or so into Rochester through some really nice
neighborhoods right on the lake on a nice road. We found the nearest
motel, which we thought we deserved after a 93 mile day in the sun.
$55 dollars...sold. We ordered a pizza and are catching up on a few
things and getting stuff sorted to send another package home along
with our footage from Sault Ste. Marie to now.
We are hoping tomorrow will be better to us! Can't waiit to make it to Buffalo! We are goi ng to the Anchor which is the home of the Buffalo Wing! Today was our half way point! We are proud of our achievement so far, but still have a ways to go! We should be entering Michigan in a week or so!
Day
49 – Rochester, NY to Golden Hill State Park ~ 65 miles
Woke
up today and got ready to leave. We ate the rest of our pizza for
breakfast and then left to go to the UPS store. At UPS, we sent home
around 10lbs of things that we didn't need anymore like winter
clothing and our new footage. After that we navigated through
Rochester and made our way out of the city. We had a nice wide
shoulder the entire way and as we headed west, we saw the rain
coming.
We
packed everything in our waterproof trailers and then it hit. It
rained pretty hard for about half an hour and then the sun came out
to start drying us off. The only problem was it was drying everything
and it was so humid. We stopped to take a leak and thats when Kris
got his first flat of the trip. Even though it was a crappy time to
get one we were pretty amazed that he had gone almost 3000 miles
without one. He quickly found the source, a small shark tooth looking
rock. He fixed the tire and then we were on our way again.
There
was nothing where we planned to have lunch, which was late anyways so
we had to keep going very hungry. We stopped for ice cream a little
while later and that helped get us to a gas station where we got
lunch/dinner, breakfast for the next day, and snacks. The subs we got
were enormous and you couldn't even finish half. They were probably
16 inch subs. We then headed to Golden Hill State park and set up
camp right next to the water. There was a nice little lighthouse as
well that was close by. We spent the night making calls, snacking,
and trying to relax. Some of the other campers came by to talk to us
about what we were doing and the couple next to us gave us some home
made chocolate and granola bars. They were amazing! We went to bed
and got woken up to the sound of thunder around 1am. We quickly got
up and threw everything in the tent and then then storm hit. The rain
was intense but not as intense as the lightning. It was less than a
mile away at certain points and kept us up worrying for quite a
while. We finally went to bed after the storm passed.
Tomorrow
we will make it to Buffalo, NY and take a rest day the next day. We
will be saying goodbye to Lake Ontario and looking across the Niagara
river at the shore we were on only a couple of weeks ago. Its crazy
to think about how much ground we have covered in that short time!
Day
50 – Golden Hill State Park to Buffalo, NY ~ 70 miles
We
got up and had breakfast in the rising heat. It was going to be a
scorcher today. We went to the front entrance to try and pay but
there was no one there to take our money and no drop box so we left.
Free camping is always the best! We headed west and we were
struggling. Our bodies are worn out and the heat was really getting
to us. We could have used a good nap. We rode apart for a while and
didn't meet back up for a few hours. We said goodbye to lake ontario
and I went ahead to film being back on the river again. When I met
Zach in Lewistown he was far behind because he stopped to swim in the
lake before we left it. I guess it was pretty polluted, gross. We
stopped and had a late lunch at Subway and then we headed out again
towards Buffalo. When we reached Niagara on the US side we were in a
pretty scary area but we stopped at the falls and got a great close
look at the American falls. With all the rain they were roaring. It
was amazing how quiet it was in during the weekday. When we were on
the Canadian side there were so many people. The American side also
wasn't a circus like the Canadian side was either. We headed up the
river in amazement at how fast the rapids were.
We
made our way into Buffalo and ended up in a pretty bad part of town.
We got dinner and then hastily made our way towards a community bike
shop where we were to meet Adam who was going to put us up for the
night. The traffic was crazy and we were still in a bad part of town
but we made it and met Adam. We were amazed at the community bike
shop. They are open 3 days a week and the diversity of people who
come there is incredible. People come in to get parts and to fix
their bikes. They have to fix the bikes themselves with the help of
the mechanics. This way they learn how to do it themselves. They also
have volunteers who are there all the time to help. It is funded by
the city to promote bicycle riding and commuting in town. Really a
neat place! We made some calls and got interviewed by Sam Cook back
in Duluth. I guess it is really pouring there and the city is in a
state of emergency. I hope everyone is alright and we are thinking of
you all. Right before they closed we got a chance to use the stands
and clean our bikes and tune them up. After they closed the doors we
had to wait until almost 11pm for a guy to leave but we headed out
back to Adam's house to drop off our stuff and get changed. We then
headed to a local bar and listened to people sing. We left later and
went to bed in the hot upper apartment.
Tomorrow
we will head to the south side of town and get a hotel to get out of
the heat and do nothing but relax and recover for the next couple of
weeks.
Day
51 – Rest Day Buffalo, NY ~ 10 miles
Got
up late this morning and Zach looked at some close by hotels and
booked one. We got packed up in the heat and headed out down the
road. We made out way through downtown and then headed off south
towards the hotel. We headed a little too far east and had to
backtrack a little towards our hotel. We stopped at a Tim Hortons and
had lunch and got some directions to get on our way again. We finally
made it to a mall area and there was our destination. We spent the
day catching up on computer work, getting dinner, and relaxing in the
AC as the heat kept going up outside. We watched some news about the
flooding in Duluth. Pretty crazy to see, we wish we could have seen
it but seeing lake Erie isn't so bad......
Tomorrow
we will be heading west towards Pennsylvania. We will be in Michigan
in under a week and making our way through Detroit, I hope were
ready.
When I read about Ontario Lake you made me so jealous! Which I could go back in time, when I used to live in Toronto..miss my rides around that beautiful lake!!!
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