Touristy Day

1 July 2012

 

Stats for the day:

Depart Lockport, NY 8:30 a.m., arrive Buffalo, NY 3:45 p.m.

Trip mileage – 669.5 miles

Today’s mileage – 38.58 miles

Time on bike –3:26:20

Average Speed – 11.2 mph

Max speed – 18.7 mph

 

After yesterday's grueling 73 mile day, we located an overnight stop in Buffalo through the Warm Showers organization giving us a wonderfully short day of riding today.  Because of the short distance, we took advantage of the Town of Lockport and visited a local diner, Tom's, for breakfast; then made the short walk to the historic and new locks just behind the diner.  What a classic example of older and new technologies.  

Old Locks (5)

New Locks (2)

The old canal used five locks to make the 70 foot lift/drop over what is known as the Niagara Escarpment. The new locks only need two, to do the same thing.  We got to watch as a Canal Tour boat made it's way up the canal using the locks.  Truly an amazing movement of water to get the boat up to the height it needed, 567 feet above sea level.  Also in the town is a great little tourist center and museum that is all about the canal.  It would take a full day of reading just to go through some of the artifacts.

 

After going through the locks, the tour boat then made it's way under the widest bridge in the U.S., at 399 feet wide.  One has to wonder why they didn't just tack on the extra foot to make it 400 feet.  It's that wide because it covers the canal and allows for an intersection as well.  We went over it to get to the tourist center and museum.  

 

Our ride from Lockport to Buffalo was leisurely, and we took advantage of the frequent parks and rest areas along the Canal Trail.  A good part of it was paved, especially the closer you get to Tonawanda where the canal actually starts.  From Lake Erie to the Canal, you take the Niagara River, which we cycled alongside, and is used a lot for recreational purposes.  One of the neatest things we saw was these bike/paddle boats.  

Niagara River

We did make a stop at a McDonald's in North Tonawanda to take advantage of the wireless internet available in order to check directions for overnight with Cliff and Carol.  Buffalo has some nice bike lanes and wide roads, which is nice.  

Along the route, we came across Rick's next project; that is Castle Urban.  Of course for now we are happy to have Squatter's Place in the backyard at Cliff's and Carol's.  A wonderful spot to rest and enjoy the company of new friends before heading out for Dunkirk, NY. 

Squatter's Camp

Soon to be Castle Urban