Day 42 - June 23, 2006
Erie, PA to Hamburg (Buffalo), NY
78.1 miles-official miles
computer quit
Today was a very easy day. We biked 78 miles from Erie to Buffalo. Not a lot of wind and even better-no rain. Leslie spent the night with me; lascivious, I know. She said it poured the entire drive back to Pittsburgh. It didn’t rain at all on the way to Hamburg, so I guess we were either in front of or behind the rain. I think we were very lucky, although most of you wouldn’t find biking 78 miles in 65 degree temperatures lucky. Lucky is when you find a twenty dollar bill in the parking lot with no one around to claim it.
I was in remorse the entire way as I had spent a day and a half with my family, after being away for six weeks. It was tough to see them leave, but I have to finish. One of my friends on tour didn’t think I was coming back. Now whatever would give him reason to think that.
Today’s ride took us along Highway 5 for most of the way. The scenery was slightly rolling hills with lots of vineyards and views of Lake Erie most of the day. It was a cool and overcast day, looking a lot like Portland or Seattle. A few people decided to take the fast train today and see how quickly they could get to the hotel. I took the scenic route and still arrived by 1:20. However, my bicycle computer was flooded on the drive up to Erie yesterday (I forgot to cover it) and is now a total mess. I wonder how I can write this off? But overall, another good day and we are now in the Empire State.
After getting in early today, Jed rented a car and six of us went up to Niagara Falls for a bit. Most hadn’t been to the falls ever, so it was a real treat seeing them ooh and ahh like toddlers. It’s actually a good trait for adults and beats a scowl any day. We ate overpriced food at the TGIF and viewed the falls for a while from the Canadian side. I think I will take my family up here this Fall for a weekend. It was a nice getaway. Immigration/customs checked our drivers licenses. Not real sure how much border security that provides. I’m sure all the terrorists must have trouble getting fake licenses and renting SUV’s from Hertz. Maybe this could be my next job. Sarcasm should be duly noted here.
Tomorrow, we head to Canandaigua which I believe is the Finger Lakes region. I have never been there, but have heard that it is very beautiful, especially in the Fall. It is a relatively long day of 93 miles, so it will be a little later when I get in tomorrow. Hopefully it will be another pretty day. The weatherman predicts good things for tomorrow which has me worried. Also, tomorrow we go over the 3,000 mile mark, with only about 400 more to go. The end is in sight. Although I’ve enjoyed the tour I am certainly a tad bit homesick and my bum is sore.
For a history of Buffalo, I could dig up some arcane facts or perhaps talk about the 4 Super Bowl losses. However, I will dwell on something more recent. On the route from Erie to Buffalo, we saw so many shuttered businesses, it looked as if everyone was leaving town. The hotel next to us is closed and so is the Bob Evans. If an American icon (read cholesterol laden) like Bob Evans can’t make it, then how is an American manufacturer going to make it. On a serious note, you can see the devastation caused by American manufacturers moving offshore. Even the hotel maid staff are local. There just aren’t any other jobs and Mexicans would never move to Buffalo to look for work, even if their cousins lived there. Hope you find these thoughts both sobering and somewhat humorous. This is just a part of the cold reality of biking across America.
Until tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.
Signing off………….
