Hank – We planned a short day of 40 miles, staying at a private campground owned by our WarmShowers hosts, Gloria and Michael, near Medina (meh-DIE-nuh), NY. After breakfast we rolled across the Rainbow Bridge to the U.S. The traffic on that bridge was slim to none, which allowed us to stop and take a couple of photos of the falls. The customs officer did not like Kathy taking photos of an “official Federal inspection.” He didn’t make her delete it. Probably because he wasn’t inspecting anything more than our passports. My answers to the perfunctory questions apparently met his satisfaction and we were allowed back in our home country after enduring the penetrating gaze of the Eye of Sauron. Welcome home, Hank and Kathy.

We tooled around the park and checked out the falls. The park looks like a victim of over tourism with the grass trampled and thin and dirt pathways created by the many feet passing through there. The view was pretty cool. You’re closer to the sound and power of the falls. But it’s not like standing next to the falls in downtown Spokane during spring runoff. Now there’s an impressive visual and auditory experience.

We went to a nearby laundromat and washed our clothes. Then we stopped by a grocery store for some supplies. We were finally on the road by 11:00 am with five miles on the odometer and still 40 to go. Then I missed a turn and we took the scenic route around the Niagara Falls airport, adding a couple of unnecessary miles. Sigh.

We reached Lockport where the Adventure Cycling northern tier route, the Erie Canal Trail, and NY bike route 5 all pass through. So we stopped for ice cream and talked about our route. We decided to stay on bike route 5, which follows state highway 31. It has a good shoulder and we travel faster on smooth pavement than on the crushed stone trail.

Arriving in Medina we turned north to Gloria and Michael’s place. They were away so I texted to let them know we arrived. We may or may not get to meet our hosts. They’re busy helping someone move. We set up camp, showered, and feasted on dehydrated dinner meals. And it’s time for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we have a 60+ mile day ahead of us.

Kathy – Our 48 mile ride today was a little warm with the temps at 88 degrees plus a ton of humidity. We had rolling hills most of the way with our elevation capping out around 600 feet. We had a side wind most of our day. Our legs were well rested after our day off so today we were clocking 12 – 18 MPH. Nothing real exciting today. We enjoyed seeing Niagara Falls from the U.S. side, but I would recommend seeing it on the Canadian side. The views are much more spectacular on the Canadian side. 🇨🇦 Happy to have our ride done today and relaxing in a pretty sweet location. Tent is set up on private land with great accommodations and we have the place to ourselves. Can’t complain for these fantastic Warm Showers host. I hope we get to meet them before we head out in the morning. Sleep well family and friends. ❤️