Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Mithrandir
11-06-11, 04:13 PM
The weatherman said this weekend was supposed to be nice, relatively speaking. Highs of 50 on Saturday, and 55 on Sunday. I decided on Friday that I was going to attempt one last grand adventure of the year. I pulled out my maps and tried looking for places I haven't yet been to this year, in the 25-50 mile range (thus making a round trip of 50-100 miles). It's getting tough. I made up a few sample routes, but nothing really jumped out at me as an absolute "must do" ride.
Then it hit me; I couldn't believe I had ignored it for so long. I live 42 miles away from Niagara Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world. Why on earth had I postponed this destination up until now? I decided: Sunday is the day. It'll be nice out and I can rest all Saturday long.
Saturday night comes and I was too excited to go to sleep. I kept drawing out routes all night long, unsure of which one I should take. I ultimately decided on a straight there-and-back route with no looping. I would take roads I was familiar with, along with bike paths until I get to Niagara County, at which point I would take River Road north, then a bike path along the Niagara River straight west until I get to the falls.
The morning started off bad. I shut off my alarm when it rung, and didn't wake up until an hour later. Due to the daylight saving time switch I wanted to get an early start so I would have plenty of time to make it home before dark. Once I was up I had issues revving my engine... it was one of those groggy mornings. Didn't get going until 8am.
I was frozen almost instantly. The temperature was in the 30's, a far cry from the 55 we would reach. Regardless I resisted the temptation to go back inside and put more clothes on; I would warm up after a few miles anyway, and I would just have to take off anything extra and carry it around. The morning was mostly uneventful.
I almost got creamed crossing Niagara Falls Boulevard heading into Ellicott Creek Park. The light turned red and some inattentive driver futzing on their smartphone ran it after I had already entered the intersection. Luckily I was paying far more attention than she was and I was able to stop before they hit me, but it was close. That put a damper on the morning, but it soon wore off and the smile returned to my face as I pedaled onward.
Unfortunately my planned route fell apart. The bike path along the river was closed with some "environmental cleanup project" signs along it. I didn't want to find out. The bike path goes right over the old Love Canal area so I wondered if that had anything to do with it. Regardless, I now had to come up with a backup plan. I decided to just follow roads where I could still see the Niagara River, and hope that took me in the general vicinity of where I wanted to go.
Sadly, that was a bad idea. I ended up on a road called Buffalo Road, which looked like it hadn't been paved in over 40 years. I'm not kidding, this road was atrocious, and I honestly felt like I was going to break a spoke or two going over the potholes. They were completely unavoidable. This went on for a good three or four miles before I got closer to the falls, and the road smoothed out.
I finally reached the falls, but had to dismount the bike on Goat Island (the island that intersects the two waterfalls), because there were just too many people around, and I didn't feel safe cycling inbetween them. Unfortunately I didn't bring my bike lock with me, so there was nowhere I felt like I could leave the bike. I ended up just walking the bike around the island with myself. I took a bunch of photographs:
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It was awe-inspiring. You live near one of the worlds most renowned natural wonders, and you take it completely for granted. I haven't been here in years, and it's a damned shame, because it's so beautiful. I hung out for about 20 minutes just taking pictures and taking in the scenery. It's also interesting to note that almost everyone on the island was speaking a foreign language. I don't think I heard anyone speaking English. Just goes to show you how this place is special enough to draw people from all over the world... and yet here I am only visiting it once every 10 years or so.
Eventually I decided it was time to get going. I decided to try searching around for a better route out of Niagara Falls, because there was no way in hell I was taking Buffalo Road again. I ended up finding New York Bike Route 5, which took me all the way out to where my parents lived, so I took a break at their house for a half an hour at around mile 60 to refill on water and chat with my brother about how things are going.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I made it home just as dusk was starting to set in. I packed my headlights in case I made it home after dusk, but I didn't need them. I briefly considered tacking on another 15 miles to the trip to make my 3rd century of the year, but ultimately when I reached home I decided it was time to pack things in at 85 miles. I felt good, no need to over-do it. What an awesome trip.
As I sit here, I realise that not only is this probably the last grand adventure I'll probably take this year, but it's probably also the last 50+ ride I'll ever make on my GT mountain bike. Next week my Long Haul Trucker is set to arrive, and by all accounts I'll end up liking the feel of a proper touring bike for long distance riding far more than a mountain bike. Kind of makes me sad, but it had one hell of a run. Odometer is at just about 4500 miles now, almost 3000 from this year alone. What a way to finish off an era, that's for sure.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/127012682
Then it hit me; I couldn't believe I had ignored it for so long. I live 42 miles away from Niagara Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world. Why on earth had I postponed this destination up until now? I decided: Sunday is the day. It'll be nice out and I can rest all Saturday long.
Saturday night comes and I was too excited to go to sleep. I kept drawing out routes all night long, unsure of which one I should take. I ultimately decided on a straight there-and-back route with no looping. I would take roads I was familiar with, along with bike paths until I get to Niagara County, at which point I would take River Road north, then a bike path along the Niagara River straight west until I get to the falls.
The morning started off bad. I shut off my alarm when it rung, and didn't wake up until an hour later. Due to the daylight saving time switch I wanted to get an early start so I would have plenty of time to make it home before dark. Once I was up I had issues revving my engine... it was one of those groggy mornings. Didn't get going until 8am.
I was frozen almost instantly. The temperature was in the 30's, a far cry from the 55 we would reach. Regardless I resisted the temptation to go back inside and put more clothes on; I would warm up after a few miles anyway, and I would just have to take off anything extra and carry it around. The morning was mostly uneventful.
I almost got creamed crossing Niagara Falls Boulevard heading into Ellicott Creek Park. The light turned red and some inattentive driver futzing on their smartphone ran it after I had already entered the intersection. Luckily I was paying far more attention than she was and I was able to stop before they hit me, but it was close. That put a damper on the morning, but it soon wore off and the smile returned to my face as I pedaled onward.
Unfortunately my planned route fell apart. The bike path along the river was closed with some "environmental cleanup project" signs along it. I didn't want to find out. The bike path goes right over the old Love Canal area so I wondered if that had anything to do with it. Regardless, I now had to come up with a backup plan. I decided to just follow roads where I could still see the Niagara River, and hope that took me in the general vicinity of where I wanted to go.
Sadly, that was a bad idea. I ended up on a road called Buffalo Road, which looked like it hadn't been paved in over 40 years. I'm not kidding, this road was atrocious, and I honestly felt like I was going to break a spoke or two going over the potholes. They were completely unavoidable. This went on for a good three or four miles before I got closer to the falls, and the road smoothed out.
I finally reached the falls, but had to dismount the bike on Goat Island (the island that intersects the two waterfalls), because there were just too many people around, and I didn't feel safe cycling inbetween them. Unfortunately I didn't bring my bike lock with me, so there was nowhere I felt like I could leave the bike. I ended up just walking the bike around the island with myself. I took a bunch of photographs:
225972225982225981225980225979225978225977225976225975225974225973225984
It was awe-inspiring. You live near one of the worlds most renowned natural wonders, and you take it completely for granted. I haven't been here in years, and it's a damned shame, because it's so beautiful. I hung out for about 20 minutes just taking pictures and taking in the scenery. It's also interesting to note that almost everyone on the island was speaking a foreign language. I don't think I heard anyone speaking English. Just goes to show you how this place is special enough to draw people from all over the world... and yet here I am only visiting it once every 10 years or so.
Eventually I decided it was time to get going. I decided to try searching around for a better route out of Niagara Falls, because there was no way in hell I was taking Buffalo Road again. I ended up finding New York Bike Route 5, which took me all the way out to where my parents lived, so I took a break at their house for a half an hour at around mile 60 to refill on water and chat with my brother about how things are going.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I made it home just as dusk was starting to set in. I packed my headlights in case I made it home after dusk, but I didn't need them. I briefly considered tacking on another 15 miles to the trip to make my 3rd century of the year, but ultimately when I reached home I decided it was time to pack things in at 85 miles. I felt good, no need to over-do it. What an awesome trip.
As I sit here, I realise that not only is this probably the last grand adventure I'll probably take this year, but it's probably also the last 50+ ride I'll ever make on my GT mountain bike. Next week my Long Haul Trucker is set to arrive, and by all accounts I'll end up liking the feel of a proper touring bike for long distance riding far more than a mountain bike. Kind of makes me sad, but it had one hell of a run. Odometer is at just about 4500 miles now, almost 3000 from this year alone. What a way to finish off an era, that's for sure.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/127012682