String of Friends

Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/414211016?privacy_code=ZSWzu5krcoMSa5OScCZoC27bTAHBaa6h Animated map: https://www.relive.com/view/vMq5zj7w8Qv Punchy, I let my pedal crunch into the gravel on the side of the bike path on a tight turn, causing the bike to wobble and a near fall. My brain was foggy as the Niagara Falls overlook where I’d been two hours before. Six days of riding is about my limit. I earned this rest day in Buffalo. I am ensconced at the Five Points Bakery now. (Side note: the Bills are like Lil’ Sebastian from Parks and Rec. Everyone, EVERYONE loves the Bills in Buffalo. I’ve ridden by more than one house flying a rainbow intersectional flag and a Bills flag. Do not insult the Bills in Buffalo!) The day got started with a pleasantly dry tent. We are past the days of dew. I had no way to heat water because as readers of yesterday’s entry will know, the striker on my stove has struck its last. I had no lighter or matches. Breakfast was crackers, baby c...

Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/413926333?privacy_code=vGHHFWOPjZoGdblMECUqXGAaeYQZDPNj Animated map:  https://www.relive.com/view/vMq5zEZVEQv I finally had a leisurely soak in Lake Erie at the end of a leisurely ride to Rock Point Provincial Park. It was a perfect cycling day as long as you didn’t care about going fast because there was a headwind the entire day. It was the sort of day where you can bike in the sun all day without feeling cold and without breaking a sweat. It started with a leisurely morning in the cabin. Heather invited me to have breakfast up an the main house. She doesn’t wake until 8:00 am. I didn’t text her until 8:30. I was able to finish the blog post that I couldn’t last night because my eyes wouldn’t stay open. I checked email, did NYT games, and generally dinked around.  The weather had totally changed. Soft, September sunshine appeared out the windows. When I popped the door it was warm, but with a crispness that meant fall is...

Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/413711367?privacy_code=MTCReJZd2NIpR7lRiD2iRnQIi6HZUHxm Animated map:  https://www.relive.com/view/vPOp7ZGAdEv Today's entry is starting at 8:04 am! Before the ride! Thanks to spending the night at a bed and breakfast, I have some down time. The weather forecast improved. It's not raining. I could have camped, but I am thoughtfully enjoying the easy time. I'm sitting at a coffee shop. I even read some of the Great Gatsby. It's my New York book. I have not been reading much this trip. I prefer learning about the new places I am traveling through.  Port Stanley is an old beach town and has long catered to people coming down from London. A plaque on a building next to the B&B mentioned it had the biggest dance floor in Canada in the 1910s. There was a train line to bring tourists. It's a tourist train now. There's the beach party side and the old town side. I'm on the old town side. I'm about to head...

Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/413458996?privacy_code=wAYczJWjcEzXDnAZUFttUwbLfn8rquot Animated map: https://www.relive.com/view/vNOPLoGzX2O Around 12:30 I woke to a flash and massive boom. For the next hour the storm rolled overhead with pounding rain. My little tent held. I'd put it guy lines, but the wind wasn't strong, a mixed blessing because it storm moved slower. After the lighting and thunder moved east, the heavy rain continued behind it for another hour then light rain the rest of the night. I remembered my friend Kate's observation that the lightning gets you through the ground. How much insulation does an air mattress have? Not a lot.  (Yikes!) Despite not recalling sleeping, I woke with a snort. I felt damp. Oh! I was sleeping on my wet swimming trunks. How did they get there? Except for that and an occasional mystery drip, everything was dry, but the heavy rain splattered the sides of the tent with fine sand mixed with dirt. ...