Day 11 - The Home Stretch

Saturday, August 6


The last day of the ride! 
Check out the trip overview at the niagarabycycle web site.

We started Saturday's ride at our hotel in Lockport.  Michael made some last minute reservations for us at a hotel on the Canadian side of the border.  We worked out a plan with Lee.  We would get a head start on our bicycles.  Lee and the kids would take the minivan and head for the hotel and we would ride our bicycles across the Rainbow Bridge and meet at the hotel.

My niagarabycycle sign has taken a beating but is still holding together.  The day counter (upper right corner) is now on Day 11.

We had about 24 miles to cover on flat ground.  About a half hour into the ride, Lee and the kids passed us by in the minivan. 

A little further down the road, we passed them stopped at a yard sale.  (In Suffolk County or Niagara County, Lee does not pass up a good yard sale!)  About 5 minutes after that, they passed us for good.

One last stop for nourishment at the Home of the Whistle Pig on the road to Niagara Falls.  A Whistle Pig is a hot dog wrapped in bacon and smothered with cheese - I went for a regular hot dog.

We were riding through farms much of the way but as we neared the falls we passed through industrial areas and then the residential streets of Niagara Falls with the familiar old wooden houses that you find in upstate New York towns.  We were turned back when we tried to bring our bicycles on the pedestrian walkway of the Rainbow Bridge.  You are not allowed to even walk your bike across. (I`was told it was because bikes couldn't fit through the turnstiles but I saw signs showing they had provisions for getting things like strollers through.  Hmmm, I think we'll have to write some letters about that). 

So we had to cross with the cars and sit in the car traffic on the bridge.  We stopped to take some pictures in the middle of the bridge, then passed through customs and rode a couple of miles to the hotel, first on some residential streets then winding past casinos, hotels, and restaurants.   We had a world class greeting awaiting us in the parking lot at the hotel.  There was music from Chariots of Fire, a big Congratulations sign, and streamers waving.

We got cleaned up and changed and spent a wonderful day in Niagara Falls.

Ready to ride on the Maid of the Mist.  American Falls in background.

So we did it. 

It's been a great experience.  Thank you to everyone who participated for some part of the ride.  Thank you to all our wonderful hosts along the way.  Thank you to alll who donated to support our causes (donations will continue to be accepted - see http://niagarabycycle.org/ )

We rode 24 miles on the last day.  Let's do the numbers.

10 days of riding
672 miles covered
12 riders
0 injuries (well, maybe a few scratches)
1 flat tire (Michael)
2 times being caught in the rain

The numbers get approximate at this point

215 bottles of water consumed

77 bars (granola bars, cliff bars, etc.) eaten

27 root beers consumed (as previously noted, the official rest stop drink for the trip)
61 gold finches spotted (goldfinches were the official bird of the trip, spotted several times most days - usually in groups of 2 to 4)
4 riders who rode longer distances than they ever had before
94 inviting swimming spots (lakes, streams, rivers) passed along the way
1 swimming spot jumped in (Lake Muskoday - darn, we should have jumped in more of those!)
At least 2 wicked farmer tans
107 "nice bike" or "cool bike" or "I wanna buy that bike" shouts at Michael's recumbent

And one statistic just for me - I can't speak for Michael or Diane
0 pounds gained or lost (so this tells me that for my metabolism it's fine to eat whatever I feel like eating as long as I ride 60+ miles every day)


Stay tuned.  I think Michael will be adding more to his blog at http://elcoolocrowell.blogspot.com