A perfect start to the day.
I reluctantly got out of bed at 5.50am. The motivation for this early start was fear of the mid day sun and humidity which has made riding conditions extremely tough.
By the time I had eaten in an extremely slow diner and hit the road it was 6.50.
I arrived back at Niagra Falls at 7am and as I had hoped, there were hardly any people there. It was a much nicer way to view the falls.
The sun was still very low and sat right behind the huge cloud of mist created by the water hitting the rocks. It looked great but I don't think my camera caught the moment.
After seeing it again briefly from the Canadian perspective I crossed the bridge and border (which was very painless) and went to see the falls from the American viewpoints.
Wherever you view from they are brilliant but the Canadian side definitely wins, hands down.
By 8am I'd had a good look from every viewpoint I could find and I hit the road.
I commenced the last leg of the journey.
Looking at the US map I am almost done. There is still the small matter of covering a distance that is the rough equivalent of lands end to John o groats. Almost there!!
The journey today was 58 miles. The first 10 consisted of riding a main road but after that I hit a path that follows the length of the Erie Canal. It's not Tarmac but it is rideable. Most importantly though here are no cars or lorries to worry about. In fact there were very few cyclists, walkers and even boaters about. This weather is just too hot and people are staying indoors.
Apparently we're now in a heat wave too. I didn't want to be on the bike after 12.30 ish but I got caught out and was stuck in the sun until about 2.30.
I thought I was coping quite well until I stopped under a bridge for some water. I didn't feel like stopping but did anyway. As soon as I was stationary sweat started dripping from me. I was soaked and spinning a bit. I also simultaneously felt like being being sick and err, going to the loo but held it all in. I got a grip, cooled down and waited until I felt normal again. After that I slowed my pace a bit, but I wasn't exactly racing before!
I arrived in Albion and then got a bit frustrated finding a place to stay. I eventually found a motel on the edge of town.
When I went to my room it stank of damp. They has clearly recently had a flood or been caught out by heavy rain. They gave me an option to take that room or go to another which would have next to no wifi. I took the room with no wifi and breathable air option.
Unfortunately this means I can't update the blog unless I'm in a pub with wifi. So here I am. It was a tough consequence but I'm coping.
This weather is predicted to go on until the weekend. I'm probably going to do a very short day tomorrow.
RSS Feed
