Chris Nadovich's 2009 Transamerica Bike Tour.

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Tue, 07 Jul 2009

Lockport, NY -- Back in the USA

I had some misfortune in Canada. The numbers and some of the letters on my eee PC became non functional. My rear rim began to crack so bad that I was forced to buy a replacement. The rear derailleur shifter jammed again. My cell phone hardly ever found a signal. And none of my bank cards worked in the teller machines.

But other than that it was great fun, especially today when we passed Niagara Falls. I'd seen the falls before, but not like this. Every other time they seemed big to me. This time they seemed small. Still wonderful, but small compared to the distances we have conquered.

It was supposed to be a relatively short day, but we ended up with 90 miles into the Erie canal town of Lockport. Some of those were "bonus miles" spiraling around the entrance ramp of the Queenston Bridge, our crossing back into the states.

The riding was easy. Almost half of it was along the Niagara River on the bike trail. For the most part it was a decent trail, although we did see some near incomprehensible warning signs.

After breakfast, we began stopping at bike shops in search of a replacement wheel. Thirty-six spoke wheels were totally unavailable, and most of the thirty two spoke wheels had no eyelets, let alone double eyelets. I ended up choosing a less than ideal wheel not based on its specs, but based on the fact that the bike shop selling it had a decent restaurant nearby. Gary and I ate an excellent pizza as my wheel was replaced.

Crossing the Queenston bridge was "interesting" in our eastbound directions. The trick is not to follow the signs that say "Bridge to USA", which take you on a six mile loop back to where you started. Instead, what you do is to ride into the employee entrance to the toll plaza and ask the bridge master for directions. We learned this trick after logging the six bonus miles, but maybe some eastbound rider reading this will benefit from our mistake.

We rode through some chutes and merge ramps that dumped us into the leftmost (yes leftmost) lane where we were instructed to ride. Customs was quick and easy. Back in the USA! Ummm... not quite. We were actually on Seneca Indian land.

   7 comments    permalink

Russ Wenner wrote

Welcome back to the USA! I've really enjoyed following your blog! Russ

Garrett Redmond wrote

Welcome back to the US

Guys,

What does that road sign mean?

Dad

Bob Mundie wrote

Will you be following the Erie Canal tow path across New York state? There are reports of farmers and cows wandering across that path also!

I have also really enjoyed your blog and appreciate you taking all of us along with you on your adventure. What's planned for next year :)?

Kerry McCarter wrote

Hey Guys, to follow up on Mundie's question.....how about RAMROD [Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day] for 2010??? It is a "challenging course featuring 10,000 feet of climbing over 154 miles". Only 800 riders and it is by lottery....or volunteer for this year's ride on July 30th to guarantee a spot in next year's ride........

I am sure that you are looking forward to your arrival at the Atlantic Ocean!!! You have captivated your audience with your amazing tales and photos!

Myron Shelhamer wrote

Don’t you know the international symbol for “Farm Vehicles and Livestock Crossing”? Or is it "Keep The Farm On Your Side Of The Fence"?

Any guess on what day you will be arriving in Atlantic City?

Russ Wenner wrote

Chris, You'll have to submit that unique road sign to Don Knuth's collection of "Diamond Signs" http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/diamondsigns/diam.html

Russ Wenner wrote

Chris, You'll have to submit that unique road sign to Don Knuth's collection of "Diamond Signs" http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/diamondsigns/diam.html