Niagra Falls

Day 2 The next morning I woke up and it was incredibly foggy out. I had planned to ride to Burlington and back. It was really weird riding through it because I have never experienced such thick fog. The path I took was very wide and very flat 23Km with 57M climbing. I lost my path in Burlington and of course I didn’t have a map to look at. I ended up past a lot of really nice homes. It was funny to see three homes deep on one lot against the lake. I found that the fog was gone when you weren’t next to the lake. Got myself lost once more because of the silly road signs.

I turned the corner and found that I was going past the IKEA. Well I had to stop and check that out. I went in and walked the shops and saw the receiving area. I even got to introduce myself to a Logs admin co-worker, Nina it is nice to put a face to a memo id.

I was back on the road and ended up following two couples on bikes we formed our own little convoy. I stayed at the back of the back, until the castle came into view. That was my stop so I got off the train. The grounds were very nice so was the castle and the tour. I can’t say the same of the group I was with. How many times does an adult need to be told to stay with the group? The kids were better behaved than these two twits.

Off I rode to get my rental car, as I pulled up I noticed the lot was empty. They were expecting me; I was just a little early. I have learned that I need to have a balance on my visa in order to get a car. Quick run to a bank to correct that and off I was. I had a VW Jetta with all the bells and whistles. The car even had leather seats! I arrived back at Dave’s to meet the other couple that were staying the weekend. I gathered my stuff and off I was to Niagara Falls.

I was rather excited to see Niagara, Dave had suggested taking the scenic route and I did for a while but I wanted to get there so I hopped on the expressway. I like the Jetta it goes to the top of the list if I buy a car ever. There was some construction on the main entrance to the falls so the detour took me farther upstream. It was very exciting to see the column of mist rising from the falls. I didn’t have a map and I had no idea where the hostel was so I wasted time trying to find it. I checked in and decided to walk back to the falls. I arrived just in time to see them turn on the lights. It was an amazing sight. I wandered around the neon light street and went through Ripley’s museum it was not quite what I expected but it was fun. The best was this tube you walked through on a catwalk, the tube rotated around you and had blinking lights. The illusion caused me to veer to the left and I could only get through by hugging the rail. I thought about walking back but I took a cab. When I entered the Hostel there was a sing-a-long happening and I poked my head in the room and the lead lady saw that I turned a way quickly and called me out asking if I didn’t like it. I just said something about never been here before and looking around. At that moment I realized I had very little to eat that day (subway) and went to bed.

Day 3 The next morning two guys were loading their cars with bikes and were in full kit. It amazed me how many people were coming for the races. With a simple nod we all knew what was going on, I felt proud to tell them that I rode the course and people all week would then ask me what was the hardest part. Beckett is what I told them but I should have said the Claremont.

I parked the car by the Table Rock; I had intended to do the Maid of the Mist first. I walked all the way there to find it was not open for another hour. Journey behind the Falls was open and on my list. I found that my list was way too long and time was running out, why did I pick up the rental early?

There are three spots too look behind the falls, two all you see is water rushing by. It was almost made you deaf it was a continuous bass note. A plaque said it was the lowest bass note the human ear can register. The main one you get next to the falls so you can see the spillway and everything. My hat was soaked from the spray and I was loved it. It was still missing something special.

It was time to experience the world known Maid of the Mist. We took a twenty-person elevator down and waited in line to catch the next boat. I got to ride on Maid #7 I was so impressed by the falls from this angle. We were covered in mist. A young Japanese lady asked me to take a picture of her friend and her. So I got her to take a photo of me in trade. I had a grin on my face a mile wide. The best part was when the boat turned into the pour off the Canadian Falls. I don’t know if I will ever forget the short boat ride I had that day.

I drove back to Hamilton to hand in the rental. I actually got there an hour early. I wish I had used that hour to explore Niagara on the Lake instead of just driving through it.

I ended up riding with a couple guys from Toronto to the course. One guy was a courier and he did the trip on a fixed gear bike! I wandered around watching the ladies push themselves on their bikes. It was a good day.

It was a good day until I tried to ship my bike. I found out the hard way that the GO center was not Greyhound. They do not have bike boxes like the website says, and I was asked to leave. I called the 1-800 number and spoke to a helpful lady but then she transferred me to the voicemail system. I am thankful that I had a list of Bike Shops and I called one close by and they could ship my bike for me. I flew there as fast as I could. Now that was done I had to get back home. I walked for a while then tried to get a cab and finally I caught a bus. My sense of direction failed me because I was so hungry. I tried to eat at the mall where the bus ended but they were closed. I saw in the distance a burger joint that had people standing in front of it so I knew it was open. I got the food in my system but it didn’t hit my head until I was 5 blocks in the wrong direction. With a 40Lb pack on you 10 extra blocks is a bit of a pain in the ass!