Buffalo – Gav's Cycling Adventures

North East to Niagara Falls

Aug 19, 2022gavscyclingadventures

Sunday 14th & Monday 15th August – Stages 81 & 82.

Sunday 15th August – North East to Angola-on-the-Lake (Stage 81).

Yesterday’s rest day was spent writing & publishing my latest post, as well as planning routes & accommodation for the coming week. This morning we were on our way by 9am as we left North East on a deserted back road that took us past more vineyards.

Almost as soon as we joined US 5, we were welcomed into The Empire State of New York – it would have been easy enough to ride through Pennsylvania on Friday if we’d have wanted to, but there’s something pleasing about spending a night sleeping in every State I’ve cycled in!

The early miles in New York were much like the last miles in Pennsylvania, as we climbed & descended the rolling hills, cycled between vineyards & had views across to the hills further South.

Our first view of Lake Erie in New York was when we were passing through Barcelona – it was the first lighthouse we’d seen along the shore of the lake & it also provided sweeping views of Barcelona Bay from the marina. This continued the European theme from Geneva yesterday.

Between Barcelona & Lake Erie State Park, Sean popped on ahead so he could get an action shot of me (he did himself proud by getting some purple in the photo too). The beach at the park was mainly gravel, although it did provide some good views of the bay.

The European theme continued a little longer as we entered Dunkirk. I made my way to the end of the marina to get a few photos of boats that were moored & a view further along the shore. The real highlight was finding Chai’s Chocolates & Gifts on the pier, where I tucked into a cannoli, as well as a blueberry & lemon cheesecake and a coffee!

When we first left Dunkirk, we headed slightly inland & passed through woodland & wild meadows. We were still going up & down the same 100 feet of elevation as we continued to head back towards the lake.

I found a couple of spots where I could park up the bike & go rummaging through the undergrowth (if you’re old enough, imagine David Bellamy or Lenny Henry saying it!) & look down on the sandy beaches below. I tend to take a bit of time when I do this, so Sean had gone on ahead at 60% effort so I could catch him up once I was done faffing.

We headed inland again as we approached Silver Creek & the volume of traffic picked up slightly – the first photo below would qualify as busy for the last 3 days, so everything is comparative. There was a short steep hill out of town & as we summitted the climb, we were confronted with the biggest waitress I’ve ever seen – she towered over the building behind her!!!

Approaching Irving, we entered into the Seneca Nation of Indians – “Onondowaga Honoeja de” translates as People of the Great Hill Place & is used by Seneca Indians to describe themselves.

We turned back into woodland briefly, then as the road turned left I saw a whole field of hay bales calling to me. Dad was ambidextrous & in a cruel twist of fate, it appears that all he passed on to me is an inability to Hay Bale Surf to the right or left!!! I think my form may be slightly less bad in the second photo…..

Sean said my surfing really was something to behold, although I don’t think he meant it as a compliment! I put his cruel barbs to one side & we set off for the next treat on today’s ride. Evangola State Park is located to the West of Farnham – I only mention this because there’s also a Farnham near where I was born in Surrey. It’s 733 acres in size & has a couple of top quality beaches & picnic facilities, as well as hiking & biking trails. It’s a little gem of a place & attracted over 140,000 visitors in 2019.

From Evangola we headed to Lake Erie Beach Park for our final view of the lake today. It was a buzzing little place, with a couple of beach bars & food joints which were doing a brisk trade. All that remained was an easy 3 mile ride to our motel in Angola-on-the-Lake, as we completed another great adventure along the shore of Lake Erie.

Stage Stats – 58 miles, 1,421 feet of climbing. Crossing the State Line into New York & making our way through more European towns!

Monday 16th August – Angola-on-the-Lake to Niagara Falls (Stage 82).

Setting off from our motel, we took a left towards the lake, but before we got there, we spotted a tank at the Veterans Park. War artefacts at the Memorials have become more prevalent as we’ve headed East.

I then added a cockerel photo to my collection & sent it on to my good friend Bob (well, he was a good friend before I kept sending him photos of Man with big cockerel texts!).

The road meandered through the woods, as the lake continued to hide away.

Below are three of the reasons we didn’t see the lake on this stretch of road! Massive mansions with waterfront gardens & CCTV protection above the gate pillars.

The route through Angola was an Adventure Cycling Association recommendation to keep us on quiet backroads. However, at some point we needed to head towards Buffalo & that required us to join the main road again. The upside was that this also enabled me to get some photos of Buffalo & a wind turbine farm, as well as views across the lake.

Our European theme continued as we passed through Hamburg – in a twist of fate, Hamburg (Germany) is the first place Sean & I ever went on an overseas cycling adventure, way back in 2006.

As we approached Buffalo, we passed a couple of reminders of Buffalo’s past as a major Great Lakes shipping centre & grain storage hub. It was also a major steel producer, automobile manufacturer & aircraft builder. All these industries have since departed, however, Buffalo is making a comeback.

We had to take a detour because the bridge we planned to use was closed for roadworks & as a result we found the Buffalo Riverworks space & Wonder Coffeehouse, where I tucked into a s’mores & a peanut butter waffle along with a latte. Another great little coffee stop!

The Buffalo Riverworks complex includes a brewery, restaurant, sports, leisure, adventure & entertainment on the waterfront & has become a popular place with locals & visitors alike. We were on a tight schedule, but it looks like a fun destination.

As we made our way across town, we passed a wall of stunning art on the walls – try to imagine all the separate pieces below in a long line, as that’s how they were set out. I’ve also included a shot of my favourite, which was obviously the cyclists!

As we joined the Shoreline Trail, we took one final look at at the lake, as the Niagara River began its 36 mile journey from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. We immediately rode by the Peace Bridge which connects the USA & Canada.

The Shorefront Trail is paved all the way from Buffalo to Niagara Falls, 23 miles down river. We had great views of the river & across to Unity Island & Grand Island as we made our way ever nearer the mighty Falls.

I was keen to get a long shot of the Grand Island Bridge, to go with my symmetrical photo above & it took a few attempts to find somewhere where I could get most of the bridge in the picture.

Finally the cycle path gave us our first view of the mist rising from Niagara Falls – a genuinely exciting moment, as I’ve been looking forward to returning to Niagara Falls for a while.

Sean & I did a cycling trip to Niagara Falls way back in April 2008 – we got sunburned on our first afternoon in Central Park NYC, then a week later, on Sean’s birthday, we watched as huge chunks of ice tumbled down Niagara Falls.

Before we knew it, we’d arrived at Niagara Falls State Park. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (he also designed Central Park in NYC) & established in 1885, it’s the oldest State Park in the USA & marks the start of Niagara Falls.

Tomorrow we’re planning to spend the morning exploring Niagara Falls, so I’ll do a separate post once we’ve seen what it has to offer! We still had just over 5 miles to our motel for the next 2 nights, so we said Au Revoir until tomorrow.

Once we’d checked in, we headed out to toast another brilliant day in the saddle! The story behind Sean being double parked is that his Sammy Adams was 2 for the price of 1, so he had 2 small glasses, while I dived in on a big glass – that’s his excuse & he will stick to it!!

Stage Stats – 58 miles, 1,040 feet of climbing. We said goodbye to Lake Erie for the last time as we made our way to Niagara Falls.

Greybull to Gillette (The Best A Man Can Get!)

Jul 7, 2022Jul 8, 2022gavscyclingadventures

Sunday 26th to Wednesday 29th June (Stages 45 to 47).

Sunday 26th June – Greybull to Tensleep, Leigh Creek Campground.

After a continental style breakfast at the motel, we were on the road by just after 9.30 – this was the first morning it felt hot from the moment we set off. Right outside our motel some top quality murals had been painted on the Elevator Buildings. Leaving town on Highway 20, we crossed the Greybull river before heading in the direction of Basin. The surrounding landscape was fairly barren, with the snowy peaks of the high mountains just visible in the far distance.

As we exited Basin we took a left turn onto a small two lane road – this was another Adventure Cycling Association recommendation that would ensure we saw no roadworthy cars for the next 45 minutes, although we did see a classic car at Lewis’s Place!!! It also gave me an opportunity to get in some Hay Bale Surfing practice & looking at the photo I still need quite a bit more training!!! Eight weeks of cycling has certainly reduced my flexibility in my lower back & hamstrings.

As we reached Manderson & crossed the Bighorn river, we watched a boat heading upstream & pull in by the boat launch point. They’d spent an hour or so fishing further downriver – it didn’t look like they’d caught anything. Within 5 minutes we were in the wild wilderness, with nodding donkeys off to the left & right of us, while directly ahead was a shimmering heat-haze.

There was no protection from the sun & we were also getting slightly concerned about our water supplies, as we hadn’t seen anywhere to top up ou 3 bottles & the water was starting to get warm & a bit unpleasant to drink.

The Nowood river snaked its way across the valley floor, resulting in pockets of green verdant pastures every now & again, before we were plunged back into prairie & brush. It was hot enough that regular applications of suntan lotion were required – on one stop I managed to find a slightly arty photo opportunity.

Eventually the Nowood river joined the larger Bighorn just before we took a right turn along County Road 43 1/2 – the roads were becoming ever more remote & the views were beginning to grow larger, with the red, yellow, purple & grey bachdrops.

Remember me mentioning it being hot & us not finding anywhere to re-fill our bottles? Well, we were now carefully rationing our drinking to ensure we could make it to Tensleep, the next place we knew there would be supplies. This also required us to ride slightly slower, so we could manage how much we sweated – we weren’t in any danger, just facing a minor inconvenience! In the end it wasn’t a problem, as Nathan from Bicycle Adventures was providing support to a private cycle tour & he pulled in as he passed us.

We chatted for about 20 minutes & he kindly topped us up with water, as well as giving us an ice cold coke – a real treat on a baking hot day! We shared a few cycling adventure stories & he told us about some of his European trips. Once again we’ve been introduced to the generosity of the people we’ve met. I dropped him & his tour company a thank you email a couple of days later, when we got back to civilisation.

As we set off again, our spirits were lifted, in part by Nathan’s generosity & in part by the coca cola! The 5 miles into Tensleep (population 246), passed in a flash & we stopped to stock up on supplies for our camping dinner this evening. Tensleep was an American Indian rest stop & is so named because it was ten sleeps from Fort Laramie in one direction & Yellowstone in the other.

Leaving town we picked up new tarmac as we joined Scenic Byway 16. We continued for about 8 miles, as we climbed the shallow, lower slopes of the Powder River Pass – the big climb is tomorrow!

Leigh Creek Campground is a National Forest site on the old road. We were hemmed in on all sides by the imposing ancient rocks & valley walls. We quickly set to work on getting our tents pitched, so we could relax & enjoy the late afternoon sunshine.

The creek is filled with run-off from the snow some 5,000 feet above us – we had our very own ice bath on site!!! We tucked in to a dinner of very average shop bought sandwiches, breakfast bars & a bag of crisps. We don’t always eat like kings!!!! Tomorrow is due to be another long day in the saddle, so we retired to our tents early to recover.

Stage Stats – 62 miles, 2,411 feet of climbing. A hot day in the saddle, rounded off with an ice bath for our feet.

Monday 27th June – Tensleep, Leigh Creek Campground to Buffalo via Powder River Pass.

We were up bright & early with the aim of being on the tarmac by 8am. A couple of different events impacted that plan, when first of all I found my tyre had gone flat overnight. Pumping it up appeared to resolve the issue, although as I found out later it hadn’t!! Secondly, after only 1 mile of tarmac, the old road turned to rough gravel & stayed that way for the next 7 miles!!!

As you might have noticed, in addition to the road being on gravel, it also rose at a steep gradient (7% plus for most of the 7 miles) – it took us 1 hour 45 minutes to complete the 7 mile stretch on gravel!!! At times we could see across the valley to the new road as it hair-pinned its way ever higher. The stunning views helped to take our minds off the slow progress, but it couldn’t take away the feeling of the power being sapped from our legs.

I’d been able to better cope with the gravel, but the roles were instantly reversed when we finally joined the new road & its pristine tarmac. We’d researched where we might be able to stop to replenish our water bottles & we stopped for the first time at Boulder Creek Campground to fill all 3 bottles – we’d run out in less than 2 hours of riding!!!

This was also where I had my only moment of self-doubt on the adventure to date – we were 9 miles into a 21 mile climb, all of it over 5% & the sheer scale of what remained hit me hard. After 2 minutes of feeling sorry for myself I stood up & said to Sean “I need to get going now, otherwise I may not get started again”.

The views were stunning as we continued through the forest & passed Meadowlark Lake, but the gradient didn’t get any easier!

After another 1 or so of riding we saw what we knew would be the only coffee & cake stop opportunity of the day. We had a coke, coffee & cake – I made the mistake of asking for my cinnamon bun to be gently heated up…… it came out looking like it had been nuked!!! It was so bad I wasn’t able to finish it & that’s never happened before!!! On a more positive note, the coffee was nice & we managed to fill up our 3 water bottles again for the final push to the summit.

The summit was still another hour away – when we finally made it to Powder River Pass at 9,666 feet above sea level, it had taken us 4 hours of climbing to cover the 21 miles. When we rode through Tensleep at the bottom of the climb yesterday, we were at 4,205 feet above sea level – it really is a monster of a mountain!

At least it would all be downhill from here, so we had that to look forward to – although, I was slightly troubled that Sean could ride in my slipstream without any difficulty!

All became clear a few minutes later as my rear tyre became spongy! That instant remedy this morning was no such thing, I had a puncture & it needed to be fixed now. After my practice in Yellowstone, I had the tyre off, a piece of debris removed & the innertube replaced in 15 minutes & was feeling good about myself.

Until 10 minutes later, when I got a 2nd puncture on the same back tyre! I eventually found another nick in the tyre & scratched out a really small piece of glass. I was out of inner tubes, so had to borrow one from Sean (& a gas cannister). While all this was going on, a Department of Transport lorry started honking its horn at us as it descended the mountain – it was painting the white lines at the side of the road & had no intention of stopping!!!

Although we moved my stuff as far out of the way as we could, the lorry kept on coming & sprayed small amounts of paint over my bike, helmet, rucksack & panniers as it continued on its way. I can’t repeat my comments, but they were Anglo-Saxon in origin!

We also found out that there were 5 short, sharp, steep climbs to be endured on the way down too!

Suddenly the road opened up in front of us with enormous views across to Loaf Mountain, Bighorn Peak & Darton Peak. They tower over the valley below. Finally, after just over 6,000 feet of climbing & 6 hours of tough cycling, we could make out the town of Buffalo below us. It would take us less than 30 minutes to cover the final 10 miles, in sharp contrast to the 2 hours 30 minutes it took to climb 10 miles!

Today was a truly epic day out & was what I was hoping to experience when I originally planned our Coast to Coast Adventure – sometimes though you need a little bit of time to really appreciate what a great day it really was! Today was one of those days & my moment of self-doubt is now far behind me.

Stage Stats – 58 miles, 6,070 feet of climbing. Our biggest day of climbing to date as we crested the monstrous Powder River Pass!

Tuesday 27th June – Rest Day.

Our Rest Days now have a familiar pattern to them – enjoy a bit of a lie-in & then have breakfast, before heading out to get the laundry done. We only have 3 sets of cycling kit, so every 3rd day is laundry day! We’ve also had to be frugal with the amount of off the bike clothing we brought – 2 pairs of lightweight trousers, a pair of shorts, 3 tee-shirts, 2 long sleeved tops, 3 pairs of socks & boxers. Not much for a 6 month adventure!

I needed to get a new tyre, innertubes & gas cannisters. A quick look at Mr Google told me that I needed to visit The Sports Lure, as it eas my best chance of getting what I needed – my tyre had done 7,500 miles, so I’d got my money’s worth from it. I was directed to the workshop where I met Helene – she found a similar tyre & fitted it for me, as well as sorting me out with innertubes & gas cannisters.

While Helene was doing all the work, I got out the way & found a coffee shop & tucked in to a peanut butter & chock chip slice! When I returned, Helene had replaced the tyre & I was good to go. Once again I’d met a kind & generous soul who had taken pity on me & helped me out of a tight spot.

Helene – Thank You so much for your kindness.

While I was in town I took the opportunity to have a stroll round & see the murals & sculptures in the historic district. The remainder of the day was spent planning the upcoming routes & also writing my next instalment of our adventure.

Wednesday 29th June – Buffalo to Gillette (Stage 47).

We were on the road for 9am, after a breakfast of cereal, yoghurt & toast from the hotel. Today is all about getting to Gillette in the shortest distance possible. We had two possible routes, one was over 90 miles long, through remote & deserted backroads. The second option was to cycle on I-90 from Buffalo to Gillette, which is 70 miles with a single stop for water.

There will be no services other than this single rest area. We would prefer a 3rd option, but of the two we have, cycling on the Interstate is the least bad & is allowed as far as I’ve been able to establish. We took a final look behind us to Powder River Summit, before setting off for a 66 mile ride on the Freeway.

We chose to enjoy today regardless of the somewhat limited opportunities to take photos – there were still great views on offer, the road was very quiet & we were in good spirits!

At the 30 mile marker we reached the rest area – we took the opportunity to top up all 3 of our water bottles, as we learned about the history of the Powder River Basin. For example, it produces 1/6 of the world’s power, due to it’s low sulphur coal reserves which are shipped around the world.

We also learned that the Hole In The Wall hide out of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid was on the Middle Fork of the Powder River. This is in addition to the lesson we learned yesterday – Powder River Pass is a high mountain pass!!

Someone spotted our touring bikes & came over to talk to us – he only stayed 5 minutes, didn’t give us his name, but did seem excited when we explained we’d been in Jackson a few days ago, as that’s where he’s from & he used to train on Teton Pass when he was younger.

We crossed the Powder River almost as soon as we re-joined I-90. The only potential cloud on the horizon was the real cloud on the horizon – rain looked imminent! We chose to ignore it & enjoy the downhill parts of the ride instead.

At least the cloud resulted in temperatures falling by a few degrees, which ensured we had enough water to comfortably complete the riding on the Freeway. We’d had a tailwind for most of today’s ride & it was also relatively flat – we were checked in to our motel by about 2pm. We only realised how lucky we were 30 minutes later, when large hailstones were bouncing off the car park floor. If we’d had headwind or crosswind today, we’d probably have still been riding when the storm struck.

We decided to pop out to a local Italian restaurant to toast our good fortune today & to ask for more interesting views tomorrow!