Day 79: Niagara on the Lake, ON to Medina, NY

Aug 24 blog

48 miles

3,379 miles so far

We had breakfast in our room to get an early start today, as we hoped to cross the bridge back into the USA before it got too busy. We retraced our steps riding the trail back along the Niagara River down to the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge which was about 8 to 9 miles. It was a little confusing as to how to get to the bridge, but we finally saw signs for USA bound cyclists. We followed the directions around a building and through the parking lot. There we spotted another sign instructing us to check in with the Toll Captain’s Office before crossing the bridge. She just told us to be careful since we would be riding in traffic with trucks and cars and sent us on our way. After crossing, we waited in line for about 40 minutes before we got our chance to speak with the Canadian Border Control officer.

The first thing he said was “you know you’re breaking the law right?” He then proceeded to explain that as cyclists we are not supposed to cross this bridge AND the minute we pass through the gate we will be on Interstate 90 and that the NY state police will be waiting for us. He said he wouldn’t write us a ticket, since he was a federal officer!

I told him that we would just quickly ride to the right side of the highway, cross through a parking lot and get off on exit 104 which was right in front of us. He wished us luck!

We didn’t have any issues, as we made our way off the Interstate and on to a side road. The roads had little shoulder and were fairly busy. Unfortunately we immediately went the wrong way down a hill which we then had to climb back up.

The rest of the ride was relatively uneventful. Our lunch stop was in Lockport where we had a great lunch at a place called Scripts. From there we entered the Erie Canal Towpath trail which took us all the way to Medina.

In Medina we stayed at a small hotel called the Hart House and had dinner across the street at The Opera House. Eating at the bar we met a nice couple from LA who were also staying at our hotel and were riding bikes from Buffalo to Albany on the Erie Canal. They had rented carbon gravel bikes and had a friend traveling with them driving the “sag wagon” which carried all of their stuff and was there to provide any needed support. We were jealous, as they were riding light and fast. They would pass us the next day on the canal!

Morning views along the Niagara River