Hello All! Special guest writing this post.
After short stint of solo riding, I met up with Mark and Deb in the town of Tonawanda on May 18th. Deb spent most of the evening reuniting with her friend Heather, while Mark and I went to dinner and accidentally stumbled upon a trivia night. We stuffed our faces until we could barely stand and tested out our pop culture knowledge.
The next day, we had a lot on the to-do list. Mark had some bike maintenance to get done and we planned to see Niagara falls, from the American and Canadian side. So that Deb could spend more time with her Buffalo friends, Mark and I set off to a bike shop in Niagara and planned to meet up with Deb at the bike shop later that afternoon so that we could all head to the falls together!
After a relatively short ride to Beeton’s Cyclery (and lock shop) we talked to the bike techs there and arranged for Mark to get his brake cables fixed. We ate an Arby’s and donut-filled lunch, made friendship bracelets, and had a pretty relaxing afternoon. Once Deb arrived, Mark’s bike was just about complete and we were ready to take off for the falls!
The ride to the American side of the falls was short and took us directly to Niagara Falls State Park. Even though it was an overcast day, it was absolutely beautiful! We had heard from other friends (and Deb) that the Canadian side was much better, so we took off for the first international portion of the trip.
We set off on Rainbow Bridge to the border crossing! First, we approached the toll where woman seemed pretty amused that we were all on bikes. I was pleased to find out that it only costs $0.50 on a bike to get to Canada. Next comes the fun part, customs. Mark and I have never left the country before, so this was the first time we had to use our passports and go through the process. The customs guy asked us all how long we were staying, our reason for visiting and if we had any weapons. All simple questions, for the most part. Mark had been traveling with pepper spray (for any potential dog incidents), so now we (mostly Mark) started to worry. The customs officer asked to see it. Mark hands it over and says “It’s small, you know, like the kind you put in a purse.” This is when we found out that pepper spray is in fact illegal in Canada…
The officer had to confiscate the spray and Mark was brought into the customs building. Deb and I waited outside as we tried to imagine the interrogation and strip search he must be going through. When Mark returned, his escorting officer was sure to tell us how safe Canada was, and that we could never need such a horrible device, intended to hurt other humans. After the officer left, Mark assured us that though they did have to take the spray, he wasn’t in any trouble and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I’ll always remember this time though, as the time I was pretty sure Mark wasn’t going to be allowed into Canada.
After we all made it safely and legally into the Great White North, we set off to the falls once again! The rumors had been true, and the Canadian side was even more awesome. You could see the full shape of the falls and the view was amazing.
After seeing the falls from every possible vantage point, we went to a nearby, super tourist-y dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. There wasn’t great bike parking nearby, and the weather wasn’t good enough for outdoor patio eating, so we borrowed some space there to keep the bikes safe. Since the deck was closed from the street side, we had to lift each of our bikes over the gate. Not the easiest thing with over 40 lbs of gear on each bike.
When we finished dinner, I still had a bit of downtime before heading back to the train home. Since my friends are awesome, they decided to stay out and stall with me while I waited. We ended up catching a movie and singing and laughing the remainder of the night away to Pitch Perfect 2. At the finish of this long day, we said our goodbyes and split up: me for the train, and Mark and Deb to a nearby campsite. Biking back, I got to reflect on the incredible day I had had: Two countries, an incredible North American Landmark, and Acapella-Mashups are only a small portion of the greatness. After this small taste of bike touring adventure, I know I’ll have to come back for another visit to Downtown Coolsville :)