Day 28--Dunkirk to Buffalo, NY

Mother's Day, Sunday May 13, 2012

"Whadda Day! Whadda Day!" (said in the voice of the Cowardly Lion).

Left the Clarion this morning about 8 am sans breakfast. Breakfast was not a part of the room rate and I did not feel to spend $13.00 on the breakfast buffet. Quite a hassle getting B.O.B. loaded, down the hall, and down the elevator and then returning for the bike. Ground floor is a lot easier but then I would not have had the view of Lake Erie. I'm always wanting the cake and wanting to eat it too . . .

Once again this morning I felt as though I was cycling through molasses until my muscles warmed up a full 10 miles down the road. Speaking of which (the road that is) I take back what I said about NY's great shoulder. Today it was not so great and certainly not so wide. NY-5E out of Dunkirk is four lane, sometimes with and sometimes without a  center turn lane. I thought Mother's Day Sunday would be pretty quiet. But the closer I got to Buffalo the heavier the traffic.

I stopped in Silver Creek at a grocery store and bought myself a tub of rice pudding and a coffee drink. Sat on a bench outside and had an unorthodox breakfast. While sitting there a guy came over and asked about my ride. We talked for a bit and then I said, "Fueling to get up that hill," pointing to the near vertical wall on the other side of the stoplight. (I'm not kidding. I think the hill had to be over 10%.) Anyhow, the guy told me to take the truck route where the grade was much more gradual. Said it eventually reunited with 5. So I did and was very thankful for this tip.

Wonder if this couple are as zany as their entryway art?
Don't think Robin and Don live here anymore as the house was up for sale and looked empty.

Next I stopped in a small park with benches in Lake View. I intended to sit and go over my Buffalo directions again, but I spotted a McD's just adjacent so went in and bought a Mango Pineapple iced drink. When I came out, a guy came out behind me and immediately struck up a conversation. He began by telling me how steam was the solution to our oil crisis, how much fuel a jet used to get to Europe, how the ozone hole was growing because of jets, that he was born in 1937 and was in the navy, yadda yadda yadda. His name was Warren and he came and sat on the park bench and talked my ear off while I finished my drink. He held a cup of coffee in his hand but never stopped talking long enough to take a sip. A nice but voluble guy (see pic of Warren below).

My talkative friend Warren



About 10 miles outside of Buffalo the traffic made me lose my nerve and I called Cousin Hansi to ask if she wanted to come west on 5 to pick me up. She does not have a US cell phone so we didn't connect. Nothing to do but continue on. Finally I turned off NY-5--which by now was six-lane--onto 2nd St as my directions dictated. But then I made a wrong turn, never found the traffic circle, wandered around in the projects where there were no street signs, and then headed in the wrong direction on Ridge.

My first glimpse of Buffalo

Just after I'd crossed a bridge on Ridge a guy pulling a rolling suitcase motioned me over. Could I tell him how to get to Route 5? I told him that I was lost myself. He looked at my gear. "You got GPS?  No?  Man, you got to get you a smart phone." (I give him a raised eyebrow.) "Man, I got to get me a smart phone. GPS. Here we are both lost. And just look at you. You got a clothespin here holding paper directions. You got a low-tech compass probably made in Columbus' time . . . " We laughed. I pointed him toward NY-5 and he pointed me toward some stores at the next stoplight. I stopped in a grocery and the international store owner told me to go to the restaurant next door as they would know how to find the bike trail for sure. And sure enough they did.

I was off the bike and pushing it up another bridge, when a cyclist came by and asked if I was all right. I told him I was fine but asked directions to the Fuhrman Street bike trail along the water. We got to talking and I found out that this was Mike and that he was a retired police officer. He volunteered to ride with me to Front Park and the Burger King where I was to meet cousins Hansi and Rob. I have never been so happy in my life (slight exaggeration).

Mike knew the route well. We rode through old abandoned mills and warehouses, past the Cheerio's factory (which smelled delicious), through a couple of parks, down a trail, and then, there was the Peace Bridge and at the top of a shallow hill, the Burger King. Had I ridden alone it probably would have taken me another hour, more if I got lost again. Much of the ride did not look like a bike trail at all.

Mike, the cyclist who helped me navigate the complicated streets and trails to Front Park

Abandoned grain storage and warehouses; my camera just cannot depict size well. These buildings were very large. 

First glimpse of the Peace Bridge

At the bottom of this last hill, Mike got a front flat. He called his wife to pick him up as he was well away from his home by now, and we walked the last feet to BK. Mike bought me a Mother's Day grilled chicken sandwich and an iced coffee drink. Thank you Mike and thank you for being my pathfinder! I was very lucky to have met you, and enjoyed meeting your wife. All the best to both of you!

Before we were finished eating, Hansi and Rob appeared. We loaded B.O.B. into Rob's little car and loaded the bike into Hansi's. We stopped at the Duty Free and picked up a bottle of gin, which I bought for them as a gift. Actually Rob paid for it and I declared it. Hansi and I stopped at Walmart where I finally bought the sweatshirt I needed post ride. When I tried to use the Walmart card that the Red Dirt Pedalers gave me (thank you RDP!), it wouldn't process. Canada Walmart does not accept US Walmart cards.

Later that evening over gin-and-tonics, made from the bottle bought at the Duty Free, I got to meet son Nick and his sig other, Sylvia. Hansi opened Mother's Day gifts from Nick (margarita set) and Janneka (pedometer and heart-monitor watch) and then Nick had to get to work. He's an actor, and his present gig is the drummer in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Hansi, Rob, and I drove into St Catharines and enoyed a delicious Indian meal at the Bansaree Indian restaurant.

I'm fading now. Big day. It's late and I'm ready for bed, so that's it for this entry. More tomorrow evening.


Rob and Hansi in their backyard with some volunteer columbine