June 24, 2006. Churchville, NY to Lockport, NY. Steve and Cheryl treated us right, that's for sure; a comfy night and sumptuous breakfast had us well prepared for the approximately 55 miles ahead of us. To the Valvano's, we say a big THANKS for making our stay in Churchville so nice (especially the ice cream - next time we should just skip dinner and get a large!).
We rejoined the Erie Canal Trail in Brockport and promptly forgot about traffic for several hours, enjoying the quiet beauty along the canal. For large stretches, we were alone as far as we could see both in front of us and behind us. We were able to ride alongside each other for much of the time, and without the wind blowing at us for the first time in a while, we could even talk. It was a nice change from our usual exchanges (CAR BACK!, and more often, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!).
Now, I had noticed yesterday how much dust had accumulated on our yellow bag, and wiped it off before bringing it in to the Valvano's house; and I realized that we had been on the trail just 10 miles for that to happen. How much dust would we gather today, I wondered, with nearly 40 miles of crushed stone trail to cover?
A lot, it turned out. I could tell at Albion, our lunch stop, that our bikes would need a thorough cleaning by days' end. In Albion, by the way, we managed to find one of the few Tim Horton's restaurants that are stateside, and ate there so we could have donuts for dessert. When will this concept take off in the US? Why hasn't it already? The mystery persists.
Ultimately, when we reached Lockport and saw the camping option available to us (behind the drive-in reestaurant at the public marina), we recognized that we were not going to be able to clean our bikes there. We decided that our best option was going to be finding someplace actually in Lockport, near enough to a bike shop that we could get them cleaned without too much trouble. We thought it was a good plan, despite the relatively late hour (nearly 4:30), because it was a Saturday, and the shops might be open late.
Getting off the trail and reaching a road, one of the first things we found was that Nancy's gears were so gummed up from the dust and grease that she could only manage to shift between two gears. They were low gears, too, so we could not get going very fast, even if we found a shop relatively close (which turned out not to be). Plan B was hatched in the parking lot of a small shopping plaza, after discovering that although no bike shops were within even a few miles of our location, several motels were. With the idea in mind that we might be able to clean the chains at a minimum, perhaps using just tissues and our foldable bucket filled with water and soap, we set out for the nearest motel.
In Lockport this weekend, a craft fair was underway, and many of the vendors had taken up temporary residence in the nearby motels. This reduced the number of desirable rooms considerably, and after we pedaled mightily for over 10 blocks, we found that the only room available in the first hotel was a smoking room. We took it for a number of reasons:
1) The windows could be opened, and there was a ceiling fan, and the A/C unit was very strong, AND there was an air freshening spray available in the room;
2) There was a faucet with a hose attached in the back of the property where we could rinse down and clean our bikes;
3) It was within walking distance of a nice-looking restaurant in town.
As it turned out, we opened the windows, ran the A/C all night, left the ceiling fan on, sprayed the air freshener, and even obtained another plug-in air freshener on the walk back from the restaurant (which we will be able to use again). And we were able to completely clean our bikes and trailers of all the dust, and clean and lubricate the chains so that we could both shift easily between gears. You know that feeling when you have a freshly cleaned car? That's how it felt.
Dinner was a lovely affair at an Italian place called Garlocks; we split a bottle of wine and each had steak in some form (Nancy had a prime rib sandwich, so that counts). The walk there and back was maybe a mile, and it felt good to stretch some of those muscles we are not using while riding. Plus, it was a nice evening, not too hot, not too cool.
The weather for tomorrow looks like it will be good for riding, and we picked up a brochure about tours of the Lockport Cave (actually a manmade hydraulic tunnel), so we might take that tour in the morning before we leave. The ride should be pretty short, about 30 miles, and will conclude with Nancy getting her first glimpse of Niagara Falls - I'm very excited to see them from the Canadian side (yes, Mom, we are going back to Canada for a few days). I have made us reservations at a nice hotel in the Fallsview area, but we probably won't have much of a view since the rate is for rooms on just the 3rd through 7th floors. It won't matter, though, because we will still be able to go do the touristy things to see the falls up close and personal. More tomorrow!
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