Our last day!  We got to ride through refinery and power plant areas to get to Toledo, which is almost next to our Maumee SP, and took the Craig Bridge street bridge across the Maumee river.  The bike section was posted as closed, but we tried it out anyway and it was fine.  And it really beat having to ride on the metal grating that the car lanes had.  We breezed past downtown Toledo (but not on purpose...), but a few miles North of the bridge we happened across a little cafe and bakery that had fresh-baked sweets, breakfast sandwiches and good coffee, so we had all of that.  Talked to a couple of guys that were there and got a few hints on how to get around some of the construction that was going on.  Bottom line there is that we really enjoyed our last breakfast on the road.  We took off from there and took another chance with a road closed, this time for railroad crossing work.  We had to actually wait for a train at the crossing, and when it was through we were able to muscle our our loaded bikes across the work area (yes, we have pictures).  After a quick bio stop at McDonald's, we struck out for the Fermi II Nuke, after which we were to meet Brian's cousin at Michigan's Sterling State Park, for the ride back to his place in Superior Township.  We didn't quite make it to the nuke, unfortunately, but we did see it from the Interstate on the ride back.

We are now loading up the car with bikes and gear, and will be home early this evening.  We are looking forward to that!

Total miles today was 39.

I hope to put a video and/or slide show together for this trip.  I'll post it when I do.

Thanks for following here, and on Twitter!  I hope it was at least a little bit interesting :-).

Our day today started with a ride in a pickup truck, over the Route 2 bridge across Sandusky Bay, to the peninsula there.  Tom, our campground owner/host, offered that to us when he heard we were planning on biking it, and knew that it was posted "no bicycles" (among other things).  So we got a head start on Bay Shore drive, where we stopped for coffee, saw the Marblehead lighthouse (not open, unfortunately) which is in great shape.  We also toured Catawaba Island, which is pretty small and only added about 6 miles to our day.

Lunch was at Bootleggers in Port Clinton, OH, on the channel.  We actually ate that around noontime for once, and got on the road again by 1.

 

 

One highlight for me today was getting to pass by the Davis-Besse Nuke, about 15 miles west of Sandusky.  I am always amazed that, even though they appear to be such massive installations, the per-megawatt footprint of a nuke is quite small.  We could feel just a little of the mist from the cooling tower as we rode by.

 

 

My rear bike tire developed a bit off a bump where the nail went through it yesterday, and I can feel it on a smooth road.  I checked it all out but can't get rid of it, so it may be time for a new tire.  I don't think it'll cause any trouble tomorrow, but it will need to be addressed when I get home.  Good thing I have a bike mechanic living in the house!

Due to massive tailwinds again today (14.4 mph moving average, fully loaded remember), we arrived at Maumee Bay State Park by 3:00 PM, went for a swim in the small inland lake they have here, checked out the beach, showered and got to dinner by 6:30.  Our last "big" meal on the road, since we will be home tomorrow night!

Total mileage today is around 71.  Like yesterday, it doesn't feel to either of us like we rode more than 20 or 30.  Tailwinds can do that.

Looking forward to seeing the Fermi II reactor south of Detroit, if only from a distance, tomorrow.  Plan is for Brian's cousin to pick us up at Sterling State Park around 1:00 PM or so, as we don't have far to go to get there.  We'll then put our bikes in/on Brian's car, which is parked at his cousin's place, and head home.

Day 10, Cleveland to Sandusky, 69 miles

We left our wonderful loaner apartment on the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland (thanks, Kif!), and while it had been raining when we woke up, it was not by the time we left around 8.  We got to ride through areas that changed drastically from inner-city blight  to lakefront multi-million $ homes within just a few blocks.

We decided to try Taco Bell for breakfast, and there is a pretty good chance we won't do that again but I guess you never know.  In any case, we got coffee and something to eat so we were fueled for the ride.  Shortly after leaving breakfast, it started to rain, and we stopped to put our raingear on.  I got heavier, although it was not cold and there was not much wind, so it was definitely not the worse rain we've ever had to ride in.  In any case, it cleared up after about 30 minutes, and we started to dry off bit by bit.

I hit a 1.5" nail with my rear tire a little while after the rain stopped, and had to stop to replace the tube.  Brian ran to a nearby mini-mart for pastries while I did that :-).  I managed to change the tube, I thought, but it wouldn't take air.  I pulled it back out and sure enough, there was a hole in it so I got another tube (I carry 2 spares) and replaced it, and it inflated properly and I got the bike put back together.  While putting my tools back, I noticed I had another tube, unused, in my seat pack, at which point I realized that I had put the same damaged tube back into the tire the first time, so of course it still leaked.  Yikes, but happy to know that I was not carrying a bad tube after all.

We caught up with a young guy Travis that was riding from Cleveland to Indiana a little later, at a small cafe.  He was going to see his Uncle, and was in community college, working as a cook to pay his way.  This was his first bike tour and he was equipped in a "hillbilly" fashion (his word), but he had what he needed.  We decided to order breakfast there (yes, I know, Taco Bell and pastries didn't mean we were done with breakfast...), and talked with him for awhile.  We then picked up the tab and were on our way (he was taking a different route than us shortly down the road, and wasn't done eating anyhow).  Another friend made!

Another few miles down the road and we met three young gentlemen (Mo, Jay and Gabe) with gear, who were going around the lake also, although this was day 1 for them.  They were going from Cleveland to Sandusky to take the Ferry across to the other side of the lake (via Pelee Island), and then continue around.  They were raising money for a friend of theirs that had been paralyzed in an accident, and have been doing a "charity" ride like this for different causes, each year.  We rode together for awhile, and with a little tailwind, we were pushing 20 mph at times, best we've done for the entire tour.  We parted ways with them at the turnoff for Cedar Point, after a photo-op with all five of us (tripod, self-timer, everything).

We were not allowed to go on the causeway that goes out to Cedar Point (amusement park/resort), so we checked out the Historic Sandusky Waterfront, and found a place on a pier with live music (at 4 PM on Sunday afternoon), and had a drink there (the Polish Red Bull knockoff for me, XL I think?).  Then we found a dairy that sold ice cream from the factory, so, well, we had to stop and have some.

We finally got to the campground, and were warmly welcomed and got set up in good time.  There was a place that delivered so we took advantage of that and avoiding have to ride a couple of miles for bar food (and maybe returning in the dark).  My spaghetti and Italian sausage was really good! The campground has wifi everywhere (in my tent!), which is great.  We have seen that a couple of times now.  Also, the owner is giving us a ride over a bikes-not-allowed bridge in the morning.  People are great!

It doesn't feel like we rode 70 miles today, with the tailwind and other help, plus we are in better shape after having ridden 10 days like this, I guess it all helps.

Tomorrow, we tour the peninsula above Sandusky Bay, and then head up along the shore to Maumee State Park, passing the Davis-Besse Nuke on the way.  It looks like it will be between 60 and 70 miles, but maybe a little less since were getting a ride for the first few miles.

Day 9, Geneva State Park (OH) to Cleveland, 64 miles.

A pretty easy ride today, as the total above includes riding back downtown from our host's apartment to the Rock and Roll hall of fame and dinner.

We got an early (for us) start, at about 7:30, and had to consult the iPhone maps more than usual for the first half of the day.  We didn't have any clear directions from the book or other resources for this part of the trip.  There are a lot of small towns here compared to Canada's Western Lake Erie shore, and we got to ride through a number of them today.  We also rode past a Nuke that I hadn't realized was there, in Perry township.  Hard to miss those cooling towers!  There was not a lot of lakeview mileage today, most of it was too far from the shore to see that.

We had a gas station breakfast about 15 miles into the ride, and there was some outdoor seating which we took advantage of.  A number of people commented or asked questions, which we are always happy to answer.  We tried to talk two kids on mountain bikes into continuing their biking and someday do what we were doing.  We also told them to be careful, because the cars might not be looking out for them, and they were, like, "we know...".

Lunch was unremarkable until Tony, a Brit (judging from his accent) pulled in as we were getting ready to leave (McD's), on his touring bike, with gear.   He was also circling the lake, but in the opposite direction.  Interesting guy, older than us, and wearing what looked more like golfing clothes than biking clothes.

Once we hit the Cleveland border we called our host and she confirmed directions for getting to her place.  We arrived in plenty of time to get to the hall of fame, and she was very gracious, helping us figure out here everything was, and making us feel welcome.  She's a teacher in Cleveland public schools, so has Summers available to bike tour.  She's gone to Chicago and DC, from Cleveland, in the past couple of years.

 

 

The Hall of Fame was a lot of fun and interesting.  We spent almost 3 hours there, before leaving for dinner.  We ate at a Japanese noodle house, and sat outdoors there also.  Good food and interesting people watching, too.  There was an Indians game tonight, and the Gay Games wrapped up today in Cleveland, so there were a lot of people around for those two things.  Downtown Cleveland seems like a pretty happening and interesting place, and we enjoyed poking around a bit (mostly trying to find the restaurant, but also it was fun to look).

Back at the apartment it was nice to have something under me besides the ground, for a change!  And also be able to charge everything up, which is sometimes challenging at a campsite...

Tomorrow, we go to Sandusky, home of Cedar Point amusement park (but we will not be going there...).

Day 8, Presque Isle SP (Erie), PA to Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH, 76 miles.

We were expecting a relatively light riding day so we had coffee and muffins at Sara's campground, and used their (camp-wide!) wifi for a bit.  We then went up into Presque Isle and rode the multi-use path around it, about 13 miles.  On the way I managed to dump the bike while trying to take a sandy corner (soft landing, and the bike was unloaded, so nothing...), and Brian broke another spoke.  He is quite the bike mechanic and had another one installed within the hour after we got back to our campsite.  We checked out a local bike shop and got a couple more replacements for him, just in case there are more (he still has one or two left, but...).  Quick McD's for early lunch and then off to the West.  Route 5 in NY was pretty good, with a reasonable shoulder and almost 100% polite drivers that provide a good margin when passing.  We stopped in Ashtabula for some really great ice cream, and got some good pointers from a couple of women that dropped by, who knew the roads we were going to take.  So we knew that the road marked as closed was passable by bike and didn't have to take the detour.

Our camping site for the evening is Geneva SP, near Geneva-on-the-lake, OH.  We backtracked a couple of miles to dine there after we set our site up, checking out the "strip", which has lot and lots of places to eat, souvenirs shops and more.  We ended up at a bar that had a pretty good menu (including spaghetti and meatballs), and good wifi also.

 

 

 

Brian narrowly escaped having to listen to me do "Rocket Man" on Karioke.  Maybe next time.

Tomorrow, we head to Cleveland to take in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and our first experience staying with a Warmshowers host.

Day 7, Evangola SP, NY to Erie, PA, 74 miles.  Lots of animal activity around the park last night, so not as much of a good night's sleep as I would have liked.  First, a skunk was around somewhere, but not sure where (but it was obviously nearby...).  Second, the racoons made messes out of some neighbor's trash that was left out, and tried really hard to get into the Grub Pack stainless steel mesh bag I have.  They didn't get in, but you could tell they worked really, really hard and they did manage to stretch a little of the mesh out.  So, the bag works, although it would be better to have been hung :-).

 

 

Today was cooler, and pretty windy.  Some long slogs were ridden, against the wind at least part of the way.  Highway 5 is an official NY bike route and has a nice wide shoulder that is reasonably clean.  Quite a bit of up and down but no really big hills.  We had a Dunkin Donuts breakfast, where they had outlets by some of the tables, with USB power available on them, and free wifi.

Stopped at the lighthouse and museum in Dunkirk, right across from the NRG coal-fired generation plant.  Always interesting, although we did not take paid tour this time.

Around 1:00 we stopped at Vinewood Acres Sugar Shack which was quite a bit more interesting than many of the gift shops you might see.  This is mainly due to the proprietor's personal story of being an abused woman and rising back above all that.  She has a book, in addition to the many flavors of fruit syrup from locally-grown fruits and berries.  She gave us samples of about 10 of them, with ice cream to help us know how they go with that.

Lunch was at the Barcelona restaurant in the town of the same name, shortly beyond the gift shop, and recommended by them.  Sandwich and soup hit the spot.  Good thing we ate because it was yet another long slog into the wind after lunch.  We passed a sign that said "Erie 15 miles", in NY, and then a few miles later, in PA, we passed another sign that said "Erie 15 miles".  The last one was correct...

The road we took, Lake Shore Road, had a good shoulder most of the time.  There were lots of hills, although none of them were a real challenge -- just took a long time to get up, even after the downhill head start.

We stopped at a very nice public library in Erie and chatted with a young man, Jordan, that had gone around Lake Erie on his bike this Summer already.  He gave us some good directions to get the rest of the way to our campground ("Sara's").  We missed the turn for that and went a couple of miles out of our way.  Once we got there we discovered that their regular camping spots were all sold out.  They have beach camping, which is interesting, so we had to take that.  Apparently due to the windy conditions a lot of people moved from beach camping to regular campsites.  We would not have chosen that since we didn't really want to drag our bikes out to the beach but that's what we did (instead of go find another campground!).  The tent stakes don't have as much to hold on to but seem to work.

There are a number of places to eat right at the campground location and we picked a pizza place that was recommended by the campground guy.  We used the wifi there, of course, and enjoyed our meal.

Watched the sunset over the lake from the beach, and now we're gonna turn in, maybe after a shower.  On to Ohio tomorrow!

Day 6, Niagara Falls, ON to Evangola SP in New York.  We are back in the US now, and will book over 70 miles today when we get back to camp.  We had to have breakfast at Tim Hortons, because you know, he was a famous hockey player or something.  I didn't think it was great, but it was compare to Dunkin Donuts so I guess that's par for that course.  We took the Rainbow bridge to get back into the country, and we knew there was a pedestrian/bike way to go, but none of the signs in Canada said anything about that, so silly us, we followed them, and ended up crossing with cars and busses.  They had quite a discussion in the booth at the other side about bikes and what to do, but finally let us through with one of the standard questions (how long were we in Canada)... And we didn't have to pay the 50 cent toll.  Sweet.

Viewing the Falls from the US side is also really awesome, and a different point of view besdes just being on the other side of them.  We got drenched before putting no our rain gear, but enjoyed the up close and personal view.

 

 

 

We then found a waterfront path that took us a long way towards our destination, with some nice lake proximity.  However, at one point, we were directed (with excellent signage) through a maze (yes, literally a maze) of ramps, corners, tunnels of fence, overpasses and more, and ended up crossing over the adjoining Interstate and then almost immediately crossing back.  Pretty wild, and I think I got it on video :-).  We had some urban riding in Buffalo, but it wasn't bad.  We finally ended up on roads again, and it wasn't bad riding and mostly polite drivers, but the wind was incredibly strong, it seemed, and changed directions a lot.  But we got into camp around 6:15 with no issues, and backtracked 1.5 miles to get dinner.  Nice sunset out the window came with that.  On to Presque Isle SP tomorrow, in PA.  We can't camp there, but will find somewhere nearby.  We hope.

We are in good shape, bodies and machines, no major issues.

Day 5, Port Colborne to Niagara Falls (ON).  We booked about 43 miles today, a very nice change of pace!  Much of it was on the rest of the paved trail we were on yesterday, and pleasant to ride on.  We had breakfast at Maria's in Bridgeway.  We got a recommendation from the post office when we were getting stamps there.  See picture.  We stopped for a bit at Old Fort Erie, where they do reenactments of things that happened long time ago, probably battles we think.  We were on our way again before long, and really enjoyed going along the Niagara river (downstream, it turns out--I had pictured that all wrong).  The road along the river was great to ride on, with 2 or 3 minutes passing between cars overtaking us (IOW, very light traffic).  We must have had a tailwind since I clocked a number of stretches at 17 or 18 mph (our average is usually just under 12).  The Falls are amazing, as always.  I remember seeing them from the US side a few years ago, but I don't think I've seen them from here.  We enjoyed seeing them and getting sprayed, and took lots of pictures and video.  We ventured a little further North before turning around and finding the "old" downtown section of Niagara Falls.  First stop was a bike shop that took my bike right away, replaced the rear bearings and put it all back together, for $17 CN.  Big relief not to have to worry about that now.  Can't stay home for that.

 

 

 

We had dinner (somehow lunch got skipped) at Taps, a microbrewery, which was quite good.  It started to rain before we finished, but our raingear was ready and, well, we put it on and rode off to find a campsite.  We settled on Scott's Campground, which is very nice and has everything we need, including laundry (sometimes when things get wet it seems like they need to get washed, even though they just got wet, and, well, you know...).   The rain stopped by the time we got to the campground, and we're all set up now, with laundry done and using the wifi.

 

 

 

Tomorrow, we cross back to the US!

Day 4, Turkey Point to Port Colborne (Pleasant Beach campground).  We had a great breakfast at a crepe place in Port Dover, and checked out a local bike shop to see if someone could take a look at my rear wheel, which is a little noisy.  No mechanic was available, but we used their wifi anyway!  Love bike shops.  We had a very long day (for this trip, anyhow), of 90 miles.  Lunch was in Dunnville, at a great place called Flyers, with good food (Pesto Ravioli!), lots of water for our bottles, wifi and great conversation.

 

 

 

It was kind of a long slog to get there, against the wind, and we took a little bit of a shortcut and skipped some of the shoreline to get there.  Better than bonking...  Rode out of Dunneville on a pretty busy road with no shoulder, but drivers are all pretty nice and provide a wide berth when they pass.  Lots of actual lake shore today (unlike some others), though a lot of it did not smell very good.  I think it's the same thing that caused the water problem in Toledo, and the beaches we saw didn't look that nice either.  Had some very strong cross winds for awhile, and thought we were going to get caught in a storm, but that didn't happen until after we turned in later.  Dinner was in Port Colborne, which was the beginning of an awesome paved trail that goes all the way to the mouth of the Niagara river (which may be Lake Erie at that point, not sure).  We only took it about 10 km out of town and then turned South to get to our campground.  Very nice, but we were the only tenters (lots of seasonal residents in trailers).  At $13 Canadian each, it was a bargain even with the pay-as-you-go showers.  I blew a front spoke near the end of the day, but was able to ride to our destination without issue.  We fixed it once we got to camp, and it'll do just fine until I can have a pro tweak it up.  More worried about the rear bearing.  Storm came through big time but our tents held up, and our stuff was packed, so all was dry this morning.  We took a look at the beach there, and stuck our feet in this morning, and it's the nicest one we have seen yet.  And the water is quite warm.  Off to Niagara Falls!

Day 3, Dutton to Turkey Point Provincial Park.  Breakfast was at Tall Tales, a local gas station and restaurant, which afforded us wifi (not sure if we were supposed to be able to use it but it worked!).

 

Had some gravel roads between the Breakfast stop and our next one (Port Bruce).  We finally got our feet in the Lake Erie water at Port Bruce Provincial Park, in addition to refilling our water bottles and snagging a candy bar.  Water was pretty cloudy, but warm.  Took me some time to clean the sand and pebbles out of my riding sandals after I went in with them on.  We met Tim, a cyclist from England that was circumnavigating North America, at least until the money runs out.  Had a nice chat, and exchanged "cards".  Stopped in Port Burwill for lunch, which, like Port Stanley, is a little touristy and has lots of places to eat.  Had sandwiches at an ice cream place, followed by (wait for it...) ice cream.  Started seeing wind turbines again, so we are apparently out of Elgin county (lots of anti-wind turbine signs there).

It was a long haul to finally get to Turkey Point PP, but it is a nice place, and the community is just about 1 km away which is very nice.  Unfortunately it's a pretty big climb back to camp after dinner (which I'm currently at).  My first time being served Poutain (fries, cheese and gravy -- delicious).  Total miles for the day will be close to 90 once we get back to camp.  Looking forward (again) to my tent (actually, the sleep that will occur in it!).  One more long day, tomorrow, and then a short one to Niagara Falls.

 

 

Day 2 had us traveling from Wheatley Provincial Park, where my phone was stolen, to Dutton, where we stayed at an RV / trailor park.  We were welcomed enthusiastically and provided with burgers for dinner, and free ice cream.

 

On our trip today, we saw probably 300 wind turbines, all turning in indication of the headwind that we were fighting all day.  Those are just huge machines.  We also passed a lot of solar panels, and maybe 15 oil wells, many of them producing.  Didn't see any nuclear plants though.

We had breakfast in camp (banana bread and granola bars), and didn't stop for lunch until 1:30 or so, near a Provincial park (Rondoleux, or something like that).  Most people were pretty interested in what we were doing, and we had some nice conversation.  Dinner was 7:30 in camp but we ate quite a bit of snacks in between.

`

We found a nice little shop/cafe, called the Crazy 8 Barn, and the welcomed us, asked us to sign the guest book, gave us free WiFi, filled our water bottles and talked to us about biking.   Very cool place!  We met a guy that stopped there, that was thru-biking from Oregon to the East coast.  Bob has a journal on-line, which is part of the Crazy Guy On A Bike thing.  Nice chat with him.  Unfortunately when pulling into the place, I managed to dump my bike and banged up my left knee, and put a gash in my right calf.  I think it'll be okay, but the knee still hurts when I start riding.

Tomorrow we have another day of around 80 miles, and then the days get shorter for the rest of the tour.  Yay!

Day 1, Windsor, ON to Wheatley Provincial Park, 50 (or so) miles.  From now on "PP" means Provincial Park, and "CG" means Campground.

We started out (very late) on the Chrysler Canada Greenway:

 

 

where Brian's cousin dropped us off., It is crushed limestone (not paved), but which was not a bad path usually.  We stopped at MJ's Pizza in Wheatley when we finally arrived in town, and had a late dinner, after riding in the dark for 45 minutes or more.  The trip to the park was short after that, and we had a reservation so were in and set up quickly.

Posting will be more difficult for the remainder of the trip as my phone was "lifted" last night. I am hoping that someone will restore my faith in the goodness of all people and I'll get a call that someone turned it in at the campground, but not holding my breath. Great weather so far! Late night last night, as brian lost one of his panniers and we spent 45 minutes and more than a few miles looking for it (found it), after getting a really late start out of Windsor. Otherwise the machines and operators worked well and we have the first day under our belts.  Day 2 will be a long day at 80+ miles, but we will start on time so it should not be nearly as late of an arrival.

 

 

Clockwise around Lake Erie

Brian and I are doing it again, starting Friday. Our self-contained tour, by bicycle, around Lake Erie has been almost planned out now.  To get started, we'll drive us and our bikes to the Detroit area, where his cousin will give us a ride across the Canadian border into Windsor, ON.  With that, our bike trip around Lake Erie will begin! Here's the rough itinerary, by campground/Provincial Park/State Park:

Detroit Windsor Tunnel
Wheatley Provincial Park	49	Day 1	8-Aug
Rondeau Provincial Park
Hickory Grove Campground
Duttuna	78	Day 2	9-Aug
Port Burwell Provincial Park
Turkey Point Provincial Park	82	Day 3	10-Aug
Rock Point Provincial Park
Pleasant Beach Campground	78	Day 4	11-Aug
Mather Park
Niagara Falls Funiculars Lower Station	41	Day 5	12-Aug
	308
Lower Lake Erie
Niagara Falls State Park
Evangola State Park (NY)	51	Day 6	13-Aug
Lake Erie State Park
Presque Isle State Park (PA) - nearby camp	69	Day 7	14-Aug
Erie Bluffs State Park
Geneva State Park	50	Day 8	15-Aug
Cleveland (Rock-n-Roll)	50	Day 9	16-Aug
Sandusky Cedar Point Campground	57	Day 10	17-Aug
Maumee Bay State Park	69	Day 11	18-Aug
Superior Township	77	Day 12	19-Aug
	423

The rows with the dates and day numbers on them are our proposed stopping points, although that could change some of course.

So, follow us on Twitter (@amedsker), and Facebook (Alan Medsker, I think I'm the only one).  We are looking forward to the trip, and will have more stories to tell when we get back!

Let us know if you are somewhere along the way and would like to meet up as we pass through.

Alan (and Brian)