When I arrived in Dunkirk I saw a brochure that listed Buffalo as a not too distant attraction at 30 miles away. Of course, that was via the New York Thruway, which is most likely a pretty straight line. My 52 mile ride must have been following a pretty crooked line!
I didn't leave Buffalo early this morning. It turned out that the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site was across from where I was staying. It opened at 9, so I went over to tour the house and to visit a special exhibit - "From Teddy's Bear to the Teddy Bear, Celebrating the 100th Birthday of an American Icon". I don't know if I would have stayed around to tour the house, but I had to see the teddy bear exhibit. It was fun. I also picked up an interesting tidbit. A toy company has named a monkey "Dubya"- how fitting. However, I don't think the Dubya monkey is going to outstrip the Teddy Bear in popularity.
I finally hit the road at 10:30.The path out of the downtown / waterfront area of Buffalo was via bike path, and as usual I had a little trouble transitioning from the bike path to the road - the directions were a bit confusing, but I managed to figure it out. While I was standing there a cyclist (in a car, but with a bicycle on a rack) stopped to ask where I came from and where I was going. It was another case of cyclist jealousy!
I only got about 4 miles before I stumbled on the Naval & Military Park on the Buffalo waterfront. I stopped there to tour the USS Little Rock, which is a guided missile light cruiser. That was interesting. I think I would have had a lot of trouble on a ship like that at sea. I doubt if my tendency to get motion sickness would go away when working, living, and eating on the lower levels of the ship. And I can't imagine how anyone ever managed to get up and down the steep stairs (OK, they are probably called something other than stairs) in heavy seas.
I did the right thing by staying in Buffalo last night. I didn't realize that it was another 10 miles to Lackawanna, and I don't think I would have been too happy staying there. Not a problem, since I found a good place to stay in Buffalo.
The beginning of the ride today was pleasant, on bike paths along the water. The route then went through a very industrial section of South Buffalo, and on to Lackawanna. Not pretty, but it got me out of town. Past Lackawanna the official route followed some back roads along the lake. I opted to stay on Route 5 all day so I didn't need to watch for turns. I suppose that's lazy, but that way if I zone out I don't miss a turn! One side effect of staying on route 5 is that I actually passed some real grocery stores (as opposed to the so far ever present gas station convenience stores). That was good, because I needed to pick up some fresh fruit.
Traveling along Lake Erie is nicer than traveling along Lake Ontario because the road is closer to the water. There were times that I was right on the edge of the lake, and times that I could see the lake between the houses. It was pretty flat until the end of the day when the terrain changed to be somewhat rolling. Nothing steep, but enough to notice. That was probably because it was the end of the day though. Another difference is the crops - it seems that the area around Lake Ontario is apple-growing territory. And by the end of the day today I was seeing grapes and signs for wineries.
I stopped for lunch in Blasdell and ate what I thought was enough food. It wasn't, so I stopped at a small store along Lake Erie to pick up my first ice cream of the day. (Yes, I did stop twice for ice cream!). I ended up talking to the couple who owned the store for a while. I told them about my trip, and then they pulled their 3 daughters out to talk to me too. It was really amazing - they aren't cyclists at all, but they were very excited for me.
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Just before I crossed into Dunkirk, I saw what I thought were two kids in tire swings on the side of the road. I did a double-take when I saw the sign above them that said "Grand-kids for sale". I had to stop and take a picture. While I was standing there the woman who made them came out to talk. She said that quite a few cyclists stop to take a picture of her grand-kids, so she gets a chance to talk to many of us. The grand-kids are fabulous dolls, dressed in kids clothes and stuffed with plastic and foam pellets so they could stay out in bad weather. I left there with a big smile on my face.
At first glimpse, Dunkirk appears to be an odd combination of vacation property and industrial property. Along the lakefront, there is a marina and a boat launch right next to a large industrial complex.
