Canada – Dennis' Cross-Country Bike Trip

Day 21, 22 – Part 2, East Amherst, NY

Today’s goal was to cross over the border, back into the USA and then visit my cousin Bill in Amherst, NY. The ride was uneventful.

I did run into Ken Smith again. He is the fellow that is doing a coast-to-coast bike ride as a fund raiser for his grandson, who has serious medical issues. Ken is full of life and excited about his ride, even after all these miles. I took a short video of him as we approached the Peace Bridge, which is where one crosses to the US in Fort Eire. I’ll send him the video, maybe he will post it. A local fellow, Chris, guided through the area. We had our own personal GPS.

Ken Smith, riding coast-to-coast to help out his grandson.

Normally, bicyclists are required to walk their bikes across the Peace Bridge. The bridge is about 2/3 of a mile (1 km). I had heard from Ken that they are providing a shuttle for bikes because they are doing construction on the bridge. He was correct.

I rode around for almost an hour before I finally found where the shuttle pick-up was. It wasn’t obvious. My GPS started to work and it too was confused…”turn left, turn right, turn ?” I gave up on it. I finally found a border worker and he told me to stay put and the shuttle would come and get me where I was.

True to his word, in just a few minutes the shuttle did arrive. The fellow was all set to put the bike on a bike rack on the back of the van but realized that it was WAY too heavy for that, so we put it in the back of the van. He drove me across and now we had to go through the US border crossing. The van driver was holding my passport and I was sitting in a back seat. There is a cage between the driver and passengers. The border guard and the driver talked about me for quite a time. Finally, the guard left the booth, walked around the van and opened the van door to have a look at me. He stared for a few seconds, shook his head and closed the door. After a long day’s ride I must have presented quite a sight. I could see he was thinking, “Wow, they’ll let anybody into this country, wait ’til I tell Trump.”

In any case, I was dropped off at a park in the US. I still had about 16 miles (25 km) to go. My GPS was working! I did Fred Astaire dance moves for the next two hours navigating from Buffalo, NY to East Amherst. Some of the roads were crowded with traffic, but everyone behaved themselves. About half-way to my destination I started getting a GPS voice telling me, “GPS signal lost.” Thanks T-Mobile. When it was lost I would just use my pigeon senses and head in the correct direction. Eventually, the signal would return and would confirm I was still going in the correct direction.

When I was within a few blocks of Bill’s place, I called him to warn him. He was out in his truck but headed back to meet me. It was fantastic to see him again. We have a very storied past and maybe someday I’ll convince Bill he should write his memoirs, it would be quite a read. Bill was in the submarine service in the Navy and had some exciting experiences there. Get started Bill, the world awaits.

Bill and I trying to outdo each other with our lies and stories.

A day of “rest” was planned for day two. We volunteered to go help Bill’s son, Adam, to go help move some crushed stone. We managed to procrastinate long enough that by the time we arrived, he only need two more wheelbarrows loaded, out of maybe 30-40? Good timing on our part.

We then loaded up Bill’s truck with some firewood for his lake cottage and went up there to deliver the wood. It was another fine opportunity to lie to each other for a few hours. It was great fun and I was thrilled to see Bill and some of his youngsters again. Too bad we live so far apart, then again, maybe that is a good thing, we’d probably drive each other nuts.

I owe a lot to my cousin. He was there for me when I needed help many years ago and I can never repay that. He played a big part in helping us build our first home, a log cabin in the woods.

Day 20 – -Part 2, Port Coborne, Ontario, Canada

My little praying mantis friend rode along for about 10 miles (16 km), then got off at an A&W root beer place.

I picked up a hitch-hiker today, a praying mantis. For ten miles or so we were good friends. It kept looking up at me as if to say, “Take the next left,” or something along that line. Maybe it has better GPS?

Leaving Port Dover this morning the skies were overcast but not raining. Almost the entire time I have been in Canada it has been overcast…how depressing. Here and there the roads were rough. The right side of the lanes tends to be all cracked from winter frost. The water runs down the camber of the road and collects on the right side, finds its way under the asphalt and then freezes and cracks the surface. I found myself riding in the middle of the road and then moving over when a vehicle approached; fortunately, traffic was very light.

About 11 miles (17 km) from leaving, I noticed my friends the wind generators were getting anxious. Every now and then a blade would move a little. Finally, they kicked into full rotations and I again had a headwind. At least the wind wasn’t as bad as the previous days. Instead of traveling at my normal 14-16 MPH (20+ km/h), I was traveling around 10 MPH (16 km/h).

Passing through Nanticoke, ON, I observed a very large manufacturing site. It had no identifying signs and had the feeling they were trying to keep it hush-hush. There were tall fences around the place that looked to be thousands of acres. Every now and then, there were large plumes of white gases, perhaps steam, belching out of some stacks. I have no idea what they were doing. I’m guessing they’re making those same sands as in Wisconsin, for fracking use. Any guesses? There was a long ramp (see photo) that went down to Lake Erie to load something onto barges.

Near the end of the day’s ride, I went through an area that looked very resort-like but gave me trouble breathing—I was constantly coughing, just like a cough I have in Sarasota, Florida when we have the Red Tide. I know large bodies of fresh water can have algal bloom problems and I wondered if that was the case. Whatever it was, it made me cough even more than Sarasota.

I arrived at Port Colborne in the late afternoon. I found a Knights Inn motel and pulled in for the night. This one is really old, but, as they say, any port in a storm. Tomorrow I will follow Friendship rail-trail ride to the US border at Fort Eire and then I will visit with relatives.

Day 19 – Part 2, Port Dover, Ontario, Canada

Today was a welcome reprieve from what has been terrible bicycling weather. The air was absolutely still. No wind at all! I was thrilled. The sky was cloudy and looked like rain at any second, but the rain stayed away.

The wind generators didn’t budge. I felt like they were giant creatures watching me pass, their small red lights blinking, as if to warily watch me. I kept looking at them, watching for any movement, it never came. What a relief. I vowed to get as far as I could today, given this opportunity to actually cover some ground.

Cover some ground I did, 78 miles, (125 km). Most of the ground was level and good riding. The last mile or so had some real killer hills, but they weren’t too long and I managed them. Thanks to Ray’s cycle shop, the shifting into my lowest gears was working properly. On a few hills I did make it down to the lowest possible gear and climbed at about 3.3 MPH (5 km/h). I can walk that fast. At least with hills there is the payback, the energy of climbing turns into a fast downhill descent. At times I did hit about 30 MPH (50 km/h). What a thrill.

I finally started seeing Lake Eire. As large as it is, it has been hidden behind trees for most of the ride. I stopped for lunch in Port Burwell, ON and was very near the lake, but couldn’t see it. Behind the restaurant there was a full sized submarine on display, the HMCS Ojibwa, a cold war era relic of the Canadian Navy. From what I heard it was quite a project to get it placed there.

In all, it was a good day’s ride and I was very tired when I arrived in Port Dover. I had a quick dinner of fried perch and it was off to bed. Thanks for riding along with me. Only 80 more miles (132 km) to the New York/US border. Once there, I will stop to see my cousin Bill, in East Amherst, NY. Did someone mention tequila?

Day 16 – Part 2, Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada

Black squirrels are common in Michigan and Ontario.

Only 39.07 miles today, into constant headwinds. The night before I consulted on Google maps about hotels in Ridgetown. It showed just one, The Ridgetown Inn. I made that an intermediate goal for the day, should I not be able to make it to a further destination, such as Port Stanley.

The day was decent, some sun, billowy clouds here and there, and flat roads, perfect for bicycling. There is one exception, as you’ve no doubt guessed: wind. The wind was out of the east and terrible. I was going east so I struggled through a headwind. It was like riding uphill all day. At least a hill goes down once in a while, you get back you kinetic energy that you have stored.

The wind generators all over the landscape were whirling away.

They also have lots of solar panels in the region, but they have sensors on them that move them horizontally when the winds get too high, to prevent wind damage. I don’t know at what point they go horizontal, but they were all up. One report showed winds of 23, with gusts of 30 MPH (40-50 km/h). It was a serious struggle to make it to Ridgetown.

For many crops, it is harvest time. There were miles and miles of tomatoes being harvested, all by machine. Plum tomatoes are reasonably tough and can be machine harvested.

Plum tomatoes ready for processing. I saw many loads of these. Somebody is going to make spaghetti.

I can’t imagine how many tons of tomatoes were on their way to be made into sauce. Truckload after truckload passed me.

Politicians in Florida are in the pockets of the fossil fuel energy companies. They grandstand on the legislative floors and make speeches about Florida not having enough sunlight to make solar power viable. Think about that, our license plates say “Sunshine State.”

Everywhere I go up here in the north I see prime examples of using solar energy to solve problems. In the photo above, an agricultural industry by the name of Green Hill has indoor plant growing areas. They’re surrounded by solar panels and wind generators. They’re growing tomatoes, peppers etc. in an area that has severe winters. They’re slogans reflect a locally grown mentality. This is a huge operation, not some backyard industry. Gotta love Florida politicians.

Arriving in Ridgetown I couldn’t find the hotel. I asked a young man walking down the street and he said he didn’t know where they were, but he did see one by the highway. My search earlier had shown only one in town, so that had to be it. It was 3.6 miles (6 km) away. I was already beat, but what could I do?

After riding to the motel, I was able to get a room. The place looked deserted. There had to be fifty rooms and I was the only one there. The manager, the only staff I ever did see, put me in the same room that James, the fellow on the recumbent, had stayed in the night before. He was probably in Massachusetts by now, or Europe.

I rested for a bit and then went to the hotel restaurant, noticing that the indoor pool had no water in it. The restaurant was locked up tightly, with no sign that it wasn’t in business. Tables were set, everything looked ready, but the lights were off and there was nobody home. The manager yelled up to me that the restaurant was out of business. He has a grasp of the obvious.

He pointed up the road further to a gas station and indicated they have a restaurant. I walked up there and they indeed did have a dining establishment. It wasn’t a terribly appealing place, but I was now hungry. I ordered the meatloaf plate.

I should have taken a photo. The meatloaf was fine, but the baked potato was smaller than the small container of sour cream that came with it. I’ve been riding by fields of potatoes for weeks and this is the best that they can do. Recall my adventures in Idaho where I couldn’t find a baked potato anywhere. Well, I did find one in Ontario, but it was barely visible.

Returning to the room, I went to take a shower. The manager cautioned me that the hot water takes a while to get warm. He wasn’t kidding. I turned on the water and started reading a book on my Kindle Reader. I think I read ten pages before the water was hot. They must have a pipe that comes from the Icelandic steam beds.

At last, it was time for bed. I slept like a baby. I guess exercising all day will do that.

Day 15 – Part 2, Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada

Resting on a rail trail bench. Wondering why they’re not harvesting the corn.

63.97 Miles for the day, plus about two miles on a ferry to Canada. Leaving Yale, MI, I figured I would be in Canada later that day. My plan was to get to Marine City, Michigan and take the Blue Water Ferry across the St. Clair River to Canada.

The route through the Marysville, MI, area wasn’t well marked and, therefore, confusing. I made a number of wrong turns, but after losing maybe an hour, I did find my way. The bike route through there was really rough. The road shoulder surface was in terrible condition and the actual bike path, where it could be found, was even worse. The ride was bone jarring. My vision was blurring from all the bumps.

Finally, I arrived in Marine City but couldn’t find the ferry. I rode up and down to no avail. At last, I asked a couple, Matt and Laura walking their dog, Quincey, if they knew where I could catch the Blue Water Ferry. They looked at me a bit puzzled. “Why, that was seriously damaged last winter and is out of commission.” My mind raced, why didn’t I check to make certain first?” when I had a WiFi connection. Anytime I considered calling, I was out of range of a T-Mobile connection, which is most of the upper mid-west.

While the Quincey and I made friends, Matt jumped into action. He was on his phone and called down-river to the Algonac ferry crossing. They were open for business and would be until late. I was saved! It was about ten miles south, but if I had crossed where we were at I would have had to head south on the Canadian side anyway, so it all worked out. I rushed to Algonac to catch the next available ferry, not knowing the schedule. It turns out they run constantly and I didn’t need to hurry.

My last view of the USA for a while, from the Algonac Ferry.

Thanks to Matt, Laura and Quincey, all was well. Otherwise, I would have had to go all the way back North to Port Huron, 29 miles (47 km). I would not have been a happy camper, but it would have been on account of my own stupidity. Give Quincey an extra treat for me. Do leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

The ferry only takes a few short minutes and I landed in Canada. A quick pass through customs and I was on my way. My goal was to make it to Wallaceburg, Ontario before nightfall. I hustled along and after about ten miles (16 km) I made it to town. My phone was of no use, so I stopped at an intersection to assess the situation and take a guess on which direction there might be a hotel.

A couple pulled up next to me in their car and could tell I was lost. We chatted for a bit, there were delightful and interested in what I was doing. They told me there was only one motel left in town. It was across the very bridge that I had decided against, so thank you. I rode about a mile to the Days Inn and found a room.

Successfully sheltered for the evening, it was time for dinner. I asked at the front desk about possible destinations and they suggested a new place within easy walking distance, Crabby Joes. I ordered their cashew chicken, it was absolutely fantastic. I would order it again in a heartbeat. I told my server that she wasn’t qualified to work there, she wasn’t crabby at all.

Fed and tired, I ambled off to bed. I was in Canada.

Looking forward to being back in the saddle again!

A vehicle is has been rented and the bike tires are replaced—this trip is going to happen. Jane returns home from being up north on Sunday and we need some time together, so I’ve delayed leaving by another day. I should be riding on Thursday, 23 August, 2018.

I’ve checked out the tent, the cold weather gear, new riding shoes, the new rear panniers and the ham radio station and everything is as ready as it can be. I’ll start out a bit slowly because I am about five pounds (two kg+) over what I like to be.

The good news is the terrain, at least until I reach Vermont, should be reasonably flat. Vermont, NH, and MA are at the right side of the map:

https://goo.gl/maps/CaAqKuDQsLP2

To see the entire route map, click here.

The bike weighs about the same as before, around 85 pounds (39 kg), fully loaded. By the time I hit Vermont, I should be back in shape for those climbs. My daughter, Áine, warned me that the biggest climbs of the entire trip, from Oregon to Massachusetts are in Vermont. Who knew? One would think the Rockies would be the issue. She accomplished this ride just after graduating from high school. She makes me feel like a wimp.

As usual, I will operate the ham radio station in the evenings, when camped. I also get on the air when staying at hotels by going out to nearby parks and setting up at picnic tables or the like. Sometimes hotels have a convenient place to do so. If I have WiFi, I will send out a Tweet from @K1YPP to let the ham radio world know where to find me.

I recall one time in Vermont, I was out in the back of the hostel on a deck. I had the radio on, talking with a fellow in Pennsylvania. I was wearing headphones and it was very dark. It was then I realized that I was sitting right next to the gas grill that had been used to cook salmon and steaks just a few hours earlier. I was deep in bear country. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

Follow along and let’s see where this next adventure leads.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

17 August 2018

On the road again?

It looks like, if things go well, I could be on the road again around the 8th of August, 2018. The bike is almost ready, I just need to change the tires, the replacements have arrived. The following photo is a page from AAA magazine, they came and rescued me when I crashed in Minnesota.

The Florida weather has been terribly hot this summer so most of my riding has been around midnight. In the summer there is practically zero traffic at that hour and I don’t have to suffer the sun’s intense rays. In a twenty-mile ride I may see only two cars and one a police car.

My ham radio friends will be interested to know that I will have my radio station with me. I’ve been exercising it lately and everything seems to be in good working order. Radio conditions are not great, but I have to take what nature throws at me.

Anyway, just wanted to bring things up to date. I will be starting around Stacy, MN, then over to WI, then the ferry across Lake Michigan, MI, up into Canada, dropping down to Buffalo, NY, then across NY, into VT, NH and at long last MA and onto Newburyport, MA. Stay tuned.

Dennis, K1YPP

The light at the end of the tunnel is not a freight train.

Hi All: Just a quick update. I’m still alive and celebrated my 71st birthday on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day. The really good news is, unless something prevents me from doing so, I am planning on getting back on the road this summer.

The current plan is to load up the bicycle in a rental car around 6 August, 2018, get up to around Stacy, Minnesota and start riding. With luck, and good weather my route should take me through the last few miles of MN, then into Wisconsin. From there I’ll hop the ferry from Manitowoc Port, to Ludington, Michigan. I’ll wander across Michigan to the Detroit/Windsor crossing into Canada and then ride east to the Rainbow Bridge crossing from Canada into NY. I’ll certainly visit my cousin in the Buffalo, NY area and then move on to cross NY into Vermont, New Hampshire and finally Massachusetts.

I’m told by my daughter, Áine, that I face the toughest hill climb of the entire journey going into NH. One would think the Cascades or Rocky Mountains would garner that honor. Who knew?

That is the quick update. Hopefully, more to follow soon.