Day 64

Portland,NY - Buffalo,NY (70 miles)

Today we opened up our second-to- last-map. Can you believe it?! We are almost to Maine! Two months ago we were in Newhalem,WA, meeting Sara and preparing for our first mountain pass. A month ago we were in Bowlus,MN, enjoying a relaxing afternoon at Jordie's Trail Side Cafe. And a month from now we will be back in Milwaukee.

The ride to Buffalo was nice for the most part. Route 5 is great. Nice wide shoulder, low traffic, and scenic. We should have abandoned our map and road all the way on route 5 / lakeshore road, but we didn't know at the time that it went all the way. The Adventure Cycle maps are great, and I would highly recommend them, however there are times I wish they would give more options, or at least show larger sections of the area, so if you wanted to you could choose to go another way. Then again most everyone has a smart phone now and can look up alternate routes. Anyway, Hamburg to Buffalo was stressful. It still amazes me how many drivers choose to pass us and nearly collide with on-coming traffic rather than slow down and wait 10 seconds before passing us.  But we made it in one piece, so it was a good day!

Buffalo was not at all impressive when we road in. Abandoned buildings and empty parking lots. Great. Plus, the bike routes are so poorly marked it is a wonder we ever found them. But then we road to where we would be sleeping, the west side, and we were suddenly surrounded by beautiful old houses, stone churches, vibrant streets with shops and resturants, colorful murals and bike lanes. This is what the whole city should look like!

Tomorrow we are off to Niagara Falls!