Another record setting day

Today's record is one I hope NOT to equal again -- three flat tires.  And it was three flats within three miles!  The first was a rear tire, and it occurred just as it was starting to rain a bit.  We pulled into a convenient shelter, changed the tire, determined there was a problem with the tire stem, saw that the rain stopped, and we thought all was well.  I got back to the the road and prepared to head off when I realized that now the front tire was flat.  We took care of that one, caused by a piece of glass, and headed to lunch, where I could top off my tires using a good pump.  And then, about a mile after lunch, my rear tire was flat again.  The culprit this time was a small, very sharp stone.  We were quite efficient at tire changing by this time, as well as in danger of running out of tubes, so I was grateful that the rest of the day proceeded without incident.  I was the only person to have three flats, but two others had two flats each, and we totaled ten flats among all of us for the day!

Yesterday we had the day off to play at Niagara Falls.  I headed for the Maid of the Mist first thing in the morning and rode up to the Falls with a boatload of Japanese tourists.  It is thrilling to be that close to the roaring water, and I liked knowing that tourists have been doing this since 1846.  Rejoining some of my group, I then headed for Niagara on the Lake for a little wine tasting and a stroll around the town, which was the first capital of Upper Canada.  There was much talk there about commemorating the US invasion of the town in 1813, a phraseology I found interesting.

Today we returned to the USA, riding 74 miles to Brockport, New York.  We had some difficulty finding our way after we crossed back, partly because construction messed up the signage, but also because we couldn't quite believe that what once had been two lanes of a four lane highway was now designated a bike trail!  Other that the tire changes, the rest of the ride was pleasant, along New York State Bikeway 5, which is very well marked.  We got wet at the end of the ride, which is only our second rain in three weeks.  The motel we are in offered to do a collective laundry for us, perhaps figuring that was better than lots of wet clothes hung to dry in the rooms.

Up close at Horseshoe Falls in our blue souvenir raincoats.

One of the wines I sampled was from Wayne Grezsky's vineyard.  

A final view of the Falls from the American side

Third tire change of the day!

A clean laundry feeding frenzy