Day 50 - Niagara-On-The-Lake to Lockport via Niagara Falls 43.7 miles

Knees aching, muscles sore, we decided we needed a short day. With Niagara Falls to see, we knew that a touristy day lay ahead of us. We slept in until 8am, although the heat last night meant that none of us were well rested. Karen took us to breakfast, another mountain of pancakes, bacon and eggs, which brought us back into the world. On our return, her mom handed us some snacks of apricots, almonds and chocolate, and we set out.

First of all we had a fifteen mile ride back up the escarpment, which we broke down using excellent route advice form Karen, and a number of good viewing points. We picked up a cycle route into the Falls, passing another tourer going the opposite way. She suggested the boat trip as a must.

On the Canadian side, you can see all of the falls with what are considered the best views. The town is exceptionally touristy, bursting with gift shops and attractions. We took the advice and ignored all of these, instead going for the boat trip to the foot of the falls. The spray rained down heavily on us as we moved into the horseshoe, with water thundering vertically on three sides. It was an exceptional experience.

On returning, we watched an unexpected airshow over the falls, the Snow Birds flying in formation with aircraft, smoke streaming behind them. It felt a fitting finale to our Canadian phase, and we went for lunch before stocking on Dairy Milk and crossing Rainbow Bridge into The Empire State.

We had an offer of a place to stay for the evening in Lockport, so a 20 mile ride lay ahead of us, which was slightly more than we wanted today however it would save us on campsite fees. We rode through more farmland to the town, bought lunch and met Nancy, our host. She works delivering tours of the canal here, and the five famous locks. She kindly offered us maps of the route ahead.

With less than 500 miles to go, we have decided to go easy now, so as not to reach New York City too early. So 50 mile days now, and more stops to enjoy the towns on route. It is strange to think we are in the final state of the trip now.