July 17, 2014. Burlington to Niagara Falls, ON. 60 Miles.

It was sunny and cool this morning as we left Burlington. We were on the Waterfront Trail within half a mile of our start, and got to watch the morning sun shimmering on the blue water; what could be better than that? At 1.9 miles we came to the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge and carried our bikes up the stairs, rode across the bridge and carried them down. Below are Ann and Dianne hefting their bikes up the stairs.

We rode along the lakeshore into Hamilton Beach Park and rode its bike path too. There were a lot of Canada geese hanging around--I think Canadians don't like them any more than we do. There are signs that warn people not to feed them.

Our cue sheets told us to ignore the WFT signs and ignore the Road Closed signs and ride on a gravel road. So we did.

 

There were vineyards and apple orchards all along our route today. There were many wineries offering tours and tastings but we did not partake.

 



The photo below was taken at a marina on Lighthouse Road, right before we got back on the gravel path (WFT) that runs right along the shore of Lake Ontario.

The three of us did not stop at the recommended lunch place at Port Dalhousie because we were not ready to eat. We figured we'd get something closer to the end of the ride.

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Our route bypassed Niagara on the Lake and put us right on the Niagara River Recreational Trail. We thought there would not be any food options on the trail so we ate our snacks at a picnic table in the shade. We walked over and talked to Denis, who rents bikes at a kiosk right where we entered the path. He was friendly and informative and gave us a map of the area.  Of course there were 2 restaurants less than a mile from where we were.

 

We rode along the Niagara River the rest of the day. We climbed the biggest hill of the tour this afternoon on our way up the Niagara Escarpment, stopping to look at Brock's monument and the floral clock at the top.

 

A couple of miles before we got to the hotel my bike computer stopped working. There are some tours on which that would not be an issue (OATBRAN comes to mind; we rode Hwy 50 for 435 miles) but on this tour we have pages and pages of cues. I need to see mileage! So after showering I walked to Queen Street to get a new battery at the bike shop.  I put the new battery in but the computer still does not work. I guess I'll be more dependent on my riding buddies until I can get to another bike shop and get a new bike computer.