Brian Richardson
The first 1200 miles of this trip, from Florence to West Yellowstone, were exciting for me because they coincided with the route I did with Bike Loud in 2015. Yellowstone to Minneapolis was then uncharted territory. After Minneapolis, we hopped back on Memory Lane to trace Bike Loud’s 2019 route from Wisconsin to Maine. Of all the moments I’ve gotten to relive so far, seeing Dawn and Roger in Welland was one of the most special.
Dawn sees off the Bike Loud crew in Welland, ON, 2019 and 2025
From Welland, we headed east to Niagara Falls, where thousands of tons of water per second drop from the Niagara River on its way from Lake Erie to Ontario. We did some of our most technical riding of the trip here, weaving narrow lines through heavy traffic and throngs of distracted pedestrians.
Bike Loud hits Niagara Falls
After spending some time admiring the Falls from the Canadian side, we made our way to the Rainbow Bridge to cross over to the States. Unfortunately for us, cyclists are required to cross this bridge as a vehicle, waiting in the 12-lane customs line with the cars, burning in the sun and breathing in exhaust fumes.
Bike Loud crosses back over to American soil
Twenty miles east of the border, we reached Lockport and the Erie Canal. This canal runs over 350 miles from Buffalo to Albany, connecting the Niagara and Hudson Rivers. Following its entire length is the Erie Canalway Trail, a mostly unpaved bike path. Today we met several other bike tourers en route to Albany; we’ll be staying on the trail for just 90 miles.
The crews rides along the Erie Canalway Trail
Friend and Michael navigate through Canada Geese along the Erie Canal
By the time we reached Holley, NY, a careful observer could have deduced a lot about our day just by looking at the layers of grime caked to our legs. The sweat and sunscreen indicated 90+ hot miles, the crushed limestone in the outer layers revealed our afternoon on the Canalway Trail.
Our maps had indicated that we could call the lift bridge tower in Holley (pictured below) to ask about camping nearby. At best, I was hoping for a safe patch of grass to pitch our tents, so I was thrilled when the tower employee pointed us to a pristine camping area next to the canal and gave us the code to a bathroom with showers. At the end of a long day, a little piece of good news like this goes a long way.
Home for the night in Holley, NY