Trails to Niagara - Sep 2025

It started as a sentence said out loud. We should ride from my house all the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

A few weeks later, Holly showed up on Middle Road with her bike. We rode a short loop that afternoon to loosen up. Fifteen miles. Nothing to prove. That night we laid everything out on the floor, adjusted panniers, moved things around, then moved them back. We went to bed early and didn’t sleep much.

The next morning we left after breakfast. Quiet roads at first. Fields and barns. Open sky. After a while the Auburn Trail picked us up and carried us toward the canal. The riding settled in. Lunch came at a diner by the water. Boats drifted past the window. After that we followed the canal until Brockport.

We ate outside, checked into a hotel, took long showers. Our legs hurt in a familiar way. We laughed about how far we still had to go.

The second day stayed close to the canal. Flat miles. Slow water. Towns that still remembered what the canal had been built for. We stopped in Medina, then rode on to Lockport. Brick buildings. Lift bridges. The locks. We walked around before dinner and stayed at a place that felt like it hadn’t changed much in decades. It was fine.

On the third day we headed toward Niagara. The air changed as we got closer. You could hear the falls before you saw them. Mist hung in the distance. We stopped and stood there longer than planned.

North of the falls my brother joined us on his bike and rode the last stretch with us. Vineyards started to appear. Then gardens. Then Niagara-on-the-Lake. We checked into a small place and that night the rest of the family met us for dinner. Wine from nearby. Long tables. Everyone talking at once.

The next morning we crossed back toward the U.S. The Peace Bridge. A short wait. Then Buffalo. Familiar streets. Utica. We ate dinner in a place we used to go years ago. After that we loaded the bikes into the car and drove home.

The last morning was quiet. Coffee. Breakfast. Holly packed up and left.

The ride stayed with me longer than the soreness did.

We had started at my front door and kept going until there was no reason to go farther.