August 11, 2008 by Harry.

     Today’s ride utilized the 28th gear, the car. It certainly was a lively night in camp as we had a visitor. What kind of visitor you ask? One of the local raccoons came at approximately 3:30 A.M. to go through our garbage bag from yesterday. It is usual camping etiquette to put trash in the dumpster, but this campground was big enough for curbside service in the morning. It sounded like the local raccoons had a feast as they found any garbage bags left out for early morning pick-up. There was spotty drizzle and rain over the course of the day, though we saw glorious skies in the early morning and were blessed with dry intervals to set up camp in the early afternoon. The customs agent sure looked at our motley crew funny when she asked the question, “What was the purpose of your visit?” With three bikes  on the back of the car, it quickly became apparent to her that we could indeed be on a fundraising cross-country bicycle trip. Though the journey is not yet complete, there was a collective feeling of warmth and homecoming in seeing the New York State sign. After a quick ride to see Lake Ontario, the last of the Great Lakes, Harry explained the acronym HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) for remembering all five. We are camping tonight at Darien Lakes State Park and are blessed as the car, bicycles, and tents get a cool shower while the team has the luxury of hot showers. Tomorrow we start our trek across New York as we head east on  Route 20 to the Finger Lakes. We are now in the last week of this journey and starting to reflect on all we have seen and experienced on this ride. We also look forward to another member of Team MoPHOTOS, Tom O’Connor, joining us shortly.

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August 11, 2008 by Harry.

      The team was blessed with beautiful weather to start the day! Today’s 40 mile ride went from Rock Point Provincial Park to the Niagara Falls KOA on the Canadian side of the falls. Harry was assisted by Eric as they changed a mystery flat on Harry’s front tire. Captain Eugenia and Harry rode old highway 3, Lakeshore Drive, instead of highway 3 for 15 miles or so. The vistas along Lake Erie were awesome! The team then headed north along routes 84 and 70 before heading east along route 20 to the campground for the night. Eric went for a walking tour of the falls, while Captain Eugenia and Harry took the old school route in getting wet on the “Maid of the Mist”! It was the highlight of everyone’s day! To celebrate our last night in Canada, Eric and Steve had a campfire dinner over some slow burning and dense Canadian wood. The campfire sustained itself  through some rain that came early in the evening. Today’s shout out goes to all the local people in Canada who were so gracious to give us directions and encouraging words along the way. Tomorrow we cross the border and enter New York!!!

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