The Empire Strikes Back

I'll bet you can guess where we are! One guess. Well, maybe two. We are not at the end of our journey, which will be in New York City. But we are in New York State, and will be for the next eight days as we work our way first north to Niagara Falls, then east, and finally south towards our ultimate destination.

We stopped for the night at the American Legion Hall in Hamburg, New York, after an 80+ mile ride to make us forget about our rest day that we just had in Erie, PA. The Legion met us with several members, including Commander Mark Wilson, plus the mayor of Hamburg, and the Time Warner cable news cameras. Bryce and I did an interview for the television cameras, then we got taken to the Red Roof Inn, where rooms have been donated for the evening, then we go to the Drop Zone, a World War II themed restaurant run by three Legion members, and finally we have coupons for a breakfast at Denny's before riding north through Buffalo to Niagara Falls. On top of all that, the Legion presented Bryce a check for $300 to go towards Operation Comfort Warriors.

The landscape in New York is a lot hillier than we've been seeing, so I'm glad that we only have a 35 mile ride tomorrow, then hopefully a boat ride under the waterfall! We'll leave our bikes behind for that one! Bryce hinted that I should download the new route maps, since they've changed quite a bit since May. For one thing, there are a lot of bike paths, and the route is shorter than originally planned, with a couple of changes to destinations thrown in. Guess you'll just have to stay tuned, and we'll keep playing "Guess where we are today?" Just be glad we aren't wearing lederhosen and red and white striped sox, playing "Where's Waldo?" We are plainly visible, and promise to stay that way!