We left Grand Island feeling rested and with full stomachs. Dave and Mary were fantastic hosts; it was sad to leave, but the weather improved, so we felt the urge to resume progress.

From Grand Island we crossed the Niagara River then rode along Lake Erie through Buffalo towards Erie, Pennsylvania.

In Buffalo we followed several great bike paths (the region seems very bike friendly) and saw a few naval ships before taking a short ferry across the Buffalo River, to the outer harbor.

   After a few miles riding on busy sections of route 5, we found calm in Lakeshore Road.   This proved to be great riding; it’s labelled as The Great Lakes Seaway Trail.

  That night, when we arrived at our campsite in Lake Erie State Park, we spotted two other touring cyclists. Jay and Bob, two retired guys whose wives agreed to let them do a cross country tour, came over to chat with us. They are from Edinboro, PA and are doing the last leg of their trip first, so today was day one for them. They are heading to the CT shore, driving a van back home and flying to Seattle to bike home. Good luck, Jay and Bob!

Trip stats, to date (Day 16)

• Grand Island, NY to Brocton, NY
• Daily mileage: 69.5mi;  Trip total to date: 886mi
• Daily riding time: 5hr 24min;  Trip total time: 74hr 13min
• Daily ascent: 897ft;  Trip total ascent: 37,752ft
• Flat tires: Rachel – 1; Chris – 0