(e:janelle) ran hard today, and embarrassed me off the couch, so I jumped on my bike. In addition to grabbing my helmet (a new habit), I also grabbed my passport. There is a nice bike path on the other side of the Niagara River, and along Lake Erie. It's a great ride.

One warning though--the ride from Canada to the USA is uphill, so be prepared for hard work going home.

I took some pics. I may post them later or maybe even make a movie.

I was feeling kind of bad about my slothfulness on such a nice day, and somehow, walking to Sprinkles, the new ice cream bar in Delish didn't help for some reason. Maybe if I would have only had one scoop.

Just an aside--the Delish people are great, and so is the ice cream bar. It's worth a trip for the treat.

So anyway, even though the wind and the rain were threatening, I decided to head out on my bike, and it was a good choice. I highly recommend this ride.

I rode from my home to the island at the end of W. Ferry. This was the toughest part of the ride, as it was directly into the wind. It was also the only part of the ride that I had to deal with traffic. For those who fear "urban" neighborhoods, this was the only part that looked scary. But with all of the people outside, there was absolutely no reason to be afraid.

From the Island, I headed North on the Riverwalk. The river was beautiful, there were birds, and old guys fishing, and kids rolling down the hill with their mother. Windy, but flat the whole way, and is was a cross wind, which is much better than riding into it. Nice views of fancy houses across the river, too.

From the unfortunately named Squaw Island, I headed inland. It was a little bit confusing finding the path, but not really. Even though I was tempted to continue all the way to Tonawanda, I wanted to ride the Scajequeda path, which (to my shame) I have never done.

A great ride. Views of the creek, nice trees, and a look at the back of Amherst street. In case you were thinking of dumpster diving at Wegman's you can't. Trash goes from inside the store into the compactor. There is a nice playground behind Our Lady of Blackrock (I forget the church's real name).

Everytime I went under an underpass it was clearly marked, and a note was made that the clearance was ten feet. Maybe not necessary for a bike path. Maybe better signs at the Grant Street Crossing would be a better choice.

From there, the path goes past the back of the historical society and the Japanese garden. Again, I can't believe I haven't been there before--a beautiful place. (And backtracking a bit--Rock Harbor Commons looks cool, too. I am going to have to make an event there this summer, and I will ride straight there on the riverwalk).

Across the pedestrian bridge, around Hoyt lake (nice statues) and onto Lincoln parkway. Lincoln parkway to Bidwell parkway, to Richmond (with quick stops on Richmond to visit an estate sale, a car accident, and a friend who was in her yard). Richmond to the house.

Good exercise, but not too much. A photographer could make this an all-day trip (but I didn't bring a camera and wanted to break a sweat).

Buffalo really is a well planned city, and a great place for a bike ride.