Day 55 – July 28 – Conneaut, OH to Lake Erie State Park, NY – 76 Miles

It turned out to be a longer and tougher day than we had anticipated.  The roads were for the most part in good condition and the temperatures were perfect.  The challenges came with the persistent headwind and navigating through Erie, PA.

We got a bit of late start today given the distance we wanted to travel.  Lake Erie State Park was the goal which would put us within a fairly easy day ride of Buffalo, NY.  We crossed into Pennsylvania about 6 miles east of Conneaut, OH. The area along Lake Erie is considered the “flat” portion of Pennsylvania, and we could see more substantial hills to our south.  This is a grape-growing region, and there are numerous vineyards and wineries along the lake.

Our route took us through Erie, PA.  We first passed through some neighborhoods with magnificent large homes and parkways along the lakefront. Following our routing we were supposed to take a lake front bike path, somewhere we took a wrong turn and ended up making our own way through town to the lake where we eventually got back on track.  Sometimes cities and our maps can be like puzzles.  The maps attempt to fit a great deal of information for a rather large area into something that is convenient to carry and refer to on a bike.  The problem is that sometimes the detail needed to navigate urban areas efficiently is not there.  Many times it takes a while orienting and cross referencing other maps and online sources via smart phones to get our bearings.  Riding straight through would have been quicker and easier, but the map routes take travelers through more interesting and scenic areas.

Between Ohio and New York, Pennsylvania extends along the shore of Lake Erie for approximately 50 miles.  We entered into the State of New York late in the afternoon.  New York has designated bike routes and we would follow #517 to Buffalo.  Lake Erie State Park is located roughly 17 miles east of the state line.  We found our campsite and as we pulled in a couple of men from across the drive came over and asked if we wanted them to move the pickup truck parked on the drive of our lot.  It was not in our way so we let them know they we free to leave it.  They engaged us in conversation about our ride and invited us over for a cold drink.  There were four in the group and they had spent the week fishing for walleye on Lake Erie.  They had not been as successful as hoped, but it was evident that the fishing was secondary to the time spent between friends.  Before the night was over, they would come over to our camp several times bringing more cold beverages as well as plates full of venison kielbasa and brown mustard.  Outstanding!

As we move farther north, our evenings have grown cooler.  Winds off the lake have had a cooling effect as well.  The cooler evenings makes for a restful night’s sleep.  Tomorrow it is on to Buffalo.  We will take some time in the morning to carefully plan our ride since we will be diverting from our Adventure Cycling maps for a more direct route into the city.