That was Niagara !

With nobody else on Clarence’s camp site, there was nothing to stop me getting that nice early start I had tried for yesterday. It was still about 250 miles to go to Niagara Falls, so I bit the metaphorical bullet and a few miles from the camp site I hit the Interstate 89 heading west. Busy it was not, just oh so boring! I stuck it for about 50 miles at which point I stopped for a coffee and burger at a Roy Rogers fast food outlet at a service area.. That’s a mistake I wont forget in a hurry! Let’s just say it made McChuckups taste like a gourmet meal, and that’s difficult! Whilst stopped I made use of their WiFi and had a good look at the map in conjunction with my GPS. I worked out that is I came off the interstate at the next exit it would only add about 20 miles to the journey and it would route me through Buffalo where there were a couple bike shops as I was now in desperate need of some new rubber. The rear was not only very square but with a bit of a polish you could see your face in it !!!

Of course nobody had anything like I was looking for, so I decided to push on to Niagara, as if I had to order the tyres that seemed like a good place to rest up for a day or so. I called in at a Harley dealer where the very helpful guy behind the counter suggested I try Bob Weaver Motorcycles, which as luck would have it was straight down Niagara Falls Boulevard in the very direction I was heading. Bob Weaver’s is HUGE! Just about every make and model of bike you can imagine. With a stock of over 200 used bikes and I’d guess about as many new ones Anyway, they wasted no time in getting on line to their supplier and whilst they couldn't get the Mitas which was my first preference, The Beast, now sorts a nice new set on TKC80s which cost me about a third less that I would have paid in the UK.

So what of Niagara Falls I hear you cry, the World Famous Wonder of the Natural World? Well I guess you could say I got here about 150 years to late! If you like your natural wonders surrounded by skyscrapers, accompanied by the ever present racket of helicopters circling overhead and more Japanese and Chinese tourists than you can shake a stick at, then it’s fine. Overall you could say that I was a little underwhelmed. It is certainly a tremendous sight, but partly I guess because it is dwarfed by the surrounding structures, I just didn't find it as awe inspiring as I had expected. As I had to pass fairly close by it would have been stupid not to see it, but had I travelled here just for the Falls I’d have been pretty disappointed.

However, I'm here for two more nights, so tomorrow I’ll be up with the lark and down to the falls before all our little friends have had time to do their morning Tai Chi! Maybe that will give me a different slant on it  and I have also been told of a cave which it’s said is a must to visit…