Day 5 - finally some sun!

Started out with an overcast sky but no rain. We followed a nice bike path along the Niagra River but a portion of it was under construction. We followed it until it became dirt (which had turned into mud from all the rain). Our bikes could use a bath now. Eventually we rode into Niagra Falls state park where a multiuse path goes along the Niagra River. We saw beautiful views of the river just above Niagra Falls. The force and turbulence of the river current as it surges toward the falls was amazing. We had to walk our bikes along the path because of the myriad people on the path. I didn't realize Niagra Falls is such a big tourist spot. We continued into the city of Niagra Falls, N.Y. which is very touristy so we still had to walk our bikes in many places. We then crossed the Rainbow bridge into Canada. Cyclists only pay a 50 cent toll but you have to ride on the bridge with the cars. There is a pedestrian walkway but bicycles are prohibited on it. We then went into Niagra Falls, Canada which is also very touristy and very busy. It seems to be a very popular location for foreigners. Our bikes were even celebrities - someone told several pictures of my bike and a picture of Hal's bike while we were eating lunch. Once we cycled out of Niagra Falls it got much quieter. We passed a lot of vineyards which I found surprising.
We crossed the Welland Canal which is roughly paralell to the Niagra River. The canal connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and it allows ships traversing the Great Lakes to travel between these lakes to reach the St. Lawrence Seaway. We followed a nice bike path along the canal which took us due north to the southern shore of Lake Ontario. This was actually our first view of the lake despite several days of riding. We had planned to reach Hamilton today but due to the time we spent in the Niagra Falls area we had only covered about 8 miles by 1 pm. Finally, about 3 in the afternoon the clouds disappeared and we saw sun for the first time in several days. It actually got warm enough to ride in just bike shorts and a bike jersey for the first time on the trip. Late in day we passed a touring cyclist who was heading east to Niagra Falls and eventually to NYC where he would get a plane home to Italy. We eventually ended the day after 46 miles at a motel in Grimsby, Canada. Tomorrow we should reach Toronto.