Niagara Falls. Will Anyone Help Her Up?

So at long last my quasi-impuslive biking journey has officially begun. I have only been on the path two days, but alas I have learned many lessons.

The most important has to do with my good friend Ms. Canada. The story goes as follows:

While toodling through Buffalo, NY, I saw “The Peace Bridge to Canada.” I though, that sounds like a lovely bridge, I haven’t been to Canada before, why not? So I follow the signs for bikers, enter with my passport easily enough, and away I go up the Queen Elizabeth Highway toward Niagara Falls.

As I pedal an unknown dark blue car pulls over in front of me. As a casually dressed older male steps out of the car, I have multiple scenarios playing out in my mind. He tells me to give him my stuff, he asks if I need a ride, he just wants to have a conversation. The possibilities run and continue running, until I see him reach into his pocket and pull out a little black book. Soon that book would be opened and I would be viewing a Canadian Police Officer Badge. “What in the world are you doing?” Were the first words out of his mouth. Caught off guard by his presence I stammer that I’m an American, trying to bike to Niagara Falls. “On the highway?” He asks, somewhat demeaningly. “I didn’t know how else to get there.” I confide. Apparently riding your bike along Canadian highways is an arrestable offense, luckily he said he wouldn’t arrest me (thank God). The best part was he gave me very concise directions to get to the falls LEGALLY. So while the moment of anxiety was unsettling, it got me good directions.

Lesson Learned: When you don’t know how to get where you’re going, do something minorly illegal to capture the attention of a law enforcement officer and then play dumb/American.

Minus the fact that I had 70 lbs. on my back while viewing them, the Falls were beautiful. A constant rainbow transcends from their depths to the heavens above. I stood in awe of their natural power. Then I stood in a different form of awe…awe of the tourism industry and its manipulatin of this national treasure. The constant tour guide who told me that I would “regret it if I didn’t take them up on their offer.” I was perfectly pleased just by seeing them, no money spent. I couldn’t imagine regretting that, and here they were profiting on the fact that some people could. I understand that this isn’t unusual, but it’s the first time I noticed it so acutely. Perhaps it’s because the phenomenon is so natural. Disney World is supposed to be a tourist trap, that was it’s innate purpose, but that wasn’t the purpose behind Niagara Falls. They weren’t meant to capture people and profit from their awe, and yet here they were being used for just that.

Did you know it’s free to get into Canada, but they charge you $0.50 to go back to the USA? And the winner of the greedy country goes to....

So far I have met only nice people. Here’s a sampling of those I have “experienced”:

· Dunkin Doughnuts employee in Buffalo, NY. After finding out that I was just beginning a bike journey of 500 miles, he decided to give me my Pepsi for free. Bless his heart.

· Man outside of thrift store in Depew, NY. Immediately after getting off of the train and feeling the weight of my bag, I knew it was time to abandon some stuff. Luckily the fates had decided to plant a thrift store right next to the train station. While fajiggaling with my bag, a nice man came up, and asked if everything was okay with my bike. After telling him it was, he said, okay, because I have a bike rack and I know where the nearest bike store is, and I wouldn’t mind helping you out if you needed it.

· Stubborn Lady who can’t find a lawyer. Don’t you love the people who tell their life story to complete strangers. As I was sitting on a bench, taking a break from my ride to the falls an older woman sets a cot up near the bench I’m sitting in. “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you.” She said. Within the next ten minutes I learned that she worked for trade shows, had recently visited Boston, had a favorite bed and breakfast there for $88 a night, was going through a divorce after a 33 year relationship, but couldn’t find a good lawyer. Unfortunately her husband had a good lawyer and was trying to whittle her down, but she’s stubborn. This was further complicated by the fact that hse has a boyfriend in New York who said, “Don’t come back until your divorce is finalized.” On the positive side of things she had studied at this exact spot the day before for a test, and she ended up getting an A on it, so she decided to come back today to hope for more luck for her next one….

· Walt & Sue: After pulling up to a RV Resort outside of Albion, NY, I was hoping to find a place to pitch a tent. As I pulled up to the office, I tried the door….locked. Then Sue and Walt, sitting atble away, shout to me, “What’s ya doing?” I explain my story and my adventure. With little hestitation Sue says, you can camp wherever you like. I ask her if she’s sure it’s okay, she simply said the owner lives over there, I’ll tell him I told you that you could stay wherever, trust me, it’s alright. And with that, I had a free campsite J

It’s these little moments of generosity that help inspire during a trip like this. It’s as if me having a bike helmet and an adventure give people permission/desire to be more hospitable to me. For them to go that extra mile. What if we didn’t wait for the adventurous traveler to show our hospitality, what if the average person walking down the street became the recipient of our next good deed. Not because their special, or on a journey, but because they like you, can always use a smile.

Those are all my thoughts for now. I’m planning on getting up at 5:15AM for an early start. The ambitious goal is 98 miles tomorrow…we’ll see how that goes J

For those of you reading who haven’t heard, I’ve set up a TIKE (Talk and Bike) Program for this adventure. If you’d like to participate, just e-mail me (zoelmi01@luther.edu) a window of time before 8/13 that you would want to have a conversation. Include your number, and I’ll call you in that window. I have a headset so I can multitask while on a bicycle. We can catch up, or talk about summer, dreams, favorite childhood stories, distant relatives, bunions, etc. The possibilities are endless J