Ride to Tonawanda Rails to Trails and Short First Ride with My Dog

I'll spare everyone from seeing two separate posts and so I'll combine the two rides into one article. Today was finally a nice enough day for a longer ride, getting close to 50 degrees but down in the 30s by the time I was getting near home.

I finally took my dog out in his trailer today. I will stop short of saying he loved it but he seemed to tolerate it. The bumps didn't bother him. He whined a little bit when he saw another dog, but otherwise he was handling it pretty well. I had to bribe him with a carrot to get him to jump back in. I just took him for a short 1.5-mile ride to the park at the end of my street and back.

Sebastian all ready for his first bike ride!

Front Park is just down the street with a curb cut-out for the bike path leading into the park. I stopped to let him out a couple times before heading back home.

After dropping off Sebastian and the trailer, I finally go to go on my first good ride of the year. It was about 23 miles. I turned off Strava a couple miles from my house after stopping for coffee. I started by riding down Niagara Street, which has no bike lanes (coming soon though). It's two lanes in each direction with parked cars so the only way to not get doored or run over is to take the lane. Once I got to Forest, I could cut over to the Riverwalk Trail. The first mile or so is poorly laid out as it lets out at Niagara Street again for a bit, then has a number of side streets to exit and re-enter the trail. I don't blame anyone who would rather just dodge traffic on Niagara for this part of the trail.

There's no way a cyclist designed this trail

This path follows the Niagara River northward. It leads to Niagara Falls. I'll ride there soon and post pics.

I stopped near this seasonal bar and restaurant for a minute just to take a photo. You can see The River Grill below in the distance with the blue roofs. I like the place, but despite being a bar on the bike path, this is the closest bike rack to the door. They could be a more welcoming to the passing traffic and cyclist customers is all I'm saying.

I'm only passing by the Grand Island Bridge here, but I'll head across it for another ride soon. They're starting work on a new bike path on the west side of the island now.

Hey @mininthecity, I came across a little free library with a nautical design and took this photo just for you! I was surprised to see one in a public park on the river. I usually just see them in front of private homes.

Downtown City of Tonawanda has some cool sites, like this old long out-of-use rotating railroad bridge.

This is as far north as I went. On the way home I rode the 4.7-mile rails to trails through Tonawanda.

The northern entrance to the rails-to-trails.

There is an old railroad tressel that sits on either side of the trail, the bridge long removed. When I was a teenager we used to follow the tracks and trek through overgrown paths and woods to party there. Now kids still party there but it's much easier to get to. I reminisced while drinking a can of carbonated water.

I stopped at the new second location for the Lexington Co-Op for lunch, getting food from the salad bar. I stopped and took a photo at Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park, then went to Cafe Aroma for coffee. It was only a couple miles home from there.

It should be even warmer tomorrow. I'm going to try to get a group ride together. Hopefully I should have another route to post tomorrow.