As canal towpaths go, the Erie Canal 's is one of the best. It's very well set up for cycling, with a surface of crushed stone, a bit chalky, and generally allowing a higher speed than most British ones, which would shake you to bits at the 15mph that we spent our day at, much of the time, trying to reach Middleport and so within striking distance of the Niagara Falls before the 4th of July creates craziness in the tourist spots. Even as I write there are fireworks going off around the area. The canal is well used around the big towns, there was even a bloke on a unicycle. We reached Middleport around 6.30pm. Even then we had to cycle a mile out of town to just to buy food for tonight's dinner. Middleport is a great name evoking that arty pottery on Stoke whose pots I love. And this one is on a Canal too. Earlier today we went through Albion where famous Santa lived - Charles W Howard, indeed he even established a school for Santa's back in 1937. Santa studies it would now be called as a module in a degree. Anyway there was a nice mural to commemorate him - hence the photo. We mused over why call a town Albion, such a romantic essentially English name. We saw no tea being drunk or croquet being played.... Drinking beer on the sunshine is more the thing you see - in fact I gave three free beers to a man quietly smoking and drinking in the park in Palmyra. 12 beers for about $10 is a bit difficult - buying a single beer isn't offered ' and the multi buy is incredibly cheap, but we can't drink all that so some must be given away.... And at least it's good beer, CAMRA would like it.