CanAm Freedom Ride across Peace Bridge nearly doubles in size
October 15, 2026 at 4:39 AM
Josiah Henson reached freedom in Fort Erie in 1830 after he crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo to escape slavery. On October 10, more than 300 cyclists retraced Henson’s crossing over the Peace Bridge in the third CanAm Freedom Ride, nearly double the 170 who registered last year.
The Rotary Club of Fort Erie co-hosted the ride with Buffalo’s East Side Bike Club and two other U.S. partners. Riders left Freedom Park in Buffalo at 10 a.m. on October 10 and stopped at Freedom Park in Fort Erie, according to the East Side Bike Club’s schedule.
Registration money went to the East Side Bike Club and to Buffalo’s Freedom Park, according to the ride’s registration page. Neither the page nor GoBike Buffalo’s post after the ride said how much money the ride raised.
Donations of $50 or $100 to last year’s ride bought bike helmets and fishing kits for children, according to the organizers’ 2025 announcement.
GoBike Buffalo, the cycling group that registered riders this year, reported the 300-plus turnout in a social media post after the ride. Eighty-four cyclists rode in the first CanAm Freedom Ride in October 2024.
Thousands of African Americans fleeing slavery landed at the old Bertie Street ferry dock, now Fort Erie’s Freedom Park on Niagara Boulevard.
George Johnson of the East Side Bike Club created the ride to honour Henson’s crossing. Johnson co-chaired this year’s ride with Chris Bonn, a recently retired representative of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority.
Several Canadian customs officers were waiting at the Fort Erie end to process the cyclists.
The Rotary Club of Fort Erie served coffee and bottled water to riders at Fort Erie’s Freedom Park. The cyclists then rode to Waverly Beach and followed the Niagara Parkway back toward the bridge.
Erin Griffis, communications and program co-ordinator for the Niagara River Greenway, told Fort Erie Radio before last year’s ride that organizers try to expand the ride every year.
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Andrew Hawlitzky
Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"
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