The river meandered back and forth thus the trestles along the route. Of course the railway would have used this route which would have been an easier follow than cutting through hills back 100+ years ago. (near Simcoe, ON)
The same spot as the previous photo but a different vantage point. It was nice to stand there and listen to the babbling stream and hear the twittering of the birds. (near Simcoe, ON)
This is the main beach in the centre of Port Dover and the pier leading back to the commercial fisheries marina. This area is the core of the Friday the 13th gatherings. Of course this is Lake Erie. (Port Dover, ON)
Looking west across the main beach. Across and to the left are Turkey Point and Long Point which just many tens of km into Lake Erie. I was here early so the beach was almost deserted - within a few hours there were loads of people. (Port Dover, ON)
I was going to cycle toward Turkey Point but ran into some road construction that seemed to force quite a long detour so I changed my mind. Instead I went down one of the dead end streets to watch and listen to the waves. (Port Dover, ON)
Ahhh - a hotel with a breakfast. Though not 'gourmet', at least there was something, it was early and it was tasty. Feeling slightly more peckish than normal I got a little more than normal with thoughts of storing and carrying any extra along with me.
Today was going to be a short day, so I could have remained in the hotel longer, but when I looked out to yet another lightly lit sunny morning with dew on the grass, I just had to load up and get going.
My route took me back toward my route to Wellington Park yesterday, but rejoined the rail-trail and again plunged me into another green tunnel. Occasionally the path emerged into full sun and it was quite hot out, but within the green canopies the air was cool, fresh and damp. This got me to thinking of how humans have transformed the landscape - where large green areas exist like this, there is a definite absorption of the sun by the trees, water collects under and the earth is happy. When we take the trees and greenery away the sun beats down, it gets hot and water either runs away or evaporates and blows away. Oh my.
Today I also crossed a number of little railway trestles over the Lin River as my route crissed and crossed over the flowing water which presented many possible photo moments. Beautiful yet again.
As in other towns, suddenly the trail became wider and more tame-looking and then there were homes and developments - I had arrived at Port Dover. I rolled down 'the' street where all the motorcyclists walk and park on Friday the 13th, but today not being one of those days, and it being early in the morning, it was relatively quiet. I made a right turn at the base of the hill which soon got me to the public beachfront with its sparkling water. There were a few beach goers, but not that many, but I could see people drifting this way. In times past there used to be a dance hall nearby but all three burned down over the last century.
I could see a pier jutting into the water so I rolled out to the end to watch a few boats heading out into the lake. On the way back I stopped and asked a couple of women where I might find a cappaccino and they suggested Cocoa Cabana which was just around the corner. I did and also picked up a piece of brownie cheesecake and it all made the world ok.
Having missed the water the last few days I poked around the town, focusing on wherever I could get close to the water's edge. I watched the sparkling of the water, boats heading by and listened to the little waves against the shoreline. My next stop was to head over to the marina where I sat under a pergola to watch the coming and going of boats, then pulled out my device to read a bit of my latest Agatha Christie. In the past I have read a Poirot mystery while touring and though I had already started Ken Follet's latest historical fiction novel, I did a last-minute diversion to Poirot. And it was good.
It was getting into early afternoon so I decided to head to my hosts' place just to the eastern side of town. I had not seen them in quite a few years so it was nice to finally see them. We caught up, then headed for a drive out to Turkey Point and Long Point for a sightseeing drive, then a stop at a reastaurant patio for supper overlooking the huge marsh.
Afterwards we returned to their home where we chatted for a while but when I started to get tired I called it a night after a super day.
Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles) Total: 159 km (99 miles)
