July 12, 2018
Toronto, ON to Darlington Provincial Park, ON
Day 7
Weather: Sunny warm
We left the hostel at 8:15 a.m. taking a different route out of the city on some of the protected bike lanes. Once down on the water front we headed east on the Waterfront Trail. All the paths were busy with commuters and we felt like the slow pokes on the expressway.
Leaving Toronto we stayed on Kingston Road instead of following the trail map. Kingston Road was two to three lanes and the traffic moved over when they reached us. This route was probably not ideal during the evening rush hour but fine in the morning while we heading eastward out of the city.
We missed a turn after we left Kingston Road and ended down in a park. The map said there was a primitive trail, but once we reached there it was closed. After back tracking we got back on the trail along the beach at Port Union where I had marked a grocery stop on the map. I missed the turn and went past, so we carried on thinking we would find one in Ajax. Once again, I missed that turn and had to back track to the store.
The trail and parks through Ajax were well laid out and we stopped there to eat.
After Ajax we decided to head up and take Bayly Street straight through to Port Whitby but there were roadworks where they were building the trail which forced us back down Halls Road and onto the trail.
From there we stayed on the trail to our campsite at Darlington Provincial Park arriving at 4:30 p.m.
In the usual Canadian Provincial Park style the camp was set up in loops. We were lucky enough to get a site at the end of the loop as it reached the lake, so we had a lake view and a refreshing breeze. Unfortunately the camp sites were up on a bluff so it was a long way to go to the beach.
We set up our tents and had dinner, then went for a ride down to the beach. By this time the appeal of a swim had worn off. The beach was rocky and as there were a few mosquitoes around we headed back for the showers and into the tents.
The expressway and train tracks ran nearby to the campground. With the constant drone of traffic, along with commuter and freight trains we didn't get a great night of sleep.
Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 269 miles (433 km)
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