Day 41 Tobermory to Port Elgin ON

Highway 6

We left Tobermory after a decent breakfast at about 8:30 AM headed south on Hwy 6. Riding was OK, but sometimes a bit too much like the TCH. The roads was pretty good, but there was no rideable shoulder and often too much traffic. We stopped at a restaurant a few miles north of Ferndale for a second breakfast. We visited with a fellow there who suggested that we should be riding on Bruce 9 instead of 6. At Ferndale we headed east to 9 at Lions Head and then rode 9 down to Wiarton. Nice riding on somewhat hilly back roads with little traffic. We were only averaging about 11 mph, but we were enjoying the riding much more than we had on 6. We also me a group of young Canadian tourists bound for the beach above Lion Head. I was jealous of their leaders Conti TT tires!

Highway 9

9 runs south to Calpoy's Bay (beautiful! part of Georgian Bay) and then west to Wiarton. There is a very steep hill to climb coming up from that bay! Bob amazed me again by climbing it in his, not so low, low gear. He said if he had to do it again he would walk it. We rode on into Wiarton for lunch. There is a great downhill into town. After lunch we discovered that the road we wanted to take out of town was back at the top of that hill. Not too worry, there was a better way to get there that only required pushing the bike up one hill. Hmmm, that hill was a block of at least 15% grade. Bob pushed and I rode in my granny gear. After that it really wasn't very hilly (rolling hills) for the rest of the ride. Our speed improved considerably.

Highway 13

Sauble Beach

We turned south for Sauble Falls when we reached the coast and riding was pretty good except on the vicinity of Sauble Beach - a very popular resort area and therefore a bit of a zoo. After Sauble Beach the road was less traveled and more pleasant to ride. It ran along the shore of lake Huron and the lake side was like a subdivision of lake houses and cottages almost all the way to Southampton - several hundred houses, many with cute names. The cuteness go a bit old after a while, but it would be a lovely place for a summer house.

Highway 21

When we arrived in Southampton, the motels were full so Bob called ahead to B+Bs near Paisely about 15 miles down the road. What he got was a Farm Stay B+B out the country south and west of Paisley. It was getting late and Bob didn't want to ride after dark, so he arranged for the folks from the BB to pick us up. We stayed in Southampton for supper and then rode south along the coast on Hwy 21. This Hwy actually has a narrow shoulder and riding it was pretty easy. The folks from the B+B met us just south of Port Elgin (about 7 miles from Southampton) and took us to their farm. We passed a number of Mennonite farms where the horses - used in place of tractors - were being put up for the night.

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