August 26, 2017
Day 121: Pickering, ON to Burlington, ON
Today was a day full of cycling variety. We had some of everything, good and bad. Luckily, there wasn't much of the bad.
We were expecting a harder than usual ride today. We had miles of trail - and you know how Kerry feels about that - and some steep hills - and you know how I feel about that! We also knew there would be some unpaved trail. And, to add to the variety, miles of city streets with and without bike lanes.
We were on the road by 9AM. It was cool, but sunny and the wind was very light. We had no problem on the city sreets on a Saturday morning. Traffic was pretty light. We were soon on a trail where traffic was not light. There were lots of cyclists and many joggers, walkers and families with children and pets. A lot of people just stop and talk right in the middle of the trail. Some people strolled three and four abreast and just refused to move over for cyclists. It is a real pain to ride on trails like that.
After a few miles, we came to a place where the trail was unpaved. We started down a dirt track and Garmin told us "off course". We went back and found another, narrower dirt track with orange safety tape across it and a sign saying the path was closed due to washouts and unsafe for bikes. That, of course, was our route. You know Kerry never lets such things deter him and so around the safety barrier and up path we went. My job was to scout ahead and see if the trail was passable. Kerry pushed the bike up this steep, rocky, narrow path that only a goat could like. Neither of us was pleased with this turn of events and it wasn't our best moment, but after about half a mile, we made it to the end and PAVEMENT. This would have been a great place for a picture, but we were both too aggravated to take any. This was some type 2 fun.
Back on a residential street, we rode for a short distance and came to the place where we knew the trail was unpaved for about a mile. There were gates across the access to the trail here. Kerry saw a sign for the Waterfront Trail pointing in the other direction. I didn't think that was the way we should go, but I've been right about directions once already on this trip and that's probably my limit. The route Kerry wanted was on the street, not a trail, which made it an excellent choice. We followed the Waterfront Trail sign and ended up on a four lane road which we knew took us where we needed to go. Traffic wasn't bad, so we stayed on it for a few miles. By the time we rejoined the trail, we had missed not only the long unpaved section, but also the two miles of steep hills I was dreading. That made me very happy.
Back on the trail, we rode through downtown Toronto. There were separate areas for pedestrians and cyclists, so it wasn't too bad. There were tons of traffic lights and it was slow going, but it gave us time to look around.
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Once we got west of downtown, cycling was better. The trail was straighter and easier to ride than it had been on the east side of the city. We started to get more on road sections through residential areas, which is pleasant riding.
In the town of Mississauga, we stopped at a bike shop and met Randy. Randy was interested in hearing all about our trip - and we're always interested in talking about it, so we had a good time. Before he left, he told us we should stop at a café in the next town, Oakville, owned by his friend John, who is a cyclist and triathlete and would love to hear our story.
Oakville has a very nice downtown street lined with upscale shops and restaurants. (The road into Oakville was lined with some very upscale homes, as well.) We easily located the Black Forest Pastry Shop. John wasn't there, but we met his wife, Marzena. She was very friendly and we enjoyed meeting her and her daughter, Hannah. She said she was sure her husband would love to go on a trip like ours someday. Like so many others, she said she didn't think she could do that much riding. I always tell those people it doesn't take so much strength as perseverance. It isn't really hard, it just takes a willingness to keep at it. And on the days you don't want to keep at it, it takes a partner who is cheerfully enthusiastic about every day.
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After Oakville, it was a short ride to our friends' home in Burlington. Dave and Sharon are our snowbird neighbors and card playing buddies in Florida. It is like a mini homecoming to be here with them. We're looking forward to a couple of days of fiercely competitive Euchre and Rummikub.
Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 4,811 miles (7,743 km)
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