#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 6 – Ingersoll to Cambridge- Part 2

If you read my blog post the evening of September 28, then you know that I fell off my bike and didn’t feel like writing about the whole day.  I also didn’t have access to my photos since my camera broke in the fall. I am now home, have had three rest days and retrieved the pictures using a card reader.

I finally seem to be getting into the rhythm of travelling by bike the last couple days.  The packing and getting on the road is easier.  I was taking the first shift driving this morning so I took a picture of the group ready to go and we all set off.

I met the group at Norma’s Coffee in Norfolk, where we had a break, and then I started to ride and David drove the van.

Norfolk is a very small town, but they have taken some effort to make the town inviting to cyclists and to encourage local shopping.

The riding was lovely.  We finally had a tailwind.  It was sunny and cool, but not cold. The roads had good surfaces.  There was little traffic and the vehicles we encountered gave us a wide berth.

We encountered a closed bridge but were able to follow a detour and arrived at the TH&B (Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway) Rail Trail, which is also part of the Trans Canada Trail. Later in the day Dayle saw a TH&B locomotive.

This trail was, without a doubt, the best piece of infrastructure on the entire trip.  It had large maps under cover at each cross road, way-finding signs with distances, informational signs about local history, flora and fauna. It was paved and where cracks had developed in the pavement, they had been repaired with tar, just like roads are repaired when they develop cracks.  The only thing I can think of that would improve it would be if they provided winter maintenance – they were signs indicating that they do not.

As we neared Brantford, we came to incredibly detailed trail closure sign, with maps and instructions, indicating alternative routes while a bridge was being constructed. The information included distance, infrastructure type and motor vehicle speed where roads were included.

The trail ran 15km into Brantford where we took a desire line shortcut to McDonald’s and Tim’s for lunch.  That is where Rani fell.

After lunch we were on the Oak Hill Trail (until the Grand River) and then the S.C. Johnson Trail, once we crossed the Grand River on a very impressive bridge. The Grand is very wide at this point.

These trails were primarily crushed stone.  The S.C. Johnson Trail had asphalt on hills. In the next picture you can see David approaching the asphalt/gravel border where I fell.

And here is a crop of a picture I took just before I fell. I circled the gravel that caused the problem; the arrow shows where I landed.  It seems I landed on my left elbow, hip and left. I discovered last night that my hip and thigh are bruised.  My right leg is also bruised – I think the bike landed on it.  My left shoulder was jarred when my elbow hit the ground, but it is all relatively minor.  I think I am lucky the force was spread out over my body and that my head didn’t hit since I already had a concussion this year.

Of course, I had to have a picture taken for the blog before I got up. You can see evidence of the camera damage in the picture – the lens wouldn’t fully open (the black triangles) and by the time we got to Paris, would not open at all.

Dayle offered to come get me in the car, but I was able to cycle the remaining 10km to Paris, although at a somewhat more sedate pace.

Once in Paris we treated ourselves to coffee and sweets. I also treated myself Voltarin gel (thanks Dayle) for the inflammation and pain, and I took Tylenol and Ibuprofin. Then I drove half of the remaining 15km and parked to ensure everyone was alright to continue – they were – so I drove the rest of the way to the hotel in Cambridge. The rest of the group said the trail between Paris and south Cambridge was nice, but gravel, and that it was very confusing getting through Cambridge.

Once I arrived at the hotel I had a long hot bath and felt less stiff afterwards.

The hotel was the Sunbridge in Cambridge.  It was a massive square.  Our rooms were at the back.  I thought it would take me forever to wheel my bike around with my duffle bag on the seat.  Wayne and Nelson were smarter.  They rode their bikes.  The manager was less impressed than I was, though.

We went out for AYCE (all-you-can-eat) sushi. That’s because the sushi dinner people lost to the Thai dinner people on a coin toss for dinner the previous day.  I don’t think they made any money on six hungry cyclists. I went to bed feeling not too bad, given I have been riding all week and fell on today’s ride.