Barrie and Algonquin Highlands – Day 2

David and Dayle are very skilled at getting a lot in a very small boat. The road from the dock is very hilly, with blind corners, and absolutely no shoulder. So when we ride here, we drive the bikes into Dorset to start.

It was only 5° and overcast, but dry, when we got up. We had a hearty oatmeal breakfast. Then we dressed warmly for riding. I haven’t dressed this warmly for months. I’ve been complaining about the heat all summer, but it was challenging to acclimatize to the sudden cold. I would much rather ride in these temperatures, though, than the hot humid days that we’ve been experiencing this summer.

We parked the car at Centennial Park in Dorset. There is a recreation centre right across the street which we were able to visit for the bathroom.

Here we are ready to ride.

This one lane bridge over a channel in Dorset has a traffic light to control the direction of movement.

It was a day of rolling hills. I think the climb out of Dorset to Highway 117 was the steepest climb of the day.

I stopped here for a picture of the red bike. While stopped  I swapped my gloves for fingerless ones, and removed the beanie hat I had under my helmet.

We had a small snack on the side of the road after about 75 minutes of riding. I also swapped my lightly insulated jacket for a thin windbreaker.

David planned today’s route. One option was a circumnavigation of the Lake of Bays, which would have been almost 80 kilometers. Alternatively, it could be an out and back to Baysville for 54 km. We chose Baysville.

Here we are arriving at Baysville. Just before turning off 117 David and I stopped to wait for Dayle, and saw this juvenile fox run by.

It was an awfully cold day to be jumping off the bridge into the water.

I thought this was a cute building. Most of the restaurants in Baysville were closed.

This mural was painted by Chantelle Poisson, a local artist.

We had lunch at Miss Nelle’s. We chatted for a while to a women outside the restaurant. She told us that her husband had been riding locally, and was struck by a driver who left the scene. Fortunately, a neighbour heard his phone ringing in the ditch, and found him. He was so severely injured that he was taken by air ambulance to hospital in Toronto. He spent months in hospital and more time in rehab. The driver was caught, and was impaired when she hit him.

We all had breakfast bagels. I thought they were quite good. My latte and chocolate chip cookie were average, at best. The premises were cute and matched my panniers.

This scene is across the road from the restaurant.

This was one of the many hills that we climbed today. But there was also a lot of descending, and the grades on most of the hills weren’t too bad.

We are almost back to the car. 

Last hill!

The bikes are loaded in the boat ready for transporting back to the cottage.

David and Dayle went swimming when we got back. The water is warmer than the air. The air temperature was only about 15° at best. I was concerned I would have difficulty warming up after a swim, so I changed out of my cycling clothes, and made myself a cup of tea, instead.

We had a relaxing evening. We will decide in the morning where to ride tomorrow.