Barrie and Algonquin Highlands – Day 3

The cottage was even colder this morning than yesterday, but the sun came out, and it looked like it would be a good day for riding. We couldn’t decide where to ride, and the connectivity at the cottage was quite poor this morning, so we got ready to go, loaded the bikes into the boat, transferred them to the van, and drove into Dorset. We decided to ride in the opposite direction to what we did yesterday, and ride to Dwight.

The hill out of Dorset in this direction wasn’t as steep as the one we did yesterday, but was much longer.

Even though we were all going to the same place at the same time, we ended up quite spread out. The ride today was only 18 km one way, but even hillier than yesterday‘s ride. I caught up to David when he stopped for a snack at about 12 km. We waited for Dayle to catch up to us and also have a snack.

Most of the ride was on Highway 35. In some places, there was a shoulder of about a meter, but in many places, the shoulder was nonexistent. However, most of the drivers were quite considerate in their passing distance. Even though the drivers weren’t aggressive, it was still a relief to turn off onto Dwight Beach Road.

The Group of Seven Outdoor Gallery is a year-round, free, public art exhibition, featuring 103 recreations of art masterpieces, by Canada’s Group of Seven artists and Tom Thomson. Two of the works are on the recreation centre in Dorset.

Dwight wasn’t very busy today, with lots of parking spots available right beside the beach. The beach was quite extensive with lovely white sand.

We availed ourselves of the public washrooms before deciding where to go for lunch. Fortunately, there was a map of local attractions, including restaurants.

We chose Erika’s. We had sandwiches and chocolate milk for lunch. They had a very nice covered area for eating outdoors.

The biggest hill of the day was almost back at Dorset. It became steeper about halfway up, and was about a kilometre long.

We passed the Dorset Scenic Lookout tower. We didn’t stop today, but we did visit it last August. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. There is a small admission fee listed at the link above, and a small gift and snack shop.

It’s difficult to get a photo of the tower because the trees are so close.

Above the tree-line the views are phenomenal. The observation deck is 142 metres above Lake of Bays.

The art piece Unfeasibly Large Binoculars at the base of the Dorset Scenic Lookout Tower was created by Don Pell. These binoculars pay homage to the amazing views from the park. Looking through each barrel of the binoculars reveals silhouetted scenery.

This chart shows the average date of peak fall colors. The Dorset Scenic Lookout Tower website has a tower camera. If one wanted to visit the tower during peak colours one could keep an eye on the camera.

Here we are done riding, still smiling. In 37 km we had 411 m of climbing. That’s double what we would typically climb riding around in Brampton for that distance.

We were invited to the neighbours for 5 PM for drinks and snacks. We arrived back at the cottage just after four. David and Dayle went in for a swim, but I went straight into a warm shower. We had a lovely visit with the neighbours. They had a beautiful cottage which was warmed by a fire. David expressed surprise because Algonquin Highlands has a total fire ban in effect right now. However, the neighbours remarked that it didn’t apply to fires for heating indoors. As I write this blog, I looked it up and they are correct. A total fire ban means all outdoor burning, including cooking fires, bonfires, and fireworks, is prohibited.

When we return to the cottage, David decided to start a fire in the enclosed wood stove and it warmed everything up very quickly. We had dinner and an early bedtime. We are all quite tired.

There’s an enormous amount of rain predicted overnight and all day tomorrow. We decided to leave the bikes in the car tonight, rather than having to transport and load them in the rain. Tomorrow we will be meeting David’s sister, Martha, and her husband in Orillia for her birthday lunch. After lunch, David and Dayle will drop me at a friend’s house in Barrie, where I will stay for the night. Weather permitting. I plan to ride home on Friday.