Lisa Stokes

#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.

• Moving Time – 3:4:39

• Elapsed Time – 4:37:51

• Distance – 54.22km

• Elevation Gain – 229m

• Average Speed – 16.7 kmh

• Maximum Speed – 39.2 kph

• Calories Burned – 1705

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 6 – Ingersoll to Cambridge- Part 1

We had an amazing ride this morning with tailwinds on very lightly traveled, smooth roads, and then onto a rail trail, that was like a cycle super highway – paved and signed and surrounded by trees. It was wonderful.

After lunch in Brantford the rail trail deteriorated, with gravel on most sections, and asphalt on grades. I think the morning had given me a false sense of security and I continued occasionally taking pictures with my point-and-shoot camera while continuing to ride, as I have done for the whole trip.

On one of the downhill grades, it switched from asphalt to stones, even though the descent wasn’t finished. I hit a depression where water had eroded the gravel right where the asphalt and the gravel met and it spun my front wheel 360°, launched my back wheel into the air and threw me off the bike. I landed on my left side. The bike landed on my right leg. It was very jolting, but I didn’t hit my head and I think I’m going to be okay, but I am stiff and bruised and my right knee is starting to feel strained as I write this. I decided to drive for the rest of the day, once we got to our next meeting point with the van in Paris.

It’s hard to see it in this picture, but I was coming off the asphalt, on the right side of the trail (left in the picture) where the slight drop and loose, large gravel is. My bike has 2-inch, well treaded, mountain bike tires, not road bike tires. I have to take some responsibility for losing control, as I did have the camera in my hand. Perhaps, had both hands been firmly on the handlebars I would’ve been able to recover when the rut grabbed my front tire, however it’s possible I still would have crashed.

It makes me so angry that cycling infrastructure just gets crumbs of transportation money that has to be begged for from various levels of government and private donations, so that we get compromised infrastructure because there isn’t enough funds to do better. There’s no way that any municipality would risk the liability of building a road for motor vehicles in such a manner.

There is more bad news.

Because I was holding the camera when I went over, grit from the trail got in between the rings of the lens and the lens won’t go in and out any more. It keeps telling me to power off and I am unable to wirelessly transfer the images to my iPad. So the rest of my post for today will have to wait until I get home to a card reader and computer.

Here’s the funny/not really funny thing about this trip. It has been very accident prone. My crash today numbers only one out of five crashes that members of our group have sustained.

Rani fell twice. Once taking a curb ramp at a too shallow angle in the rain on Day 3. Then again today taking a sharp dirt dip on a desire line from the rail trail to our lunch spot. She is a bruised, but otherwise alright.

Nelson got caught on a fence on a very rough trail just before ending our ride on Day 2 and has a very bruised and cut upper right arm.

And tonight, about 10 metres from our hotel David fell and cut his hands and banged his ribs and wrist. The group accidentally went past The Sunbridge, where we are staying, to the Comfort Inn. Instead of riding back out to the road, they decided to cut across a very narrow strip of grass between the two properties. David hit a bump in the grass and fell.

Tomorrow is our final day and despite our falls, and the rain, and the headwinds, we have all had a wonderful time and feel the trip is ending too soon.

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 5 – Port Stanley to Ingersoll

What a perfect day. It started cool, crisp, dry and sunny at the beach in Port Stanley. Breakfast was included with our rooms, and was as good as the dinner that we had last night. It did take a while to arrive, which caused us to leave later than we had planned, but with satisfied stomachs which is important when you’re cycling all day. There were crazy number of seagulls on the beach this morning with turkey vultures overlooking them from the lifeguard stand.

I had so much energy that I cycled for a couple kilometres, while the others finished packing, knowing that I was taking the first shift driving. Here is the gang ready to ride. We turned north from Lake Erie today so we had a day of climbing, the worst of which was at the beginning getting out of Port Stanley, so I decided to take the first shift in the car for not only that reason, but also to visit friends in St. Thomas and check out the new Whistlestop Trail.

The Whistlestop Trail runs from Port Stanley to downtown St. Thomas. From Port Stanley to the south end of the St. Thomas, the trail varies between a raised multi use path beside the road and a painted buffered cycling lane with signs warning drivers at all cross streets.

Once in St. Thomas it turns into a multi use path adjacent to the train tracks through a parklike setting with excellent street crossing signage and wayfaring signage.

I drove straight to my friends’ house and caught them for a super quick visit as they were heading out to an appointment. I was also able to use the facilities. Then I cycled the urban sections of the Whistlestop Trail, around the beautiful Courthouse District, Talbot Street, the armoury, the old railway station which has been beautifully restored, but is still largely unoccupied, and the many murals off Talbot Street.

Then, seeing on Google maps that Rani was getting close to our arranged meeting spot, I headed that way. However, a few hundred metres from the spot I came to a very steep hill which I decided not to ride down, just to ride up it again. I messaged that they should come to the top. Rani and Nelson were ahead of the others and said they would wait, but after a while, decided to come up. I messaged David to say I would give Rani and Nelson a tour and then meet them at the elevated park.

On the way to the bridge we visited Jumbo, a famous circus elephant hit and mortally wounded by a freight train in St. Thomas.

A local non-profit has begun rehabilitating the Michigan Central Railway bridge to create Canada’s first elevated park. The first section opened this spring. It is worth a visit. The views are wonderful and will be even better in a few weeks with the fall colours.

Then it was lunch time. Rani and Nelson hit Tim Hortons and the rest of us had a tailgate lunch in the Jumbo parking lot. I then cycled to Tim’s for coffee and a cookie. They appeared to be out of cookies, but on closer inspective there were two broken ones that had fallen off the tray to the bottom front of the glass case. I asked if the server could reach them and she could so I bought one. She ended up giving me both and they were delicious. I referred to them as my “floor cookies” – not quite, but close. I always have believed in the 5 second rule.

We then carried on with Wayne taking his first turn driving and the rest of us cycling. We agreed to meet in Belmont for another driver switch. The roads were lightly travelled and the winds diminished from yesterday, but unfortunately the western winds we suffered circled around to the southeast and we had headwind when going east, but tailwinds going north, so it was still a dramatic improvement.

I drove the next section meeting at Lake Whittaker Conservation Area, then Dayle took over. We are getting good at these meet ups and switching over. The gang getting ready to go. Unfortunately, Dayle forgot to start her Strava.

I decided while riding the second last leg that I could finish since the last leg was only 6km.

However, when we caught up to Dayle and the car, she was all ready to go and the road had been dug up. I was happy to change my mind and drive the last leg.

I got to the hotel and unloaded my things. I discovered laundry drying . Isn’t this clever?

Rani and Nelson had arrived and gotten our rooms, but then we got a message from Dayle – second flat in two days. They tried to fix it, but it wouldn’t hold, so I went to pick her up.

The hotel had a pool so David, Dayle and I spent a wonderful half hour going from pool to hot tub and back again. So relaxing. There was an amazing sunset when we went out for dinner.

Dinner was Thai in Ingersoll at Mango Salad. It was very good

I’ve had an amazing Day 4 and 5, which more than made up for my disappointing Day 3. I’ve had so much energy and been on a natural high since yesterday morning.

As I write the blog I am hearing constant traffic noise. We are close to the 401, Tim’s and a gas station. I’m glad I brought ear plugs.

Tomorrow we have 115km to go, but 60 of it on a rail trail. I am content and excited, but sorry that we are down to our last two days.

• Moving Time – 3:(8:32

• Elapsed Time – 6:24:46

• Distance – 59km (Plus 2.1 in Port Stanley for 61.1 total)

• Elevation Gain – 320m

• Average Speed – 16.2kmh

• Maximum Speed – 65.2kph (wow, surprising on my upright bike)

• Calories Burned – 1993

Cookies eaten – 3 (One more at the hotel, last one in the lobby jar)

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 4 – Turkey Point to Port Stanley

I had a much better day today and I think the others did, too. The headwinds continue to be strong and persistent but we waited until 9:30 AM to begin as that was when the rain ended and we didn’t have any rain the rest of the day. Just as we were about to start out David realized that he had a flat tire so that delayed our departure a little more.

I decided to do the first driving shift because the hilly terrain for the first 10 kilometres was challenging. And the first hill, within a few hundred metres of our accommodation was, according to Rani, the hardest of the trip so far. For Dayle, making to the top of Old Hill Road was the highlight of the trip as it was the hardest hill she has ever climbed. Here is the grade profile for that section of road according to MapMyRide. I’m glad I was driving. I doubt I could have cycled up it on my heavy upright bike.

The first stop was Port Rowan – a cute little town close to Long Point Provincial Park.

I parked at Uncle’s Country Coffee, our morning snack spot, and arranged to leave the car there, unloaded my bike and cycled back towards the group. I was feeling much more energetic today and had no sign of a headache. I only got a couple kilometres before meeting them. We cycled back to the restaurant to use the bathroom and then cycled 7.5km down Long Point. That was only a small part of the total distance, but gave us a taste for it. I enjoy busy holiday spots out of season.

We had a tailwind on the way out and fierce headwind on the way back. Being a photographer, I don’t often get in the picture, but Dayle was kind enough to share her pictures with me. She also uses a point and shoot while cycling (you can see mine dangling from my wrist in this picture) and is accomplished at taking photos while cycling.

We snacked/lunched at Uncle’s and then carried on. Dayle took a shift driving and I asked her to stop and wait 20km later in case I needed a break.

We didn’t see Dayle pass us and arrived at the pre-arranged spot to find she wasn’t there. David is tracking her with google and checked to find that she was 20km away! We told her we would keep riding, but to find us as soon as possible. It turned out she had a strong feeling she had left something behind in the morning so she went back. She didn’t find anything. But that allowed me to meet Billy Gunn and Matthew Cohn.

The headwinds were still strong, but we cycled in a line and it wasn’t raining. In fact the sun came out. We were rarely out of sight of a wind turbine today.

Dayle caught up to us and as she was getting ready to ride and I was stretching, a local resident, Billy Gunn, came over to chat. He offered us fresh pears and after the group left I locked the car and went over to get the pears. David, Dayle and Rani cycled off. Wayne and Nelson were a bit concerned and stopped about 500 metres down the road to ensure all was well. I didn’t feel uncomfortable and Billy was quite the character reminding me of the way Denny Crane from Boston Legal used to exclaim his name. Billy introduced me to his kitten Bull and gave me a large basket of pears.

As he walked me back to the van, a fully laden cyclist approached from the opposite direction to which we were travelling. He stopped and we chatted for quite a while. At that point I think Wayne and Nelson decided I was safe and carried on.

The cyclist is Matthew Cohn. He is from Montana and is travelling to New Jersey for his 50th high school reunion. He expects it to take about 70 days. I asked him if he blogs and he does. Crazy Guy on a Bike hosts thousands of blogs from people doing cycle tourism. It’s an amazing resource and I have followed people there in the past. That is where Matthew’s blog is and I’m going to check it out.

I said goodbye and got on the road. We agreed I would drive 20km to get past a couple steep climbs and then stop and we would switch over again. When I got to Port Bruce there was a sign saying the bridge was closed. I got to the bridge and not only was it closed, it was gone.

The bridge collapsed back in March with a truck on it. I spent a few minutes looking for an alternative route (it was quite out of the way, especially on bikes) and messaged the group to wait at Copenhagen until I came back to meet them. On my way back, almost immediately I realized I had missed a detour sign. So I went that way and found a Bailey bridge that has been placed temporarily until the damaged bridge is replaced. I stopped the car to text the group and received a text at the same time from David saying Wayne thought there was a Bailey Bridge. He was correct.

Once over the bridge I carried on the the meeting stop at Dexter Line and Old Dexter Line. Once I got there I unloaded my bike and got everything ready for a quick turnover. Then I waited. I was able to track Rani and see the groups’ progress. I waited and waited. I think I napped. I snacked. Eventually they showed up. Dayle had had a flat tire. David and Dayle got in the car. Wayne was tired, but determined to continue, so off the four of us went.

We had an uneventful, but still windy ride into Port Stanley arriving just after 6. It was a long day, but much better than yesterday. I had an adrenaline high going all day.

Nelson and I cycled out onto the pier and Port Stanley. It was lovely, but turns out to have been a strategic mistake. Rani claimed the bed and I got a pull out. I told her I might crawl in with her in the night if the pullout is too uncomfortable.

Rani and Nelson did laundry and got shawarma for dinner. The rest of us had perch and pickerel at the Buccaneer restaurant attached to the Port Stanley Beach hotel. It was delicious. I got a sunset picture before before dinner.

• Moving Time – 3:40:18

• Elapsed Time – 8:03:18

• Distance – 65.6km

• Elevation Gain – 134m

• Average Speed – 17.9kmh

• Maximum Speed – 48.6kph

• Calories Burned – 1956

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 3 – Welland to Turkey Point

It was a tough day today. We thought it would be the rain that was the problem, but it was the winds that were crazy. Constant strong headwinds the whole way, especially once we started following the shore of Lake Erie.

Rani and Nelson headed out by 7:15. It took them a while to work out that it was my lock on Rani’s bike. She had to wake me to get the key. The rest of us left just at 915.

I was able to ride along the canal this morning, for about 15km, to Port Colborne. We passed some interesting sights and it was enjoyable being on the trail. This is a working flour mill despite appearances.

We saw a ship themed skateboard park in Port Colborne.

And the old Captain John’s restaurant abandoned in the harbour.

Unfortunately, I started getting a migraine in Port Colborne. Both Dayle and I decided to take a break at 21k. David started riding and Wayne continued on with him.

Lots of windmills in this area.

We stopped at 45km. It was supposed to be our coffee break but it was after noon so we decided to have lunch. Dayle wanted to ride again, someone needed to drive and my head still hadn’t cleared so I continued in the car.

Just before Nanticoke I came upon Rani and Nelson. They were tired from battling headwinds and gusty side winds, but they didn’t need anything and I continued on. As we talked it started to rain. It was off and on all day.

I love the lines of hydro towers marching toward the generating station.

Solar and wind side by side near Port Dover.

Just as I arrived in Port Dover, expecting to have a coffee and write my blog, I got a text from David saying Dayle was struggling, so I had to turn around and drive back half the way I had just come. Then back to Port Dover to wait for David and Wayne. Rani and Nelson got ahead while I headed back to get Dayle. The accommodation was more modest tonight, about 18km past Port Dover at Turkey Point.

Dinner was amazing at the Sandbox on the Beach. I would highly recommend the Perch dinner and Calamari. They even welcome cyclists.

Tomorrow the weather is looking much the same as are the next few days. At least once we get to Ingersoll it will be a tailwind.

• Moving Time – 1:30:35

• Elapsed Time – 2:06:02

• Distance – 20.93km

• Elevation Gain – 40m

• Average Speed – 13.9 kmh

• Maximum Speed – 40.3 kph

• Calories Burned – 612

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 2 – Hamilton to Welland – Part 2

After seeing off the rest of the group, I had a great latte and chocolate chip cookie at Balzac’s.

Then I found my way to the canal road and made frequent stops to photograph the sights.

I pulled over in a hurry when I saw the lift bridge closing. It was incredible to see the size of the Algoma Sault up close.

Just before it went into the lock, this one came out.

Look at it in the lock!

The group were just leaving Lock 3 as I arrived.

I had a little time in Welland before heading to our accommodation for night. It is a pleasant little town.

The B&B we stayed in was lovely.

We cleaned up and drove into Welland for dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant, CC’s Dugout. Then we had lots of options for relaxing in the living room and on the porch until bedtime.

• Moving Time – 3:05:24

• Elapsed Time – 3:34:06

• Distance – 51.51km

• Elevation Gain – 103m

• Average Speed – 16.7 kmh

• Maximum Speed – 38.5 kph

• Calories Burned – 1361

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 2 – Hamilton to Welland – Part 1

We started with breakfast at Denny’s, then got on the road just after 9. It was supposed to be 9, but as we were loading the van I couldn’t find my camera. I searched my duffle bag, and the bags on my bike – no luck. I went back up to the room – no luck. As I came back outside I realized I hadn’t searched my backpack and there it was. Phew. We took a picture and set off. David took the first trip shift driving.

We headed back west with a great tailwind a cycling and pedestrian bridge over the QEW, which took us to the Waterfront Trail. The bridge is “Fireweed Red” – the same colour as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Wayne told us.

Unfortunately, we then turned east into a stiff headwind which never let up. For the first part of our ride on the Waterfront Trail we were on a lovely wide path with occasional shelter from the wind by trees.

Mostly we were on the North Service Road listening to the constant noise of QEW traffic on one side with housing, businesses or farms in the other. At least there want a lot of traffic, but I found it a tough slog on my upright bike and was grateful to draft behind the others, but especially Nelson with his wide panniers.

We met David at about 25km into the day and he and Dayle switched off driving.

We carried on into the wind.

We had a lovely break in Grimsby Beach touring the painted houses. A couple collecting their mail came out to tell us about the area and invited us in to chat, but with the wind it was taking us longer than planned so we reluctantly declined.

We passed the ship at Jordan Harbour.

I was so happy to pull into Port Dalhousie for a picnic lunch in a pavilion by the lake. Rani and Nelson found a Tim’s.

Dayle had lunch set up for us.

After lunch I changed out of my cycling clothes and took my turn driving. The rest turned south to cycle along the Welland Canal.

I will continue the post tomorrow to describe my afternoon. Now it’s time for bed. I apologize in advance for any mistakes. I’m too tired to proofread.

• Moving Time – 3:05:24

• Elapsed Time – 3:34:06

• Distance – 51.5km

• Elevation Gain – 102m

• Average Speed – 16.7kmh

• Maximum Speed – 38.5kph

• Calories Burned – 1518

#2018ErieOdyssey – Day 1 – Greg’s Ride

I awoke feeling the worst of my cold is behind me, packed my last few things and my husband drove me to David and Dayle’s house. Wayne was already there. We loaded the last few things, took a picture and headed out. The morning was bright, clear and cool. A perfect day to ride.

It didn’t take long to get to Dundas for the start of the ride. There was no traffic. Once we got there we unpacked all of the things from around David and Dayle’s bikes so that we could get them out and they could remount the front wheels. Wayne’s and mine were on the rack.

It took less than a minute to get to Shawn and Ed’s Brewing Company which was hosting the ride. We had lots of time to register, pin on our numbers, and visit friends, old and new. I met Tom Flood and his young son who were riding the 8km route. Tom and I follow each other on Twitter so it was great to meet in person.

We were asked to write our emergency contact name and number in the back of our number tags before pinning them to out shirts. A bit morbid, but useful in an emergency.

Rani, Peter and Tracy soon arrived and we grabbed a group shot.

Shortly thereafter Nelson arrived having already cycled 20km or so from where he was staying. He left his heavy panniers behind for the day.

We had a few speeches from Mike Schreiner (Green Party Leader and Guelph MPP), Eleanor McMahon (started Share the Road and Greg’s Ride to protect cyclists – her husband Greg was killed on a training ride), Kerry Schmidt (OPP spokesman) and Fred Eisenberger (mayor of Hamilton) and then we were off promptly at 10.

The route was up out of Dundas, past McMaster and onto the mountain through Ancaster. I wasn’t sure how I would fare as it’s the most climbing I have done by a significant amount since my crash, and I was on my upright bike, but I was able to make it to the top with few people passing me.

As David, Dayle, Wayne and I pulled into the rest stop, Rani, Nelson, Tracy and Peter were leaving. They did 77km to our 37km.

The middle part of the ride was lovely, quiet country roads with some rolling hills.

We passed rail trail entrances quite a few times. I’m not sure whether the road was winding, or whether the rail trails were winding, or whether there was more than one rail trail, or a bit of each of the preceding. I’ll have to study the map later and go back another day to explore some of the rail trails.

At the second rest stop we had a great visit with Eleanor.

The final part of the ride down Valley Road on fresh new tarmac was exhilarating. Upon our return to the brewery, after checking in (again, well organized) we were given a beer ticket and directed to a buffet of thin crust pizzas and salads. Delicious.

Everyone felt fresh enough to ride the 20km to the hotel so we picked a number and Dayle lost, so got to drive the van. I must admit that halfway through the ride to the hotel I was beginning to think I should have both volunteered to drive the van back. We passed Hamilton’s new pride crosswalk up McMaster and used the Cannon bidirectional cycle track.

I was quite happy to see the hotel for an hour later.

The hotel was very busy and it took a while to check in and for the rooms to be ready. We cleaned up and then went to the Pita House, as recommended by someone Wayne knows, for dinner. Good food, large portions.

Rani and Wayne then decided they hadn’t had enough cycling and headed to the Lake and back for another 14km during which time I wrote this blog.

It was a great route today taking in lots of places I hadn’t seen before. A good start to the week.

Greg’s Ride:• Moving Time – 2:14:57

• Elapsed Time – 4:02:20

• Distance – 38.3km

• Elevation Gain – 393m

• Average Speed – 17kmh

• Maximum Speed – 45.4kph

• Calories Burned – 1245

Ride to Hotel: • Moving Time – 1:16:27

• Elapsed Time – 1:29:34

• Distance – 20.3

• Elevation Gain – 44m

• Average Speed – 16kph

• Maximum Speed – 40.7

• Calories Burned – 590

#2018ErieOdyssey – More Prep

#2018ErieOdyssey – Prep (in case you missed it)

As I started pulling things together last night (Friday), I realized I was missing a couple things. I have so many things that need charging with micro USB cables – phone, camera, front and rear bike lights and two portable batteries – and I could only find one working cable. It was 10pm – what to do? I didn’t want to spend time driving to a store today so I checked Amazon. I have Amazon Prime – and found three cables for $10 – eligible for one day shipping that would arrive by 9pm Saturday. I need to be at Dayle’s by 8am Sunday. There was only one hitch – I needed an order of $25 to qualify. Dayle had recommended taking a micro fibre tired towel for drying hand washed clothing, so I decided to order one of those, and my son needs a tally counter for a game he’s creating for his Hospitality class at school, which was an add on item (inexpensive items that can only be shipped as part of a larger order), so I threw that in as well to meet the minimum. The only concern – would it actually arrive by 9pm Saturday, the suggested delivery time? The guarantee was for Sunday, which would be too late.

Well, I needn’t have worried. Almost exactly 12 hours later the doorbell rang and my package arrived just after 10am. It’s great living so close to an Amazon distribution centre with deliveries by Amazon, not Canada Post.

Next I headed outside to clean my bike and chain. Dayle commented that it got her hands dirty when she was lifting it onto the bike rack on her van, when she took me to Tour de Mississauga last week, and she was right. I had been out in the rain a couple times and it did need cleaning. It also reminded me to bring chain oil and a cloth in case we do get the forecasted rain on Monday and Tuesday.

I spent the afternoon packing and doing laundry for myself and those I am leaving behind. I drove my bike and bags over to David and Dayle’s for 5pm. Wayne also arrived to drop of his things and give us a lesson in using the bike rack he recommended that David and Dayle buy. In addition to the two bags below, I have a canvas shopping bag with my helmet and a small fan for drying hand washed clothes. I always travel with my pillow, but managed to roll it up and compress it enough to get in the duffel bag. I also asked Dayle to put a couple cold compresses and a bottle of Bailey’s in the cooler. While I am doing better than last year, when I took a giant pink wheeled suitcase, I still need some lessons from Rani on how to pack light. David has promised to help carry my bag since it does strain my not-yet-fully-healed neck.

Rani will carpool with our friends Peter and Tracy, who are going to Greg’s Ride for the day. She had challenged herself to take only what she can carry on her bike and I am truly impressed. She has promised to let me take a picture tomorrow night of what is in the bag pictured below.

Nelson arrived safely in Hamilton by bike. He is staying with family tonight. He shared pictures on Instagram as he proceeded and is letting me share them here.

He is also carrying everything he needs on his bike, but it looks like he is taking more than Rani.

Nelson ended the day quite tired, being unused to carrying so much weight on his bike. Also, one of the trails he tried – LaFarge – “started great, but turned impossible”. And, then he had to push his bike up this bike trough. I wrote a blog post about bike troughs a couple weeks ago.

Finally, I have a head cold. My first in about three years. It’s been bad for three days. I’m hoping to wake up tomorrow feeling improved. Right now I’m off for a steamy, Epson salts bath, then bed, and dreams of adventures soon to come.

#2018ErieOdyssey – Prepation

Last year I cycled home from Ottawa with a group of six others. It was an amazing trip. If you wish, you can read a summary I wrote for the Ontario Traffic Council’s quarterly magazine, or you can read the daily posts starting here. You can navigate through the posts from oldest to newest by using the arrows near the bottom of the post. I will be doing daily blogs again on our trip this year.

Five of us from the original group are cycling to Lake Erie starting Sunday. David and Dayle, from BikeBrampton, Nelson, Brampton’s Manager of Active Transportation, Rani, a local cycling enthusiast and myself. We invited another friend to come along – Wayne, a cycling advocate from Caledon.

Our approach is somewhat different this year. Last year Jim provided us with amazing support. He drove his van pulling a rental trailer full of our bikes and luggage to Ottawa and supported us as we cycled back to Brampton.

This year we decided to do a circuit, starting and finishing on our bikes. However, some of us are able to ride further than others. Nelson and Rani want to ride the full route every day and carry all their belongings on their bikes. David and Dayle, found the distances we cycled last year left them with cyclist’s palsy and wish to avoid a repeat of that. I crashed my bikes in March. I had some fairly serious injuries including a broken C4 transverse process and concussion. I am still recovering from that and need to ride my upright bike and limit my distance. Wayne is capable of riding the full route every day, but is happy to have support for carrying his belongings or for days with miserable weather. So we decided to take David and Dayle’s van. We will take turns driving a section each day. On Sunday we will attend Greg’s Ride, a fundraiser for Share the Road.

The original plan was that we would leave Brampton on Saturday and ride our bikes to Hamilton. However, a couple days ago, we were informed that the AirBnB that we were to stay in in Hamilton has been closed because bedbugs were discovered. We were unable to find anywhere to stay on Saturday night, so we will be driving to Hamilton on Sunday morning and then will continue on our ride as planned on Monday morning.

I think Nelson will still ride to Hamilton. He has family there. Rani will carpool with someone going to Greg’s ride for the day. The rest of us will cram into the van. We will pack it Saturday night to make sure we can. Two bikes will go on the bike rack. The other two bikes, luggage, cooler, etc and four people will hopefully fit in the van.

This is our route for the five of us from Brampton/Caledon. Nelson will be starting and finishing in Guelph.

The temperatures look great for cycling. Monday and Tuesday might be quite wet with a little rain on a couple other days.

So I bought some new wet weather gear yesterday.

I should stop procrastinating on my packing by writing this.

Hope you enjoy following along.