Day 7: Chatham- Kent to Sarnia. Trip total: 854km

I made my first reasonable decision of the trip today. Knowing it was going to be a scorcher, I decided to get on the road a little earlier than usual,  and (this one hurt) I decided to cut my ride down to 87km from 142km.

Up to this point, I've been leaving between 630-7am, but today I left before 6am to take advantage of the slightly lower temperature.

Even at 6:30am, the sun was bearing down

Yesterday I decided to turn today's 142km ride,  and tomorrow's 142km ride into 3 days instead of 2. Sarnia seemed like a logical destination for today, leaving me with an average of 100km to cover on each of the next two days. I can manage that,  even in this heat.

Leaving early was key today.  I arrived in Sarnia before 10am, and although it was hot during the ride (mid to high 20s), by noon it was 35 degrees and extremely humid,  so I definitely dodged a bullet.

The first 40km was along highway 40 in open farmland,  leaving me completely exposed the rising morning sun - which fortunately was a few hours away from full magnitude.

The last 40km along the St. Clair River offered many of opportunities for shade, and pleasant riding trails and parks all along the shoreline.

Breakfast at Brander Park

Getting into Sarnia before 10am made me feel like I had a day off,  which I plan to spend planted in front of air conditioning with some cold beer watching the Jays game.

St. Clair River

Day 6: Kingsville to Chatham-Kent. Trip total: 767km

I was so preoccupied about whether my repaired chain ring would hold up,  and whether my body had adequately recovered,  that it didn't occur to me the heat might be too dangerous for riding.

Wildlife pics along highway 3 before the heat really kicked in

I knew it was going to be hot so I had plenty of fluids and replenished my water bottles at every opportunity.  I gave myself plenty of time to get to my destination so I'd be able to stop often to cool down.  In spite of this,  I overlooked the obvious problem that I was trying to cover 160km on the hottest day of the year.

Detroit River

Ambassador Bridge

The first 80km went great.  Riding along the Detroit River and through Amherstburg was beautiful and provided lots of opportunities for shade, however, once I left Windsor and hit the south shore of Lake St. Clair there were no opportunities for shade or rest for dozens of km during the hottest part of the day. 

By the time I reached my stop in Chatham-Kent, I covered 160km, went through 8 litres of water, 2 litres of sport drinks,  and was still dehydrated.

I actually felt pretty good today,  but this heat wave is supposed to continue so I'm going to add some extra days and cover shorter distances for the next little while, just to be safe.

Day 5 1/2: Day Off

Today's painting from the shore of Lakeview Park,  Kingsville

I took today off riding but figured an update was in order given how yesterday ended.

Most important - I feel fine.  If it's possible,  getting thrown off my bike might have actually knocked things into alignment because my knee and back feel better than before.

As for Dolores, I hammered the large chain ring flat(ish). I still see a bit of a wobble, but I'm afraid to overwork it,  and the chain seems to be running smoothly so I'm going to leave it alone for now and reassess after I'm back on a long ride.

When all else fails,  bring out the hammer!

An industrious spider whipped up a home on Dolores overnight

Today I took things easy.  Kingsville is pleasantly quiet without much going on.  There's currently an infestation of fishflies that borders on biblical. The locals don't seem phased by it,  but it's a little freaky seeing them plastered over every window in town.

I didn't realize how hot I'd been running the past few days,  so today's break really hit the spot. Now that I'm fully refreshed,  I'm really looking forward ro tomorrow's ride.

Lakeview Park

Day 5: Dutton to Kingsville. Trip total: 607km

Today definitely had its highs and lows.
The storm I was expecting did come,  starting at midnight and continuing through to about 3am. All was quiet at 5:30am so I decided to take a gamble and make a run for it. I packed up my gear in record time and was on the road before 6am. Unlike the Satan fowl that greeted me at the start of yesterday's ride,  today I had a lone deer send me off.  It felt like it was going to be a good day.

The weather was cool and overcast,  which suited me just fine.  Even the sporadic showers were a welcome change from yesterday's heat.  My legs were tired, but no lingering aches from yesterday.

I spent the entire day on the Talbot Trail, which was just a straight up highway ride and that suited me just fine.  I had a nuisance headwind for most of the day,  but otherwise it was shaping up to be a very manageable 133km ride.

With little more than 4km left to the motel,  google decided to take me off the highway and put me onto a quaint little nature path. I should have known better,  but I only had a few km left to go.  

Then the sky opened up and let loose a torrential downpour that flooded the trail in a matter of seconds.  All I could see in front of me was water,  no ground.  I should have pulled over and waited it out,  but I had less than 3km to go,  so I pressed on.  Bad move.

Beneath the uniform glassy surface of the flooded trail was a pothole that Dolores managed to find,  throwing me over her handlebars in the process.  

Dolores hit the ground hard as well.  Surprisingly,  the flimsy side view mirror,  gps, gopro and phone all survived unscathed.  The only casualty was my large chain ring.  My brand new large chain ring.  My large chain ring that I spend 99.9% of my ride time using.  That large chain ring. 

The are no bike shops in Kingsville, and it doesn't look like I'll find one until Windsor. Even then,  there's no guarantee they'll have one in stock.  

Today I really need a drink.

Day 4: Port Ryerse to Dutton. Trip Total: 474km

Toronto, you could learn something from Port Stanley

My day didn't exactly start off on the right foot.

Leaving Port Reyes I passed by what appeared to be an innocuous fence post until the spawn of Satan ruffled its wings. I'd never seen  a Turkey Vulture up close before and it scared the crap out of me. It looked like something straight out of the Dark Crystal.  I took this as a bad omen.

2.5km into my ride I get a call from my generous hostess from the night before saying I left my water bottles and travel journal at their place. They offered to drive them out to wherever I was, but it was only 2.5km so I insisted on riding back to pick them up. Add 5 unnecessary km to my day right away.

Leaving Port Ryerse

There's a direct route to Dutton, and a very indirect route,  I chose the latter. I wasn't in a rush,  and I figured the route off of the highway would offer some nice scenery. While riding along the coastline in Turkey Point,  I found myself at a dead end.  I had to retrace my route another 2.5km to get to a road that led out of there,  so again, another 5 unnecessary km.

Turkey Point

By 11am the sun was becoming an issue.  I was riding through farm country, so there was almost never any shade. At lunch I reassessed my route and found that what google laid out as a 120km ride was now looking like 140km, of which I had 70km left to go. I had plenty of fuel and water,  I was up for it.

Check out the weird arrow in the clouds

The monotony of the farmland was getting to me. I couldn't figure out why this was any more eye catching than riding on the more convenient highway. That, and heat exhaustion was setting in.

As tired as I was,  I could hear Leonidas bellowing at me when I saw this sign

As it seemed I was closing in on the home stretch,  the terrain turned terrible as a way to further crush my spirits. Rolling hills became much steeper, and the loose gravel roads were almost taunting me with how little traction was provided.

Terrible riding surface

I eventually made it to Dutton Trailer Park 145.7km later. I'm a toasty shade of red, my knee feels like a rusty hinge, and now, several hours later, my back still hasn't unseized.

I really want to make it to Kingsville tomorrow to earn a much needed day off,  but things aren't looking good. Even if I recover enough (I'd say 50/50), the forecast is calling for rain, probably thunder storms for most of the day. Even this I might be okay with, at least it would cool off my scorched skin, but it's supposed to start very early in the am. I'm usually okay riding in the rain,  but I'm not cool about packing up my camping gear in the rain.

This will be a gametime decision when I wake up tomorrow.

I need a drink.

Day 3: Fort Erie to Port Ryeres - Trip total: 328km

Beautiful day for a ride. I took the Friendship Trail out of Fort Erie until I made my way onto highway 3 into Port Dover.

I followed my now customary routine of putting in 30km before stopping for breakfast, which in this case brought me into Port Colborne and the Market Cafe - which I'm happy to promote because it served the biggest $11.95 breakfast I've ever eaten (see below)

After wolfing down that incredible meal,  I managed to cover the next 100km without stopping for any food, bringing me into Port Dover, and my ultimate stop for the night - Port Ryerse, at 1pm.

After seeing up camp in Port Reyes, I met up with my mom for lunch in Port Dover.

Dolores catching some shade with my mom while I take a dip in the lake

I'm going to try and mimic this schedule for tomorrow so that I'll be able to get to Duttona Beach campground for 1pm check in.

As for the ride itself,  I saw a variety of wildlife on the Friendship Trail, of which I got no pictures,  but included: deer,  rabbits,  chipmunks,  otters (I think), turtles and skunks.

A special thanks goes out to Richard and Mary Goodlet for letting me camp in their beautiful yard, and also for the dinner and great conversation.

Day 2: Niagara Falls to Fort Erie - Trip total: 203km

I felt surprisingly good this morning. I had some telltale aches last night that made me think today was going to pose problems,  but that wasn't the case.  Today's problem was torrential rain.

I covered 30km before stopping for breakfast, and the moment I stepped inside the restaurant the sky opened up. Although I wasn't expecting rain today,  I'm usually okay to ride in it.  But after getting soaked yesterday and spending the day in wet clothes,  I just didn't have it in me to do that two days in a row.

I panicked and immediately searched for a motel close by and booked a room. The rain eventually stopped and I started kicking myself because the reservation was non refundable and I couldn't bring myself to eat the cost.

I don't like losing a riding day if I don't have to,  but this might have turned out for the best.  Even though I feel okay,  I have to remind myself that I'm just starting this tour and my body isn't used to long rides yet.  With 165km covered yesterday and the 160km planned for today I would've been asking for an injury.  This way I get to split 160km over two days,  and since I originally planned to take tomorrow off, I don't lose a riding day anyway.

So today I relaxed, wandered around Fort Erie and did a little watercolor painting from one of my pics of the falls yesterday.

And sure enough,  the rain came back so I think I made the right call.

Day 1: Toronto to Niagara Falls - 165km

My day started at 6am with cool,overcast conditions.  It wasn't raining yet,  but I had no doubt it was coming.

I had 63km to cover to get to Aldershot GO station where my sister would join me for the rest of the day's ride.  The route to the GO station is relatively straightforward,  and as the steady rainfall rendered my touch screen phone navigation impossible,  I did take a few wrong turns, but arrived on time just before 9am.

We had brief glimpses of the lake,  but for the most part our view consisted of the large concrete wall abutting the North Service Road that brought us most of the way leading into St. Catharines.

After lunch in Port Dalhousie, it was clear that fatigue was starting to take its toll on my sister.  Being the trooper she is,  she pushed through another 40km to officially cross into Niagara Falls with me,  but I ended up finishing the day's ride solo.

165km was a bit ambitious for the first ride of the trip,  and my legs are definitely feeling it.  I have an aggressive distance planned for tomorrow,  but I'm already thinking of scaling it back. We'll see how I feel in the morning.