Short and easy

We had a short ride day today – 51 km. We decided we would do two shorter days in lieu of the rest day we didn’t take at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Today we bounced between trails (some of which were single tracks behind posh houses backing onto the lake) and the North service road boarding the QEW highway.

We agreed that both Hamilton and Burlington were rather cycle friendly, but Oakville was not. The moment you entered Oakville the nice paved shoulders and bike lanes disappeared! Hamilton and Burlington both had beautiful paths along the lake.

When we came to the bridge over Hamilton harbour, there was a sign directing cyclists and it says “cycle friendly stairs”. I thought that was a great oxymoron! As a loaded cycle tourists no stairs are cycle friently! In the end, we only needed to remove one pannier to get our wheels in the “cycle track”, and it too both of us to get one bike up!

At about 1:30 pm we met up with Scott’s parents for a wonderful picnic lunch. The food was amazing and the company good as well. Thank you Mary and Hugh for making the trip from Guelph to meet us, and for having the patience to wait until we arrived (over an hour after the planned rendezvous time).

After lunch we continued along the Waterfront trail, which alternated between Lakeshore Drive, side streets, and narrow pathways until we got to Judi and Jim’s place in Oakville. Judy is Scott’s father’s cousin. They are not home, so we are camping in their back yard, which is beautiful. Thanks Judi and Jim.

Scott says:

It’s nice to know that we can survive happily with a hose to rinse off with, and a nearby Tim Horton’s for food and bathrooms.

None of Judi and Jim’s neighbours approached us, and apparently they didn’t call the police either, so we must have been fairly innocuous.

My brother and his wife drove out for Kitchener to join us for dinner. We had a lovely meal and visit, thanks Mike and Kathleen.

We are now sitting in the tent and the thunder and lightning, which held off nicely all day, is now with us. The thunder is crazy loud. This is another big storm. It is helping to cool down the tent, which is really nice. I guess you could say that evening thunder and lightning has been a theme for this trip!

Tomorrow we will be staying at John and Tina’s place in Scarborough. John is Kathleen’s (my sister-in-law) son. We are looking forward to a nice visit with them.

OK…this storm is definitely one of the more severe ones … I just hope it doesn’t last as long as the one while we were camped on the Lake. It actually has me jumping out of my seat now and then! Here is a sound bite: Thunderstorm