Day 92: Beaconsfield - Downtown Montreal

Lots of flies again today as I cycled along the river... I am trying not to inhale as many!

Once again there is plenty of history along this stretch of the river, but being in Quebec it is ALL in French! I saw a lot of historical looking buildings, churches and windmills but didn't learn anything about them.

I made it into Montreal in good time, just before lunch in fact, as I was meeting a London work for lunch. I dropped my bike and bags off at the hostel and showered and met Brian for lunch and a few beers.

Brian and I parted ways and I headed back to hostel for a nap, followed by drinks downstairs in the bar. Drinks turned into beer pong, which then progressed to include fancy dress. Dinner was provided and was corn on the cob, as much as you could eat.

I think I ate 6 ears, and it was delicious!

Distance: 38.7 km
Time: 2:03:51
Height gained/lost: 219m /-254m
Calories: 1123

Day 91: Lancaster to Beaconsfield

Daryl zoomed past me as I exited the campground this morning. He had been having breakfast up the road and was now fuelled up and flying. I chased him for a few kilometres, eventually caught him, then rode with him for the rest of the day.

Me and Daryl

We crossed over into Quebec province and almost immediately were offered bike lanes. This was great to see and nice to ride on, but some of them did have us heading 'upstream' towards the oncoming traffic, a little like salmon.

We stopped for lunch in the shade of a chip truck as the day was starting to heat up nicely now. We weren't far from Montreal, I was a lot closer to my destination than Daryl was, so we ate quickly and were soon on our way again.

I was staying with a Warmshowers host tonight, but before I headed to her I needed to get my hair and beard trimmed. I was starting to look a little wild.

I met Sue-Ann and had a shower followed by a doze on the floor in the lounge. I think my body has completely adjusted to life on the floor now.

Distance: 79.2 km
Time: 3:50:12
Height gained/lost: 242m /-285m
Calories: 2257

Day 90: South Mountain to Lancaster

Flat!

Not my tyres but the terrain....all along the St Lawrence River today.

I said goodbye and thank you to the Taylors and headed back down to the river, turning left towards Montreal. I was on a bike path for most of today, which was amazing and filled with historical markers. Lots of action in Canadian history took place on this stretch of the river, mostly involving the Americans.

I stopped for lunch at the Upper Canadian Village, and met Stefan, a missionary who had worked, and biked, in Africa, and knew South Africa well. We chatted for a while about my trip, and he relived moments of his trip, before he had to leave and meet up with his family.

I ate a lot of flies today. Not intentionally.
In the shade of the trees along the bike path, swarms of flies hover in the cool air. As I was riding through, I would become covered in the little flies, and more that one would get into my mouth. Lots of spitting quickly followed in an attempt to get the critter out before I swallowed it.

I arrived in Lancaster as the sun was starting to set, and checked into the campsite. This campsite charged me $10 because I was a CYCLIST!
They understood the needs of cyclists and charged a reduced rate. Finally, someone understands! Now tell the rest of the country.

As I was setting up my tent, another cyclist rode past and stopped to chat. It turned out to be Daryl. I had last seen him in MacGregor in Manitoba, way back in July!

Once the sun set, the mozzies and spiders came out, so I went to bed.
My site tonight is in the front 'yard' of an RV that is used as an overflow site for cyclists. Perfect for my needs.

Distance: 115 km
Time: 5:33:58
Height gained/lost: 412m /-445m
Calories: 3335

Day 80-82: Georgetown (Rest days)

The following takes place between 19 and 21 August 2017.

August 19:

Off to Niagara Falls with Samuel and Tracey this morning. Jonathan was off to soccer with Nathaniel. The traffic was heavy heading down to Niagara, so it took us 2 hours to get there. Once there though, it is certainly worth the drive.

The falls are amazing. The volume of water that is constantly pouring over the edge is staggering, and the noise is something else too. Crashing water gets mixed with the languages of the world, and the whop-whop of helicopters flying overhead. The setting is a little surreal though. Hotels tower over the falls, and casinos fill the gaps between them. In all of Canada, this is probably the most commercial place I have seen on this trip. Canada seems to do pretty well in keeping the unspoilt unspoilt.

After lunch and a walk along the walkway, we headed back home, via the Saffa shop. Guavas, fruit roll, koeksusters and Ouma rusks were purchased as a treat to all. When we got home, soccer was played for a bit before a delicious salmon dinner was served up.

August 20:

Church at 10am in Acton this morning. Jon was preaching as his dad was taken ill overnight. I got a mention and chatted to various members of the congregation after the service. Home for lunch and more soccer, before helping Jon start painting the basement.

An episode of BBC Earth before bed.

August 21:

Went into downtown Toronto on the GO train this morning. Tracey dropped me at the station and would collect me later in the day. It was going to be a hot day, and there was a solar eclipse on the cards as well. Once I arrived at Union station, I took the touristy Hop On/Off bus and saw the main sites around the city.

Coldplay was playing at the Rogers Stadium this evening, and the city was starting to get busy in the surrounding bars and restaurants.

I took in Casa Loma, Chinatown, the waterfront and the ferries, the Financial District, the Shopping District, the Distillery area, which is beautiful, and the CN Tower.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it onto the ferry due to the time I had to get the train back to Georgetown.

As I was leaving in the morning, I spent the evening planning my route, packing my bags and eating guavas...mmm.

Tomorrow night I would be in Scarborough, spending the night with Malcolm, Jonathan’s brother.

Day 79: Primrose to Georgetown

Today would be a quick and easy spin down into Georgetown to meet Tracey and the family. With strong crosswinds and rolling hills, the 60km took me a little longer than expected.
The last few kilometres that lead into Georgetown were along the Rail Trail, a beautifully green and quite trail that leads through the backcountry and avoids all highways and traffic.

My legs are feeling surprisingly good after yesterday's effort, so managed to arrive at 1300, pretty much exactly when I said I would.

A soak in a hot bath and a tasty pasta lunch soon had me on the road to relaxation. After a nap, the kids had me playing soccer and frisbee on the lawn.

It was amazing to see Tracey again after all these years. Growing up, we saw each other every December in Cape Town for a few weeks. I think it has been about 17 years since we last saw each other!

We all went into Acton this evening for a game of "Jeoparody", which we came second in. Out of 2 teams!
Home for tea and "Balaklava".

Distance: 58.6 km
Time: 2:58:25
Height gained/lost: 484m /-683m
Calories: 1826

Sign spotted on the road

Day 78: Hepworth to Primrose

A quiet night was shattered by the cawing crows, once again. Go and caw elsewhere. Please.

After the pretty easy, albeit long, day yesterday, today was going to be a mentally testing day.

Rain, rain, rain. There wasn't much to see on the road today apart from a few small towns and a bit of construction. With the lack of shoulder on these roads, riding in the wet becomes an even greater challenge as you're constantly fighting for a spot in the main lane.

I stopped in Flesherton for lunch at the Bicycle Cafe, which seemed appropriate. I walked in dripping and cold, and ordered a large cup of tea, pork and chive dumplings with rice, and finished off with a slice of cheesecake with strawberry and maple syrup.

Two words. Tay. Stee.

Fuelled up and back on the bike I ventured back into the rain. I headed towards the campsite, which was 16km down the road. It was in these 16 kilometres that the gods above reckoned I wasn't wet enough, so turned up the volume on the rain.

And did it rain! The drops got harder and harder, and the noise of them drumming into me and the road was quite deafening. Soon I couldn't even see the road and where it became the 'shoulder'! I reckoned that cars probably couldn't see me, so I steered off the road onto the gravel shoulder, and rode about 3 metres off the road for a bit. I'd love to know what passing motorists thought of me.

It all became too much, the water was pouring off me, I was soaked. No, SOAKED!
I had to just stop and laugh, to take it all in and just be thankful that my skin is waterproof. At the end of a farmers driveway I spotted a sentry box, so ducked into that for a moment, to check on how far I was from the campsite.

In all the chaos I had missed the turning (there wasn't a sign, I asked) and wasn't prepared to back track, so I headed towards Shelburne, just a few kilometres down the road.
Thankfully the rain was starting to let up so I could now make some headway. Shelburne provided me with some supplies for dinner and I soon rolled into the campsite at Primrose.

The lady running the camp had sympathy so gave me a nice discount, and a good site to pitch the tent. I stuck all my wet gear in the industrial tumble dryers and put them to the test.

Dry clothes, a warm dinner and a comfy tent soon had me feeling relaxed after a longer day than expected.

Only a rummaging raccoon disturbed me in the night, scratching against my bags in search of food.

Distance: 110 km
Time: 6:08:54
Height gained/lost: 802m /-637m
Calories: 3183

(Due to the rain not many pictures where taken today)

Day 77: Tobermory to Hepworth

A hot and still day met me on Highway 6 today, luckily there was a light breeze to keep things a bit cool.
Highway 6 is not the most interesting ride in the world, and the profile showed it as flat all the way to Highway 9. Flat was in fact gently rolling hills, almost undetectable, but they were there.

At the junction with the 9, I stopped at the Info Centre and got a map of the Bruce Peninsula. The 9 was certainly the better route to take, and went past some beautiful beaches.

I stopped in Lions Head Bay for lunch, had the fish and chips special and a Guinness, and had a quick chat to some other patrons about my trip. I went down to the beach to see the harbour and the cliffs, then continued my journey down the 9 towards Wiarton.

Little coves and rolling fields kept me captivated all afternoon, and before long I rolled into Hepworth, a tiny town made up of a post office, a Tim Horton's and a petrol station.
I bought dinner supplies at the petrol station and headed down the road to the Shallow Lakes campground.

Another swimming pool, new camp sites and friendly staff made this a great place to be after a long day on the road.

Distance: 101 km
Time: 5:05:47
Height gained/lost: 602m /-654m
Calories: 2991

Canada baby!!

Well, the route for 2017 has yet to be decided, but the country has been picked.
(Cue drum roll.)
Canada.

Oooh, I hear you all say. Yes, oooh.

Canada is frikkin' awesome. They have Moose, bears, ample maple syrup. And beavers!
Not to mention wide open spaces and big skies at night...

Twenty seventeen is the 150th anniversary of Canada's independence, and as a result, all the National Parks across the country will be free to enter.
What a result.

Get on the bike, find the good parks, go check 'em oot eh!

The plan at the moment is to find all the friends and family across the country, and map out a giant dot-to-dot, from west (Vancouver, British Columbia) to east (St. John's, Newfoundland).
Or vice versa.

En route, I need to stop in Calgary for 2 reasons. One, to visit family friends we have living there, and two, the Stampede. Neither can be missed.
I will need to get from Vancouver to Calgary in about 35 days to make to Stampede, which should be easily doable.

The debate as to whether riding east/west will be into, or with, the wind rages on. Internet searches support both arguments, but at the end of the day, the wind will generally be in your face.

So that is the plan, now to start sorting the little details out, like how to get out of Vancouver/St John's safely.

Training days

Deep breath in, exhale slowly.
Keep the legs spinning.
Keep the lungs open.
Head up, back straight.
Deep breath in, exhale slowly...

With training underway for the Cape Town Cycle Tour on 12 March, the above has been going through my head on a regular basis.

Every weekend sees the roads taken over by packs of cyclists, some heading around Cape Point, others over Chapman's Peak drive and up the dreaded Suikerbossie climb.

Below are a series of snaps taken around the Cape Peninsula while on my bike.

Hout Bay from Chapman's Peak drive

Scarborough beach

Slangkop lighthouse

Kommetjie looking towards Hout Bay

Simonstown from Red Hill