Day 51- Do It For the AC

I woke up at 5 AM after a restless night in the hot confines of my tent. Even with the fly off, it was still uncomfortably hot, and I woke up damp with sweat on several occasions. I packed my stuff while dodging the thousands of little tiny fruit flys swarming around random spots. It was obvious by how warm it was that today was going to be another scorcher.

I didnt feel as energetic today as I did yesterday, most likely because of the poor sleep, but I still felt pretty decent as I cruised down the highway. The road continued to follow the river today, its banks lined with countless little docks, boats, and cottages. I passed through several more small towns, but this area was mostly a continuous stream of expensive riverside homes, and less about discrete towns. I continued like this all morning, making steady progress as the temperature climbed higher and higher, becoming oppressively hot.

I stopped for lunch in a town called Lancaster, which is relatively close to the Quebec border. The heat had begun to get to me mentally, without me being aware. As I left town, I somehow made a wrong turn, and began heading 90° to where I wanted to go. At least 20 minutes or more passed before I finally realized something was wrong. I checked my phone's map, and saw that I had strayed quite far off my path, and I knew I would end up having biked an extra hour or more by the time I fixed my mistake; one that was truely dangerous in the 43° humidex weather. Dismay, frustration, anger, and worry rushed in on me as I traversed back country roads, looking to meet back up with the highway just before Valleyfield. The blazing sun glared down on me like a cruel child with a magnifying glass as I dragged myself down the shadeless country road, only fields of crops in all directions. I was drinking as much water as I could, but I was becoming increasingly worried about coming down with heat exhaustion or heat stroke. After what felt like am eternity of walking on the sun, I finally reached the highway, and hid inside an air conditioned McDonalds for a while until I recovered.

During this ordeal, I had entered Quebec, marking the end of the three week journey through Ontario. I speak very little french, so Quebec will offer unique challenges in the form of communication issues. It didnt take long to demonstrate this either. As I entered Valleyfield on a series of causeways, a police car sounded its sirens and pulled beside me, gesturing towards me. I thought I was in trouble, and I became a little nervous. He passed me, and a second cop car pulled up beside me, and began speaking to me in french over the megaphone. Now I was really worried. I gestured implying I couldnt hear/ understand, so he rolled his window down, and when I informed him I didnt speak french, he switched to english. It seems it was only a massive, oversized transport load coming down the highway with a police escort; he was just telling me to get as far off the highway as possible. Such an amusingly simple thing considering how intimidating it came off as.

I finally arrived at MP's house, extremely heat dazed, and headed inside. The most wonderful sensation met me when I stepped inside: glorious, glorious air conditioning! This is what I waited for all day. After some more fluids and a shower, MP took me to get what she calls " real" poutine, courtesy of Quebec. Im not sure if Ive ever had "fake" poutine to compare, but I must say this stuff was pretty good.

I was quite happy to see MP despite being tired, and we caught up while I relaxed from the taxing day. Eventually it was time for a delicious supper and dessert with her parents, who were quite kind and happy to have me as company. Unfortunately, MP works nightshifts sometimes, and had to go to work for the night, but I will see her in the morning. Now its time to relax and relish the AC.

Day 50- I Think the Sun is Melting

Brenda and Derrick woke up early with me, and cooked a nice hearty breakfast to prepare me for the day. I am quite grateful for all the good food and hospitality; both the Ingersols and the Riddles have been quite kind to me. When I said my goodbyes at 6 AM, it was already really warm out; today was going to be a scorcher.

I hit the road in high spirits though, and bobbed along quite merrily despite the heat. The extra rest and food had helped considerably. I made my way through Kingston, another pretty old town on the water, and continued on the down the highway 2. It took me through many more KM of quiet countryside, and through more historic and scenic towns established in the 1700s and 1800s. They had pleasant old fashioned brick storefront downtowns and old victorian homes; they were quite nice to look at.

It was becoming hotter and hotter as I went, and by 8 AM I was covered in a film of sweat that wouldnt evaporate. There was a light breeze as I biked though, and that helped keep me from overheating, but it was still slowly becoming draining. Despite this, I was still in an abnormally good mood, and had no trouble continuing. I took frequent breaks, and drank as much water as I could, so I was doing pretty good. Once the road drew close to what I believe is the tail end of the St. Lawrence River, I occasionally got a cold breeze coming off the water that felt as good as walking into an air conditioned room on a hot day. I could REALLY do with some AC right about now.

I continued slogging on through the heat past many more small towns until just after lunch. I was approaching my desired 120 KM mark when I found a campsite right beside the river that seemed a great place to stop. It was becoming so hot out that it would be dangerous to continue, so I stopped without any qualms despite how early it was. I got a nice shady campsite next to the river, and I paid a special cyclist rate of only 11.50, so I am quite happy with the spot.

There is a good spot to go swimming just down from my site, so a cool off swim is in order. I will relax and stay out of the sun as much as possible for the rest of the day. Tomorrow I will arrive at MPs house in Valleyfield, and after three long weeks, Ontario will finally be in my rearview mirror. Nice.

The Weather Network says there is a humidex of 42° right now, so yeah.

Day 49- A Dash of Caution

I was originally thinking that I would get up at 4 AM today to get even more morning biking in, but I decided to back down from that and get up at 5 AM because I was too tired for that. I packed as quietly as possible as to not wake the family up, but Terry got up to see me off anyway.

Just like yesterday, it was overcast with a high level of humidity, and I could see a little bit of haze in the air from it. The breeze was a little cooler though. Altogether, it was pretty reasonable out, considering the weather they were calling for, so I was able to ride without much trouble. I continued through many more KM of open countryside and small towns, constantly thinking about the weather and the route choices I had to make. I had orginally planned three back to back days of 170 KM+, including yesterday's trip to Trenton, in order to reach Valleyfield from Toronto. This would mean today and tomorrow would also be extremely long, but I simply didnt feel motivated to the feat. Despite my rest days, I am still rather road weary after nearly 50 days, and the humid weather is rather draining, so I decided that dividing it up as three shorter days would be much more reasonable.

My parents have friends in Kingston who offered to take me in for the night, but I orginally hadnt planned on staying in Kingston because it was only 90 KM away from my stop in Trenton. I worked out that if I stopped there tonight, the next two days to Valleyfield would be roughly 120 KM each. While I would have liked to even the three days out by going farther today,  I decided that having a cool place indoors to stay made it make more sense to stop in Kingston, despite it being such a short day.

As I arrived in Kingston, the clouds were giving way, and it was beginning to become hotter as the sun gained strength; it would soon become very uncomfortable had I kept biking. I arrived at the Ingersol residence around 11:30, where I was warmly greeted by Brenda, and invited inside. She prepared me a nice lunch, and then I went upstairs for a shower before sleeping the afternoon away in the comfortable bed with a fan at hand. After my lenghty nap, it was time for a tasty home meal and dessert, followed by more relaxation time until bed.

For whatever reason I didnt take many pictures today, just one of some haybales that didnt turn out.

The next two days will be pretty reasonable distances, but they are still calling for high temperatures and humidities, along with possible thunder storms, so I will have to be careful still.

Day 48- Back in the Saddle

I had a long day ahead of me, and the weather forecast was calling for a very humid week, so I was up and ready to go quite early. I said my goodbyes to Matthew, and was on the road by 6 AM. Despite how early it was, I could already feel how humid it was, and I felt uncomfortable already. Thankfully it was quite overcast, so the sun would hold off for a while.

I made my way out of Toronto, driving through the seemingly never ending suburban and shopping areas of the many groupie cities that make up the GTA, each boasting a population of over 100,000 people. It was a surprisingly quiet drive for such a large city, so I had very little traffic to contend with. I avoided the 14 lane insanity known as the highway 401 by taking a series of smaller highways that took me through Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa, among others, before crossing to the southern side of the 401 to skirt along Lake Ontario, where I will remain for the next few days.

Once I crossed the highway, I left the urban sprawl behind and found myslef in some peaceful and scenic countryside once more. I wound around forested and open country roads, up and down hills, and through small picturesque towns. It is quite the nice area, and I really enjoyed the ride. One of the pretty little towns I passed through had multi-coloured stockings knit around many of its trees, in some form of inviting and creative art project.

Luckily for me, the sky remained overcast, and the sun never showed its face. I was already very sticky and over heated in the humid weather, and it could have been much worse if the sun was out. The next few days are calling for humidex values that are downright dangerous, and I will have to be very careful, especially given my plans to travel far each day.

I arrived at the Riddle residence around 4:30; very road weary from the distance and humidity, and ready to relax in the cool confines of the house.

Days 46 & 47- Sebatacle in Toronto

I slept in until about 8 AM Saturday morning; once again enjoying the comforts of a bed rather than a thin bed roll. Once Matthew and I were ready, we took the subway downtown to MEC for supplies and to have my bike looked at. Like Calgary, the mechanic was too busy to be of much help, but he still found time to lecture me about my dirty chain mechanism; funny how that works. I bought a new back tire, which one of the clerk's promised is nearly indestructable, so hopefully I can look forward to fewer flat tires.

Once my errands were done, it was time to meet another of my childhood friends from Meaford, Elizabeth, who now resides downtown Toronto. Matthew and I met her down by the subway station, before finding a restaurant to grab lunch. We picked a place called Lucy's, and had a tasty lunch out on the patio while we caught up. It was great to see Elizabeth again after 12 years, and we talked for a fair while before heading back to Matthew's apartment.

After supper, we ventured back downtown to watch Prometheus at the Imax theatre. The downtown was abuzz with people there to watch the Much Music Video Awards. As we navigated through the throngs of people we passed countless specialty shops, and the awards ceramonies themselves. Toronto is a very lively and interesting place, as to be expected from the centre of the universe. The movie was pretty good, and I enjoyed a giant root beer to go along with the giant screen.

After the movie, we were feeling pretty chipper from all the caffeine, so we walked around downtown for a few hours, discussing all manner of things as we enjoyed the summer night air. There were also free music shows going on in Dundas Square, so we ventured by there as well. Everywhere we went, we were greeted by lights, music, and spirited revelers; it was a very nice and lively summer evening atmosphere. Eventually I became tired of walking, so we headed back to the apartment for the night.

Sunday I slept in until 10:30, a feat unheard of on this trip, and that pretty much set the benchmark for the day. I wanted to rest up for tomorrow, so I relaxed in the apartment all day long. I wiled the day away eating, reading, watching TV, and talking to family and friends on skype. It was uneventful, but very much needed.

Tomorrow I hit the road once more, beginning a streak of long days to Quebec with a 170 KM+ day to a friend of the family's house in Trenton.

Day 45- Now Arriving at: The Centre of the Universe

I had a grueling 190 KM day ahead of me to get to Matthew's apartment in Toronto, so I was once again up and ready to go very early. Shawn's mom had made me a nice packaged lunch, and Shawn and her had gotten up to see me off. I was a little sad to say goodbye again so soon, but I will definitely see them again someday.

Following Mrs. Macnamara's advice, I took a series of back country roads most of the way to Toronto. I started off climbing some rather large and steep hills, and I was frustrated thinking the whole 190 KM would be this slow and difficult, but I soon reached a plateau called the Grey Highlands. It was more stable after that, but there were still plenty of smaller hills. I progressed my way through many KM of countryside, thinking about everything but how far I had to go. I have found that if I take a mindset where I expect to be biking until past supper time, and dont count the KM or worry about how far Ive gone/ have left to go, I am able to mentally disassociate from the task into a more relaxed state where the day just slips by, and before I know it I am almost there. Today I did just that, only caring whrere the next turn was, and despite it being a long, hot, and tiring day, I made it into Toronto no problem.

At one point I stopped at a gas station for a lunch break, and a clerk started talking to me about the trip. He was very excited and impressed by it, and gave me two cold bottles of water to take with me. It was rather hot out, so I was pretty grateful for the kindness.

The Greater Toronto Area is absolutely massive, and I found myself biking through endless stretches of industrial park and strip malls for a couple hours before finally finding my way into the heart of the city. It was exceptionally hot and busy, but the drivers were a lot more polite and accomodating than I expected, so I had no problems traversing the city.

I soon found my way into a nice trail system along the shores of Lake Ontario that skirts the edges of the downtown area. It strolls past parks, pools, boats, some pretty cool buildings, and a windmill; all along the waterfront. I followed this for quite a while, but the numerous branches were becoming confusing, so I simplified by switching back to the road and heading straight to Matthew's. The problem was, Matthew was coming to meet me on his bike, and my change of plans caused us to miss eachother, so he had to backtrack a little bit. Oops. We finished up the remaining 6 KM together, arriving at his basement apartment in a quiet, forested neighbourhood not long later.

I was exhausted and shakey from my long day in the sun, so I was extremely happy to be able to relax.

Day 44- Whoever Invented All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Deserves a Nobel Peace Prize

It was wonderful getting to sleep in a comfortable bed for the first time since Winnipeg (that couch in Thunder Bay notwithstanding). It was exceptionally comfortable, but I am so used to waking up early now that I was up by 7:30 despite my best efforts to sleep in.

After I had eaten and showered, I biked back into town along the overgrown but still familiar Georgian Trail to pay Mrs. Lambe a visit now that she was home. It was nice to see her after so long, and we talked for quite a long time, while she kindly provided me with a plethora of snacks. After a while we headed down to a local eatery called the Leaky Canoe, where I got an exceptionally good burger for lunch. We talked all about my trip, the things that had happened since I left, and that which had never changed. After lunch I happily departed back to Shawn's house, pleased with the morning's events.

Once back at the house, Shawn and I headed out to the resort area that has been built up at Blue Mountain since I left. Despite being a small hill, it has become quite the bustling tourist spot owned by the same people who own Whistler, and they employ many people from the area. There was an assortment of restaurants, cafes, and specialty shops; all in a social villa atmosphere. We stopped into a candy store and bought a variety of crazy taffy flavours like maple bacon and cupcake, and just sat outside talking about anything and everything. It was great to catch up and see we still had so much on common.

Once back at the house, it was time to head to supper with his mom and sister, so we drove into Owen Sound to an awesome all-you-can-eat sushi place. We tried plate after plate of delicious and varied sushi rolls and japanese dishes; telling stories as we feasted. We left very full and very satisfied.

Its been a fun day full of stories, laughter, and tons of great food. It doesnt really get much better than that.