Nestleton to Carrying Place Day 48 August

We were not the only ones out for a 7:30 am ride. Many horse farms in this Scugogg area.

Terri and I got away nice and early this morning, but ....this flat got in the way. This fellow, Terry, is always willing to assist. He helped me near Rogers Pass. He was used to fixing flat, his wife Sandra has had about 8 so far.

While we were fixing the flat, this local cycling group rode by. Given the average age we decided they were all retired. So nice to see so many keeping their health as a priority. They have such nice country scenery for their rides.
This was our first glimpse of Lake Ontario.

Terri appreciating the calm and serenity of Lake Ontario.

As we have travelled across Canada we have seen the corn grow. We hope we can get a feed of it soon.


Our ride today was spectacular. We had sun all day and although it was hot, 30 C, it felt good and I am sure it made the day more pleasant for everyone knowing the chances of rain were slim to none. We headed out of camp at 7:00 am because Terri was on cooking duty tonight. Our ride took us through beautiful Scugogg countrysides with more beautiful homes and several equestrian businesses. The hills were rolling and not too difficult. The road surface however was embarassing. There were several layers of patches which made for tricky riding.

About 20 km into the ride Terri had a flat and our lead dwindled to us being last. The spare she tried to put in was not holding the air so we had to put another one in. On top of this, the CO2 cannister head had an insert missing and we wasted about three cannisters trying to fill the tire. Another cyclist Terry (who by the way helped me when I had trouble at Roger's Pass) came to the rescue and we used the hand pump to inflate the tire. This took us an hour to get going again but once we did we had no more bike trouble today. While we were changing the flat a group of local cyclist who were out for a morning ride sailed past us. They looked like the "over 50 group".

Our trip today took us through several small towns so there was lots of opportunity to have coffee and treats. I think everyone enjoyed the quaintness of these towns and most took an opportunity to visit one of them for a break. We passed many farms and lots of corn fields. Several independent markets were advertising fresh produce and the words "new potatoes" sure made my mouth water.

We had our first peak of Lake Ontario about half way through the ride and we stopped to enjoy the view. It was calm on the water today. There were several signs posted that you could not swim in the lake due to the high bacteria count and one beach park we stopped at had a heavy sewage odour. We are so thankful to have the clean waters of Lake Huron in Kincardine.

Much of the route after lunch today along Lake Ontario was on the "Waterfront Trail", one I am familiar with in the Toronto area. Terri had also been on a supported group tour with Braun Cycle that used this trail system on their trip from Oakville to Ottawa. Some of the route tomorrow will be familiar to me as I also did a Braun tour in 2004 that was a 600 km circle trip that started and ended in Brighton with stops in Kingston, Picton, Trenton and Bath. That was the trip I met Mike on. Little did we know then that I would take 10 weeks and travel the whole of Canada. He and our friend Dennis are off on their own adventure this weekend, taking the bikes and trailers to Sauble Beach and return.

We have a long day tomorrow, 164 km that will take us through Kingston and to the home of one of the cyclists who has kindly offered, with his wife, to provide us with our lunch. We are looking forward to that. Weather promises to be sunny.