BAGELSnPINTS.May26-27 Bronte-NiagaraOnTheLake-NiagaraFalls M-60.01,T-6:00:01,AVG-10.,El-692.M-13.39,T-1:32:57,AVG-8.64,El-624

I left Bronte Park promptly this morning after wrestling with the racoons most of the night. I could here there sniffer getting closing in  as I was about to doze so I would hiss like a snake and bat the side of the tent a few times to get the critters scurring off. I did have my moment of revenge that night though being I left a empty bag of trail mix out by the picnic table. A distraction from the tent as I heard them crinkling and prying trying to get something out of the empty bag with the scent drivng them nutz. It's hard to compete with a hungry cyclist.

Later that morning I met up with Joe, a new friend I just met over coffee at Starbuck's and chatted part of the morning away with. He mentioned he and his brother Jack had a Bagel shop and Deli on my route and to stop in and say hi  as I was passing through. He thought Jack and I had some common interests as far as adventure and was kind of crazy like myself.

I'm glad I did !! It was my best stop for lunch so far and I would rank it right up there with Gere-A-Deli one of my favorites back home that my Bellingham friends and I ride to on our thursday's ride.Well actually there bagels were the best I've ever had so I would probably rate JC's higher. They've been at it for 20 years and  it shows drawing customers from miles around. Jack was a cyclist to and we talked about touring and he mentioned his past years of racing for a nice afternoon of conversation. He also made sure I had some Bagels for the road before I left which I was most appreciative of...............good eating for a couple of days............isn't that what's lifes about!!

A Pint at the Harp at Niagara On The Lake before bedtime.

   

May24-25 Toronto-Bronte,M-51.09,T-5:19:10,AVG-9.6,El-1131

I worked my way out of Toronto today after a nice relaxing break from the trail. My brother inlaws sister,Linda and her husband Craig live here in Toronto and they invited me over for a afternoon barbecue down on the dock where they moor their sailboat on Lake Ontario.They also said I could spend the night which I gladly accepted to. It was a nice afternoon of normalcy after being on the road for a few weeks. Gus who's head of the house hold love's his time at the dock to. His favorite get away. 

Leaving Toronto after a stop at Mt. Equipment Co-op to pick up a few supplies

May22-23 Wicklow-Darlington-Toronto M-62.11,T-6:14:26,AVG-9.95,El-2121,M-58.17,T-6:32:17,AVG-8.89,El-1748

I had company yesterday on the Waterfront Trail. The Whitby Marathon was happening as I was riding west and the runners were headed east. One thing I noticed was the enjoyment level of the participants  faces as I rode closer to the finish line.

Pete, here on my left, I ran into as I was nearing the end of the Waterfront Trail. Where it heads into Toronto and then picks up again. Pete followed me for a few miles as I kept looking in my rear view mirror. Then stopping  for a map check, he stopped and offered up some advice and shortcuts so I wouldn't have to get on Kings Street to get into Toronto." Left at the Log cabin" he said. Then following with "I'm  going the same way"......hey..... "I'll just follow you". I replied. Pete," I'll be going a little slower than you". ......"No trouble"  "It's faster than doing the same trail twice like yesterday when I got messed up." Lost again as I navigated around in a circle and ended up at the same reader board and park a hour and a 1/2 later and I was feeling lucky I did that. I average  around 12mph. Pete does around 8 to 9 mph but thats at 1 time through so I followed him. I new he wouldn't drop me either and I always could here his squeeky chain if I lost sight of him.....Great Guy, as he said this was his first time out and he didn't usually go this far as I could tell by his chain.

I was dreading the ride through Toronto as city's can be some what taxing on all your senses. Navigating through them whilst watching for signs and lackadaisical motorists, surviving. Looking at my handle bar Ontario Provincial map which doesn't show the greatest detail.
Well all that worrying was for nothing as I got closer to the down town area and allot of pedestrians and cyclists were out in #'s for the holiday. A spontaneous herd of us cyclists met up and formed are own eclectic peleton to totally confuse the drivers. It was fun and quite a mismatch of riders with a common goal.









I find the day and experiences change with the miles. Someitmes I find myself getting attached to the lows of the road, isolation, traffic,wrong turn, etc.and once again to be brought "Highs"5 miles down the road by new scenary and new friends, even if it's only brief. Your new relationships on the road can have more depth then one's you've had for years.  I guess the lesson here is let go of the downs and enjoy the ups, there always just around the next bend.

May21 Wellington-Wicklow

BARN ART

M-44.84,T-3:50:41,AVG-10.63,El-1143

May20 Gananque-Wellington

M-71.70,T-7:06:19,AVG-10:09,El-1784

Curious cows on Sebastians farm and happy to. I was riding by and noticed the turqouise color which isn't the usual barn red from where I'm from annd decided I needed a picture. There were chickens and roosters to and they seemed to be as happy as the cows,especially the rooster.

May19 Long Sault- Gananoque

M-100.02,T-8:34:13,AVG-11.66,El-1858

Kodak moment!!A perfect day to a long day of cycling with Goodxcharly's appearing over the horizon right as my ododmeter was rolling over for my first century of the trip.I got Raj, Charly's manager to help  me capture this coincidence. I'm on the right path.

May17-18 Montreal-GlenderryPark-LongSaultPark

                                                                                

May18 Glenderry-LongSault

M-51.39,T-5:02:05,AVG-10:20,El-1075

                      M-49,Doughnutz-4
                                                                                                       

Great riding here in Canada as usual,why would you expect anything else. I'm taking route 5 on the route verte network most of the way to Niagara Falls. Only 670 k of bikelanes and paths.I haven't ridden anything like this before as you can probably tell by my enthusiasm.

Yesterday, late noon as 5pm rolled around I came across the Glenderry park, closed,bummer. But I went ahead  and took a spin around the St.Lawrence frontage park and I couldn't let it go by. I just needed fresh water for my morning coffee as the parks water wasn't to appealing. Smelling like iodine or something. Maybe antifreeze to keep the pipes from freezing up and it's not like I was in the middle of the Mojave desert as you can see in the foreground.Well off I went on my trek for water and low and behold theres a church back in the woods to remedy my problem. Anyway, got the water and I had a great night of camping along the St.lawrence. Price was right to.

I got off to a 9 to 5 early start and noticed my map case was gone as I was riding west.............flew off some where...... so back I tracked a few times and couldn't come up with it. It had some
notes I've been taking for this journal to make the updates a little easier. The other stuff I didn't care so much about.
So I'm at the Glenderry library this afternoon changing some passwords,nothing to important etc. just to cover my bases whilst hoping I would get a random email from a good samaritan who came across a map case. On the upside of it all, there always is. It got me to the Tourist info. center for some  replacement maps and brochures and the gal working there,cute and personable, gave me some great ideas and sites to see along the way on  2 on Lake Ontario and St.Lawrence.Which never would of happened if I hadn't lost my map case.I still can't believe bike paths all the way to Michigan, its sooo good here in Canada. 

ART

waterfronttrail.org      If you would like to check out my next 670k.       Yippeee.

    Just another day riding the Waterfront trail.

May16 Louisville-Montreal

M93.14,T-8:42:44,AVG10.68,El-11.65

My earliest start today,7 am. I'm hoping my theory holds true after seeing all the cathedrals in the picturesque villages along the St.Lawrence that most French Canadians should be in church this morning and I'll have the roads to myself.............at least till noon. Hockey playoffs to were in town, as I noticed the unusual bustling city center as I arrived on the bike. Hockey definetly trumped church for clearing the streets here in Canada for a nice sunday evening ride.

It was my best day by far on the Chemin du Roy,a nice clear cool country morning with the route leaving 138 for a trafficless day and as you can see in the picture above, a sample of the morning ride.

I met some other cyclistes today to which have been few and far between since the beginning of my trip. By all the touring publications I read, websites, and blogs I thought I would be in rider nervana and we would be running into each other. Not the case.

Terry from my neck of the woods, Comox BC, was only on a eastward bound leg of a round the world solo tour. He had some great insights for me on touring and some routes to think about westward bound, which I'm considering.
 Phillip and Morena who I met at a lunch stop (below) were just getting there feet wet in touring with a trek out from Montreal for a couple of days, and loving it,it appeared, as they reeled me in and flew by, as I had left first, youth!! Mark?(I put the ? being I had 4 names to remember that day, a large task.) who I met while floundering with my map. again pointed me in the right direction to the bridge I needed to cross to get to Montreal and he also through in some historical insites as we road along the canal path for a great day of cycling, again.

Phillip and Morena.

Mark,Montreal.

May13-15 Quebec-Sainte Anne de la Perade-Louisville

                              
May13 M-12.59,T-1.33.48,AVG-8.06,El-355. Quebec City
May14 M-70.67,T-6:51:49,AVG-10:29,El-1965 Quebec-SainteAnn de la Perade
May15 M-55.45,T-5:12:51,AVG-10.63,El-440 SainteAnn-Louisville

I left Quebec this morning after a entertaining and memorable evening listening to the 4 Sopranos randomly assembled on the esplanade in old Quebec. A free concert and a good finale as I exited the city and started my ride up the St.Lawrence river to Montreal. The road I'll be traveling on is the Chemin du Roy or some call it the Kings Hiway.  Heres some info. on it.  http://www.lecheminduroy.com/ 
 Today was quite breath taking seeing the St. Lawrence expand into Lac Saint-Pierre. The St.Lawrence is rather large, huge,grand,is it really a river and hard to describe being from my back ground of Washington State rivers. Strait of Juan de Fuca comes to mind as a comparison but it's not a river. With the strait you get the back drop of the Olympics or Vancouver island to help with framing the size. But out here there is no depth of field,nothing on the horizon, to help frame the St. Lawrence.Well worth seeing and one of my must sea's of the ride.

Another good link for some of the great routes I've been riding is http://www.routeverte.com/ over 4000k of designated bicycle paths in Quebec. 

May12 St.Georges-Quebec

Entering Quebec.

M-71.40,T-7:49.39,AVG-9:12,El-1904

Almost there with Quebec in the fore ground.  A great day of riding pristine country roads along   the Chaudiere River Valley which I had all to myself, again.With one last obstacle to go, this challenge in the pic, and I would be in Quebec. A city I always wanted to visit and the scene above happened to be  the end of one of my attempts to finding my way across the St.Lawrence, as I could see my goal.  But I wasn't worried to much as I still had 1 1/2 hours of daylight left. I just stepped back for a minute and read the map and shelved my beeline method of navigation which works the majority of the time.

Across at last whilst floundering with a street map on the corner again when Guy, a local, stopped and asked if I need some assistance.  Of course, I said, giving him the directions to my nights lodging. He bettered the directions and upped it to a lift to the motel as he seen where I needed to go. It was a fine ending to a great day.

This day of riding, beyond my expectations, totally offset my dinner escapade the night before. I always find the first few days in a country or province with a different language challenging or intimidating till I see where my language navigating skills take me or parameters. So anyway I decided to brush up abit on my french right before dinner last night using my 1988 berlitz european phrase book covering 14 languages in 299 pages. Needless to say its not to thorough and it wouldn't of probably made a difference anyway.
 A glass of red wine was going to be my first attempt at french in this fine establishment. Vin rouge pronounced "vang roozh" by berlitz as I practiced in the safety of my hotel room as someone might here me. Finaly the moment came as I walked into the dining area of the Grand hotel. The waitress obviously seen I was language challenged with my American "Bonsoir" a dead giveaway.  "Vin Rouge"my first attempt and then repeatedly to no avail as I could see the young waitress was getting more frustrated the more times I  repeated it, vin rouge, and a tipping point was coming I sensed . Finally one more time, "Vin Rouge" ,and she snapped and marched off then followed by a new waitress who helped me with the universal pointing method as I got my glass of wine finally. She also reccommended the english menu.   

Chaudiere Valley