Day 21 Cheltenham to Walter Falls

Wednesday 9th June
Daily mileage 79miles Average Speed 12.5mph Ride Time 6hr22min
Total Mileage 598

Wow… what a ride… our longest so far by miles! Pat got up at 4.30am and we made it up at 6.30am. We had a lovely breakfast and was on the road by 7.30am. Pat was showing us some photos she had taken of a TV series that was filmed in her garden just yesterday! Its called Covert Affairs and it has the girl from Coyote Ugly in it and the bloke from ER. Cant believe we missed it.
As we left it was raining quite hard and demanded several layers of clothing to keep warm but it was difficult not to get too warm and start sweating. It was made even more difficult by the hills that we had to tackle for about the first 20 miles. Just up the road we stopped at Caledon Badlands which are clay hills that are a local tourist attraction and were quite cool. We took a few photos in the rain mean while our feet were building up a layer of clay so we were a few inches taller by the time we left. This caused issues for the rest of the day with the cleats on the bottom of our shoes that clip into the pedals.
We stopped after 18 miles at Orangeville in a shop to get warm and dry out with a hot coffee. After half hour we forced ourselves back out into the cold, wet and winds. We actually had the wind behind us for the first time on the trip and we relished it. It was blowing from the South East which was perfect. There is one main road the number 10 heading NE which is where we are heading but its busy with trucks and no hard shoulder so we spent all day finding smaller white roads that run either West, East or North so we were never really going in the exact direction we wanted but it was worth the extra distance for the quieter roads. This was made more difficult as some of the roads were unpaved but equally our ride was made easier thanks to the maps from Terry yesterday.
We stopped after 38 miles in Dundalk for more fuel then carried on still in the drizzle until we stopped after 60 miles to talk to a couple planting plants in the Rotary Club Park, they said we could camp there but it was still too early to stop so we carried on. After 70 miles we stopped on the side of the road just past Markdale for more fuel and a rest. As we stopped we got cold so we carried on for a further 12 miles into Walter Falls which is a tiny village but as we entered we came across tonnes of people wandering about.
There was a dinner being prepared in the community centre for the villagers and I wandered in and chatted to the bloke on the desk and asked if there were any camp grounds around. He said we could camp in his field down the street past the church and the 2 cemeteries and his is the only house in the road. So we headed there and set up the tent. Kris cleaned the bikes thoroughly with his hose to remove the clay and grime from the unpaved roads and then we relaxed for a bit in his beautiful gardens as the sun finally showed itself for the first time today.
Today was our first experience of long straight open roads that went to the horizon and further. On days like today it did not phase us as the wind was with us but we dread the day they are against us. We also noticed the isolation for the first time. As we head north it is apparent we are on our own for long periods in the middle of nowhere and it was quite intimidating where you could see for miles in all directions and could see nobody.
　

Day 20 Toronto to Cheltenham

Tuesday 8th June
Daily mileage 39miles Average Speed 10.7mph Ride Time 3hr34min

This morning we had to get organised and hence we were pretty late on leaving. We had decided to ship home some excess clothes and our cooking stove which made my bike 2kg lighter which is always a good thing. We attempted to pump up our tyres and unfortunately my front tyre did not like it very much and deflated! A quick change of inner tube as it was irreparable unfortunately and we were on our way. We were chauffeured by Hannah and her niece out of the city on lovely paths through high park and along the lake shore until we were shown the Mississauga Road heading North West. Guess what… there was a NW wind although not so strong.
This road was slightly undulating and seemed to get fairly busy with trucks whizzing past our left side a bit too close for comfort some times. The hard shoulder was a mere 2ft wide and Kris had to have colourful words with a truck driver who told us we should not be on the road despite all the signs that say cycles and cars share the road! Although route 1 was quieter than route 10, we met some more cyclists who showed us to another road running parallel that was even quieter and we were gutted we had not come across it sooner as it was a lovely pleasant ride.
We had not followed it for too long when we needed a fuel stop after 40 miles or so. We stopped at a nice café at 4pm and grabbed a coffee, sandwich and ice cream when we got chatting to Terry who was also on an ice cream stop. We chatted for over an hour and he tore us out the relevant pages from his map that were a lot more detailed than our free maps. Thanks that will be a great help! We also chatted to Pat, the lady working at the café and asked if there was anywhere we could camp in the area. She offered us her yard to camp in or the spare bed in her basement. She just so happened to also live on the river and just a stone throw around the corner. Perfect and thanks so much for your kind hospitality!

Day 19 Toronto (with a silent 2nd T)

Monday 7th June
Another day off today, I know you are thinking they are never going to make it across the continent at this rate but we will be knuckling down soon, we promise! We began our full day of sightseeing the city at 9am where we took the subway to Chinatown and walked down to the CN Tower.
This is the tallest tower on the planet and when Kris found out it had a glass elevator I was all of a sudden going up alone. The 56 second ride to the top made my ears pop but the views of the city together with the route of where we have come from and where we are heading was well worth it. There was a glass floor on the viewing deck that I stood on and took a picture facing down and on closer inspection later you can see Kris smaller than an ant laying on the bench asleep down below, how bizarre.
We went to the food court for lunch then walked across to the St Lawrence Market area which was actually shut on Mondays so we found St James Cathedral and slept in the grass gardens for an hour or so. We then headed up to Yonge Dundas Square which had a great atmosphere. There were actually a load of water fountains that when we took a sip from a close by drinking fountain they all stopped which was quite funny as though we had drank all the water. I guess you had to be there!
We met with Kevin and Brenda and ventured downtown where they took us on a walking tour of the city and proved to be very interesting tour guides! We had a few beers then went for dinner followed by a few more beers in an English Pub which was ‘jolly good fun!’ We have now met with them in 5 different countries which is pretty good going and it was great to catch up so thanks guys for making the effort to find us and thanks again for dinner!
　
　

Day 18 Grimsby to Toronto

Sunday 6th June
Daily mileage 21miles Average Speed 9.59mph Ride Time 2hr09min
We experienced more rain and strong winds last night, the tent floor seeped a little and the tent was swaying back and forth but overall it withstood the elements well. We had set the alarm for 6am with the intention of setting off early to beat the winds but it was raining and there were stronger winds than yesterday so we stayed in bed!
We eventually ventured from the tent at 9am where the rain had stopped and the wind had eased a little. The weather report said 40-60kmh winds from the NE which by the way had turned to be yet again straight in our faces… not impressed.
We covered up and cycled 5 miles along the north service road to a coffee breakfast in a convenience store then a further 5 miles until the beach boulevard took us over a bridge past Hamilton and into Burlington. We stopped at a few stands that were on the lake side where a cycle race was being promoted and had taken place that morning. Only 5 riders turned up due to the strong winds and showers which we knew about all too well.
We had already been told about the Go Train which allows cycles and just so happened to be going our way into Toronto. We contemplated whether this was cheating but came to the conclusion that as Toronto is back in an easterly direction we were not gaining any distance or making any progress on our East to West coast adventure. Technically Toronto is out of our way and in the wrong direction but we did not want to miss it and we wanted to catch up with our friends Kevin and Brenda and meet our warm shower hosts Hannah and David.
So we cycled a further 5 miles to the train station and took the 50 min train ride while chatting to a nice interesting bloke on the train who was into photography. As we arrived in Toronto a bit early to meet our hosts we stopped for lunch at the market then cycled a further 5 miles to their apartment by High Park on the outskirts of the city. The roads were terrible to ride on although the weather had perked up, including the wind dying down and the sun coming out, it feels like a different day.
Hannah and David made us welcome in their lovely new place that they only moved into 2 weeks ago and are busy assembling Ikea flat packs, doesn’t everybody love that job! Rockwood the house rabbit is loving the excitement of it all! We pretty much relaxed and made ourselves at home with a home cooked curry for dinner, thanks to you both for putting us up! Our hosts have a great cycle tour company www.biciklo.com.

Day 17 Niagara Falls to Grimsby

Saturday 5th June
Daily mileage 36miles Average Speed 10.05mph Ride Time 3hr37min
Last night there was an almighty thunder and lightening storm and it felt like we were in the middle of it being 6 stories high, although glad not to be in a tent. We made it to breakfast and retrieved our bikes from the meeting room, they were still there. We made our way out of Niagara Falls and am pleased to say it was lovely and sunny but there was a headwind that grew stronger as we left the built up area and the roads were still dodgy.
As we were busy reading the road signs for directions we did not notice the miles clocking up. We briefly stopped for a cold drink after 15miles through St Catherine’s before jumping on the service road which ran right the way alongside the motorway. We followed it pretty much all day and on our right the shore of lake Ontario kept us going.
We made it to a campsite at Fifth Point which is a conservation park. This should have cost us $33 but some how we managed to get stuck in a corner of the campground for free! We are on lovely grass, near to the clean shower block and a short walk away from the private beach and marina! Not bad at all. We threw up the tent and set off for the beach but the water was freezing so we sunbathed on the highest point looking out over the lake to the skyline of Toronto, our destination for tomorrow and it looks miles away.
We ate a fresh fish dinner at the restaurant on the marina then back to the tent for movie night as the rain just started to fall again, good timing. I just want to point out the distance for today does not represent the effort required as the head wind was relentless and despite sun cream our left side of our bodies are a lot redder than our right.
　
　

Day 16 Niagara Falls, Canada

Friday 4th June
Our first day off… and really not a great deal to tell. We slept in, enjoyed breakfast and did not see a great deal other than the 4 walls of our hotel room. We slept lots, watched a movie with the exception of a quick trip out for dinner.
Unfortunately, we did have to get on the bikes to take a ride to CAA which is where we hoped to pick up some maps of Canada as currently we are without map. The trip there was on busy roads with nasty tarmac although we did manage to get maps they are not overly detailed so our route to Toronto took some additional planning on Google maps.
It was nice to rest our legs today but we have itchy feet to get back on the road. Also we are slightly concerned that it was nice weather today and its meant to rain all weekend. We understand its lovely weather back at home! Typical!

Day 15 Lockport to Niagara Falls

Thursday 3rd June
Daily mileage 31miles Average Speed 10.9 mph Ride Time 2hr50min
Despite mossie attacks and a storm we managed near on 12 hours in the tent 8pm until 8am. We were up and packed and on the bikes within half an hour desperate to get to the market 3miles at the end of the road for the loo! We had a coffee in the car park then on the bikes with destination… Canada!
We basically cycled about 27miles without stopping. We only paused a couple of times to get directions as our map stopped at Niagara and the roads got busier and tougher nearer the town. We eventually made it to Rainbow Bridge which is no mans land between America and Canada and stood in the queue for customs with the falls just over to our left. Showed our passport with no problems we navigated our way along the main tourist stretch to find a hotel. We had researched a good one on trip advisor where we have a whirlpool bath in our room!
We checked in and were blown away with the clean, big, comfy, king size bed and bath and shower and tv and aircon and endless supply of free coffee and cookies. Yes, we have made it to checkpoint one in our heads. We bathed and went sightseeing over to the maid of the mist boat tour to the America and Canada Horseshoe falls. Wow, we got soaked and it was simply an amazing experience. Some 7 year old boy got washed over the 176ft high falls in 1960 and survived with no injuries, incredible.
We then walked to the behind the falls tour where we walked through tunnels that run behind the falls and just to the side. Again we got soaked but the experience was awesome. As we left, a huge storm came over again and we got even more soaked than before. We headed straight for the Casino to an all you can eat buffet and tucked in. We had a great view over the falls. Back to the hotel to chill for a while then we walked back out to photograph the falls by night with the light display. Today was a good day.