Day 66 Johnstown, ON to Hogansburg, NY September 9, 2009

Day 66 Johnstown, ON to Hogansburg, NY
September 9, 2009
61 Miles
3156 total miles


If any of you are feeling old and weary, telling yourselves that you "can't do it, whatever 'it' is , anymore" then here's some inspiration for you: a couple from Summerstown, ON, Jean and Bob Hill, who just concluded their own Trans-Canadian tour!

This was my last day in Canada with a fair weather ride along the Waterfront Trail which is a remarkable connection of park paths, side-roads, and bike lanes on routes parallelling the St. Lawrence. This had to have been one of the best days yet on my tour, passing through historic places such as the Crysler Farm Battlefield of the War of 1812, where the British and Canadians routed a far superior force of Americans on November 11, 1813. Past the heritage museum of Upper Canada Village, where many buildings of historic significance were relocated during the great inundation of the making of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, then out along the islands in the seaway and through provincial parks winding up finally in Cornwall. I cruised through sylvan glades of birch, sweet, late-summer goldenrod meadows, past marshes teeming with geese feeding for their fall migrations, and glittering sun off of these enchanting waters where fisherman cast out for that last big one of the summer. Speaking of summer: while still here, the people aren't>> overnigth, the parks, public places and roadways have become very deserted, much to my delight. All the kids are now back to school, and the rare tourists I encounter are almost all retirees who are past the rush and bustle stage in life. A much nicer pace.

Didn't get much time in Cornwall, only long enough to "squat and gobble" and then hit the bridge for USA. It turned out to be 2 long, high span bridges with an island in the middle of the river which is owned by the Akwesasne Indians who have recently asserted some national rights with respect to Canadian border patrol carrying guns on their land. Upon reaching the US side, after a lengthy interrogation from the border agent, I reached a dark and forbidding Roosevelt Town, NY, and found the motel there, which wasn't a motel at all. fortunately, I found the motel which had been earlier recommended to me. It was a little more pricey than I had hoped and all they had left was a smoking double, but I jumped at the chance to have a big clean bed, Internet access, laundry facilities and a breakfast!

Day 64-65 Kingston to Johnstown, ON September 7-8, 2009

Day 64-65 Kingston to Johnstown, ON September 7-8, 2009
71 Miles
3095 total miles

Don't know how long this run will last, but we have just had another 2 days of brilliant weather. A streak of nine in all. I spent such a full day in Kingston that I didn't leave until mid-afternoon. I rolled down the shore to a campground just outside of Gananoque, looking out at the 1000 Islands and woke up to a foggy morning down by the river. It didn't last long and as the fog lifted I was treated to expansive views of the myriad of islands and of the cottages to castles upon them. I splurged and took the tour boat out to the islands, including Heart Island, home of the Boldt Castle, heritage of the Waldorf-Astoria fortune and ostentatious reminder of another age of excess. For whatever reason, this part of the country has never before been prominent in my imagination, but is gaining in appreciation. Perhaps it is in part due to the neglected chapters in my 11th grade American history book! Vague recollections of a French and Indian War and Arnold's march on Quebec are about the extent of my memory banks. The 5 nations of the Haudenosaunee, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the flooding of historic towns to make it, the Loyalists who fled the American colonies and resettled here in historic villages and towns built of limestone, the logging and fur trades, maritime activities, canals, etc., all become matter for musing as I rolled through the towns of Gananoque, Brockfield, Maitland, and Prescott. In many places, old colonial limestone homes, surrounded by stone walls and shade trees, open expansively down sloping hills with St. Lawrence overlooks, which also afford the passerby to catch glimpses of the sparkling waters below.

Upon reaching the town of Prescott, I pulled into the Red George Public House which is a true community fixture, with 50 local owners participating in the equity of the place. The owner of the building in which it is housed, Scotty Hubbard, is also the manager of the place. In another strange turn of events Scotty was born in the same place and same era as my older brother Christopher. Scotty came into this world at Thayer Hospital in Waterville, ME in February 1954. His father Cal Hubbard went to Colby College as did my father, but they weren't contemporaries-- Cal matriculated before the war and returned to finish at Colby afterwards. He was a DKE and my dad was an ATO.

This next part goes out to all the mothers out there reading this and in counterpart to their children: Dear moms, I would like to thank you for standing by your children no matter how old or young, happy or sad, healthy or sick, famous or infamous. While I was at the pub I was witness to a sad, dysfunctional man who had obvious drinking problems which were becoming a public matter to everyone's discomfort. His mother came to help him out and he was less than kind to her, despite her patient and caring manner in dealing with him. He obviously needed help, but I couldn't help but think that there comes a time in life, when despite the unconditional love of a mother directed at a troubled 40 year old son, it needs to give way to a caring loving child returning the sentiment. There ought to come a time when we as children in this world stop demanding things of our parents and turn in their direction to help them as they become older and more frail. Thanks to all you moms (and dads!) out there who give life and love to their children. May we, the children, someday be able to return that love in whatever ways we can.

Day 63 Tweed to Kingston, ON Sunday September 6, 2009

Day 63 Tweed to Kingston, ON
Sunday September 6, 2009

62 Miles
3024 total miles

One more fabulous day of riding in this ever-so-sweet tail-end of a Canadian summer. Greg and Stacey gave me a wonderful send-off and pointed me down the road with guidance as to better choices for a safe and enjoyable ride towards Kingston. They both put on many kilometers a year on these local roads and know every bump and pothole! To my pleasant surprise, after about an hour and a half I was overtaken by Greg and Stacey on the road between Marlbank and Tamworth. They paced me into Tamworth and we stopped briefly at the bakery there for some excellent refreshments (thanks guys!) and another push off-- this time they headed for the remainder of their loop and points homeward and I along the remainder of my ride. I decided to take County 4 instead of County 6 and it turned out to be a good decision, and projected me straight towards Lake Ontario at Millhaven. The road conditions were for the most part smooth and had good shoulders for much of he way along 4. Once at the lake I followed Route 33 into Kingston along what is known as the Loyalist Trail. The views out towards Amherst Island and along the beginnings of the St. Lawrence were sunny and sailboat filled. It made me want to park the bike and get out on the water. Perhaps tomorrow for the 1000 Islands boat tour... In one respect I did fulfill that wish and booked a night on the Canadian Coast Guard Ice-breaker/museum/Bed&Breakfast Alexander Henry, named after colonial fur trader, militia man, merchant and author Alexander Henry, which offers fairly affordable rooms in the historic district of Kingston during the summer months. In addition it is a floating museum and an extension of the maritime museum next door. Tomorrow will involve some sightseeing and I will avoid riding too much, as it will be "crazy labor-return-home-at-all-costs-regardless-of-the-bike-in-front of-me-day." Spent dinner out at the Kingston Brewing Company where I met a fellow traveller and blogger, Jen, who is on the road in a return tour of her native Canada after teaching English Lit. abroad for the past 13 years. Awesome journey so far-- great conversation, pictures and insights to all things and people Canadian! Happy Trails in "Jamboree!"

Day 62 Peterborough to Tweed, ON Saturday September 5, 2009

Day 62 Peterborough to Tweed, ON Saturday September 5, 2009

64 Miles
2965 total miles

Rode out of Peterborough with Sue and Ian guiding the way on the back roads. We stopped at the world famous Peterborough lift locks built in 1904 on the Trent-Severn waterway and witnessed a couple of tour boats being lowered 50 or more feet in a big tub of water! I never knew there was such an invention, but the physical principle is simple and the same as that involved for any hydraulic lift jack-- but size of the lift pistons required to lift the mass of boats and water-- now that's a different story! The Trent-Severn canal goes from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron and is a popular trip for boaters. On my way to Tweed, I looked for the Trans Canada trail where it was indicated on the maps, and found, instead, depending on the locale, old rail tracks or rough ATV rutted rail grade, but none of the promised limestone screenings. The map set I am using published by a consortium of various trails councils have been somewhat misleading, whether I'm looking for a paved road, a road with a shoulder or a cycling trail in good condition. Much of the overall trails plan here in Ontario is still " a good notion" awaiting a budget, zoning or use permits or some other reason. The result is a discontinuous system of trails, which is hit-or-miss. When they are good, though, they are very good and getting off the road is a great way to relax a bit and see some scenery instead of the white-knuckle alternative on the provincial highways. My Warm Showers hosts in Tweed, Stacey Berdan and Greg Kerr, tri-athletes in their own right, were very accommodating. Greg also had a great uncle, Sylva Biron, and an uncle, Gerald Kerr, who lived in my hometown of Rumford , Maine! I have more great information about the route ahead and have been convinced to spend a little more time in Ontario, to visit the historic port town of Kingston, the former capital of Canada, and the Thousand Islands boat tour near Gananoque. I should make it to the states in about 2 days.

Day 60-61 Barrie to Sharon to Peterborough, ON

Day 60-61 Barrie to Sharon to Peterborough, ON
Thursday-Friday September 3-4, 2009
39/62 Miles
2840/2902 total miles

Compressing two postings into 1 as I work my way across Ontario. the weather has been so kind to me that I have decided to take a more leisurely pace across this section, enjoying some of the sights and lounging in the sun a bit. My tent was so wet from the dew at the campground yesterday, it took some extra time to dry out-- besides, there was a great saltwater pool at the Bare Oaks resort and I couldn't resist getting some sun and vitamin D on parts of me that don't normally see the sun ;)

The ride into Peterborough was enhanced by an end of the day ride in the oncoming moonlight along the Omemee section of the Trans Canada trail, where I arrived at the home of Susan Sauve who works in transportation planning in Peterborough and Ian Attridge who is founder and director of the Kawartha Heritage Conservancy, a public land trust, were magnanimous hosts in the Warm Showers network. Enjoyed a relaxing evening and morning brunch with them and their friends Richard and Renee and set my sights on my next stop in Tweed.

Day 59 Craigleith Provincial Park to Barrie, ON Wednesday September 2, 2009

Day 59 Craigleith Provincial Park to Barrie, ON
Wednesday September 2, 2009
49 Miles
2801 total miles

Instead of taking a complete rest day in one place, I decided to take 2 easier riding days with some leisure time mixed in. I rode the easy grade along the Georgian Trail to Collingwood where I had a little maintenance done on my bike at Little Ed's bike shop. From there I rode to Wasaga Beach, Ontario's Gold Coast, where I spent a couple of hours on the beach at what is claimed to be the world's longest fresh-water beach at 14km long. This is a very touristed area, with lots of summer cottages as well as day visitors-- about a 2 hour drive from Toronto. I enjoyed the time on the beach and avoided visiting any of the tourist trap shops, then rode my way out of town in the direction of Barrie, or at least so I thought! I took route 92 out of Wasaga Beach, but missed my turn-off so ended up probably 20 km off of my planned route which delayed me in arriving at my destination, warm showers host, William Sulivan's home. After cleaning up, William, who is a cooking instructor for the Canadian military, suggested we go out to dinner and we spent some time looking around in downtown Barrie for something suitable. We ended up at Manhattan's which served up a very respectable pasta dish, although the total ticket was a little pricey. I saw a little more of Barrie this morning as I retraced some of the previous night's steps down to the waterfront of Lake Simcoe and Kempenfelt Bay. The people of Barrie have a beautiful town with parks, marinas , sculptures and bike paths all along the waterfront. William told me the night before that many people who live here commute the hour + into Toronto every day and enjoy living here due to it's lower congestion and amenities, such as the lake. If I were a Canadian, Barrie would be on my list of places worth living!

Day 58 Owen Sound to Craigleith Provincial Park, ON

Day 58 Owen Sound to Craigleith Provincial Park, ON
34 Miles
2752 total miles

Took the easy way out today as I found the library in Owen Sound to post some photos up to the blog. Made it as far as Craigleith Provincial Park where I set up my tent on the shale shores of Lake Huron in the shadows of the Blue Mountains. On my way to the campground I passed the wreckage of what was apparently a tornado, immediately next to the section of the Georgian Trail that I was riding on, just next to the Blue Mountain ski resort. Trees were snapped off half-way up their trunks , roofs torn up, and debris everywhere. It happened a couple of weeks ago on August 20 when I was back in Michigan and tornadoes were reported in Ontario and Quebec during that time. Explored the shale shoreline for a little and observed many fossils-- trilobites, etc. That are part of the fossil record there. One may look, but it is forbidden to keep any of the specimens. The sunset was spectacular as it set over Cape Rich to the west of the campgroaund. Made friends with my neighbors at the campsite, Brigette, her 2 doughters Vanessa and Amelia and Vanessa's boyfriend Chad and little dog Tanika. They invited me over for some of Amelia's guitar music by the campfire, some originals and some old stand-bys. Very enjoyable and capped off with a cup of hot cocoa and Bailey's Cream!