While the first part of the route was similar to TOT through Toronto , it was just enough different to throw me off at times. The route started out the same, taking us north and east through Rosedale, north on Bayview to Yorkmills, and then east on Yorkmills, but then was somewhat different after wards. Just after the turn from Morningside on to Old Finch Rd, Lori’s rear rack broke off from its seat post clamp - the welds had failed. We stopped for several minutes while Lori, with assistance, unbolted the clamp from the seat post. Fortunately her rack pack converted to a backpack. The rack had served her well since 1999, but she unceremoniously threw the rack on the grassy boulevard and put the pack on her back. We carried on, the route taking us along on Twin Rivers with a steep drop in to the Rouge Valley, and and climb nearly as steep. Martin was huffing rather loudly after this climb. We made a brief stop at Altona Rd. for Pete to call Peggy to meet us at the next control in Colbourne and to try to find a replacement rack for Lori.

We made a stop in Bowmanville at the local Canadian Tire, which I heard Lori earlier refer to as "Cambodian Tire" where she bought a small seat bag to store tools and patch kit. Just as we were leaving, we spotted Oliver and shouted to try to get his attention. Luckily he heard us and we regrouped. After our quick break we continued through the heart of town and soon made a turn that took us close to the lake. We rode on a set of road that followed the shoreline. In spite of being close to the lake, we found the route was far from flat, and we encountered a few good drops and climbs, though none as tough as the Twin Rivers climb near the Toronto Zoo. At one point along a flat stretch, we were passed by pickup truck with a bunch of bikes and driven by a group of women who cheered us on. We encountered yet a few more climbs before Port Hope and at one point lost Martin. Oliver and Chris had taken off ahead, perhaps finding our pace a bit too slow. The route from Port Hope to Cobourge was on Hwy 2, but just after entering Cobourge we missed a turn and wound up taking another road south back to get back on route. The Canadian flag I had attached to my rack trunk for the ride (it was the Dominion Day weekend) had fallen off and I stopped to retrieve it, then had to "time trial" to catch up the rest of the group. Soon after we turned south from busy Hwy 2 back to the lake shore and we were treated to some lovely views of the lake. The day was heating up but we had pleasant onshore breezes to keep us cool. We made a lunch stop at the first control in Colbourne, and Peter called Peggy again, and found she was stuck in traffic. It was at this point that Peter tried to remedy foot pain brought on by improper cleat adjustment. After a our lunch break we continued east on Hwy. 2 to our next turn which turned out to be rough gravel, which didn't help Pete's foot problems.
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The route took us past Presqu'Isle Provincial Park and along a number of marshes along the shoreline. We stopped at Murray Canal for a break, where Peter took a break to massage his feet. Peggy met up with us briefly at a small park by the canal and then carried on to her parents house in Picton. We continued on along Hwy. 33, also known as the Loyalist Highway. Although somewhat busy, it had a bit of paved shoulder and had some lovely views south and east. Recalling that there was a very good bike shop in Bloomfield, I suggested we stop there to see if Lori could find a replacement rack. At the bike shop Lori found one. The rest of us took a nice break and checked out this unusual bike shop.It turned out the Larry knew the proprietor if the shop. What a small world! We then carried on the Picton where we made a short stop at Peggy's parent's house. Peter decided at this point to abandon - he was still experiencing severe foot discomfort. Even though the cleat adjustment had helped, the damage was done. We were now a group of 4.

Bloomfield Bike Shop, where Lori found a replacement rack.

After a short break we rode to the Glenora, and waited for the ferry. It was a short ferry ride over to Adolphustown and we were soon making our way to the next control in Napanee. It seemed to take quite some time to get to there and we reached it around sunset. We went a bit off route to a Tim Horton's for a short food break. Along the main street, Jaye pointed out a travel agency with a lovely stained glass window. We had passed it on the way to the Tim's but it was only after going by it again that I finally noticed it.

Waiting for the Glenora Ferry - this was the first of three ferry crossing on the route.

At this point we were following a section of the TOT route north and then east, through Centreville, Reidville, and Enterprise to Hwy. 38. Soon enough it was quite dark, but we seemed to be flying along at a good pace. I noticed that Lori's new lighting system, a Lumotec Oval powered by a Schmidt hub, was quite bright, which made my old Union headlight (powered by a Shimano HB-NX30) pale in comparison. Hwy. 38 was quite busy, and there was not much of a paved shoulder, but luckily it was not far to Harrowsmith. We stopped there for a short break at a take out pizza place. We all jokingly wondered if Oliver had cleaned them out of day-old pizza, but no else in from the ride had stopped here. We received some loud cheers from some very inebriated locals on a rooftop pub as we rode east out of town on CR. 5. After was seemed to take an age, we reached our turn on Perth Road (CR 10) and the final leg to Kingston. I had been on this stretch of CR. 10 twice before, on the Rideau Lakes tour and had a rough idea of how much distance we had to go but it seemed that someone had secretly inserted a 10 km section. To add insult to injury, we saw a sign announcing the Kingston City limits, however amalgamation had pushed the border further north and this only served to tease us, as we climbed hill after hill, hoping each time to see the city lights each time. We were elated to finally see the lights of Kingston spread out before us after cresting one last hill.

It was now midnight, and since we were trying to catch the 12:40 ferry, I suggest we stop at one of the fast food places just past Hwy. 401. We stopped at a the take out window of a Wendy's. After a bit of jostling my bike over the sensor loop, a disembodied voice asked us for our order. We then sped through the city streets to the ferry docks, with less than half an hour before the ferry departed, hoping our meals would stay secured in our rack packs. We felt a bit like bike couriers as we wove through traffic the last few blocks through downtown Kingston. We boarded the ferry with 5 minutes to spare, then sat down in the passenger area to eat our meal. We arrived on Wolfe Island around 1 am, where Peter and Peggy directed us to the hotel. They had already secured the rooms. I noted quite a crowd in the bar next to the hotel. Martin, Oliver and Chris were already sleeping in the room as Larry and I carefully settled in. After a refreshing shower, I settled in to bed. We decided to wake at around 6:30 am, so I was in for at least a good 5 hours of sleep.
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Day 2:

Waiting to clear customs at Cape Vincent.

We awoke to morning light and got dressed. There was a bit of misty fog as we set out to meet the first ferry to the U.S. Martin and Chris had both officially abandoned the ride, and were heading back to Kingston. Larry, Lori, Oliver, and I continued on. There was a bit of chill to the air, and we went at an easy pace along the main highway. We were passed by Pete and Peggy in Larry's white van about half way to the ferry, and arrived to find them waiting with others to board the ferry. The ferry ride was short, and we then waited to be cleared through customs and immigration. The border entry here at Cape Vincent is a minor one and there was but one customs officer who has going person to person asking the usual questions and checking ID. Afterwards we went a short distance to a family restaurant for a hearty breakfast. Most of us had the usual eggs and home fries, but some decided on waffles.

After fuelling up, we continued on there route, now following the south shore of Lake Ontario. As we worked our way west and south, were were finding the route was far from flat. Initially the terrain was gently rolling, but after the town of Limerick it became more severely hilly. While the road followed the shorelime of Lake Ontario, it was rarely very close to the water and the lake was in view only through the odd valley. The heat was now building and I found myself unable to keep up the others. There was one particularly gruelling climb near the village of Fair Haven which rivaled those on the Escarpment. I found the others at a Wendy's in Oswego, which was also the control, and took shelter from the heat. While I enjoyed the break from the heat, I found the restaurant a bit over-air-conditioned, and had a rude shock when stepping back outside. Again the heat and hills took their toll and I again lost contact with the others. Oliver was out well ahead, with Lori, Larry and Jaye riding together. Once again on my own, I tried to keep an eye for each turn. At one point Pete and Peggy stopped to inform me of a minor error in the route instructions, but when I reached the town of Wolcott, stopped to ask some locals for directions. At a turn on the route, I found the others taking a break, and stopped for a washroom break and to get more water. Oliver was off ahead.

After the break I was able to keep together with Lori, Larry and Jaye. We soon went through Sodus Point and past a lovely harbour. The route had flatten out quite a bit and we were closer to the lake. As we pedalled along Lake Rd toward Rochester I pondered which of the many lakeside houses belonged to Peter Dusel, one of our American members. The sun was now low in the western horizon and we stopped a couple of times at some of the waterfront parks to take some pictures of the sun setting. Larry was trying different setting with his digital camera to try to improve the quality of a picture he had just taken but mistakenly erased everything on the memory card. We never did get to see what he had taken up to then. At the second stop, Lori decided to wait by the road, while the rest of us rode out to the lake shore. Last few kilometres before the turn south on Bay Rd seemed to stretch on a bit and the road became somewhat rolling. My headlight would come on at the bottom of each little dip, then off as we climbed back into brighter light, but soon stayed on as it became darker. Lori and I were just a bit ahead of Larry and Jaye as we made the left turn on Bay Rd.

View of the lovely sunset from a lakeside park somewhere east of Rochester, NY - photo by Larry Strung.

We were now travelling through the east side of Rochester, and looked for the next turn that would take us to the control. Our turn on Blossom Rd took us down a rather large, deep ravine and we had a nice speedy descent, but then face an equally steep climb. I was out at the front near the top of the climb, with Lori not far behind. I noted a very large pot hole and pointed out, hoping the others would see it. Lori and I stopped a few blocks after the climb to wait for the others, and when Larry and Jaye finally caught up informed us that Larry had taken a tumble - he had gone into that monster pot hole! The the turn on to Winton, we saw Peggy and Peter, who directed us to a grill style restaurant a few blocks up the street. Peggy warned us that the portions were generous and we might need to take the left-over with us. We stopped to for a well deserved break and had a very hearty meal. I noted the large sized portions, but had no problem inhaling it rapidly.

After nearly an hour, we paid for our meal and set off in the night. We worked our way west and then north, making sure we were on route. At one point we seemed to be going much farther north than we though we should, then took a left and went down a hill. As we back going down the hill Lori shouted for us to stop. She though we were going down the same hill we had gone down before we made the control, something I thought was impossible. After a bit of check the route and our surroundings we confirmed that we were not going in circles. The road flattened out and it was clear we were next to a long beach. Soon we hit the crossing of the Stutson Bridge, and then looked for the entrance to the Lake Ontario Parkway. There was some serious discomfort as we enter the expressway - Jaye shouted, "Oh my god, we're on the 401". I assured everyone that Mark Frank had said it was okay to bike on this road, even though it did indeed look like King Highway 401, a large limited access freeway that for most of it length is 2 lanes in each direction with a grassy median. Unlike the 401, it was fairly quiet and what traffic there was would pass us in the centre lane. The road was flat and had a good shoulder, and we move along at a steady pace. We had to get used to keeping our position when we encounter off-ramps and on-ramps.

At one point as we went past an overpass, a small opossum ran in from of us, and Jaye screamed as she ran over it. The was much speculation over its fate as we sped along the highway. The shock of the incident faded as we continued on. Lori noticed her Sidetrak bar was coming loose and we stopped and assisted securing it. After about 30 km out, the nice paved should ended, becoming quite rough. Larry asked that we stop - he was feeling quite sleepy. While stopped, Jaye noticed the moon, low in the eastern ski, and the odd firefly flashing off in the distance. We soon carried on, noting the mile number of the exits getting progressively smaller and after what seemed a very long stretch, turned off the highway for our next turn. I had noticed some flashing red lights in the distance along the off-ramp and found Peter waiting for us. He gave us the directions to the Captain's Cove Motel. It was now well after midnight, and I was looking forward to some sleep. Oliver was already settle in our room. After a shower, we settled in for some sleep. We set the alarm for around 6:00 which would give us about 5 hour of sleep - oh goody.
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We awoke and got set to continue. I went to the office and settled the bill for our rooms, and asked for directions to a restaurant where we could have breakfast. The five of us set out following what we thought were the directions to the restaurant, but were well past the 3 or so miles were were told it would be and Oliver stopped to ask someone where one might be. We finally found a small restaurant almost 20 km out from the motel. We decided to stop, but the service proved rather slower than ideal and we spend about an hour or so there. One we got going the sun was well up and it was getting quite warm. The lake was once again out of sight. Oliver soon took off ahead - our speed was bit too slow for his fixed gear ratio. The rest of us took turns pulling against the headwind. At one point we spotting Oliver in the distance as he sped away from a fruit stand, and then after kept note of his progress as we spotted his discarded banana peels.

A shady break in Youngstown, NY - Fort George and Niagara on the Lake are just across the river.
To the right is one of many War of 1812 history plaques along the NY section of the route.

It was quite hot by the time we arrived in Youngstown, and took a well needed break for water and a bit of food. I enjoyed the shade of some trees in a small park with a good view of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort George. I noted the historic plaque, which stated American troops had capture it during the War of 1812, but wondered if that was true, or simply revisionist history. We soon continued on to Lewiston, following a lovely road that parallel the Niagara River, with good views of the Canadian side. When we reached the town, we were once again greeted by Peggy and Peter, and we stopped for a quick break before continuing on. We encounter yet another problem with the route, which told us to take an on-ramp on to the Robert Moses Parkway, but not only was there a sing prohibiting bikes, we soon found there was no access to the Queenston-Lewiston bridge. A short ways after going under it, we saw Oliver going the other way, and cross the median to follow him. We were soon taking the Interstate to the bridge - yikes! But curiously, none of the motorists seemed to complain and we soon reached the Canadian customs and immigration booth. In spite of our arrival from the Interstate, the agent simply looked at our identification and let us through. We rode in between the rows of stopped vehicles, across the bridge to the toll booth. The women at the toll booth we choose seemed to take our arrival as quite ordinary and I paid the toll of $3, which covered the 5 of us. After exiting the bridge, we descended the escarpment and sped on to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Just before reaching the town, Larry spotted a friend's house on the Parkway and we stopped there. Oliver decided to carry on, while the rest of us enjoyed some cold juice and a shade by an outdoor pool. I seriously considered jumping in.

We found the town main street was quite busy and took a side street parallel to it. At the edge of town we stopped at a small restaurant for some lunch and enjoyed the break from the heat. The air conditioning was a bit strong and we had a rather rude shock as we went back outside. Fortunately, it was now past noon and the heat of the day was starting to fade a bit. We were heading southwest on Lakeshore Rd when Lori stopped next to the Konzelman Winery, after finding her Sidetrak bar was loose. She removes it and secured her light with duct tape. We joked about Red Green's "handy man's secret" "if they don't find you handsome, at least they'll find you handy", and she remarked that her bike now resemble Mike Meraw's ( he is a rather eccentric member who's carbon fibre bike is coated in duct tape). We commented that she would need a lot more duct tape.

After going through St. Catherines, we turned south and just after the town of Jordan began climbing the escarpment. By now I found my strength was fading a bit with the heat, and at a couple of points found I could not keep pace with the others. I was on my own along Ridge Road and soon found I was out of water. I stopped at a house to ask for some and was treated to some fresh spring water by a very nice family. Not long after turn off Ridge Road, I met up with Larry, Lori and Jaye - they had stopped at a bar for a washroom break and told me of the interesting characters in it. We kept together to the next control in Ancaster, a 24 hour Tim Horton's. The sun set as we cycled north on Fiddler's Green. We had just over 100 km to go and stopped for a nice break and some food. It was still quite warm out, and found a bit of a shock going outside after being in overly strong air conditioning. It was now quite dark when we left Timmy's, but we seemed to make good time as we worked our way west, north, and then east. Peter checked on us just before we crossed Guelph Line, and he gave us an update on Oliver's progress. We were now on familiar roads, although at night. We went through the rather nasty descent on Lower Base Line, with its sharp left turn - difficult enough in daylight, but especially challenging at night. I made a mental note to revise the route to bypass this for future editions of the brevet.

Soon enough we crossed Hwy 407 and as we neared Winston Churchill Blvd, left the countryside behind. We sped through the wilds of Missisauga and made a quick stop at a Petro Canada (at Mavis, I think) for a washroom and snack break. I bought a small bottle of Starbucks Mocha Frappachino which soon proved to be "rocket fuel". Lori pined for her bed as we sped past her neighbourhood. We soon crossed the Toronto city border, finally feeling we were near completion of the ride. Now it was Jaye's turn to resist the urge to stop was we passed near her house near High Park. We were now speeding along Dupont at around 30 kph, and down St. George over the last few kilometres. At various points we saw Peter pass us, then stop to take a photo of us.

Finally we arrived at the Parliament Building at 3:20 am, 69 hours 20 minutes after we left. We learned that Oliver had arrived just over 2 hours before. He had to get up later in the morning to cover a story for the Globe and Mail (no rest for the weary). Peter took a few pictures, then kindly offered to drive Lori and Jaye home. I pedalled home, much more slowly than before, now feeling quite tired. After a nice shower I headed off to bed to enjoy some well deserved rest.

While there a few problems with the route, it was definitely an pleasant one, and a nice addition to the club's roster of brevets. A great way to loop around Lake Ontario if one has only a few days.