Ajax to Trenton to Kingston to Brockville

Tuesday
Day 50 Ajax, ON to Trenton, ON
Distance 137
Saddle time 5:27
Avg speed 25.1
Max speed 46.8
Total ascent 944m
Total descent 944m (!!! THE FIRST DAY ON THE TOUR THE ASCENT AND THE DESCENT ARE EXACTLY EQUAL!!!)

I was really excited to ride today, as we were heading through Oshawa – the town where I grew up/my parents still live.  I didn’t sleep in my own bed Monday night because I had to meet a friend/try on a bridesmaid dress and the logistics were too complicated, so I was back in my cozy tent Monday night (it feels like home by now!).  I got up early and rode to Hope Fellowship with Julia and Shannon before the rest of my regular crew left because I wanted to be able to spend some time at the church with the people there.  What an incredible welcome!  As we rode up, there were signs every 0.5-1km with encouraging messages. Then, each rider was cheered in by a crowd of Hope Fellowshippers with flags, cowbells and other noise makers – it was pretty amazing.  Our delicious snacks were crowned by the ultimate SAG prize – a CANDY BAR!! AMAZING!  More than all those things, it was great to spend 1-1.5 hrs getting to see people from the church I grew up in!  I was blown away by all those who came out to greet us cyclists and encourage us!  It makes an enormous difference.  I really enjoyed seeing everyone (I don’t want to list names in case I forget anyone!), but it was particularly special to see some people from elementary school, high school and a lot of the other people I grew up with.  I had a wonderful time.

A candy bar for the cyclists!  Great idea!!!

 

After a long stop, I headed out with Malori at a perfect pace (we only ride at a perfect pace…) for the rest of the day.  I met the mom of one of my high school friends cheering in Newmarket and had a great visit, then headed off for two more church stops: Grace CRC in Cobourg (yummy  crackers and cheese!) and the CRC in Brighton (where we got oliebolien (!!!!!!!!) and ice cream).  It’s the first day of the tour that I ended with more food than I started with.  Ontario, you did us proud from a hospitality point of view.

Monday night we visited Kaitlyn Kuipers’ family in Brighton.  They were amazing hosts, and we passed a much too short evening of wine, steak and good company before a good night’s sleep (in a bed this time!).  Absolutely amazing day!

Wednesday

Day 51 Trenton, ON to Kingston, ON

Distance 128km
Saddle time 5:03
Avg speed 24.5
Max speed 48.6
Total ascent 612m
Total descent 628m
 
After a great breakfast of bacon and eggs at the Kuipers, we headed back to Trenton to start cycling for the day.  I was not feeling so hot overall, my legs are still pretty burned (even after trying a few Epsom salt baths, Aud, which I think helped, so thanks for the suggestion) and I just feel a bit fatigued overall.  I’m still loving it, it’s just a bit hard on the body!!

We had a great, leisurely ride through a gorgeous area today.  We had a few stops (a church stop and then we took a detour to Lake on the Mountain, a cool geologic feature where Kaitlyn met a friend of hers) but had a great day and good company.  I can’t really think of anything else exciting that happened during the ride.

Ferry ride!

Once in Trenton, we set up camp and then were treated to an amazing array of desserts by two local churches!  Delicious again!  We had a great time of worship and sharing with some local church members and then I was able to catch a sweet sunset over Lake Ontario while stretching.  Not too shabby!

 Thursday

Day 52 Kingston, ON to Brockville, ON

Distance 96
Saddle time 4:05
Avg speed 23.5
Max speed 45.7
Total ascent 554m
Total descent 559m

Nice short day between Kingston and Brockville today.  The route was absolutely gorgeous, winding along the St. Lawrence river and through the 1000 Islands.  I rode with my dad at a nice leisurely pace.  A number of people had stopped at Ivy Lea to take a boat cruise (we decided not to) and somehow everybody’s helmets ended up linked together on the picnic table after they got on the boat.  I can’t think how that could have came to be!

A helmet mystery....

 

By Ivy Lea there was a beautiful and well paved pathway along the road, so we had a lot of fun, zooming along with an excellent tailwind.  Wherever there was a driveway, there was a roller in the path, so we had fun bouncing over those.  After one particularly excellent one (at the bottom of a hill), my dad said, “That was so fun, let’s go up and do it again….”  I thought he was joking until I saw him riding back up the hill in my rearview mirror to hit it again!

Otherwise a pretty uneventful day for us.  Got to Brockville, went for lunch with my parents and some other riders and now getting some pics uploaded onto facebook!