Monday, July 23rd 2012
I had a pretty good sleep although since I had a late dinner not a long enough sleep. No matter though as I was going to Toronto, actually more exactly my friend Ian’s in Scarborough. where I could stay a few days and do a mini recovery for the legs. Almost right from the get go my legs were shattered. You know that feeling when you have biked, hiked or ran for an extended period of time and your legs feel l have burning soreness like they are full of acid and you have no power left if you put any effort into moving a little faster? Today was going to be one of those days plus it was going to get up to 38 degrees today and was already in the high 20’s at 10am.
I started down the 400 highway which by now was a 6 lane highway with cars going by at mach 7. I was going to ride around 20 or 30 kilometers on this highway and then pull off to a quieter one just so I could make some ground since the big highways are flatter than the country roads. Oddly enough a man pulled over and in not so many words said I was crazy to be on the highway and should take a different road. I didn’t argue with him and it was probably a good time for a small intervention anyway because sometimes 20 kilometers turns into a 100 kilometers when you are making good time but the danger was no worth it.
I found a nice country road only 500 meters West on the 400 that had no traffic but was quite hilly. It was hot but there was shade once an a while and I was able to distract myself with thoughts of arriving in Toronto. Eventually that road was nearing its end so I cut over the 400 looking for a road or highway to head South on. This is where I saw a sign for Auld Kirk which was the first all Scottish settlement in Canada. I went down a sie road but was unable to find it. I wikipediaed it and it indicated the only thing left was the church which was locked and a graveyard. My Scottish blood told me to move on and get out of the roasting sun.
At this point it is harder and harder to find quiet country roads since you are hitting the larger suburbia of Toronto. I took Tinge street for a while but it got quite busy. There are an endless amount of towns and busy roads fulling of people rushing to get around. I stopped several times just t get a break from the heat but I wanted to keep going so I could make this a little shorter of a day than normal. I managed to find a few more backroads which only a few city goers were using to escape Toronto and closed in on Scarborough. I managed to bend my middle change ring so I lost some gears. For the final few kilometers I had to use my GPS so I was stuck in a high gear while I navigated the back roads of Rouge Hills which is where Ian lives.
Finally I was on his road looking for an address I hadn’t been to in 5 years. I got lucky though, Ian was in his driveway just wrapping up a welcome message for me. Right on Nedster!!!! Very cool to ride in like that!!! We took a couple of pictures with the neighbors kids who had a series of questions then I went inside for dinner and a few beers. Ian and I a friends from my Whistler days which started 20 years ago, I can’t believe I can talk about something I did twenty years ago as kind of an adult – werd!
