Hello, B.C. (I’ve missed you)
A little over a week ago, I was getting ready to head west. I have since headed west and am now in B.C. Peachland to be exact (a wee bit south of Kelowna). And yes, it’s beautiful. Anyway, as there isn’t too much else to report this will just be a brief update (yeah, yeah … I know. I’ve said that before only to babble on for a while. Admittedly, that could happen again – but it’s not my intent!)
My first morning back in B.C. I’m home!
As for a summary of the situation thus far … well …it’s beautiful here. VERY beautiful. Not that that’s particularly (or remotely) surprising but I still feel it needed to be said. Obviously.
The next four weeks I’ll be hanging out in Peachland, B.C. Just me and Jake (a six year old Cocker Spaniel) We’re getting along great but since his owners just departed today he’s definitely missing them. I’ll attempt to distract him with plenty of belly rubs, ear scratches, and maybe the OCCASIONAL treat. Plus a few walks around this beautiful area. Side note: The Super Moon on Sunday night was stunning as it rose and reflected brightly on Lake Okanagan. I wasn’t able to get any good shots that night but I did take some video of the area the next day. Cue the video …
Go West, Not-So-Young Man
Given the lack of updates lately (or again), it probably isn’t much of a surprise to learn that there hasn’t been much cycling or travel going on … at least not by me. Eager to change that, I’m going to try something a little different for the next two months – two and a half, actually. House/dog sitting. Okay, that’s not really “different” in the sense that I’ve done both before. But only in Ontario. Well, that’s about to change.
Have bags, will travel.
I’d love say that I’m going to be heading to some tropical location to spend the blustery winter days that lie ahead but that wouldn’t be true. Well, it’s true that’d I’d love to say that but it’s not true about where I’m going. That said, in lieu of spending winter somewhere warm I’ll be spending winter somewhere beautiful. In my favourite province, actually.
In six days (i.e. Dec. 2nd) I’ll be packing up a not-so-few of my things (most of which seem to be electronically based) and heading out west to the Okanagan Valley for what I hope to be a beautiful 2.5 months. Reluctantly, I won’t be taking my bike with me – mainly because it’s a bit of a nuisance especially since I don’t know how much I’ll be able to ride it. That said, I may look into buying a used bike once I get out there – again, depending on the weather. I’m hoping I can find something for less than the price of putting my bike on the plane – I won’t rant about the cost of putting a bike on a plane but suffice it to say it seems a BIT excessive … especially since it wasn’t always that way. Anyway, I actually found a seemingly good candidate on Craigslist in Penticton but I haven’t heard a response yet. But we’ll see what happens.
For now, that’s what’s happening. Goodbye, Ontario. Hello, B.C.
Hackers! Grrrrrrr!!
In the event that you tried to view this site recently only to be inundated by pop-up ads and other such menacing garbage … well, I apologize. Although, it should be those hackers that added such menacing garbage to this site that should be apologizing (preferably from the bowels of h*ll). That said, I don’t expect them to be apologizing anytime soon. I guess the only solace I can take is that the hackers wasted their efforts hacking a site with about ten readers (okay, maybe 11). Sadly, I’m well aware that it will take much longer and much more effort for me to fix the problem than it took for them to create the problem. Update: I THINK I have cleaned all of the entries now – and I’m sure it took longer to fix than it did to get hacked.
And if you’re wondering, “Why don’t you just restore a backup?” Well, I’m tried that option but I didn’t had much luck doing so. Sigh.
And That’s That. Now What? East Aurora, NY to Delhi, ON
This morning began well when I confirmed that the videos I had left to upload through the night had indeed finished successfully. With work “finished” (seriously, I’m sure there will be more revisions), I set about packing up for the big day. Whether “big” is good or bad is a matter of perspective. Either way, if all went well today I would be back in Canada. Sadly, it would also be Ontario. For now.
My home and native land.
Of course, deciding to make today a long riding day was made easier by the fact that it was a beautiful morning. Sun shining. Warm temperature. I didn’t even bother with my long sleeve shirt. I know, I know … pretty bold for me!
The ride to the Peace Bridge was very easy and much shorter than anticipated. For some reason I thought it was going to be a 35 km ride but it ended up only being 25 km. It didn’t really matter. Either way, I was still planning on 170 km for the day. The shorter-than-expected ride to the border simply meant I’d be spending more time riding in Canada.
We DON’T walk from here.
My big concern was how long I was going to have to wait for said shuttle. That question was answered promptly. I phoned for a shuttle and it arrived within ten minutes. Pretty impressive. Side note: the sidewalk is scheduled to be closed until the spring of 2019.
Today not only marked my return to Canada but it was also the first time I’ve cycled IN to Ontario. And yes, I found that a bit depressing. I’ve happily cycled OUT of Ontario three times (east, west, south) but in the first two instances my return had been on a plane. I guess I could make the argument that I didn’t actually pedal into Ontario as I was actually on the shuttle. Either way, I was back in Ontario. At least it was still a nice day. Side note: I opted not to have the drone follow me across the border from high above. Although the temptation to do so was high.
Canada and the Peace Bridge.
The border crossing was entirely uneventful. Upon reloading my bike after the shuttle ride, I slipped into one of the car lanes and a few minutes later I was officially back on Canadian soil. Well, pavement actually.
My route to Delhi required some necessary backtracking along the route I followed back in June. The route in question included a lot of trail riding: The Friendship Trail (mostly paved), the Gord Harry Conservation Trail, Blue Heron Way, and Lynn Valley Trail (all of which were mostly unpaved but not too bad for a loaded bike). The trails were helpful in blocking the wind to which I would’ve otherwise been exposed.
Along the way, I had a brief encounter with a cyclist from France. He had started in Vancouver and was heading south to the U.S. – clearly, he’s much smarter than I am. I informed him of the closed sidewalk and shuttle and he offered me his map of Ontario (I declined) before we went our separate ways.
My first major stop for the day was in Port Colborne where there was a slight delay in my progress as the bridge was up to allow a very large boat to pass. As I recall, the bridge was up when I passed through back in June.
Excellent subs sold here.
With my belly full, it was time to get back on my bike. Despite having pedalled 60 km this morning, I still had another 110 km to go. As it turns out, most of remaining ride was on actual roads (as opposed to unpaved trails) which was nice (wind notwithstanding) … although, most of the final 15 km was back on an unpaved trail.
Fast-forward several hours and I arrived at my brother’s place in Delhi. It was around 6:30 PM. Considering the wind, I thought a 170 km travel day of 10.5 hours was pretty good (a little over 8 hours of which was actually on my bike).
However, the adventure wasn’t over yet. Attempts to get into my brother’s place weren’t entirely successful as the intended route of ingress was very much un-ingressable (yeah, I know … not a word). A few texts to my brother revealed that the cause of such un-ingressability (yeah, I know … still not a word) was an unfortunate and unintended oversight by the current holder of the house key. A backup plan was needed.
Diane, fellow ingress sleuth.
After my somewhat long day on the road (not to mention my post-ride adventure), I spent the rest of the evening resting in front of the TV watching Archer. And eating. And eating. And eating.
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- Sadly, apparently “Dinny” has health issues and wasn’t open this season.
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- This is a horrible picture. But trust me, that’s a big boat passing under the bridge.
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- Blue Heron Way.
Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 171.70 km
Ride time: 8:10:38
Average speed: 20.99 km/h
Maximum speed: 43.58 km/h
It Was Wet Then It Wasn’t Wellsville, NY to East Aurora, NY
Waiting out the downpour.
While the title of this update essentially sums up the day, it’s not really a FULLY accurate assessment of the day. Yes, it was wet and then it wasn’t. But in between there was a progression from wet, to very wet, to VERY REALLY wet. And then it wasn’t. At all. One might even say it was sunny … and it’s not even Philadelphia (sigh).
It would be safe to say that today’s plan was vague. The only thing I really knew was that there would be biking. And there would be rain. The latter I only knew because Dale, last night’s host, checked the weather forecast. I rarely do that. I figure I can’t change it and it’s not going to affect whether or not I ride, so I generally don’t even think about checking the forecast. That said, I’m glad Dale checked because my rain covers are more effective for visibility than water repellency these days – especially the front covers. So, with the heads up regarding the pending rain, I was able to wrap up some of my more “water sensitive” gear in plastic bags.
I’m not sure when the rain actually started but by the time I crawled out of bed everything was more than a little wet. On the upside, the rain was limited to a bit more than a drizzle.
After an oatmeal breakfast (made by me, I might add … highlighted with fresh blueberries courtesy of Dale’s backyard), I loaded up the bike and suited up in my rain gear – which is really more about providing warmth from the wind than keeping the rain out. One way or another, when you pedal for hours in rain gear you’re either going to be wet from the rain or wet from sweat. Waterproof and breathable just don’t go together. And really, biking in the rain isn’t all that bad if it’s warm. And today was warm … ish.
Today’s destination was …. well, a bit unknown. I was planning on finding a motel tonight because I was hoping to finish off a freelance project by tomorrow morning. And that would be hard to do while wild camping somewhere. I figured somewhere south of Buffalo would provide a solution.
When I hit the road, the rain was what I would call a steady drizzle. Enough that you knew it was clearly raining, but the not the kind of rain the beats down on you and pelts your face into submission as you try to ride through it. Although, that would change. But fortunately, time was on my side when that happened.
I was about 35 km into my wet ride when I became mildly concerned that I had missed a turn. Fortunately, there was an open garage at the intersection in question so I figured I’d retreat to some shelter to check my map. There was good news twofold when that happened. First, I didn’t miss a turn. Second, just as I was about to return the road, the skies opened up and the rain came pelting down. I delayed my return to the road.
2 for $6.
Things continued that way for another two hours but as I neared Arcade, NY there were actually glimpses of blue sky to be seen. As I arrived in Yorkshire, NY there was considerable blue sky to be seen. Considering the forecast had led me to believe I’d be riding in the rain ALL day, this was a VERY pleasant turn of events. I decided to celebrate with two whoppers for $6 in Yorkshire. Yeah, I know … we all have our own way of celebrating and apparently destroying my arteries is high on my list of celebratory methods. Don’t judge me!
An internet search while enjoying my lunch revealed a motel in East Aurora which looked like it would suit my needs. My vague plan for the day was becoming significantly less vague. I finished off my burgers and set course for the Bluebird Motel.
The ride to East Aurora ended up being beautiful. The sun was out. The sky was blue. The temperature was more than comfortable. And the wind was negligible. I certainly didn’t expect any of that when I set out this morning. If only I had some pizza to finish off the day.
Cargo bungee nets are fantastic. Especially with pizza.
I checked in to the Bluebird Motel without incident and promptly got my laptop up and running as I had more than a few videos to export and upload by morning. Fortunately, that could be done unsupervised. So, with my laptop working away I turned my focus on to more urgent matters. Pizza.
While the the Bluebird Motel is a bit isolated there are food establishments about 2 km down the road. And yes, there was pizza. I opted for Papa Geno’s based on the recommendation of the manager at the Bluebird. The challenge of course would be carrying the pizza on my bike – not that it would be a first. Moritz and I each did so in Sault Ste. Marie in 2014 … as I recall, it may have been too much pizza (if that’s possible).
Anyway, one of my favourite recent additions to my collection of gear is my bungee cargo net. Today only added to my fondness for said item. It was more than up to the task and made pizza transport completely effortless. I can’t believe I used to tour without it. Okay, yes I can. But it’s certainly VERY useful and effective.
Upon returning to the motel, it took all of 11 minutes to eat the pizza. While I probably (i.e. definitely) could’ve eaten more, I certainly didn’t need any more. Especially since I also bought chips and salsa while waiting for the pizza to cook and had that for dessert. Oh, and I bought milk too since my room has a fridge – strangely, it had two. Anyway, there will be cereal for breakfast tomorrow. Yup, the day may have started off slightly less than idyllic but today was another great day.
5:30 PM. Supper!
5:41 PM. End of supper.
Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 122.43 km
Ride time: 5:30:06
Average speed: 22.25 km/h
Maximum speed: 46.65 km/h