Sat, Jun 17 2006 - Niagara-on-the-lake Bike Tour (View Original Event Details)
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It was HOOOOOTTTTT, and I don' t just mean our TOC members (who are all very "hot" as we all know!). One of those days where the temperature was insignificant and all we focused on was the Humidex. We lucked out by having more than enough cars and bike racks for everyone, one of my main concerns, but Cynthia saved the day as she was unable to bike ride but had never been to Niagara-On-the-Lake before, and was curious to see what all the fuss was about. She invited another member - Mel - to keep her company.
We arrived at our meeting spot early enough that there was plenty of free parking spaces still left. It took us some time to get bikes off racks, tires pumped, bladders empty and rentals booked. When we got to the meeting spot, or the *assumed* meeting spot, we were 4 members down. Unfortunately we couldn't get ahold of them, so we headed out, through the old town and down to Lakeshore Rd. We'd barely gone a quarter of the way when we saw our first winery - so we decided to make a pit stop, for water, and for some of us, a nice taste of pinot blanc. Very refreshing! The stop allowed Avinash to catch with his rental bike, which looked like a very comfy cruiser, for this who are thinking of renting... Lakeshore was dusty so we soon made another stop for fresh strawberries - mmm. Questions were asked about lunch and we generally assumed we'd find another winery or convenience store where we could refill our water bottles and eat lunch. It was a well-defined loop route, after all...
we travelled down Lakeshore until the Welland Canal where crossed and biked along the canal for several kms. It was beautiful ride and nice bike path, but we were getting hot and thirsty with no shade around us. We looked to stop at the next restaurant - anything. But everything was closed, which was disappointing. Aamer was willing to run into 'Private Eyes', a men's club, to grab us some water. That Aamer, so very willing to help!.
As we turned onto Queenston Rd, Carrie was getting a valuable education in dehydration. Mainly, that it SUCKS. Her energetic, vibrant personality was slowing down just as her rpms were getting less and less. Rob stopped in a shady spot across from the only winery on Queenston rd between Airport Rd and St Davids, which was open. Carrie zipped in for water, looking like she just stepped off the Serengheti. (I mention this because Rob will be on his way to the actual Serengheti in a couple of weeks!). However, the winery refused to give her any water! I made some smart remark later on about them not being able to turn wine into water, but for any of you planning on winery tours, I suggest avoiding this winery that starts with an "M" on Queenston rd. Luckily Aamer saved the day by stopping a couple in their driveway and asking for water, which they readily gave him.
After refuelling Carrie, or Ms Hydration, or Agualina or whatever nickname I think of next, we stopped for lunch in St. Davids, and everyone refueled up and we discovered that Jason also was feeling the ill effects of the heat...he was looking quite white. We did discover that he was out at a Stag the night before, so there was plenty of cynical remarks made about how his current condition came to be. We tried to rearrange a meet up point in Queenston with Cynthia and Mel, but we had a bit of SNAFU and managed to get all separated on the niagara trail back to NOTL, but we managed to catch up, and Cynthia pulled over with her car and offered to take anyone back with them who needed the rest. Gerry called them 'our sagwagon', which Cynthia took some offence to, so Gerry needed to explain, no really, it's a *good* thing. With 5km to go, we spread out a bit, as I was feeling the pressure of the heat I wanted to sprint to the end, while others took there time. Jo stayed with Carrie while (it was reported) she was still feeling the effects of dehydration, but when they arrived, Carrie assured us that she was really just 'enjoying the scenary'. I never doubted that for a second, as the scenary along that stretch is spectacular!
It was, all in all, a very eventful day. From impatient drivers in sports cars that yelled smart remarks to Jason and I, only to be held up by an unknowing Afra 10 feet ahead, to visits to Isaac Brock's memorial, to ice cream and wading pools, it was a wonderful day. I did notice that Cynthia and Mel looked cool and refreshed, compared to our ragtag group. As to our missing cyclists, John and Christine made it all the way to Niagara Falls and back, so they ended up having a lovely ride as well.
Rob, Aamer, Jo and I met up at the Goose for a couple of pints and to watch the Oilers win, starting our new tradition. Everyone agreed it was a lovely place to end the day, and hopefully those people in our group who *wanted* to come, but were just too exhausted from the sun and exercise, will be joining us again soon.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.