Sault Ste Marie, Ontario to Connecticut (Home)

The Velorution bike shop in Sault Ste Marie has a wall sized map of bike routes heading east. I was advised to stay off 17, the trans Canada highway, as much as possible.  Unfortunately, the roads in Ontario are quite bad for riding as shoulders are a rarity.  Most of route 17 is a two lane, no shoulder, very high traffic road.  I decided to try the road less traveled (above) out of The Soo, which was hillier, dirtier and slower, but scenic and no traffic.  

Some of the best riding on the Trans Canada Highway was along the Mississagi River heading to Blind River, ON.

Warmshowers host, Muriel, and her very affectionate cat, in Blind River.  After fiddling with my flat tires that morning I got a late start and didn't arrive until dusk.   Muriel's husband, Wayne, works early mornings and had to go to bed immediately after I arrived. Muriel seemed happy to have my company and fed me a nice dinner of burgers and zucchini. They have a guest cottage on the river behind the house, so I had my own little place. When I first contacted Muriel they were unable to host me, but had a change of plans and sent me an email that morning. Temperatures dropped near freezing that night, so I was grateful to be inside.  

From Blind River I did another big day of riding to get to Warmshowers host, Justin, about 7 miles west of Little Current, ON on Manitoulin Island.  The cold and/or wet weather provided good motivation to plan and line up places to stay. The 98.5 mile ride was a long one, as the wind was blowing strong out of the east. I had a headwind for the first 2/3 of the ride, and by time I got to Espanola I knew I would be riding in the dark. 

Riding into the sunset to get to Manitoulin Island, one of the benefits to riding late in the day.  Route 6 heading south is hilly, curvy, scenic, and there is a good shoulder.  As I got closer to the island the road turned more west and I started getting a bit of a tailwind. The last 1/3 of the ride turned out to be one of the best sections of riding in ON.

I knew Justin's place was going to be a unique WS experience. I had heard it referred to by other hosts and cyclists as the "hippie farm". Justin's family has been living on a rural property outside of Little Current for decades and Justin is working to turn it into a sustainable permaculture community www.facebook.com/manitoulinpermaculture.

There are a handful of young enthusiastic people living there that greeted me with hugs, smiles, and a hot meal when I arrived around 9PM.  I spent two nights in one of the miner's tents on the property.  Not the cleanest accommodation, but dry and sheltered, which was much appreciated as a nasty storm moved in that night.  Heavy rain and wind gave me a day of rest and everyone was happy to have me stick around.

The fruits of labor.  The late summer/early fall is a good time to visit! There was an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies.  In the kitchen I helped with applesauce preparation, and in the evening helped assemble bee hive frames while discussing the merits of a communist system and 9-11 conspiracy theories.  The conversations challenged my way of thinking and made me more self-aware of my American perspective than any other interaction I've had on the trip.  That was the first time I felt like the conservative in a conversation.

From the town of South Baymouth there is ferry across Lake Huron to the town of Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula.   Justin recommended I ride back to Little Current and ride route 6 on the east side of the island to get to the ferry rather than route 540 on the west side.  Route 6 is apparently more scenic and has a big shoulder, whereas 540 has no shoulder.  I rode about 1/2 mile toward route 6 into a 20 mph headwind before turning around and riding with the wind on 540. No point in riding into the wind if I don't have to.

It turned out there wasn't much to see anyway. The morning was overcast with a supposed chance of showers. Somehow that turned into a heavy rain beginning mid-morning and lasting into the night.  Most of the day I rode with the brim of my hat low over my face to keep the rain off.  There seems to be no accurate weather forecasting around the Great Lakes! When I arrived at the ferry  I was soaking wet and happy to be getting on board, where I found a comfortable place to read and drink hot cups of tea. Above is the view from the ferry window with Lake Huron looking more like an ocean.  I actually started getting bit sea sick.  

I reluctantly got off the ferry around 5PM into the whipping wind and pouring rain. I had no host lined up, so planned to find a place to camp, and was now thinking I should have spent another night on the farm. The good news was that whipping wind shifted and was now coming from the north.  I started heading south and kept riding until it got too dark and dangerous to be on the road.

Around 8PM a car got close enough to make me wonder if it even saw me, so I started thinking more seriously about finding a place to stay.  I saw a car in a driveway and stopped to ask where the nearest town is.  They didn't know, as they stopped to ask for directions themselves. I rode up the driveway, knocked on the door of the farm house, explained myself, and asked if I could sleep in the barn.  Murray, the farmer, didn't even blink.  He said, "Sure, of course.  Meet me around back." He even had an old mattress in a pile of other junk that we pulled out.  After I got out of my wet clothes and began digging into my food bag, Murray came out with a lantern, bowl of hot soup, roast beef sandwich, box of orange juice, and a bottle of water.  People are good. I slept like a baby.

The next day the wind was still blowing, now from the west. I was heading south/SE, so I had a strong crosswind, but by the afternoon  the sky was blue, and I was happy to be drying out and warming up.  This day (Sept 22) marked the end of the late October like weather in September.  Mostly sunny and warm from here to CT!

Riding through rural ON isn't particularly exciting, but it is scenic with rolling farmland and has a large Amish and Mennonite population.  One notable feature is the abundance of wind and solar energy systems. Ontario has made a big push for renewable energy through their Feed In Tariff program fit.powerauthority.on.ca/, so there are a lot of large solar PV installations and wind turbines dotting the landscape.  Not everyone is so excited about the wind development, especially the people that live near them but don't profit from them. 

I arrived to Belgrave (not Belgrade), home of WS host, Ken and Jocelyn,  dirty and still a bit wet.  They got  me all cleaned up and I felt pampered by the good food, a clean comfortable bed, and clean clothes.  Ken and Jocelyn are retired dairy farmers and now keep busy bicycling, making pottery (Jocelyn) and as the Pastor of a local church (Ken). Ken and I had a nice conversation about religion and extremism. I was delighted and surprised to hear his thoughtful, open minded and rational perspective on interpreting the Bible.  The conversation challenged my general suspicion of religion and gave me plenty to think about while riding. 

From Belgrave I went east toward the greater Toronto area, which was mostly rural until hitting Kitchener.  The stretch of road above had a rare paved shoulder for cyclists and those who might dislike driving more than me, the Amish and Mennonites.  I was always happy to see them on the road so I wasn't the only non-motorized vehicle that motorists had to slow down for. I tried to catch one, and learned a buggy with one horse moves about the same speed as I do on my bicycle.  So, either I am as strong as a horse or the bicycle is more efficient than a horse and buggy set up.  I am guessing the latter, as they are still using wooden wheels. 

The ride into Cambridge, ON on the bike path with the fall colors in their prime.

Cambridge Warmshowers host, Sarah (right) and roommates sharing an excellent risotto and veggie dinner with me.  They are all  architecture grad students at the University of Waterloo. The architecture campus is located in downtown historic Cambridge.  Before riding out of town I got a tour of the old mill building the architecture school now occupies, which is right on the scenic Grand River.

Riding into and out of Kitchener/Cambridge area I experienced a bit of city shock.  I hadn't been through a city that big since Minneapolis.  After Cambridge I rode into Hamilton, which was a surprisingly big industrial city and I found the traffic and navigating to be overwhelming. As soon as I got in I started looking for a way out.  The way out was the Escarpment Rail Trail, a bike trail the slowly climbs the escarpment heading east and offers some nice views of the city (above). 

Not far outside of Hamilton I was back in the country.  I took country roads nearly the entire way.  All were good riding, except when riding past the white buildings emitting a horrible chicken shit odor.  Not even a window on those buildings.

About 10 miles west of Niagra Falls I spent the night with Warmshowers hosts, Evan and Suzette.  They are pictured above with their very old Pierce bicycle, which hangs in their living room. Suzette makes some tasty cornbread, and treated me to my first Niagra wine. Good stuff! 

The next day a short ride over to Niagra Falls. There is no shortage of tourists around there to get a picture. I had no idea the area is lined with casinos, restaurants, and hotels.  Yikes! I spent much less time there than I expected to. 

Standing right on the edge of Horseshoe Falls watching the massive amounts of water go over the edge is awesome.  As you may have heard, the Canadian appears to be better for viewing. 

Riding south along the Niagra River on the Canadian side is scenic, quiet and park-like.  There is a bike path that parallels the road, but riding the road is closer to the water and the bike path meanders back and forth aimlessly crossing dozens of driveways and side streets.  Drivers  seemed accustomed to cyclists in the road.

When I arrived at the Peace Bridge to cross into Buffalo, NY there was a CLOSED sign blocking the sidewalk on the bridge with instructions for walkers and cyclists to call a number for assistance.  I thought about it, said F-it, and rode over the bridge.  There is no shoulder, but there wasn't much traffic and two lanes were open heading east.  The view from the bridge of Lake Erie and the Buffalo waterfront is awesome.  I thought about taking some pictures while riding over, but figured I might be pushing my luck.  I have found few things agitate motorists more than a cyclist with a smartphone in hand.

I was expecting to get into trouble coming off the bridge when an officer flagged me down, but he just directed me into one of the car lines.  The customs officers at the booth had a nice NY accent and looked at me like I was crazy when I told them where I was going.  They didn't ask many questions, except about my solar charger.

After a ride around downtown Buffalo I headed north to Kenmore, to Warmshowers hosts, Fred and Sherry.  On Delaware Ave, after the bike lane disappeared, I was out riding in the lane of the 4 lane heavy but slow moving traffic since there were no other options.  A guy in a truck a couple cars behind me stayed on his horn for a full couple minutes to express his frustration. Good to be back in the east! He passed me with more horn blowing and hand gestures. I waived each time I pulled up behind his truck at the next 3 stop lights. 

Do the names Fred and Sherry sound familiar?  My Rapid City, SD Warmshowers hosts have family in Buffalo and happened to arrive a few days before I did.  They were happy to have me and I got to spend another evening in their excellent company and  meet some of their family.  They will be grandparents in December, and a baby shower was scheduled that weekend, so there was a good deal of excitement and preparation going on. I also got their picture this time.

From Buffalo I rode to Manchester, NY, which was a mostly flat increasingly scenic 90 miles.

I ended up on a bike path, the Leigh Valley Trail, which was pretty riding, but mixed of hard pack dirt and loose gravel, so a tad slow.  This was toward the end of the day during rush hour, so a nice quiet change. 

Manchester, NY Warmshowers host, Jim, and his granddaughter, Madeline, riding with me out of town.  Jim is lucky to have his son, daughter in-law, and granddaughters live next door, all of which came over and hung out, and clearly adore him. However, they all seem to think Jim is a bit crazy for letting unknown cyclists stay at his house and for his general trust in people.  He is also known to ride around and pick up bottles and cans, which they say makes him look like a bum.  He claims to earn about $1400/year from the deposits.  I liked Jim! He lives simple and doesn't care what people think. 

From Manchester, I rode south toward Ithacha along the Finger Lakes. Nice riding with views of the crystal clear lakes and many vineyards.

I stopped at Taughannock Falls State Park per Jim's recommendation before riding into Ithaca. The light was bad, so I didn't get any good pics of the falls, but they are impressive and worth a stop.  While standing at the overlook a group of cyclists pulled up behind me. Would you believe that Cornell has a class on bicycle touring?  They do, and the class is pictured above.  I jokingly asked if they needed any instructors, and the woman leading the group said, "As a matter of fact..." I suspect it is not a tenure track position.

The last jar of PB on the trip.  I stopped at the Ithaca food co-op and couldn't resist getting the 35 oz jar.  The big jar came out to $3.50/lb for organic PB.  The 1lb jar was $4.50.  I left wondering if saving the $2 would be worth carrying an extra pound of PB over the very hilly terrain the next couple days.  

Diana and Andrejs, Warmshowers hosts in Ithaca.  Diana is a wonderful artist, and fills their home with beautiful impressionist like paintings.  Andrejs is the cycling enthusiast and had multiple route options planned out for my next day of riding to Oneonta.  He warned me it was going to be hilly, but beautiful.

Hilly it was, especially route 206 between Whitney Point and Bainbridge.  Some good steep climbs and zippy descents, along with beautiful country scenery.  Temps were in the 80s! 

The fall colors getting better each day.

Oneonta, NY Warmshowers hosts, Soraya and Luis.  I didn't arrive to Oneonta until close to dark and was beat from the hills. The last thing I was expecting to get for dinner in middle of nowhere upstate NY was a delicious ethnic meal.  Soraya, Dominican, and Luis, Puerto Rican, asked me if I was OK with ethnic food.  Of course!  I scarfed down the very tasty dinner of beans, rice, some kind of meat, and a sweet bean pudding for dessert. Luis told me in the morning with a chuckle the meat was beef tongue.  I was surprised, but it was good. Very tender.

Immediately after dinner they wanted to know what I wanted for breakfast!  Yucca, eggs and onions, perhaps one of the best breakfasts of the trip. 

One of my favorite street signs some where on the way to Hudson, NY.

Beautiful country.  I was happy to have a cool overcast day.

A nice waterfall along the road near Pratsville, NY

Fall color.

Riding into the Catskills.

The day was another hilly one, with a nice descent into the Hudson River Valley through the town of Cairo. 

The second crossing of the Hudson River.

My final Warmshowers hosts of the trip, Alison, Cairo, Zach, and Gus, out on the slack line while we were checking out the  colorful sunset before dinner. Originally from NYC, they decided on a country life, and now live in a beautiful rural part of Hudson, NY, a land of great cycling opportunity.

Warmshowers refrigerator wisdom.  I couldn't have found a nicer family to spend my final evening of the trip with.

Taking the road less traveled out of Hudson.

Beautiful country riding through eastern NY state, a quick jog through MA, and then down into CT.  My Dad rode out to Norfolk to ride with me the final 20 miles.  We were instructed not to arrive home until after 4PM so my nieces could be there to greet me...

15,180 miles later I arrived back where I started to two pedaling nieces, two barking dogs, two adults blowing party-horns and six balloons. The most raucous greeting of my trip!