Day 38, July 6th, Owen Sound to Toronto!! (196km)

CN Tower Toronto

It rained hard last night.  At quarter to 4, the rain started pelting my tent like a thousand drumsticks.  Then the lightning started.  First, it was comfortably far away.  Then  it got close, really close.  The bolts were so bright, I could feel the heat.  Simultaneously, thunder roared.  I kind of chuckled.  If you're gonna strike me down, take your best shot.  I had made up my mind.  Today, I'd go for broke.  By the end of the day, I'd be in Toronto or cycling towards it in the dark.

By 6am, the rain had slowed down.  For the first time on the trip, the inside of my tent got soaked.  It was warm and humid night.  My tent had trapped the moisture and the heat kind of like a sauna.  Oh well, I thought, at least I'll have a wet jersey to keep me cool today.  By 6:30am, I started to pack up camp for the final time.  It took me till 9am to hit the road, everything was soaked.

Dodgy Highway 6

The hills outside Owen Sound are steep.  Yesterday, a pickup truck turning left onto the hill had dropped a tool box onto the road.  It slid across the lane, missing my front wheel by inches as it ricocheted loudly into the curb.   That could have been bad.   I stopped and dragged the tool box off the road.  The pickup truck driver stopped too.  He apologized and told me years ago, he'd done the same trip.  We shook hands, laughed and joked about the great adventure.  Later, I made my way to the campground.  Today, I tackled the remaining hills on the way to Chatsworth.  Highway 6 is rough south of Owen Sound.  It has one lane, broken pavement on the shoulder and busy traffic.  I was glad to get on to highway 10 even if conditions were only marginally better.

Coutryside Hayfields

The winds were with me.  Better yet, they were fierce.  Thanks to the tailwind, my bike was flying.  Climbing the last few hills near Chatsworth, I got the bike up to just under 40km/h for almost 1 1/2 hours.  My legs were feeling powerful and I didn't want to break the rhythm of my cadence.  From Chatsworth to Shelburne, I worked the cranks as hard as I could.  It had been a late start and Toronto was still far away.  The race was with daylight even though it was still morning.  Hitting Shelburne, I stopped for lunch.  The food was good at the bar.  A couple of guys bought me a beer.  There's so many people who would give up a lot for the chance to do a trip like this.

Wind Turbines Near Shelburne

In a rush but not wanting to be rude, I left as quick as I could.  Cycling at a furious pace, I marveled at the wind turbines near Shelburne.  They are massive up close.  The powerful wind was blowing the wrong way so the blades weren't spinning.  With the wind still at my back, Orangeville appeared on the horizon.  The hills appeared too. Locals at the bar had warned me about these hills but they didn't look that bad.  Having a tailwind certainly helped.  I gunned it up the slope going 21km/h.  Hitting the crest, I recklessly cruised down the back hitting speeds of over 70km/h.

Somewhere on Highway 10

In Brampton, it got interesting.  I didn't have a local map and highway 10 suddenly became the 410.  A sign indicated no bicycles were permitted but the highway had a shoulder.  Ignoring the sign, the temptation of riding on a shoulder drew me forward.  Minutes later, I saw flashing lights.  Great!  It was the OPP, they were pulling me over.  The cop was really nice.  He told me to take the next exit and didn't even bother giving me a warning.  He said I could get to the western edge of Toronto by following one of the back roads south through Mississauga.  He had a lot of questions about the trip.  I ascertained that it's the type of adventure he wants to do himself one day.  Entering Brampton, I found myself on the wrong side of the tracks.  The hood was rough but talking about the adventure made everyone loosen up.  Cops slowed down to take a look at drug dealers talking to a guy on a bike. It must have been a peculiar sight.  The dealers told me to avoid Church Street when I hit Toronto.  Even they didn't have the guts to visit that part of town.  Asking for directions at a gas station, the girl told me to follow Bovaird and make a right on Airport Road.  Bovaird isn't designed for bikes.  Traffic zoomed inches from the drop downs on my handlebars.  The 410 was a lot safer then this, but ironically, Bovaird was legal.

Pearson Airport from Airport Road

I paused at the Mcdonalds, a block from Airport Road, to check out google maps.  Airport Road would go close to the city.  The road wasn't any better for bicycles.  Drivers honked, as I aggressively fought for space.  It wasn't long before Pearson Airport appeared in the distance.  Pausing to watch the planes land, a young couple gave me more directions.  Staying on the Airport road, I kept going South.  A guy pointed me towards a bike path that would take me to Lake Ontario.  On the path, a cyclist broke his chain.  I stopped to help him fix it and he gave me his bike map of the city.  He escorted me until we hit the parking lot where he had parked his car.  The bike path's out here are beautiful. They follow wooded ravines along the rivers.

Toronto Skyline from Lake Ontario

Keeping on the path, I passed through York and eventually got to Lake Ontario.  In the distance, the CN tower loomed over the city.  I asked a couple more cops about the locations of hostels.  They held me up with questions about the ride.  I didn't want to be rude, but it was getting late.  Wanting to be at the heart of the action, I headed for King and Spadina.  Global Backpackers is at the center of town. The bar is good and my roomates have great stories.  It's been an epic adventure but it had to end.  Maybe one day I'll ride through Eastern Canada, it's supposed to be beautiful.  For now, this story ends on King and Spadina in the heart of Toronto.

Sailboats Along Lake Ontario

Distance: 196km
Average Speed: 25.8km/h
Maximum Speed: 71.2km/h
Time: 7:36
Odometer: 4781km End of Trip!