Our Lake Ontario Trek has gotten off to an exciting start, with the first day taking the group right into the Canadian province on Ontario! Here is Laura's (one of the Leaders) recap of the first few days:
 |
| The whole gang |
 |
| Taking a break along the Lake |
Adventures at Niagara Falls:
The Lake Ontario Trekkers spent their first 2 days at Niagara Falls. We
took a scenic ride from Buffalo to the Falls checking out each view of the
magnificent falls. Those who had never been here before were pretty amazed by
their power and beauty. After a day with many stops to do some bike tune ups
and fix flats we cooked a delicious meal at the hostel and went to bed to get
ready for another busy day at the falls. The next day, we rode the Maid of the
Mist boat tour, getting up close and personal with the massive falls. Then we
followed the river to the Niagara Glen gorge area, which had amazing views of
the falls and whirlpools. We hiked down into the gorge which ended with a view
of the whirlpools and a refreshing run off waterfall to cool down in.
 |
| No shortage of mist here! |
The next days were spent riding to a campsite in Jordan, ON and then to
Hamilton, ON. The highlight was spending some time at Ball's Falls--a perfect
opportunity for a swim.
 |
| Your fearless Leaders, Laura and Luke |
 |
| Ball's Falls-great swimming spot! |
Then we made the final trek to Toronto--our first 50 mile day! As we set
off from our campsite in the morning we could see Toronto in the horizon and
knew we had quite a trek ahead of us. But spirits were high as we could see the
city getting closer and closer. The view was amazing because we were riding on a bike path right along Lake Ontario, the Lake that Toronto sits on!
We will spend 2 full days here before we
continue around the lake! Toronto is a great city for cyclists-the roads have bike paths, traffic isn't crazy and they have a cool bike culture-bike commuters and students whiz around (lots of fixed gear bikes and stylish outfits) at all hours.
 |
| The Trekkers setting of on the bike path to Toronto |
Because the Trekkers are in Canada, blog posts will be less frequent-about every 5 days. Once the group in back in New York State, it will be easier for Leaders to send up photos.
We took a bit of a different route than was mapped out fir us this morning. We
followed Ridge Rd until Hamilton. We passed through many vineyards and small
farms. I stopped to buy some raspberries from a farm stand. We were set back a
bit when my derailleur hanger snapped in half, but I was fortunate to have a
motorist stop and offer an old derailleur he had at his house up the road! He
even helped me put it on and adjust it, he used to work at a bike shop. Back on
the road we had a late lunch before continuing on through Hamilton rounding the
western edge of Lake Ontario. The group was excited to see Toronto off in the
distance. Yet we had a grueling ride to the Bronte Campground as we faced a strong
headwind and busy roads. Chefs Claire
and Kyle made an outstanding dinner! Off to Toronto tomorrow!
