This is a bike tour I’ve wanted to do for several years, and we finally did it. 670 km in 9 days … not a marathon, but there were some very difficult areas, and the last day, on the Route Verte into Montreal, we did 117 km in 33°C heat. We literally rode our bikes out of our garage in Port Credit to Montreal. After a couple of days hanging out in Montreal, we took the Via train back to Toronto, the GO train to Port Credit, then rode back home.

A friend asked me if this trip was fun, but I could not reply with a one word answer…

On the second day, when we couldn’t find food or water, I started wondering what I got myself into. But by the next day, when we finally reached Wellington, in Prince Edward County, we became more relaxed, and started really enjoying the trip.

Along the way, we visited many small Ontario towns and communities whose names we knew previously only from the 401 exit signs. We talked to many people and it’s refreshing how really friendly people are once you’re out of the GTA.

We saw many events and festivals, including Canada Day celebrations. What other large Canadian city other than Kingston, could we actually join the parade, walking our bikes and waving to people on the sidewalks?

The last day was long and very hot, but when we reached the Lachine Canal bikeway, I felt like I was coming home. Although it was too late to celebrate at the usual Atwater park area, we did manage to congratulate ourselves with a bottle of Champagne at Chez Francois (our usual B&B)!

For more information on the Waterfront Trail, visit www.waterfronttrail.org.

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