Saturday August 23, Hamilton to St. Catharines.

Stats: I forgot to check the bike computer before I left to go to my parents, so I'll have to add those in later. I do know I hit a max of 60.5km/h going down Woolverton Rd, descending the Niagara Escarpment -- I could have gone faster but decided that was enough and applied brakes. a 12% grade is nothing to mess with! The Distance for the day was about 74km. Arrived around 2pm.

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Happiness is opening up your laptop on your parents patio -- your older retired parents, who don't have a computer, let alone an internet connection -- and discovering that their neighbours have an open wireless connection. ;-) ;-)

Frustration is finding that it is a bit finicky and you need to sit just so and in just that place for it to work. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers!

Today was scheduled to be a short day, just under 75km, which is really not a terribly long ride for people who have been training for 100-to-150km-per-day rides. So Pieter and I elected to laze around a bit this morning and leave late.

After breakfast I helped him sort out some technical issues with his camera and blog, visited with some other folks, and finally we got packed up and on the road by the incredibly late hour (in Sea To Sea terms, that is) of 8:30am. My tent was one of the ten last tents standing, probably less. But even though the sun was up, it was still drenched with dew, so I might as well have torn it down at 5:45am.

The non-stop buffet continued. Most riders took almost no food with them today, as there was no point to doing so. I lost count of the number of stops. We crossed along the south side of Hamilton, and then continued along Ridge Rd which has some stunning vistas overlooking Hamilton from the top of the escarpment.




There were two refreshment stops along there. Then there came the death-defying race down Woolverton Rd, descending the escarpment, which I mentioned above.



After that we entered Grimsby, where we had to stop at the local Dutch store, which was handing out free cake to riders in honor of Eritia Smit, who is an employee there. Then came a stop at Shalom manor where many eldery residents were delighted to see us and wish us well. That was just a "visiting" stop, as the next refreshment stop was just a km up the road at the Grimsby CRC who treated us to fresh peaches with vanilla ice cream, as well as donuts. Good thing I did not have seconds, as our "lunch" stop at the Beamsville church was really not that far along the road. Salmon sandwiches, ham buns, egg salad buns, chips, and about 6-feet of table laden with cookies and goodies... Such a nice lunch. I skipped all the cookies/squares though, as I'm afraid of stuffing myself!

Then came some more crazy up and down hills, and a "Freezie" stop at Pieter Pereboom's Parents' house, and still another refreshment stop on the lawn at Jubilee Fellowship in St.Catharines. I left Pieter at his folks', as his son Jonathan was going to ride the rest of the day with him. At Jubilee I hooked up with Eritia, Katrina, and Justin and cruised in the rest of the short distance with them.



Well, almost. In Port Dalhousie we had to stop at the "famous" carousel where rides still cost a mere nickel. And Katrina, a rower from Michigan, had to stop for some photos of the Henley rowing club just up the road.




The remaining ride was not long, and we soon were rolling into the driveway of the Beacon Christian School in St.Catharines and greeting my brother and my folks, who were waving at the side of the road. As in London, the first order of business was to dry out the tent, and then repack it for the night, before checking schedules, putting my bike in the school for safekeeping, sorting out some clothes to take along, and then heading off for a night away.

Tomorrow, the celebration service at Queenston heights park.
Monday, off to cross the border once more, back into the US.