A scorcher to Balsam Lake Provincial Park

As Brian said, we're split up as we head North of the GTA, so here was the day for Pat, Mike, and I.

Getting up at Peter's place in Pickering, he treated us to some eggs and toast, while we watched coverage of the Tour de France. It is absolutely amazing watching the Tour cyclists, and this trip definitely gives us an appreciation for what they're doing, even if they are averaging double our speed if not more on their 200km+ days...insane. They absolutely fly!

Today was probably the hottest day we have seen so far. When we looked outside, the air had the consistency of pea soup (GTA weather for you...), and we were sweating bullets as we left the city. A consequence of the muggy weather, there were thunderstorms forecast and we headed right into one. We could see the dark clouds in the distance, and were hoping it would blow over before we got there, but all of a sudden lightning bolts were getting close, so we headed for shelter at a nearby house. Luckily someone was there, and we got inside just as the rain started to pour and the wind to blow. The couple was really nice to us as we watched the storm pass over, lightning coming down all around close to the house.

We headed back out into the heat, so hot that Pat and Mike eventually went shirtless at the end. We were hoping to leave a short day to Mike's cottage tomorrow, but despite some strong tailwinds, the break for the rain slowed us down and we "only" made it 115km to Balsam Lake Provincial Park. After a long day in the heat, it was nice to get in a quick swim before settling down to dinner.

Tomorrow we'll get to Mike's cottage, where we will be able to take two days off before meeting up with Jon and Brian and continuing East.
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