Trekking through Toronto along Lakeshore

Being in Brian and Jon's university town, we stayed up a bit later than usual, and got a pretty late morning start out of the Hammer. We were all pretty tired, but a good breakfast at Tim Horton's got the day started off right before we set out into a baking Southern Ontario sun.

We knew the GTA spread far and wide, but we really got to see how much it sprawls out as we biked today. All the way from Hamilton, we passed through suburb after suburb as we travelled along Lakeshore road. Absolutely stunning properties lined the streets as we rode through Burlington and Oakville, before finally hitting Mississauga, downtown, etc on our way to Pickering. When we weren't on Lakeshore road, we travelled along the the Waterfront Trail, a bike route that started in Hamilton and went all the way through the GTA along Lake Ontario. It was really beautiful, and while it slowed us down and added some distance, it was quite a relief from the alternative of having to ride along the city streets in traffic (which we still had to do once in a while, but that's life). On the way in Mississauga, we had an enjoyable, albeit late, lunch with Jon's aunt and uncle at a great Greek restaurant. It was tasty fuel for the rest of the way, and nice for Jon to be able to meet up with them.

After riding through downtown and past the famous CN tower along the shores, we met up with Pat's friend Brian from his hometown of North Delta. He goes to Ryerson University in Toronto, and thought it would be fun to ride to Pickering with us. It is always nice to have a bit of company, and it also gives the people who ride with us an opportunity to get a taste of what we do every day. Those who go home sore after riding a fraction of what we do then have some idea of what we go through!

We had a few options for accomodations, and as a result we split up the group. Brian and Jon went to visit their friend Mark Beaumont in Scarborough, who was in Tofino for the takeoff. Mike, Pat, and I continued to Pickering to stay with my cousin Peter Dalglish. It works well, because we will be splitting up as we go North out of the city. Brian and Jon will head to Brian's camp in Bracebridge, while the other three of us will head directly to Mike's cottage on Kennissis Lake, where we will meet up in the end.

Peter was amazing to the three of us who stayed with him, and his brother, son, niece, and daughter all joined us throughout the night. We swam in his pool, relaxed in his hot tub, and enjoyed a delicious chicken and pasta meal. He'll also be cooking up a hearty breakfast before we head out tomorrow morning. A nice way to end off our stay with him and his family!
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