2019 Bike the Great Lakes

• 08.19 – Day 2
• Pelee Island to Erieau
• Today: 52.1 miles
• Total: 107.7

Last night another big storm rolled through. We had our window cracked open so we could hear everything. Just the winds were something, let alone the thunder. We both slept great though. This morning we had time as the ferry departed at 9:30 and we were only ¼ mile away. The ride to Kingsville was 1 hour and 30 minutes. About a mile from the ferry dock we passed a Tim Horton’s, Canada’s version of Dunkin Donuts, so of course we had to stop. So the first 2 miles of today’s journey took till 11:00am. We then headed out on a nice bike path for the first few miles. Google Maps continues to be our go to for directions. Sometimes we see signs for the Waterfront Trail, and sometimes not. Our goal was about 50 miles today, so basically 3 – 17 mile rides. At 16 miles there was a nice turn out so we stopped.  I looked at Google and saw there was a town in 2 miles. Let’s go and off we went. That was the only town we went through all day. We got a drink and a snack, sitting outside at a picnic table. The road we planned to take had a section closed and there was a detour sign where we were. Two separate locals stopped to chat with us and both said we could ride several miles ahead to where the road was actually closed and take a much shorter detour. It worked out great. Traffic was light, which was great.

When we were at 34 miles I was looking for a good stopping point. There was a woman out mowing her lawn so I stopped and asked her. Nope, nothing till we reach the town we were headed to 17 miles ahead. Oh well. We found a shaded spot on the side of the road and crashed there for 30 minutes or so. It was then off to Erieau, right on the water. We stopped at the Bayside Brewing Company for a beer. I called the only hotel in town and they had a place for us. We are now showered and ready to head back over to Bayside Brewing for a Pizza.

This area is full of farms and windmills. There are thousands of windmills. There are also lots of huge greenhouses. We stopped by one under construction. It was probably 500 feet deep by a quarter mile long. It had a sister unit already complete. Frank thinks they are for marijuana. They are 30 feet tall as well.

• 08.20 – Day 3
• Erieau to Port Stanley
• Today:  60.0 miles
• Total: 167.7

Eireau was a great little town. It took me a while to figure out the name. We are on Lake Erie, so the first part is that. Water in French is Eau, pronounced “O”, so there you have it. Some businesses have the name Erie-O Motel, or whatever. We knew there was not much on the path today so we ate breakfast in town before leaving. 15 miles in we stopped in Morpath, but there was nothing there. We are basically riding “the 3” as the locals call it. Three miles north is a major road, so all the services are up there. We pulled into the parking lot of the local community center hoping we could get water. Everything was locked up. A local, Dale stopped by to say hi to us. We asked if there was anything around and he said it was an hours drive the direction we were going. I mentioned we just need water. He is “give me 5 minutes”. Sure enough he comes back with 4 cold water bottles, plus his cat Melvin. We had a cat Marvin that looked similar. Great guy, we said our good byes thinking we had a long haul with no food. We did have food bars with us.

Four miles later we see an ice cream sign and an open flag, jackpot. So we go in there and the woman is there are two more places we will pass up ahead. Great, we will each get a milkshake and eat lunch in 15 miles, perfect. We ride 9 more miles and come to the first spot, closed on Tuesdays. Bummer, but got the next one in 6 miles. Nope, it is closed as well. We couldn’t even find water, so we rode the last 45 miles with the 2 liters we left Dale with. Needless to say we were hungry and thirsty when we reached Port Stanley.

Today was another hot day. Low 80s, but sunny and humid. A cold front is supposed to roll through tomorrow and drop the temps 10+ degrees. We are also getting closer to more people, so more services. That may mean more traffic, but also could mean better bike lanes. We have been riding on dirt bike paths, dirt roads, quiet country paved roads and the 3. The 3 is a main road and 50% of the time has a nice bike lane. There is not much traffic as it is 3 miles north on the main road. It has been very rare to have two cars plus us at the same time. A truck today slowed down and wouldn’t pass me till the cars coming toward us had cleared. That was nice of him.

Overall we have had great riding. The dirt roads are rough, but no traffic. The 3 is busier but tends to have more space, so we are good either way. At one point I was counting cars on the 3. It was typically a car passing me every half mile. And 95% of the time they are in the left lane because no one is coming toward us.

Well laundry should be done, then off to dinner.