Sat, Aug 19 2006 - Prince Edward County Bike Tour (View Original Event Details)
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what a day we had! Starting with an extra early (8:30 am!) meet time at Kennedy station, we managed to get bikes loaded up and on the road by 9 am for the 2.5 hr drive to Picton. By the time we crossed the bridge over gorgeous Quinte Bay, I started to notice water splotching and by the time we reached Picton it was a steady splattering of rain. Nevertheless, no one felt deterred by the rain. Janice and Gerry suited up with ponchos and rain gear while the rest of us just decided the wet weather was a nice way to keep cool. We picked up maps for $1.50 at the info centre and picked an interesting route, one that promised to give us a lake view, since that was what Min was hoping for.
Once we got on the route we hit a long uphill which was a bit much for some of us right in the beginning, but Chuck zipped on past us - he must have good leg muscles from all that mail delivery! We all made it, eventually and we hit flat country roads for the next few KMs. We stopped for lunch in the town of Milford, more like the four corners of Milford, but there was a picnic table and an outhouse and it was not raining. Chuck found an old bike frame which he started to strip for parts. We had been going for 2 hrs and had passed by plenty of pretty farmland and dairy cows, but no lakeview. Min was very anxious to see the lakeview! After lunch we tried to pick up the pace and finally saw glimpses of the water. We were on a high shoreline and the view was fabulous, even on a cloudy and grim day like we had. We biked a long stretch to the Black River Cheese Factory. It was a busy day and Perkin informed us it was the ice cream - the best ice cream in all of Black River! Impressive! We considered eating some, but then pictured us riding the next 20K with our bellies full of Dairy and decided that it was not worth it.
Then our ride got interesting. After Black River we rode through some old growth forest with a beautiful green canopy. Aside from the roadkill...there was a dead squirrel and a barely identifiable raccoon...an evil cursed raccoon it turns out, as not one but TWO bikes bit the dust just as they passed the decaying mess. First Min's chain jumped so wildly out of his gears that the chain was stuck and not moving. Having no tools, except for Carrie's set of Allan keys (purchased at Canadian Tire!), I decided to head over to the group since I knew that Chuck, Alan and Stan had tools. Then just ahead I ran into Prashanth and Perkin who were struggling with Prashanth's wobbly back tire. Well, lets go get some tools, I said and we headed to the rest of the group. Chuck raced back to Min and company, while Stan attempted to fix Prashanth's back wheel. Prashanth was clearly shocked his $50 investment had come to this! It was a goner, and we had to quickly make arrangements for Prashanth to be left behind. He was going to wait back at the cheese factory, grab some ice cream and chill out while the rest of us travelled back to Picton. And we were prepared to let Min stay with him but with a last ditch effort, Min ripped the chain loose and figured he was good enough to continue. I'm sure he appreciated that as the best scenary was to come. We headed to the 'Lake on the Mountain', which is quite literally what it sounds like. The view was spectacular, and really showed why this is such a popular destination. The last few KM was mostly downhill and along the loyalist parkway, biking by spectacular cottages. Chuck's bike just barely made it back. It was late by the time we reached Picton, so we decided that we'd all head our separate ways and Perkin went to pick up poor, abandoned Prashanth, Chuck and Alan went back to Milford to strip down the rest of that bike frame and Stan and I had to get home to check on our poor dogs. Christine and I had wonderful conversations about seeing ghosts in Killarney Park, hiking, travelling around the world and boyfriends. All in all, it wasn't so bad but we all agreed that this was worth the drive and a biking weekend needs to be planned for next year. And, Prashanth - I have a bike I could sell you...
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