Sun, Sep 17 2006 - High Park to Port Credit (View Original Event Details)
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Flu Epidemic Strikes TOC Event!
Between Saturday and Sunday morning, I receive no less that three calls with people who have come down with the flu or recovering from it. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t have picked a worse time to come down with a virus! It was perhaps one of the most picture perfect Sunday afternoons anyone could possibly ask for. With the sun shinning down providing a balmy 25° temperature, the group met at the Grenadier Café just inside High Park. At first I wondered if anyone would show, but I guess the ambiguous location of the Café didn’t help much. But fortunately the park isn’t too big, and eventually no matter what route you take you’ll make it. Unless your Aamer and Daniel, who decided to carpool (good for them) to the event, but unfortunately, they had their share of mishaps just getting to High Park, so much so, we met them along the waterfront trail since they couldn’t quite find the park (note to self – don’t use them as drivers for future events). Once again, we had a nice mix of regular TOCers and Newbies in the group. One great thing about wearing our TOC T-shirt is that people know who you are before they even meet you. It was a good thing too, because Veronica was looking for some guy eating ice cream and sporting a giant afro. By the way, you can have your very own TOC T-shirt too! Just email tshirts@torontooutdoorclub.com for further details (shameless plug, I know).
Once all our members showed up Flu Free™, we were on our way. We met up with Aamer and Daniel, who weren’t quite ready, so they agreed to catch up to us further ahead. Along the way, I had an eerie feeling that we where being followed, and my suspicions were correct, as we stopped for quick a breather and allow Daniel and Aamer to catch up, a couple had stopped right behind us, looking a little lost. Apparently they had been following us since we looked like we knew where we were going. We invited them to join us, so we welcomed Sonia and Walter from Acton to our humble group. They were more than happy to join us, and even agreed to joining us for lunch at the Snug Harbour!
We were on our way once Daniel and Aamer caught up, and we headed off onto the craziness that was Lakeshore Blvd. Fortunately, this portion of the ride isn’t very long, and we soon reached the quieter neighbourhoods on Lakeshore, with its winding and snaking road, taking us through various parkettes and side streets. We took a short rest at Marie Curtis Park, where we got to check out Veronica’s and Tania’s shiny new wheels! They both had very sexy machines, almost making El Rey jealous, but then again, he and his trusted ride have been through much, so he won’t be parking her anytime soon!
At this point in the ride, we had all pretty much kept a solid pace and were making excellent time. But tragedy soon struck! Aamer, who I think forgot to read his horoscope that morning (it may have read something like this, “While the sun is shining and the weather nice, today may not be your day”). The Yellow Machine (Aamer's new nickname) took a splendid header into the pathway. he was going up a slight incline and was changing gears (uphill + gear change = trouble), the Chain falls off, gets caught, and in slow motion and witnessed by all, Aamer ever slowly loses control, loses balance, and nearly becomes one with bicycle as he is impaled by the handle bars. Fortunately, he was wearing his HELMET, so no head injuries resulted, but there may have been more than a bruised ego. After that, nobody wanted to ride beside him just in case.
All this excitement, and we hadn’t even reached our halfway point! Our destination was the Snug Harbour Seafood Bar and Grill where we stopped for a well deserved lunch. We parked our bikes and sat outside on the patio. The food was incredible, from blackened catfish to pizzas topped with salmon, salad and fries; we ate like Kings and Queens! We were slow to getting back on our bikes as our bellies were full and we knew what was left to do. But as plucky TOCers, we plugged on, and thankfully, the ride back was quick and painless.
Once we returned to Martin Goodman Portion of the trail, we bid adieu to our new found friends and future TOCers Sonia and Walter, but we also ran (rode) into notable TOCers Sue and Mitch (how could you miss them with their gloriously pimped out van!). We said our goodbye’s to Tania, Daniel and Ahmer, who were going their separate ways, while Veronica, Lorie, David, Tony, Sue, Mitch and myself headed back to High Park to enjoy some refreshments and light snacks at the Grenadier Café. Up to this point, the entire ride was essentially flat and easy, but returning to the park posed the greatest challenge – one very, very steep hill! Tony and I were up to the challenge, and proceeded to climb it like champions! We nearly collapsed at the top, but felt truly satisfied that we accomplished this feat. Lorie and Veronica were much smarter though, as they simply walked up the hill (but not before they gave it their best shot too!). David, Sue and Mitch took a different route, but in the end, they all led to the Café. At this point, Sue and Mitch decided to ride on to art festival being held further east, and off they rode, while the rest of us finished off the day on the patio with the sun shining down our backs.
You this is a ride to watch out for next year, so if you missed it this time around, you’ll soon get your chance again!
El ReyHave some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.