The journey there
Yesterday, my brother and I went on a cycling trip from Hamilton to Port Dalhousie following, on the way there, the Waterfront Trail. Most significant for me about this trip is that it, at 118 km, constitutes my first metric century ride.
We were going to start out between 0700 and 0800, but my brother's bike needed to go to the shop. His bottom bracket bearings needed replacing. He had bought both the parts and the tools with which to do the replacement himself, but it turns out he was given the wrong parts. Now he needed to wait for the shop to open again on Saturday morning to either exchange parts or have them do it after all. He ended up returning the tools and getting the shop to replace the bearings.
Anyway, we ended up leaving the house at 1115 after getting his bike back from the shop and packing our supplies. We took Barton St., for those familiar with Hamilton, up to Centennial, made a left turn and followed it onto Van Wagner's Beach Road and the Waterfront Trail.
The route to Port Dalhousie
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Though sunny, it was not too hot, and there was a gentle breeze, making the first hour and a half quite comfortable. We made good headway, getting to Grimsby in decent time. There, by the waterfront, we stopped for a short break to rehydrate and have a snack. During our break, we encountered a little rodent critter cavorting on the rocks between the grassy park and the water. I managed to get some nice shots of the little guy, or gal--I think it may have been a juvenile groundhog. Look through my full photoset on Flickr to catch a glimpse of the furry and not at all unphotogenic critter. After about 15-20 minutes, feeling quite refreshed, we continued towards Port Dalhousie.
After another hour or so of cycling, the breeze having disappeared and the heat set in, we were starting to get a bit tired. My brother, not being as prepared as I for this kind of trip, began to talk of getting someone to just pick him up in Port Dalhousie by car. I maintained that I would make the return trip, even if he got a ride back. I'd get a head start by heading out as soon as he'd arranged his ride. We settled, for the time being, on him deciding after an extended break and lunch in Port Dalhousie
After Beamsville, but especially around Jordan, we began riding past nurseries, cherry orchards and multiple vineyards and wineries. I was so tempted to stop at one or another winery to have a sample or two, but that would have slowed us down and delayed our trip. Some of these labels are well known throughout Canada and increasingly exported to Europe as well, especially their icewines.
On an interesting side note, we noticed how all the workers to be seen in the orchards and vineyards were foreign guest workers, mostly Mexican or Jamaican. Some workers, either on break, headed home or to work, could be seen, in their dusty work clothes, riding their old bicycles along rural roads. At one place, coming to a halt at a red light, we saw a group of 4 or 5 men on their bicycles, waiting to cross, each of them carrying a hoe. During tough economic times, sights like that should give us pause. While these workers no doubt need the work, why is it that we, as Canadians, or indeed North Americans, no longer do our own manual farm labour? We grumble about unemployment, yet import workers. And what lofty work do the (mostly) white children of farmers do instead of working on farms? Many, I've read, opt instead for minimum wage jobs at McDonald's, Tim Horton's, or other food service or retail establishments. I don't get it.

End of side note... (Why not take a look at this beautiful vineyard along our route?)
While there are short lakeside portions of paved trail for shared bicycle and pedestrian use, much of the Waterfront Trail consists of a bicycle lane on the service road running alongside the QEW to Niagara. Some sections meander through little towns and suburbs, including, unfortunately, a number of newer cookie-cutter developments (I'll refrain from another side note here... ), while other sections leave you with no paved bicycle lane or shoulder, forcing you to ride at the very edge of the service road along the white line.

When we finally reached the outskirts of St. Catharines, we found a nice little park at which to stop for another brief break. Once again, the view was just great. On Lakefront Park, we found a picnic table and bench overlooking the lake. Here, instead of the park being separated from the lake by a strip of rocks, there was a strip of dense foliage. A set of stairs and a little path led from the park, through the thicket, to the water's edge. We did not, at this time, go through to explore. We were focused on a snack and lots of water. It was a nice park though.
Knowing we were within St. Catharines city limits and therefore close to our destination, we headed off again. In town, as the Waterfront Trail winds through mostly small residential streets, the trail signage could be better. There were a couple of areas where the signage directed us to turn right or left, then just disappeared, leading us ultimately to take a guess at where to turn or end up in a crescent or at a dead end. When already tired, having to double back to find your way, especially if the way out of the dead end is uphill, can be irritating.
At our destination
We were quite
happy to arrive at the quaint, historic, harbourfront village of Port Dalhousie. It is a village within a city, as their website puts it. Though geographically a small area, quite a few establishments--restaurants, clubs, and retail outlets--are found around the boat-filled harbour. Some of the buildings, including a couple of small lighthouses, have been there since the early 1800s.
We dismounted and walked around to absorb the sights and sounds of the place and to find a place to eat. Being tight on money, and wanting to stay within sight of our bikes without necessarily locking them up, we looked for a place that wouldn't be too pricey and where we could sit on the patio.
Seeing a few places that didn't really fit our needs, we walked around the harbour for a little while, past the boats gently bobbing in the water, past an antique carousel where both children and adults were able to ride for only 5 cents, and past a stretch of sandy beach full of people relaxing on their beach towels or standing around like peacocks strutting their stuff. The feel of the place was not unlike Port Dover, for those who know that town, with plenty of opportunity for walking in the park, lounging by the beach, dining in a chic restaurant or reveling in a bar or tavern. Lots of bikers around too, and bicyclists.
After exploring the town a little and even venturing a little further
into St. Catharines proper, we returned to the main tourist strip and
found ourselves a little restaurant by the name of Spice for Life. While the food was somewhat pricey, the portions small and the falafel sandwiches tasty but dry, the cold water with a wedge of lemon was oh so refreshing.
The return tripAfter our leisurely exploration and lunch, we decided to head back. At this point my brother said he'd start cycling back with me and then, if needed, call from some place en route to get picked up by car. So off we went.
The return route was quite different, mainly because of the signage, but ended up being slightly more direct and therefore shorter. We followed the Waterfront Trail back up to the town of Jordan, at which point we saw a sign directing us to turn left to keep following the trail. Or so we thought. Turns out that was a poorly labeled sign for a sidetrip into the town of Jordan. We were surprised that the trail on the way back would lead us that far away from the waterfront, but continued on until, right in town, we saw a sign reading 'End of Jordan sidetrip'.
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Not wanting to go all that way back towards the waterfront, we decided to make a left on Hwy 8, knowing that it would take us all the way back to Hamilton. After about half an hour of cycling, my brother decided that he would call for a ride after all at the next opportunity. Not only was he tired, but some freaking idiot in a blue Camaro from the oncoming lane threw a ceramic mug at him. I heard some noise behind me, but didn't know what had happened. Fortunately the mug landed on the ground just a few feet in front of him, shattering into a thousand little pieces. Had it hit him, he could have been seriously injured, if not killed. We had a few others yell at us to get off the road. There's still much anti-bicycle sentiment going on around here. These people may want to consult their driver's handbooks, wherein they will find that bicycles have every right to be on the roads (with the exception of certain high-speed highways and expressways).
By the time we reached Beamsville, this time going through town rather than along the waterfront, we pulled into a plaza from which he called for his ride. He arranged for his ride to come up towards us, as he continued riding down Hwy 8. We made a wrong turn somewhere, having to check a map before getting back on track, and in that time missed his ride. She must have gone past that stretch when we were off it. In the end, through extremely tired, he made it all the way back. Though evidently ill-prepared for a century ride, he completed it and now has some bragging rights.
Lessons LearnedI discovered that only four weeks of preparation with daily rides of between 8 and 16 km, with 20-40km on weekends, could adequately prepare me for a metric century. Though tired on the way back, I felt pretty good. I even got a good second wind shortly after entering Stoney Creek at the east end of the city of Hamilton. There, knowing we were now not so far away, I sped ahead on my own as I felt I had energy to spare to pick up the pace and sprint the last few kilometres towards home.
I learned, though I already knew this from my reading, that an extended trip like this done while wearing inappropriate, that is non-cycling-specific clothing, can be painful. I had pretty nasty welts on the inside thighs from the outer edges of the underwear in my soccer shorts. Ouch!
I also learned that riding a bicycle that is not fit properly to the rider can cause great discomfort. While I was feeling pretty good in terms of both energy levels and muscle soreness, my neck and wrists were just killing me. They are still quite sore.
As soon as I can afford to, I intend to purchase proper summer cycling apparel and to go to a local bike shop where I can have my bike properly fitted to me. I need to definitely do something about the handlebar. It needs to be raised a couple of inches, I think, which will require a new stem. And I'd like to add aero bars or drop bars. But drop bars, I'm told, will necessitate the installation of new shifters as well. Oh well, one little piece at a time, as money permits.
For now I am proud to have completed a metric century!
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