Posted by Les Faber in There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep! Did I say this before? Our accommodations were similar to those we had in Clayton New York. There must be an association of “cheap motel owners” who strive to preserve that 1960′s motel look. Our room was not bad size-wise. But the decor and fit and finish were from the 60′s (read sub-par). Again, an over-priced location that I would not visit again. But we did sleep well enough. Can someone explain the shower curtain rod bolted to the ceiling over our bed (which was higher at the feet then at the head)?
Day 3 (June 30, 2008) of our 3 day trek along the St. Lawrence Seaway saw us waking up in Ganonoque, Ontario. It’s actually a pretty little town an the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence Seaway. We didn’t spend much time there. Next visit I will. I’ll also do some better accomodations research and find us a good B&B.
We met for breakfast in ‘downtown’ Ganonoque. A great start to our day!
We had 78 kilometers in front of us. Good news is that wind would be at our backs.
Departing towards the east, we started on Highway Number 2. This would be a good day as part of our route would be on the Waterfront Trail (More on that later).
The highway out of Ganonoque has a paved shoulder and the road surface is pretty good. Not too far out of town, we hit the 1000 Islands Parkway. This is an absolutely beautiful stretch of road that takes you along the North Side of the St. Lawrence with views of some of the most beautiful islands in the world. Note to self: When riding east, stare to your right. There’s nothing much to see on the left.
Did I mention that there is a bike path that runs parallel to the Parkway? Yes there is! Well, sort of. It’s absolutely aweful in some areas. To the point of being dangerous. So much so that we all stayed on the Parkway as the road surface was much better. Enter the idiot of the day. Some people just need to get a life. A number of us were buzzed by an idiot (yes buddy you are an idiot) in a black Honda Civic who thought it would be great to pass as close as possible to cyclists whilst honking his horn – at well over 100 kmph (OPP where were you when we needed you?).
Here’s a good reason why we stayed off the bike paths.
Pretty crappy in my books!
On to Rockport, Ontario. This is a tiny town whose only purpose (it seems) is to ferry tourists out into the 1000 Islands for tours. Actually quite a nice little spot.
After a short stop, we went towards Brockville. The Parkway and nice views end just west of town.
Here’s a couple of pics of the group along the way.
Once we left the Parkway, we switched to Highway 2 again. The ride into Brockville is not all that good as there is considerable vehicular traffic travelling at plus 80 kmph.
We had lunch at a great park down by the waterfront.
And then on to our final leg (Brockville to Prescott).
This is a relatively uneventful ride. You are on Highway 2. The road surface is good and the drivers seem much more respectful of your presence.
Some observations:
- Don’t try and keep up with Barry, Paul or Nancy. I managed to do so for about 3 hills and then petered out.
- Roly is consistent. He was at my back wheel before I knew it.
- JoJo is a “sleeper”. As we were entering Prescott, she was on our tail: “Move over fellas!”.
All in all it was an excellent and very well-organized trip. Kudos to Barrie K. for some great organizing. He clearly spent a great deal of time scoping things out and planning the trip!
