117 km - Kipling Subway to Cambellville

"This route around the area outside of Milton provides awesome views of the Niagara Escarpment and the surrounding countryside, with winding roads alongside beautiful streams. The break spot, Bruce Trail Eatery, is a popular stop for the local club cyclists."

Earlier this week I spent a few days in Haliburton with my family (including my sister's four children). Bryn came too and we had a nice ride with my father and brother-in-law. We attempted a trail but I found it too sandy and gravely for my taste. My brother-in-law and I abandoned the trail after a time and enjoyed riding along some north country roads (okay, it wasn't that far north). We got rained on but all in all it was a great little 40 km jaunt.

Upon returning to the city, my motivation for this week's training ride was extremely low. This whole journey has been amazing, I've gone further than I ever thought I could but all the same, it would be nice to have one truly slothful weekend. Throwing off the temptations of a gratuitous pyjamas day and an invite to see the new Harry Potter movie, I made my way to Kipling station on Sunday morning. I am so glad that I did. The day was perfect, sunny but not too hot. The route was interesting and as promised very scenic. My only complaint would be the killer hills. I'm still not a very strong hill climber and if I don't manage to get into the right gear I'm "pooched". I confess I walked a few hills this ride. I started out with a group of four women which was great, we encouraged each other as we went along but I think we were all looking forward to the break.


At the lunch stop I chatted with a couple who were enjoying an ice cream. They were impressed that we'd cycled all the way from Kipling station. As a bonus they told me how to sneak into the restaurant's washroom without having to buy something (helpful people are everywhere). Refreshed, our group of four set out with another woman we met at the break stop. I'm not sure what it was (Sam credits her grilled cheese sandwich and deserves snaps for overcoming the aches and pains of back-to-back training rides) but I felt really great after the break. Three of us moved off and it felt as though we flew home. I'm not sure if it was my peanut butter sandwich or having watched the Tour de France (I think lots of other cyclists were thinking Tour this Sunday, I saw a few team jerseys out there on the road) but the ride back was simply fantastic. We left the hills behind us and enjoyed the flat terrain. As I approached the 100k mark I still felt like I had gas in my tank. Amazing. All in all I was on the road for six hours (including three breaks).

Next week is the last (and longest) training ride before departure. I've heard its challenging.