Day Two : Simcoe to Pleasant Beach - A railtrail and a campsite at a pleasant beach.

Monday July 28, 2003, 119 km (74 miles) - Total so far: 231 km (143 miles)

Today I left Simcoe relatively early in the morning just after 8 o'clock. Bob was able to ride with me for about 15 minutes on the way out of town before he had to head to work.

Today my ride started with a nice ride from Simcoe to Port Dover via the Lynn Valley Rail Trail. The Lynn Valley trail is my second rail trail. Last year I travelled on a rail trail between Port Burwell and Tillsonburg.

A view looking south towards Lake Erie on a bridge that crosses the Welland Canal.
Click to enlarge.

The Lynn Valley (LV) trail is better maintained then the other trail. The LV has hardpacked dirt and a number of well maintained bridges that cross streams, rivers and creeks. There are at least four road crossings between Simcoe and Port Dover. At each of these crossings there are wooden pilings that are likely designed to prevent motorized quads from going on the trail. I found that I could just barely get through them without taking the saddlebags off. Basically I would dismount just before arriving at the pilings and I would approach them on foot on a diagonal angle while pushing the bike. I would first put the left front saddlebag through by tilting the bike appropriately followed by the right front etc. A minor issue that really wasn't a big deal for me. There was one bridge that was closed due to needed maintenance. I was able to walk my bike across this bridge although this wasn't a recommended option.

The LV feels less tunnel like then the other trail I went on last year. The air was cool with good shade across the trail. No bugs to worry about. Speed was reasonable. I quite enjoyed my time on this trail and heartedly recommend it to anyone.

There were some other cyclists on the trail as well as a few walkers. The number of people was enough to be friendly but not enough to make riding the trail taxing by any means.

After exiting the rail trail I went along the lake shore until just after the Nanticoke power plant. At this point I decided to head along a moderately busy secondary road until I reached Dunnville. Dunnville is a bit inland from the shoreline and is on the Grand River. Dunnville has the last bridge prior to the river entering the lake.

I had planned on having breakfast in a town called Sweet Corners.... With a name like that the anticipation was building well in advance. Unfortunately this was a very small town and no restaurant was available to fulfill my needs.

I ultimately stopped at a burger stand alongside the grand river in Dunnville. This is where I was introduced to an awesome Strawberry-Banana smoothie which rapidly provided me with an ice cream headache. I also managed to get my waist pack refilled with 1.5 litres of icy cold water that came complete with ice cubes. I chased down the smoothy with a nice chicken dinner.

While at this stop I spoke with a family of four who had ridden their bicycles from the local conservation area where they are camping to this spot. They were quite interested in what I was trying to accomplish.

Once I left Dunnville I proceeded east on a series of small farm lanes that went alongside feeder canals for the Welland Canal. These roads were lightly travelled and very nice to ride especially compared to the secondary road I had been on earlier.

I was actually looking for a second rail trail that appeared to start relatively close to Dunnville and head east all the way to Fort Erie where I intend to cross the border to the United States.

It appears that the map had been optimistically updated with the western section of a trail that wasn't yet ready for use. I managed to travel a number of extra kilometers today while searching for the trail. Later on I found out that the trail is not indeed ready. Personally I think maps should somehow reflect this information. Oh well, it just added to the adventure. This trail should start tomorrow when I reach Ridge Way.

Here is my campsite for the night at the very friendly Pleasant Beach campground!
Click to enlarge.

I continued on a series of farmlanes and stopped at the first fruit stand I had seen so far. Before I showed up the stand was quiet but right after I stopped and purchased two plums then traffic seemed to come from everywhere. In just a couple of minutes five cars had stopped in. The plums were great and the fruit stand stop was one of the highlights of my day.

Heading east I continued through Port Colborne where I took a picture of the Southern exit of the Welland Canal. Right after this there was a french area which was a nice change.

During my supper stop at another burger stand I learned that there was a nice campground at the end of Pleasant Beach road called the Pleasant Beach campground. I liked the name and this was within 5 km of my supper stop so this became my stopping point. I had earlier considered doing some camping on the unfinished part of the rail trail but the lure of a hot shower took care of that!

Pleasant Beach campground turned out to be nice, quiet and friendly. The price was the cheapest of all my campground stops at $10.00 CDN (minus the $1 in quarters they gave me for the showers). (The owners took a real strong interest in my trip, made sure I had good, fresh, cool water the next day and just as I was leaving gave me a huge bottle of orange juice. They also attempted to give me some chocolate bars which I gracefully declined. I plan to write them a very kind thank-you note since their efforts really made me feel great!).

I travelled 119.32 km today which represents an additional 19.32 bonous kilometers for use later if I need them. I am now approximately 30 - 40 km from the border so I should be crossing at a reasonable time. Total time in the saddle was 5 hours and 51 minutes. This distance is also my new longest distance in a day record as well. 5275 kcal burned today!

I logged a mild head wind in the morning and a mild tail wind in the evening.

I've been carrying a bug jacket and bug pants to avoid the need for bug sprays. While these work well I have noticied that it is possible for a mosquito to get through if they are patient enough. If I was to purchase a second set then I would go for a larger, more baggier size next time!

Today was the first time I used my FM radio. I used this with one earphone in my right ear and never felt in any real danger. There is something nice about cycling along to tunes.

Although the day started out looking like rain was possible at the end it turned out to be blue skies and sunshine. No rain for me today

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