Day 53 Toronto, Ontario Hi Everyone,

This morning I made a mistake.  I walked outside and the rain was the
misty kind and then I looked at the radar.  It appeared to be raining in
Toronto but the radar image was north - south and just barely off the
coast of Lake Ontario so Hamilton was clear.  I concluded that the rain
would move over the lake as I rode north toward Toronto.

Still, I was prepared with rain covers on the panniers and I wore leg
warmers, booties for my shoes and a rain jacket.  Before I I left the
Burlington city limits, the misty rain became light rain. Maybe the rain
clouds are not moving over the lake and I am riding into the rain!

Luckily it is Sunday and there is very little traffic and no one is in a
hurry.  I don't have any problems with spray off of cars and there are
no trucks.  I ride in the street but move onto the sidewalk in a
construction zone.

There is no problem with riding on the road versus riding on the
Waterfront Trail off road because the Waterfront Trail is on the road. 
Then I get to Mississauga and a park is under construction and the
Waterfront Trail is the using the alternate route on the map.  It is
going around the Petro Canada facility.  I remember seeing this
on the maps.  I follow the Waterfront Trail signs and end up at a
park.  No bicycles allowed!  I remember seeing this on the map I
thought that it was where the closed park was.  I look at the map
on the information board and it showed me how to go around the
park.  I find Waterfront Trail signs on the route around the park. 
Why didn't they have a warning sign earlier to suggest the route a
round the park?

Then I get back to Lakeshore, the road that I started on in Burlington! 
I should have stayed on Lakeshore! 

Mississauga is a long city!  I was told that it is 10 miles long and I
 believe it!  Then I go through another town and wonder if it is just
a part of Toronto but it isn't.  Finally I get into Toronto.

By now I am leery of Waterfront Trails that go into parks and then
come out only a short distance away so that I would have done
better by staying on the road.  However Lakeshore is only a block
from Lake Ontario and I can see a pedestrian / bike path along the
water and I can see the coast quite a ways and I can see it leading
to downtown Toronto which is quite a ways off.

I follow the bike path for miles and past by the amusement and
entertainment area that my relatives and I went to in 2000.  I thought
that going through Toronto would be a snap.  Then the bike path ended
at a street and I asked someone where it continued.  I was told to ride
down Queens Quay and the path would appear again.  Queens Quay
is the waterfront street with piers for commercial establishments similar
to the Embarcadero in San Francisco.  There are piers or land jutting
out for restaurants and I can't believe how many ferries or sightseeing 
boats terminals there are.

It is a good thing that it is Sunday as the traffic is light and the drivers
well behaved.  I can imagine what it would be like on a work day. 
Eventually I see a park and the bike path resumes.  Then it leads to
 an industrial area where the freighters are.  I see a marina and cross a
small bridge used to connect marinas and see a Chinese dragon boat
coming in after a practice session. 

By now the sun is coming out and I am getting hot so I remove the rain
jacket, the leg warmers, and the booties, hoping that I am not jinxing
myself.  I asked someone where I could find a motel.  He told me to go
down the road marked a private road and make a left on Leslie and go
to Front Street.  I proceeded to Leslie, made a left (only choice available
 as it is a T intersection and right is a fence.  Then I go to next big
intersection and it is Lakeshore!  I continued a couple more blocks and
it is Queen Street and is a commercial area with all kinds of stores.
 I was told that a motel was just down the road and I passed by many
fast food places and local restaurants and ethnic stores.  This is a real
neighborhood.  Finally I see a Days Inn next to a car wash. 

I washed my bike because I had ridden 3 hours in the rain and it was
filthy, especially the wheels. Then I entered the Days Inn and heard
a beeping sound.  It was the alarm because the power went out. 
The local area had lost power but Toronto is smart.  The traffic
lights and the streetcars are still running.

I was given a choice of waiting for the power to be restored or going
to another Days Inn "not far away" maybe 10 minutes by car where
there were at least 4 motels because it was near a highway.  Power
outages are not uncommon and has taken up to four hours to be
restored so I decided to go to the other Days Inn.

Up the hill (not much of a hill) and I see that they lost power to
traffic lights.  A bad sign because now I can't be sure that the other
motel has power as it is getting worse as I ride up the hill.  Finally I
see a bike shop and it has power!  This section of town has power!

I get to the Days Inn and it is the only motel that I can see.  It is $30
cheaper than the other one and it has power. 

Tomorrow is predicted to had a 30% chance of rain but I have to see
the radar first.  I don't want to ride two days in a row in the rain.

The Statistics:  50.24 miles and 611 feet of climbing and 3 hours
in light rain.


Steve in Toronto, Ontario, Canada