LEJOG Shakedown Day 4
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Thursday May 2, 2024
Shakedown ride for the Lands End to John O'Groats tour.
Day 4: Victoria Corners to Toronto, Ontario, Canada
107km
17°C
Note:
- The battery in my wireless lapel mic ran out again late in the day as I was riding down the Don River Valley Rec Trail...and just as I was dialoging about it...perfect timing!
Once again there is no dialog for that section of the video...however the captions and music make for a nice ride along the Toronto waterfront, from the Don River to South Etobicoke.
The day started well...had coffee with my buddy, then packed up my camp and headed out at around 9:30.
The 10km ride down to Uxbridge was a bit harrowing as there was no shoulder and I caught the tail end of commuter traffic going southbound...but all that ended abruptly when I turned right onto the Uxbridge RT, transforming me from vehicles whizzing by to the sounds of birds and gravel under my tires.
Stopped in Uxbridge for the usual McDonalds breakfast before continuing south into Stoufville, then Markham and finally into North Toronto via paved roads. For some reason, Google Maps took me on some pretty busy, and often shoulder-less roads along the way. Also, I was struck at just how much development was going on as I got closer to Toronto...what were once farmers fields and forests not too long ago are now large commercial and residential areas...but at least much of the new areas had separated bicycle lanes.
The route that Google chose for me continued to be unusually busy...I was thankful that I was used to riding in large urban centres during rush hour...if I had grown up in a rural area, I may have taken a bus south along Don Mills Road!
As with the ride into Uxbridge, the crazy/busy ride on Don Mills Road came to an end when I entered the Don Valley Recreation Trail....and the relaxing sounds of birds and other cyclists replaced the myriad of vehicles and their often impatient drivers...
I rode the DVRT down to its connection with the Waterfront Trail...then did a quick ride south to check out the progress on the massive and almost complete redevelopment/revitalization of the mouth of the Don River. After over a hundred years of typical urban abuse, the Don River is being returned to it's natural course and setting...
As mentioned, the mic battery gave out on me as I got to the WT...and the last 20km's along the WT, through downtown Toronto and into the west end, was busy and beautiful. I arrived at my friend's place right around dinner time, with fresh subs in hand and satisfied with what I learned on this shakedown ride.
Next stop, Gatwick Airport in London, England...see you there!
Music:
- Mourning Dove, Zachariah Hickman
- Fun in the Sun, Chris Haugen
- Keep on Moving’ , King Canyon
- This is my Town
What great depiction of rural to urban transition. Well done. It amazes me the distances you travel on a bicycle.
Thanks Dave! Ya, the routes into and through Toronto are constantly changing...and, from a cyclist's standpoint, largely for the better!
Good luck with LEJOG!
Thank you!
WOW 🚴♂️🚴♀️🚴♂️💬🎶🇰🇷
Looking forward to the LEJOG videos. I'll be interested to see what route you took, and whether you followed a pre-set route or not. I hope you didn't use google maps to route you in the UK as it is terrible at bicycle routing over here! I hope you enjoyed cycling in the UK.
Hey there, thanks for your comment!
I hope you enjoy the video series when it's posted! Yes, Google Maps can lead cyclists along some pretty strange and frustrating routes...not a perfect routing tool! ;-)
I got so confused, I was wondering where the LEJOG route was but I realise now you're planning for LEJOG in this video, not actively doing it lol. Oops! 😅
Oops, sorry about that...yes, I did a 4 day shakedown ride for the LEJOG trip I had left for a week after getting home. Just finished another bikepacking trip in central Ontario, so I am somewhat derelict in publishing the actual LEJOG video series, but it's coming soon!!! Cheers!
WTF?? $7,5 for an ice cream cone?? Hooolyy F...!! And keep in mind, I say that as a Norwegian 😂 That's even worse than here! Over here an ice cream cone that size would be like $5 Canadian. And that's expensive by any standard.
Haha, that Indian guy was not happy 🤣🤣 I'm ever so slightly puzzled by the roads you're riding on. The 4-laners you're riding on, what speed limit is it there? 55mph? If I did that in Norway, I'd probably cause someone to pull over and strangle me 😅 Over here we don't ride on roads where the speed limit is more than 40mph. Especially if it's a 4-lane road (two in each direction). On most of these roads cycling would be prohibited. 4-laners will typically have speed limits 50-70mph. What makes it even scarier is there is no shoulder at all on the roads you ride. Well, none that you can make use of anyway. The shore side cycle path looks very enjoyable tough. Reminds me of a similar stretch of road in Oslo called Tour de Finance. It's where all the stock brokers and bankers are riding their bikes as quickly as they can to and from work 😄
Ya, it's a crime to charge $7.50 for a medium ice cream cone...even if it's coated in chocolate...but it was tasty! ;-)
The speed limit for most of the roads I was riding on was/is 80kph (which is about 55mph). Busy and risky at times for sure, however the only roads that bicycles cannot be ridden on here in Canada are the expressways where the speed limit is 100-110kph.
The Waterfront Trail going through Toronto is quite nice and diverse...and that route has come a long way in the past 5-10 years as they continue to develop it...I hope one day I can experience that waterside route through Oslo as well along with the stockbrokers and bankers!
Cheers!