Bond Head (Newcastle) to Port Hope and back...
I have been MIA as I took the last of my summer vacation time to do some cycling and camping in central Ontario.
The first day we drove from Toronto to Newcastle and parked at the small Bond Head parkette at the shore of Lake Ontario. We got the bikes out of the car and headed east on Lakeshore Road towards Port Hope. The entire trip between Bond Head and Port Hope is signed as part of the Waterfront trail. The riding is surface is paved and mostly in good shape, although a good portion of the pavement is bumpy like paved gravel and was a bit jarring on a road bike. It is mostly flat with a few really good climbs. Rolling farmland and great views of the lake. There is one very old wooden train bridge that while a piece of history is a bit frightening to cross!
There is some construction going on on the very south west edge of Port Hope as they are building some kind of housing complex out there. They were laying infrastructure when we came through so there was a lot of gravel and sand to negotiate, but it was only about half a kilometer or so. After that, the entrance into Port Hope is (like every port city it seems) a screaming descent down to Main Street.
We pulled into the street with the information center, locked up the bikes and headed inside. When Shayne did he cross Canada bike tour in 2003 he visited this same info center and met a woman working in there that permitted Shayne to camp on her lawn over night. He had hoped to run into her again, but we learned that she had (just that day!) had her second child and was now on maternity leave. So Shayne left her a note, we got some tips on good ice-cream and headed out to take a look at the waterfront. It was salmon fishing season and so the waterfront area was busy with people fishing.
I then needed to satisfy my lust for ice cream so we headed to a little store called Little Lords and Ladies. It is a kids toy store with a penny candy counter and ice cream.
From there we took some residential streets back west, out of Port Hope and retraced our route back to the car at Bond Head. We packed up and head out east for Sandbanks Provincial Park.
The first day we drove from Toronto to Newcastle and parked at the small Bond Head parkette at the shore of Lake Ontario. We got the bikes out of the car and headed east on Lakeshore Road towards Port Hope. The entire trip between Bond Head and Port Hope is signed as part of the Waterfront trail. The riding is surface is paved and mostly in good shape, although a good portion of the pavement is bumpy like paved gravel and was a bit jarring on a road bike. It is mostly flat with a few really good climbs. Rolling farmland and great views of the lake. There is one very old wooden train bridge that while a piece of history is a bit frightening to cross!
There is some construction going on on the very south west edge of Port Hope as they are building some kind of housing complex out there. They were laying infrastructure when we came through so there was a lot of gravel and sand to negotiate, but it was only about half a kilometer or so. After that, the entrance into Port Hope is (like every port city it seems) a screaming descent down to Main Street.
We pulled into the street with the information center, locked up the bikes and headed inside. When Shayne did he cross Canada bike tour in 2003 he visited this same info center and met a woman working in there that permitted Shayne to camp on her lawn over night. He had hoped to run into her again, but we learned that she had (just that day!) had her second child and was now on maternity leave. So Shayne left her a note, we got some tips on good ice-cream and headed out to take a look at the waterfront. It was salmon fishing season and so the waterfront area was busy with people fishing.
I then needed to satisfy my lust for ice cream so we headed to a little store called Little Lords and Ladies. It is a kids toy store with a penny candy counter and ice cream.
From there we took some residential streets back west, out of Port Hope and retraced our route back to the car at Bond Head. We packed up and head out east for Sandbanks Provincial Park.
posted by sweetpea at 2:43 PM
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