July 21 78 km (48 mi) Ride to Goderich (Ontario, Canada) Beach

It is always nice to break out of the healthy, but sometimes somewhat reduncy of my High Intensity Every Other Day 30 Minute Ride.

That's what I did yesterday.

On Friday evening I got my bike ready: tire pressure up, chain cleaned and lubed. I also gathered up and packed my supplies: 9 bottles of Powerade (Knew I wouldn't need that many. I will drink at least one bottle per hour to keep hydrated; but wanted the extra bottles for extra weight for training/conditioning purposes); loaded my assortment of "on sale" power bars (Planning to eat one per hour to keep carb fuel available).

I woke up around 6:30 am. But wasn't in a rush to head out the door. The trip I had planned would take about 6 hours. My destination was St. Christopher's Beach on the shores of Lake Huron in the town of Goderich, Ontario, Canada. I would be meeting my adult kids and their spouses and my grandkids there for a late afternoon swim and visit and picnic supper. That would all start about 3 pm. So I really didn't have to leave my house until around 9 am.

I enjoyed a huge bowl of oatmeal (1.5 cups of dry oatmeal) with an apple and banana diced and cooked in it. Flavored up with Vanilla soy milk, brown sugar, and butter, this makes for a high fuel meal that will get me off to a good start energy-wise. (As soon as I woke up I started drinking water. By the time I was ready to ride I had drank two liters of water. This pre-ride hydration is a key to staying healthy on a day when the temp is expected to top 80 F (27 C). I also enjoyed two cups of tea with the oatmeal.)

After getting into my Super Hero Spandex Bike Suit, and strapping on my bike shoes, and smearing on the sunscreen (UV is very high today), and strapping on my heart rate monitor, and affixing my tinted goggles (to reduce glare and to keep my eyes from drying out, and bugs out of them), and wiring myself to my music on my iPhone, and putting on the very important helmet, I am ready to roll.

I get my backpack (which carries my bike lock, sunscreen, swimsuit, towel, long sleeve shirt, etc.) in position, as I pedal out of the driveway at 8 am, the air actually feels cool. But this coolness disappears quickly in the morning sun.

By 3 pm, I will have travelled 78.1 km (48.4 mi) at an average speed of 15.5 kph (9.6 mph). I was in no hurry today. Took lots of short breaks and lots of pictures. I was pedaling for 5 hours of the almost 7 hours from start to finish.

The pictures below tell the story of the ride. Enjoy.

Surprise, surprise. When I am about an hour from my beach destination, I am met by two of some of my most favorite persons in the whole world. The young man next to me in this picture is my son, Bryan. He is kind of new to this activity of long distance road biking. But he is training diligently. He will actually be riding the bike I am sitting on this September as he will be riding with Brother Mark and I from Prescott, Arizona to the Colorado River, following a long section of famous Route 66 across Arizona.

Surprise Again! This other young man is my son, James. He is no stranger to the world of long distance road biking. He has completed several epic rides. He is one of the most healthy people I know. Working at a gym (Spin Class Leader) and running make him quite fit. He actually left his home in London, Ontario about the same time I did on this day. He traveled 114 km (70.6 mi) in less time than I covered my 78 km (48 mi). He traveled at about 26 kph (16 mph); about twice as fast as I. And he didn't even look tired. O, to be young again. James will be riding Route 66 with us in September as well. He will probably be riding circles around us. Kind of neat: Two generations of brothers doing the Route 66 trip together.

We're very near the beach now. This is the wide and rather dry Maitland River. On the left you see the grain elevators. Great Lake Freighters carry this commodity  to far away places. At the river's month you see the surface operation for the large salt mine that extends several km beneath the bottom of Lake Huron.

A brief view of my dark side

I was born a West Coaster (in California a long long time ago) and will always  be a West Coaster -- no matter where I live.

My Mechanical Horse patiently awaiting some action.

On this trip today I ride through many small towns. I enjoy admiring the beautiful old homes. The grass is normally a vibrant green. But we are in a drought condition. Nothing grows much except the weeds. This home is in the town of Lucknow; about half way to my destination.

Opposite view of the previous photo of the Maitland River. This is the upstream view..

This photo demonstrates that I am still getting used to my iPhone. I rode by this Amish farmer harvesting bringing in the crops just like his forefathers did over a hundred years ago.

A great delight of my day was actually locating this trail. (I missed it on my previous ride to Goderich last May.) This is the Goderich to Auburn Rail Trail. It provides me wonderful shade and auto-free pedaling for the last hour of my ride. Near this spot a train depot serviced passengers and freight in this region for almost 90 years. At its peak, the railway station here saw 20 trains per day. Passenger service was discontinued in the early 1960's. Freight traffic ceased in the late 1980's. The station was demolished and rails removed in the early 1990's. The rail path became this multi-use nature trail. This was by far the most enjoyable part of my journey.

This was once a railway bridge; at one time the longest such bridge in Canada. The previous pictures of the River were taken from this bridge. This bridge provides a crossing for bikers and hikers across the Maitland River.

Welcome to St. Christopher's Beach, Goderich. (And thank you to my son-in-law, Steve, a real photographer, for this picture.) This is where my ride ended and I enjoyed a great evening with my family. (My bike rode home on my new bike rack on the back of my wife's car. Fortunately, she allowed me to ride in the front passenger seat.)