Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
Distance: 195 km
I forgot to post a nice ride from last week. It was too short and too trafficy, but it’s teaching me how to use my GPS in areas that aren’t filled with city streets.
I started off in west Toronto (Etobicoke) and rode along Lake Shore Blvd West to Port Credit, in Mississauga. Construction on Lake Shore really slowed me down, and as it was a hot and humid day, the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in traffic.
It had been about a year since I drove up Hunontario Street, and thought it would be a quick way to get to Orangeville. I rode through downtown Mississauga (in slow traffic) and then through downtown Brampton (in slow traffic) before the road finally opened up to an 80 km per hour highway. Last year they were repaving most of this, so it was a pleasure to ride on nearly new pavement.
It took about an hour and half to reach Orangeville from Etobicoke, but it was only about 70 km. I really felt that I could have walked quicker at times. After stopping for gas in Orangeville, I head north up highway 10 for a bit and then turned east onto Hockley Valley Road. The last time I’d ridden this long and winding road (insert Beatles music here) the leaves were changing and the air was crisp. Today, the trees along the valley hills were heavy with full foliage, there wasn’t a cloud in sky, and more importantly, I didn’t have a car breathing down my tailpipe.
Coming out of the valley just west of Loretto is always a shock to my eyes. It seems as if one minute I’m in a lush valley and the next minute I’m in open farmland. Next, I rode through Beeton, which, not surprisingly, has a bee and a hive as town’s logo. Beeton flags hung from most of the town’s light poles. They advertised the honey festival, but unfortunately, not one of the flags had the date of the festival.
Just east of Beeton, the road was closed due to a three-car accident and I was forced down number 15 Sideroad. Sideroads are always a bit of a crap shoot, as you never know what the road conditions will be like … and they can change very suddenly. Fortunately, this one was paved, but the patchwork paving made for a bumpy ride.
At the ever busy Highway 9 I turned east. It was time to head home … but which way? Highway 27 is in the midst of repaving. I really don’t like riding on the grooved, ripped up road that is perfectly safe for cars. So I just kept heading east.
From I ride I did last year, I remembered that Dufferin Street was fun, but I couldn’t remember why I thought that. Only one way to find out.
Dufferin Street and Highway 9 do actually meet, unlike what you see on the map. There are houses in the conservation area and the road is shaded by big trees that canopy over the road. And believe me, I’m using the term “road” very loosely here. I came off the highway onto a road with a bit of downward slope. The road then curved quickly to the right. On the turn, pavement disappears. Perhaps underneath the crushed rock, loose dirt, potholes and mud, there was once a paved road. I just call this type of road, ”hard pack” because the ingredients are packed hard together until you actually ride over it.
On grooved pavement I prefer to ride fast so that my tires don’t follow a particular track. I just muscle my way through the road. With hard pack, I take it slow and easy. I’ve almost gone down on this stuff a few times, so I know that it’s a slippery mess.
I couldn’t turn around because the one and half lanes aren’t wide enough for me to turn. Besides, I wouldn’t have any traction, I couldn’t see over the steep, curvy hills to look for oncoming traffic, and I’d be pushing my monster of a bike uphill. Bad combination all around. I also knew that the road improved as I’d ridden it before.
I had a few moments of “oh my god, I’m going to lose it,” but it was a fun four or five kilometres. Once I was through the conservation area, the turned into patchy paving. This area has many equestrian farms, and it was nice to ride through the rolling hills looking at the horses in the field, or horse and riders practising their jumps. But that ended for too quickly and civilization soon swallowed me back up.
It was another long fight through traffic to get home. Next time I’m taking the highway out of the city to get to the country.
