Toronto to Prince Edward County Day 4

picton to wellington

46 km, 223m climbing

10 Degrees, Sunny/Windy

“The breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.”  -Kahil Gibran

Happy Birthday Nancy!

When we rode into Picton yesterday, we came in on the Millenium Trail.   It’s always so nice when you don’t have to think about car traffic.  But since the Trail heads directly back to Wellington and we were heading further southwest – to Sandbanks – we mapped out a route on secondary roads.  We didn’t consider the topography however and ended up climbing up the Lake on the Mountain escarpment right from the get-go.   Always a challenge to hop on your bike and start your day off with a climb!  In the end, we were a little out of puff but we were rewarded with a great overview of the community when we got to the top.

The temperature was perfect for cycling – cool enough that we needed gloves but very comfortable while we were pedalling.  The sky was bright and sunny, making it another wonderful day for viewing nature and taking photographs.   We didn’t have far to go but there was an unrelenting southwest wind and we rode into it all the way to the Lake.  I always find a headwind grinds me down – like riding through grass, you never get any rolling momentum.  But the distance was relatively short and the extra effort was well worth it – the lake colours were stunning and the Dunes (which I had never seen before) were so impressive.  I learned that the same glacial movement that formed the Great Lakes (14,000 years ago or so) also left behind tonnes of sandy sediment that over thousands of years of waves, winds and currents formed the sand bars and the dunes.  The West Lake sand bar is the largest of its kind in the world.  Who knew?

We ended up cycling into Wellington around 3:00, hungry and caught between lunch and our dinner reservation at 6:30.   We took a chance at getting a table at The Drake for a snack and just showed up on our bikes – in full riding gear.  Fortunately they were in the lull between lunch and supper and found us a table in the back (where they put the uncool people).  It was nice to be warm inside and still get to watch the lake as the wind continued to whip it into a frenzy.  Our little snack ended up being a couple of beers and burgers that we were still polishing off at 4:30 – just two hours before our scheduled dinner.   We couldn’t really see ourselves having a large meal so soon, so we called and changed our reservation until Sunday night – opting instead for an afternoon nap followed by a take-out pizza and a bottle of wine in our lovely room at the Augustus House B&B.  After all, there’s only so much you can eat!