Resolving to an earlier start than our previous days to beat the heat and get to our destination with time to explore and enjoy, the group (less Ilya) was up nice and early for breakfast of peaches and oatmeal.
Chris, Alina and I went to fetch the stored bicycles from around the block, and had ourselves nearly packed up on the bikes by the time Ilya woke around 9:00 to have his breakfast and start the day.
Ilya was quick to get ready though, and we were on the road heading down to the Kingston waterfront by 9:30. It was a beautiful morning, much less humid than the previous days had been, with only a few clouds in the sky.
As we rode to the waterfront, we each had troubles with our panniers and their attachment to our bikes that had us all stopping to inspect, adjust and re-seat things to get everything securely fastened to our bikes.
After the brief stop, we made our way onto Highway 2 eastbound and crossed the Cataraqui River on the LaSalle Causeway. Just after coming off the causeway, we came across the sign for Fort Henry. We’d seen the fort from the water the day before, but had to stop for our obligatory photo with the sign, not least of the reason being the big hill that was in just afterwards!
Our short respite over, we huffed and puffed our way up the hill. My task was made much easier by my lightened load, thanks again, Colin! I was nearly able to keep up with Ilya going up, as opposed to struggling along at the rear like I had been. Maybe I should re-think my strategy of packing for bike tours… weight really does seem to make a huge difference!
At the top of the hill, the highway continued on through Canadian Forces Base Kingston, with barbed-wire fences on either side, and not much in the way of scenery but for a distance sign that outlined our day’s journey.
For those looking for a history lesson, Ontario Highway 2 was one of the first highways in Ontario. Originally known as the Kingston Road between Toronto and Kingston, and as Montreal Road between Kingston, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. It runs on the north shore of Lake Ontario from Toronto to Kingston, and then along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River from Kingston to Montreal. It’s since been supplanted by the Ontario Highway 401 freeway when it was built in the late 1960s. It’s now mostly used for local traffic, and when combined with it’s broad shoulder and older, more meandering route near the water makes it great for bicycle tourists.
The road was mildly undulating and broadly sweeping, which made for a nice break in any monotony that might have come from a flatter, straighter road. There were not too many opportunities to see the water, but with the nice weather, pleasant temperatures and tailwind, we were a happy lot of cyclists. We also weren’t the only ones. For a change we saw several other groups of cyclists out enjoying the day. Most appeared to be road riders out for a long loop out of Kingston.
As it neared 11:30, we pulled into Gananoque, Ontario. It had several very large, pretty homes, that looked like they were from the early-to-mid nineteenth century. It really felt similar to several of the smaller towns I’d been through in Upstate New York. As we rode into town, we headed for the waterfront again, looking for a place we might have lunch overlooking the water. As luck would have it, the Gananoque Inn had a beautiful, large patio overlooking the marina and we decide to stop there for lunch.
After an hour or so of eating tasty food, drinking cold drinks and relaxing by the water, it was time to get back on the road. Alina had found she’d lost her sunscreen back in Kingston, and Ilya didn’t like the Kingston tapwater he’d had, so we made one more stop for supplies before leaving town.
Just after our supply stop, we came across and accident just before the Thousand Islands Parkway that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had closed the whole highway for. It appeared that two vehicles had come together in a rear-end collision. Air bags had deployed, but, luckily no one appeared seriously hurt. Being on bikes, we were able to twist and turn our way through without much delay, and were making our way onto the Thousand Islands Parkway.
I’d heard that the Thousand Islands Parkway was a great route for cyclists, from YouTube videos I’d watched from Robert Beriault (here). I’d been expecting river views and a broad shoulder, but what we found was an amazing, segregated bike path with river views and a beautiful, rolling countryside.
Looking at our route, we found that we’d be on the Thousand Islands Parkway nearly all the way to Brockville! What a great route it was. There was not a load of bicycle traffic, but we did see several other cyclists out for day trips, and what looked like a whole other group of bicycle tourists on a break along the way.
There were plenty of nice spots to take breaks in the shade, and we had a nice, gentle tailwind the whole day that had us averaging 25 km/h instead of our more usual 18 km/h. The only drawback I could mention is that the path is on the land-facing side of the roadway, not the water-facing side, so at times that the road was on a higher grade, the views of the water could be obstructed. But as you can see from the photos, that frequently wasn’t the case, and there were beautiful views of the river and the Thousand Islands. Thousand Islands Parkway gets an easy 9/10 from me as a bicycle touring route!
As we rode, we came to the Thousand Islands National Park visitor centre and decided to pull in for a break and to take a look around. The visitor centre was somewhat strange, having an activity area for kids, but no obvious gift shop (I was eager to get a pin, patch and sticker, as is my tradition for National Parks). Despite the lack of a shop, it had a nice park, and places to sit and take in the view.
On the way out, we spotted the sign that there was a little shop built into the rangers’ office of the visitor centre. I was able to pickup my pin, patch and sticker. With another 20km to go, we were on our way again.
We reached then end of the bike pathway and pulled onto a little frontage road tucked between Highway 401 and the river. When driving on the 401, you can’t even tell you’re close to the water. Weird. A short stretch down that road, and we were onto the old routing of Highway 2 that headed into the heart of Brockville.
Just as the town was starting to become built up around us, we arrived at our destination for the night, St. Lawrence Park campground. This campground was very cool in how it catered to bicycle tourists. They’ll never turn away a cyclist, and have you camp next to a playground just above a beautiful beach on the river. The fee was only $10 each for the night, and the campground is within an easy 5-minute ride of downtown Brockville.
We set up our tents, and other gear and rode our bikes downtown for dinner. We decided to go for some delicious Thai food at Nakhon Thai restaurant. After our meal, our server suggested we check out The Fudgery for some ice cream, which just had to have after a good day of riding.
The Fudgery was definitely a kid’s paradise. A toy store, candy store and ice cream store all in one. It had a line stretching nearly to the door with people looking for a cool treat in the warm summer weather. We each grabbed a cone and headed down to the waterfront to explore a bit.
As we explored, we found the Golden Sabre fighter jet mounted right in the centre of the marina, and overheard a concert going on as part of Brockville’s ribfest cook-off. Mmm ribs… too bad we just ate! After finishing our ice creams, we decided we should get back to camp before it got too dark and saddled up for the quick ride back.
At the camp, we found they had a secured bicycle locker we could store our bikes in overnight, and stowed our bikes before hanging out for a while, chatting at our picnic table about what a great day it had been. A little red fox made several appearances while we were chatting and even went to pester some of the other bicycle campers that were there. Bedtime came relatively early, and we all were in bed before 11:00.
It had been a great day. Not too far, and with beautiful scenery. Definitely the highlight day of the trip to this point! One day, our furthest, was left to go. Over 100km to get back to Ottawa loomed before us. But that was for tomorrow me to worry about.