Hamilton, ON to St.Catherines, ON

We had a short ride today....only 47 miles. There was a strong wind, but it was mostly a side wind. Some of the roads were not the best today. with no shoulder and quite a bit of traffic. We had one very steep hill today, a 12% grade, but thankfully, it was downhill. I was not familiar with the corners, so I braked most of the way down, but still hit 38 mph. Good thing I braked, because there was a stop sign right at the end of the hill and it was all I could do to stop.

One of our cyclists, Rick Gritters from Iowa, called todays ride Tour de Food!! I am not sure how many total stops there were today, but it must have been about 8 in the 47 miles. We experienced more Canadian hospitality by various CR churches. Julie had the day off of SAG because of the many stops. We kept meeting at each stop. One of our stops today was at The Dutch Store, a bakery in Grimsby where one of the cyclists works. They had free cake and coffee for all the cyclists. There have been a lot of guest riders the past several days, riding with Canadians for this area that are part of the tour. Some of those did the 2005 Sea To Sea Tour across Canada.

This will be our last full weekend hosted by a community. We cannot believe that this coming week is the last. We are taking a tour ride tonight to Niagra Falls. I had mistakenly said in an earlier post that it would be Sunday night. All the meals this weekend are hosted by the local 12 churches, each taking a turn. There are many CR churches in the area between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

On Sunday, we are being bused to a park near Niagra for the celebration service and evening dinner. Lots of food this week!!

I have my bike clothes already washed and hung out to dry, as we had our day in early today. I even washed my gloves and helmut, as they begin to smell a bit ripe after sweating during the day.

Love to all, P & J.