Come join us for Training Day - 127K+ at a B/C pace
Let Rick, Bev, or Carolyn know if you are planning on joining. PLANS ARE SET!
What: Ride to Toronto, Go Train Back
When: Saturday, Aug. 11th, 7 am
Where: Start St. Catharines Train Station, 5 Great Western St., St. Catharines, ON .
We will ride along a pre-defined route to Toronto, riding along the top of the escarpment to the "Punch Bowl", down the escarpment to the Lakeshore, and then along Lakeshore to Toronto. We are picking up as many paths and trails as possible - this is a trip about the journey. Our final destination is Union Station where we will catch the 4:18pm return train back to NF.
The Go Train stops in Union, Exhibition, Port Credit, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls and one-way tickets are under $20. This Go Train has a car specifically for Bicycles and riders only.
Distance is 127K to Toronto center and we will look to ride out along the "Leslie spit" to look across at Toronto from the waterfront. We will stop 2 times along the way for coffee break and lunch.
If we miss the 4:18pm train, we will have to depart at 8:10pm. The train ride is 2 hours.
Riders can join us along the route to participate in a portion of the journey but be prepared to spend the day with your cycling friends.
Train information: https://www.biketrain.ca/toronto-niagara. You can buy tickets at Union Station and use a presto card if you have one.
Start location: https://goo.gl/maps/edKhAgdpZ142
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/14850336
Group and stop details:
The group so far is Rick & Bev, Carolyn, George Terry and possibly Chris, Mary D and Jim C.
The route gives us flexibility, if we make good time, to ride a bit longer on the Harbourfront trail in Toronto instead of stopping in the middle.
We can ride an extra 8K to "Tommy Thompson Park" which is on the "Leslie spit" and where we will get a great view of Toronto from the lake looking in.
The first stop @ Punch Bowl Market & Bakery is actually under 50 K. Market cafe opens @ 9 so we should be there when they open.
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/xQneEV4D4ko & website: https://punchbowl.ca/bakery
At 90K we are in Oakville and have option 1 below "Aroma Espresso Bar" which is on Lakeshore and which we will pass by on our right. It has a nice patio and a sandwich menu. They also do things like smoothies and salads.
If we choose not to stop here (ps. right in the neighborhood is "la Dolce Vita" for gelato.. just sayin') we then go ahead to Mississauga...
We will ride off Lakeshore back through some side streets and trails. We pass the Brueckner Rhodo gardens at 98K ( Just past "Richard's Memorial Park"). Let's watch for that.
Our next option for stopping will be Port Credit @ 101K as there are multiple cafes right after we cross the bridge for "Snug Harbour". We'd have to ignore the Garmin for a minute which wants to send us back to the path and look for Port 1 Cafe which will be on our left on the corner. It has outdoor setting, gelato, sandwiches etc.
Oakville option> Map: https://goo.gl/maps/dBW3P1KpcER2 & website: https://aroma.ca/
Port Credit option> Map: https://goo.gl/maps/YQiJ5F2rF4S2 & website: www.port1cafe.com (doesn't work for me)
