Day 59: Mississauga to Darlington Provincial Park 108km

The days of rest have come to an end and its time to hit the road again for the final 2000km. When we set off today it felt so strange to be on the bike, four days off make a big difference. We finally got a move on around 1.00pm as it was hard to drag ourselves away from all the home comforts. The destination today Darlington Provincial Park as I didn't want to miss out on going to Darlington. We have decided to use campgrounds for the next few days as Southern Ontario is jam packed with towns, cities and farmland so there isn't much open space to camp free for the night. We also think it will be better for the safety of ourselves and the bikes.
Riding through Toronto along the Lake shore was a fantastic ride. There were huge beaches along the way packed with people and it was so different from any rides we have done due to the fact there is loads of people. On the way to Darlington Provincial Park we were constantly going through one town after the other and this made the time go much faster.
Darlington Park wasn't that great as it was the most expensive campsite we have been to and it took us till dark to locate the showers. The girl in the office gave us no directions or map so we thought it was going to be a small park and everything would be easy to find. Everything was hard to find and by the time we were showered it was dark and we still had the tent and food to deal with. So a poor show from Darlington all in all.

Day 58: Day off number 4 in Midland at Agnes' parents boat

Today we set off to their boat which is in Midland on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. There was no wind in the morning so we had to motor it to the island we were going to chill on. We chilled off the island for most of the day and it was perfect. We spent the day lying around on the boat and swimming, the perfect day to get us refreshed and ready to go tomorrow. On the way back to the Marina we put the sails up and sailed in. It was my first time on a sail boat and they let me steer for a bit. I think I will learn how to sail as it is amazing and would be such a great skill to have.
Well that it is it for our days off. Hopefully tomorrow it won't be to hard to get back on the saddle. My legs have finally stopped hurting so it should be a breeze. The aim is to go 100km to Darlington Provincial Park. I thought it would be rude not to go to Darlington while here.

Day 57: Day off number 3 in Toronto and back to Mississauga

Agnes took me around Toronto today and showed me a few of her favourite hang outs and areas. We also had a look at the CN Tower just from the outside as it is 25 dollars to go up and you have to line up for over an hour, which could be hard work in the humidity. Toronto is a buzzing city and a lot different to any of the other Canadian cities I have visited. It has a lot more character than anywhere else and a lot more going on, it reminded me of London. We managed to get some sushi while we were there and that made our day as we haven't had any sushi since leaving Vancouver. In Canadian cities Sushi is cheap and so good and there are sushi places everywhere so you get a bit hooked on it. Anyway Toronto gets a thumbs up from me.

Day 56: Day off number 2 in Toronto

We caught the bus to Toronto today to go and party it up with Agnes' friends. We wandered around the city and attempted to blog it up at the library with little success once again. Agnes had arranged for all of her friends to meet at around 8 and then party on from there. A great night was had by all. With Toronto being so humid you can sit out and relax on patios all night which is awesome. We didn't go to crazy as we are going to do all the tourist type stuff the next day.

Day 55: Day off number 1 in Mississauga

Today was all about relaxation and washing everything we have including our stinking sleeping bags. My legs are hurting more than they have all trip so I am very pleased about having a few days off. We have made the decision today that we are definitely cycling to Halifax rather than St Johns, Newfoundland. It is still on the east coast so we will have gone from coast to coast, which was the aim. Going to Halifax will be easier and cheaper for both of us so I am very happy about that. Going the most direct route from Toronto to Halifax is 1790km so we are looking at just over 2000km to finish the trip. After these days off we should be recovered and raring to go. After relaxing all day and sorting a few things out a few of Agnes' friends came over for drinks and desert.
I almost forgot somehow that this afternoon we went to Niagara Falls and took many pictures. The falls were amazing there were just far too many people there which spoilt it a bit.

Day 54: Wiarton to Agnes' house in Mississauga, Greater Toronto 194km

sWell readers we almost hit the dizzy heights of 200km and I feel we deserve a few days off after this. We split the day into three sections to try and make it easier on ourselves. We kept the breaks short and cycled as hard as we could but due to a headwind all day long we were out from 8.30am to 10.15pm. The other annoying thing about today was that we were constantly going up hill and with only slight very short downhills as reward. This makes it mentally hard as part of pushing yourself up the hills is the fact that you know you are going to be going down the other side. Now that we are in southern Ontario there is 10 times the amount of traffic and people than we have been used to so the highway was busy all day long. The last 60km we did was on a back road which was very welcome apart from the fact that it had the steepest hills of the province so far and there have been some beastly hills in Ontario. When we were around 40km from Agnes' families home the daylight ended and we had to ride on a country road in the dark with an small back light each and no reflective gear. Agnes wasn't to keen on this but we plugged away and made it eventually to be greeted by Agnes' parents who were waiting for us in their front garden. They had put a Canada flag on the door and written on it 4,400km which is approximately what we have covered, which was a great touch I thought.
We now have 4 days off planned where we are going to put the bikes in the garage and not look at them until Monday when we set off for the last leg of the trip to Halifax on the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 53: Little Current to Wiarton 141km (not including ferry ride)

We made the 60km to the ferry with enough time for a classic breakfast part 2. Good tea but below average breakfast, you can't win them all I guess. The ferry ride was 2 hours but luckily it was a great day out so we could sit out on deck. It was a strange feeling getting on a full sized ferry to cross a lake. The crossing was also 2 hours and this if you look at a map is just a very small section of Lake Huron. While on the ferry I fed seagulls crisps and we met a character named Basil from Trinidad. When we told him what we were doing he kept on shouting 'holy mackerel man', which was hilarious. It turned out he worked for the same company as Agnes' dad and he was a very interesting guy. I wish I could have recorded him for you all but never mind.
The 80km ride after the ferry was a long one but we have had worse. We camped out in the municipal park in the town of Wiarton, which is famous for the groundhog Wiarton Willy.