Unlike the last “round the lake” trip in June we managed to follow a very good bike route through Hamiltonfrom Dundas Conservation Area. I think this was the route that George Robb had mentioned. It ran through the park trails, along well marked bike lines and down “Heart Break Hill” an aptly named section of Hamilton’s annual’Round the Bay’ run. I think we got it right this time.
We ate breakfast (and I think lunch too) at McDonald’s and had supper at a pretentiously trendy restaurant in Frenchman’s Bay. Somehow the location justifies the high price because they don’t pay for chefs. My pasta had cold spots and Ben’s was way too hot.
It was a long day. The wind was from the Noth by north-west; mostly crosswinds and we didn’t benefit. We arrived in Darlington Provincial Park in the dark at around 8:30pm after the registration was closed. I cycled to the registration office anyway only to have my suspicion confirmed. I lost track of Ben in the dark. I cicled the registration building several times. “Ben must be on the other side” I though. But I after reversing my direction, and calling his name tp no avail, I had to revert to calling him on his cell phone to discover, like any sane person he had rightly assumed registration had closed, I as on a fool’s errand, and he was saving energy waiting for me near camp.
At the campsite we struggled setting up our tents with inadequate lighting when we discovered neither of us had remembered head lamps. There are benefits to reading check lists!
